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Summary: The Pros & Cons of Parker's Astrology
Review: As a practicing astrologer for many years, I'd like to say that, this book has it's definite pros & cons. When I first got into astrology, I found this book in the public library and it proved a fruitful first step. It presents itself with lots of colored pictures & diagrams, a history of astrology, a look from an astromer's point view, along with cookbook interpretations for both house & sign placement (natal, prog and transits). It also offers a good summary on every sun and ascendant sign, and touches on some basics when looking at synastry, as well as personal life questions like career, health, etc. If you're looking for information on *how* to draw up a natal chart, this book is flatly too difficult. I was able to draw up my own natal but it took a couple months. Desperation forced me to, as the internet and software programs weren't available at the time. If you want to learn how to do the calculations by hand, I would suggest "March, Marion D. & Joan McEvers: THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN ASTROLOGY, VOLUME 2: MATH AND INTERPRETATION TECHNIQUES" as the starting point. You'll also need: - an appropriate ephemeris (Midnight GMT preferred)
- a World Atlas containing exact latitudes & longitudes by city
- a Table of Houses (basic Placidus or Koch)
- a book on Time Changes which addresses issues such as Daylight Savings Time, Wartime, etc. I don't believe there is one single book out there that contains all the above information as it would be bigger than an unabridged dictionary. Unfortunately, I'm not finding Marion March's Volume 2 book on Amazon.. (how strange), but it's out there and definitely in print. 8) Other than that, if you're serious about studying astrology, you should be expanding your book collection immensely because by no means will any one book be sufficient. Parker's Astrology is definitely a nice place to start though.
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Summary: Entertaining, colourful, all-round introduction to astrology
Review: For anyone starting out, this is an excellent general introduction to the whole of astrology. Some 15 years ago, a very similar volume by the Parkers was one of the books from which I learnt the basics of astrology. Their style is accessible, imaginative, and not too heavy. Whether you are interested in basic Sun sign characteristics, basic chart interpretation, prediction techniques, or which sign rules mulberries and bilberries (Sagittarius apparently!), its all here. The book is divided into four sections, which includes detailed tables for drawing up charts. Beginners should not be put off by the long section on the complexities of chart calculation, even though this is useful information. It is of course very easy to get a copy of your natal chart done by computer, and start from there. The often beautiful illustrations and pictures add considerably to the quality information in Parkers Astrology. It certainly makes the process of learning astrology easier on the eye! I recommend this book for the beginner, perhaps together with one of the more "serious" introductions, such as The Classic Guide To Astrology by Ron Davison.
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Summary: But is it accurate
Review: I bought this book so that I could learn to draw up my own natal birth chart. Rather than use a calculator, I decided to use a spreadsheet to do the calculations. I found numerous errors in the data and the example charts, and some of the processes are not fully explained. Some of the errors are due to rounding, some are simply misprints which are then carried throughout the rest of the charts. Having said that, and with the co-operation of the authors, I was able to complete the task and despite the frustrations arising from the above, if the end result works, the book does it's job.
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Summary: Do not waste your money. All misprinted data.
Review: The book explains the theory well but due to all misprinted data you can never create an accurate birth chart. I sent several emails to the author for proper ephimeris table but he ignored my question. There are accurate ephimeris tables available in the internet. Do not waste your money on this book.
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Summary: You can buy this one book and do real astrology.
Review: The great thing about this book is that it has an ephemeris, a chart that enables you to determine what degree the planets were in at the time of your birth. If you only know the sign, which is the most that you get from most "all-in-one" astrology books, then you can't really deal with the interrelations between planets, a key part of astrology. The equal house system is the only house system that the book offers, which is kind of a limitation, though as a table for any other system can run 50 pages, I understand their choice. There are full delineations of planetary house and sign placements as well as aspects between planets. These are clear and refreshingly open-ended; there's a clear implication that the parts of the chart have to be interpreted in terms of the whole. It's true that the instructions of how to do a chart could be clearer. And you're not going to get a deep understanding of the basis of astrological symbolism from reading this book. The book is beautiful but my copy was extremely poorly bound--it fell apart almost immediately, only partly because I used it a lot.
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Summary: Lovely book
Review: The Parkers do an excellent job with this book. I really love it.
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Summary: Not one of those "quickie" astrology books
Review: This book is not for you if you think of astrology as a casual hobby. This isn't one of those books you buy if you want to read about your best friend's personality and be done with it in an hour. By far more thorough than your average "quickie" astrology book, this one will get those brain cells working as you calculate local sidereal times, correct for longitude and latitude, and figure out the exact positions of planets at the time you were born. It takes a while before you get the hang of calculating charts, but it's definitely worth the trouble, as you can then make distinctions between powerful interplanetary aspects and weaker ones where the angle is 5 degrees off-center. This is a great help when figuring out what everything means. Nearly half the book is devoted to helping you interpret all of the chart influences. Mercury in the 6th house in direct opposition to the Ascendent? You'll find out what that signifies here! The Parkers also give advice on progressing the birth chart to make predictions about life events, comparing charts of partners to search for rapport or tension, and answering specific questions about health, lifestyle, etc. The book is also beautifully illustrated, though the binding is not very robust. The ephemeris only covers through the year 2000, so you'll soon need a newer one if you want to look at the charts of newborns.
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Summary: hamburghelper
Review: This is one of the very best introductory astrology texts around. The writing is quite accessible and different areas of astrology are discussed in detail.
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Summary: Wrong Book
Review: You did not have the new book in stock, but referred me to Green books for a used one. They did not ship the book that matched your description. They sent a book with an EXPIRED ephemeris. That was the main reason I wanted that book. According to your description, the ephemeris went through the year 2012. This one ended last year. Am I just stuck? I don't need this book and don't want it. Thank you, Ruby gratch
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Summary: useless
Review: you simply cannot build a chart using this book. dont waste money.
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