29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed Feelings., January 2, 2007
This review is from: Chiron: Healing Body & Soul (Special Topics in Astrology Series) (Paperback)
I have seriously mixed feelings about this book, which I must admit, I only have purchased a short time ago.
One the one hand, the interps, seem to be spot on. The description of Chiron in Pisces fits me very very well, in terms of a person wrestling with their vision of god, and gods role in reality. I know this is a generational influence, but it has also touched me personally rather deeply. My wife is Chiron in Aquarius and it fits her quite well too, a person who often feels like the stranger in a strange land. Again this is a generational influence, and certainly not all people born in the same day or even year as my wife would share this influence. Still the interps match pretty well the friends whose charts I have re-examined through the lense of this book.
The House descriptions did not get nearly the attention they should have, as a fan of Liz Greene I do tend to mix and match Sign/house influence, descriptions, much as Liz does in her classic Saturn, but I would still have liked to see much more depth on Chiron through the houses in this book; after all given Chiron is a very slow mover, it's individual influence in a Natives chart is going to be very much about house placement.
At the end of the day though I found the Authors constant references to his philosophy beyond annoying. Now as Chiron is concerned with wounding and Healing, it is inevitable that ones vision of the role of Wounding/Healing and the problem of evil are addressed in the book, but the constant thumping of the idea that the "Gift is in the Wound"; is nearly unbearable. It's not a philosophy I agree with, and I feel it dismisses a lot of real pain. Should I as a consultant try to explain to a Holocaust Survivor, or their child how their wound is their gift. Or a victim or Child Sex abuse. I'm sorry, I find this an willfully blind vision and it does not need to drip from every page.
The insistence that persons with few aspects are immature souls who have not yet evolved to the point they can personalize the energies of the outer planets is also ugly and arrogant. Even if we allow (and I don't) the thought that few aspects represent a poorly integrated Psyche, a very old soul could be shattered by an experience like I quoted above, and find themselves reborn with few aspects speaking to a need to reintegrate themselves. Such a person is certainly going to need an understanding counselor, should I intead blow such a person off, or their wife or mother; Im sorry I can't help you, the Natives chart is unreadable, not enough aspects you see, try again in a dozen lifetimes.
To sum up, I think the Technical Data is very useful, it appears to reflect the long experiance reading and studying Chiron the Author speaks to in his opening, I learned quite a bit.
But the author could learn from Liz Greene, Sue Tompkins, and Susan Miller among others and tone down the Philosophizing. I have not yet had the opportunity to read, Melanie Reinhart's book, but at this point I really wish I had picked up that one instead.
Blessed Be, BB.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!, January 16, 2006
This review is from: Chiron: Healing Body & Soul (Special Topics in Astrology Series) (Paperback)
I've been studying Chiron for a great number of years, and have loved Barbara Hand Clow's book on Chiron, but wanted something more updated that would include the more recent discoveries about Chiron. Martin Lass has exceeded my expectations. It is a growth focused book, heavily researched and well worth the time of any serious student or professional. His examples and the thread of history he offers are detailed and easily grasped. Really a great book!
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unimpressed, April 11, 2006
This review is from: Chiron: Healing Body & Soul (Special Topics in Astrology Series) (Paperback)
I ordered this book in the hope Mr. Lass had something significant to add to the pioneering work on Chiron by Melanie Reinhart, in particular... and was disappointed. Though the book has its , it strikes me as mostly derivative of the work of earlier authors, with a vague, rambling, New-agey tone I found annoying. It had the feel of a college term paper, with grandiose pretensions, but little of substance... and the talk of a 2nd and 3rd volume planned produced sadness over the waste of trees, rather than enthusiasm!
Melanie Reinhart is the one to read, in my opinion. In CHIRON AND THE HEALING JOURNEY: AN ASTROLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, she offers a brilliant, cogent, psychologically and spiritually profound summary of this fascinating subject--and all in a fraction of the length Mr. Lass resorts to.
When I realized there was new writing on Chiron, I was enthused... but then, on reflection realized that to follow Ms. Reinhart's superb book would take quite a deep thinker indeed--or perhaps considerable hubris. I'm afraid Mr. Lass's attempt falls into the latter category.
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