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Books:
From Here
to There: An Astrologer's Guide to Astromapping.
Edited by Martin Davis
Published by The Wessex Astrologer Ltd. Price £20
or about $40, Euro 27
For dedicated copies contact Martin
For all other sales and your nearest stockist, click on this link:
Wessex Astrologer
From Here to There - An Astrologer's Guide to Astromapping
Author: Edited by Martin Davis
| This is the long awaited follow-up to Astrolocality Astrology
- in which the author starts with the history of locality astrology,
telling its story from ancient Babylonia to modern times. He
then introduces essential works from contemporary astrologers
who are utilising locality techniques today. This is a brilliant
opportunity to learn from notable astrologers like: Bernadette
Brady, Kathryn Cassidy, Faye Cossar, Donna Cunningham, Robert
Currey, Dennis Flaherty, Arielle Guttman, A.Tad Mann, Chris
McRae, David Meadows, Dale O'Brien, Angel Thompson and Maya
White. |
Here is a review by Mary Plumb from the October-
November 2008 issue of The Mountain Astrologer magazine:
From Here to There: An Astrologer's Guide to Astromapping,
edited by Martin Davis, The Wessex Astrologer Ltd,
4A Woodside Road, Bournemouth, BH5 2AZ, England, 2008. Softcover—272
pp.—$40.00 (£20.00) (ISBN 978-1-902405-27-8). Available from:
www.wessexastrologer.com
Martin Davis, author of Astrolocality
Astrology (1999), brings readers up to speed with this subject in
the new book, From Here to There: An Astrologer's Guide to Astromapping.
Davis (who also wrote several chapters) edited this collection of
essays on current applications in the branch of astrology that considers
space as well as time . The techniques described herein, collectively
called “astromapping,” extend beyond the familiar Astro*Carto*Graphy
(A*C*G) maps made accessible by the late astrologer Jim Lewis. Although
Lewis is recognized as a pioneer in the field (and many of his students
have contributed chapters to the book), other computer programmers
have designed sophisticated methods to measure how planets relate
to location. Local Space (LS) and Geodetics are now available in
software programs, along with innovations such as the addition of
Chiron, the asteroids, and midpoints; maps for solar return and
progressed charts; and much more.
Davis's first chapter on
the history of mapping techniques discloses the interesting account
of the developments that preceded Jim Lewis's work in the 1970s
(i.e., interpreting the planets as they become angular around the
world). The earliest examples, for instance, are the Babylonian
and Assyrian tablets that reflect “the yearning of astrologers over
the centuries to associate terrestrial location with the qualities
of zodiacal signs.” Davis gives a chronology of the developments
in the field, wherein he generously acknowledges his colleagues'
contributions, and ends this chapter with predictions about where
technology will take astromapping in the future.
The book is then comprised
of 15 essays by experienced astrologers, many of whom are highly
innovative in their approach. Topics include personal travel stories
related to A*C*G and C*C*G (Cyclo*Carto*Graphy, which shows transits,
progressions, and directions to the A*C*G). Martin Davis's “The
Uses of Astromapping in Astrology” is one of the standouts of this
genre. The original version of this chapter appeared in The Mountain
Astrologer , Oct./Nov. 2006. In this version, Davis offers new material
on the Jolie-Pitt relationship, including their individual Local
Space and A*C*G maps and the Relationship C*C*G for their baby daughter's
birth in Namibia.
Bernadette Brady's chapter,
“The Stars and Stripes,” explains Ptolemy's description of Heliacal
Rising and Setting Stars, which Brady sees as governing a period
of time at a particular latitude. This chapter provides a fascinating
look at the time and place for key presidential inaugurations in
the United States. (George Washington, for example, became the first
president in New York; his second inauguration was in Philadelphia,
and the event was moved to Washington, D.C. in 1801.) Brady looks
at the Heliacal Rising and Setting Stars and parans for the latitude
of the inauguration of significant presidential terms; these stars
describe the “ quality of this time and place.” She then combines
this with the horoscope of the event itself, which shows, of course,
the planets on the ecliptic. From this viewpoint — looking at the
stars in the sky at the time and place, as well as the chart of
the event — Brady considers specific inaugurations (and themes for
the terms) of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Nixon,
and G. W. Bush.
Another remarkable essay
from the collection is by Dale O'Brien. O'Brien conferred with the
late David Solté on the “Scorpionic America” chart for the
U.S. This horoscope is cast for November 15, 1777, when the Continental
Congress approved the“Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.”
