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

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