Gurdjieff, Astrology & Beelzebub's Tales [Paperback]

Sophia Wellbeloved (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2002

This book presents an analysis of the narrative subject matter of "Beelzebub's Tales" in terms of astrological correspondences. It contains preliminary information relating to Gurdjieff's teaching, to astrology and to the links which connect them. The events of Gurdjieff's life/myth are given in the light of cultural and historical contexts and these are related in general to the forms he gave to his teaching and in particular to some of the literary strategies he employed in the Tales. Gurdjieff's cosmological Laws of Three and Seven are examined in relation to some of their possible origins in Christian, Western European Occult, and Theosophical ideologies. Gurdjieff's knowledge of astrology is explored and his cosmological laws are shown to be similar to those of astrological cosmology and to be largely derived from them. There is an account of zodiacal structure and terminology, and of the system of correspondences used in popular astrology of the 1920s and 1930s. The Tales' four sets of twelve chapters are examined. Each set is analysed in terms of subject matter in correspondence with the twelve signs of the zodiac. The relationship between these sets of chapters is explored in terms of the symbolism of the sun, moon and mercury, the functioning of the cardinal, fixed and mutable astrological modes and in terms of Gurdjieff's Law of Three. The conclusion reached through this analysis of narrative subject matter is that the Tales is a zodiacally structured text.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sophia Wellbeloved was a member of the Gurdjieff Society in London from 1962 to 1975. She completed her PhD in the Theology Department at Kings College, London in 1999. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Annual All & Everything Conferences in England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Gazelle Distribution; 2nd edition (November 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972208755
• ISBN-13: 978-0972208758
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,936,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Views for Further Studies!, January 16, 2003

By 

Reijo Elsner (Ikast, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gurdjieff, Astrology & Beelzebub's Tales (Paperback)

To find a structure in the Tales is an achievement in itself! Gurdjieff's main literary work is difficult to read, to study and to understand. Ideas that help in the process are more than welcome. Dr. Wellbeloved not only finds a structure - she also points towards new ways for further studies of the book.
This book is not aimed at attempts to interpret Gurdjieff's message, but instead aims at keeping alive questions on the meanings and interpretations of what he actually meant. In her view the Tales are open to a wealth of meanings that are there to be discovered and experienced by the reader.
We are warned against a literal understanding of the Tales: "If Gurdjieff's text is taken as literally true, then there really was a space ship in the sky over New York in 1921, containing Beelzebub, Hassein and Ahoon".

Dr. Wellbeloved draws attention to another important aspect of the Tales: its kinship with the Turkic oral tradition. Originally the Tales were read aloud. Special music was composed for the readings; at each reading Gurdjieff observed the reactions of the listeners and made changes to his texts.
But why would this be important? Is it not OK if I just read it just the way I am used to reading books? Well, to follow Gurdjieff's own advice you should do just that, but not stop there. You should after your first 'mechanized' reading read it 'as if aloud to another person' and only after that you should try to 'fathom the gist of my writings'.
The advantages of the oral tradition over just reading a book are that the stories are made alive while you are in the middle of them. In other words you have a different experience, which most likely touches not only your intellect, but also your emotions. Gurdjieff used to ask 'what does it make you feel', not what does it mean.

Dr. Wellbeloved's recent book 'Gurdjieff; The Key Concepts' was inviting for further studies of his ideas. Her new book points out new ways of approaching the Tales and it is an important book for those people who want to study Gurdjieff's writings!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Lens to Look at Beelzebub's Tales, January 21, 2011

By 

William Bagley (Ashland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gurdjieff, Astrology & Beelzebub's Tales (Paperback)

I am very impressed that the author, Sophia Wellbeloved, found an astrological structure and/or code to Gurdjieff's classic book. The book has been read for decades and she seems to be the first to find and show this pattern to the teachings. She also does not try to force fit any chapters or passages into this structure, but presents the "lawful inexactitudes" of how this pattern fits over the text. She makes a very good case that there is an astrological pattern to the text and has enough documentation, to me, to over prove her case. Her scholarship, too, is balanced. She shows what Gurdjieff may have drawn from other authors or at least a mileau of ideas that Gurdjieff had access to and could draw from. I like that she places Gurdjieff's activities within a well researched time line. This helps to clarify a lot of things, because Gurdjieff's writings were developed over a long period of time, often written and rewritten, especially Beelzebub's Tales. I found her book and John Bennett's TALKS ON BEEZEBUB'S TALES the most useful to get inside the book and get some of the messages that it has to offer. She analyzes the Gurdjieff's book from a stylistic view, too, and gives a sense of how and why Gurdjieff wrote as he did. All in all, I think she found a very important key to unlock Gurdjieff's book, all allows the smaller messages inside the text to fit into a larger order for the first time.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is a must-have, January 11, 2003

By A Customer

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This review is from: Gurdjieff, Astrology & Beelzebub's Tales (Paperback)

Since it is adapted from an academic thesis the tone is a little dry, but this woman has cracked a huge part of the Gurdjieff code for the first time. If you are at all interested in the Gurdjieff legacy, you must see this. Amazing. Good illustrations, too.