O'Brien considers this the chart for the elite or ruling class,
and his chapter on maps for this chart is carefully researched and
specific (e.g., he applies tertiary progressions and the North Node/Lilith
paran for Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans). O'Brien finds “potentially
the most dangerous area of the world for the U.S.” (lying between
the “Mars DSC and Pluto DSC” lines) to include Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,
and Israel.
Arielle Guttman, who collaborated
with Jim Lewis, has written a chapter titled “A History Lesson:
The A*C*G, Geodetics and Local Space of the George W. Bush Presidency,”
which demonstrates an eloquent understanding of the techniques she
has long practiced. The book also includes chapters on business
issues, relocation for career, and reincarnation.
Anyone studying or using
locational astrology will appreciate this book. If you are new to
the subject, let me cite one of countless evocative passages to
pique your imagination. This is from Robert Currey: “One of the
most pathetic news images in recent times was a sad George W. Bush
gazing helplessly out of an aeroplane window at the flooded city
of New Orleans. Yet, one of the most inspiring sights was the same
man addressing the rescue workers at Ground Zero, New York.” Put
succinctly (the author elaborates in the text), Mr. Bush has Neptune
at the IC in New Orleans and Pluto ascending in New York City. As
Currey writes: “Under Neptune in New Orleans, Bush's fragile ego,
incompetence and misplaced sensitivity surfaced. Under Pluto, his
instinctive mind, leadership and persuasive powers of speech emerged.”
Astrolocality Astrology: A guide to what it is and how to use it.
Author: Martin Davis
Published by The Wessex Astrologer Ltd. Price £12.50 or about
$25, Euro 17
For dedicated copies contact
Martin
For all other sales and your nearest stockist, click on this link:
Wessex Astrologer
Astrolocality Astrology
is the authoritative textbook on the locality techniques of Astro*Carto*Graphy,
Local Space and Geodetics.
Here's what Michael Erlewine, the originator of
Local Space had to say about the book:
"As the originator of the Local Space technique, so valuable
to me in understanding myself and my personal place in this world,
I had always hoped that some writer would take the time to document
this most useful and wonderful astrological technique. I had to
wait some 25 years for a book to accurately present the concepts
and the techniques in a clear, concise, and meaningful way. I want
to thank Martin Davis for making this possible. Good job! — Michael
Erlewine"
Here is what Linda Reid, author and head of the
Canopus Academy of Astrology has to say about Martin's book:
" I have to confess that when I took this
book to bed to read, I expected that I would be asleep within a
few minutes, if the apparent technical nature of the subject had
its usual soporific effect. 3 hours later I forced myself to put
it down.
Martin Davis has approached the techniques of astrolocality
astrology with step by step precision, building on the basic locality
map in easy to follow stages, so that layer by layer, the flat map
becomes a magical landscape. He has covered the principles of Astro*Carto*Graphy,
Local Space Astrology and the Geodetic Chart in detail, clearly
explaining the various applications for using the systems. However,
this is not just a technical treatise, the book is alive with tales
of his personal location experiences, skillfully interspersed between
the definitions so that at no stage does the reader become bogged
down in technicalities.
Davis writes in a crisp style with no padding - a rarity among
astrology books these days. He manages to capture the interest of
the reader with interesting anecdotal examples of well known personalities
so that the maps resonate with energy as one discovers a new perspective
on particular charts and events. I particularly enjoyed his treatment
of the shift in aspect patterns that occurs in various locations
and the consequent easing of difficult natal aspects. Our fates
are not sealed! We just have to emigrate!
Those astrologers interested in Mundane events gain from his
lucid exploration of the Geodetic chart and Davis takes this further
with the fascinating idea that we are drawn to particular locations
because those locations in a world geodetic chart match the angles
of one's Natal Chart. This is an interesting theory and is illustrated
with examples of what Davis calls 'resonance charts'. His theory
led me to check my own and discovered a direct resonance with the
town of Alice Springs. I certainly shall make a point of visiting.
This is a practical book, well illustrated with maps and
charts, but unlike other technical books is warmed by Davis's
obvious enjoyment of the subject. Students often complain to
me that they find it difficult to grasp the complexities of
locational astrology, do not fully understand which method
to use or indeed, what are the different methods of earth charting.
Davis has turned the complexities into simple terms and presented
the subject matter with clarity. No one need be confused after
reading this book. It rates a Highly Recommended from me and
is bound to be one of those books that become an old friend
and frequent reference source."
Linda Reid |