Customer Reviews

Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner & Outer Planets (Llewellyn's Modern Astrology Library)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book! It is one of only two books that I know of that really explain Chiron in depth. Chiron is such an important aspect to astrology, and so few people (certainly very few lay people like myself) actually KNOW about it! I think the author does an excellent job on organizing the sections of the book. In particular, I like the fact that she breaks down Chiron's effect by sign and by house, as separate sections. I also like the way she describes how specific kinds of aspects (like Chiron trine Saturn, etc.) affect you, rather than just talking about "aspects" in general. Because she does have so many subsections, some of the subsections are brief and, thus, necessarily superficial. For instance, I would really like to know more about the interaction between Chiron and Pluto when they oppose each other! Also, I find that part of the focus of the author is based on the aspects of the people in her immediate surroundings, rather than the general public. On the other hand, she speaks of what she knows, and has studied Chiron in relation to a LOT of clients, so her personal knowledge is pretty broad-based. Very upbeat, and fun, book, overall.

While it can take a mind on fire to follow some of Clow's intuitive leaps, you can bet that with a Mercury in Capricorn, they are well-planned leaps that carry the weight of authority. But this is not just a book about Chiron - there is a cornucopia of great astrology in here as well. Clow is handing out the secrets of the universe as if they were Halloween candy, which is just the type of attitude and activity that Chiron requests of all of us.

I've been an astrologer for 30+ years, and have a large library on the subject. I have a particular fondness for this one because it is the only book, whether on Chiron (of which I have several) or others relevant to chart interpretation, which revealed my "life plan" adequately (which is, as one might surmise, indicated by Chiron's placement in my chart). As for Clow's references to Nibiru ("the strange planet" another reader spoke of), I thought it pertinent. Of course, I am a Zecharius Sitchin fan, but I think most astrologers believe there is at least one more planet out there (12 signs, 12 planets). Barbara Clow, to some, might be an acquired taste, but ah, the irony of astrology proponents calling others "far out".

I can't tell if Barbara Hand Clow is insane or a genius. Indeed there are times when the book is "too weird" as one reviewer put it. Clow makes frequent use her own terminology (chirotic, holographic) and makes statements without any proof or rational explanation. One example is her belief in the existence of the lost planet of Nibiru, which according to her is a planet of such irregular orbit that its existence has been lost to modern humanity. Ah, so much for that empirical evidence.

But then it's empirical evidence that Clow excels out. She's gone through 600 + astrology charts to come up with her own conclusions on how Chiron manifests in natives' charts and is representative of karma. Its these sections, especially her chapter on the Chirotic aspect structure, that really shows her genius.

Although I wish the book was more grounded and better edited, what Clow has created is an excellent in depth look at Chiron that contains nuggets of rich information. A perfect book for intermediate astrology students looking to take their knowledge further.

Barbara Hand Clow is widely recognized as one of the preeminent scholars on the topic of Chiron. She has been studying "The Wounded Healer" (Chiron) apparently since its appearance in 1977 and can be thanked for creating much of the early difinitive literature on the topic within the Astrological community. Essentially, this book seems to be the intersection of her research since the late '70s and examples of how she has seen 'Chirotic' energy manifested in numerous charts encountered throughout her practice. That said, it's clearly not a book for people who want an introduction to Chiron. There are no Astrology Basics covered for the novice reader. This piece of writing is geared toward practicing astrologers. I'm fairly well-versed on the subject of Chiron (for how much verse is out there--comparatively not all that much) and voraciously read everything I can get my hands on. I bought this book off of Amazon.com along with "Chiron and the Healing Journey" by Melanie Reinhart, which I also highly recommend, and found surprising depths and unprecedented insights in Hand Clow's writings. It's clear she has a deep reservoir of knowledge and personal experience here, rather than just repackaging or reinterpreting something we've already heard before. She includes a lot of esoteric extras, as in her chapter "Chiron Miscelaneous," which give us some of the emerging Chirotic themes that can be applied to successfully bridging the healing and soul evolution of the client (Chiron rules both wounding and healing,) or just as aptly, our own. Hand Clow's observations are truly packed with one-of-a-kind pearls of information only someone who put the time into their own dedicated research would have at their disposal. For Chiron in the 10th house, my own placement, she managed to ferret out the creeping suspicion I've had about secretly wanting to join a convent, as she explains the vast majority of individuals she has seen with this placement either become nuns, priests, priestesses, or have secondary involvement in religous realms. (Phew, so that's where that comes from!) If this book lacked for anything it was length in key chapters--namely the "cook book" section that describes the placement of Chiron in each of the individual signs, houses, and its resulting aspects, which is why I denied it a star. But all in all, if you're building a Chiron library, this book is a must.

This book is very informative. I have been doing astrology reports for friends when someone mentioned Chiron, known as The Wounded Healer. This book has all the pertinent information, pretty fascinating learning about Chiron and why it is relative to an astrological reading.....now I include it into every report.

The first time publication of this book was in the late 1980s yet it is just as relevant today if not more so. Barabara Hand Clow was ahead of her time during the writing of this book. Now is definitely the time to read it for the Chiron energy pertains to current times and events.

This has got to be one of the all-out WEIRDEST astrology books I've ever read or bought! If you're a Uranus/Neptune-type, you'll adore this book, but some of us are a little more, ahem, grounded. Clow has all kinds of theories about Chiron that I found really hard to digest. She barely mentions the effects of Chiron transits, aspects to Chiron, Chiron in the the signs and houses; instead she goes on and on about some undiscovered planet she has given some strange name, and talks about chakras and psychic healing. Any book that uses a phrase like "star-f---er" is not going to do it for me.