Customer Reviews

A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer

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

 

 

I bought this book in the early 1970s when it first came out. I was also studying the works of Dane Rudhyar. I share the same slight reservations which Rudhyar expressed. However, the book is a real gem and a truly excellent handbook clarifying what for many are obscure issues. Whilst the forward-looking techniques treated in this book are still far from being included within mainstream astrology, yet they are nevertheless crucial to a very necessary deepening and broadening of this ancient art if it is to have a meaningful future. Humanistic astrology was a term coined by Dane Rudhyar to embrace his human-centered astrology - as opposed to event-oriented astrology - and also his cyclical approach which stems from that most archetypal of relationships the solunar cycle. This is an advance which many astrologers ape yet few have penetrated to the depths of understanding as had their unacknowledged mentor Rudhyar. This insight gained from the appreciation of Cyclicity in Life revolutionises our approach to the astrological aspects placing them within either the involutionary or evolutionary hemisphere. Advances in philosophy and psychology form the backbone of such an approach alongside the desire to move beyond 'cookbook' formulas and to view the chart-as-a-whole and find the key to the soul within. The book is based upon the deeply insightful pioneering work of Dane Rudhyar and Marc Edmund Jones yet, whilst the original works of these great masters are often experienced as being opaque - through the unique prose of each writer/thinker's style - in this book Michael Meyer assists us in applying this great body of extended techniques to our understanding and unveiling of the unique mandala of each individual horoscope. I am more than glad that it is justifiably in print again and am equally pleased that my well-thumbed original copy won't have to see me through the rest of my lifetime's study and application of this great science of the mysteries. Buy it. You won't get many chances like this one to provide you with an ongoing future in your enjoyment of this beautiful key to the Universe.

I have read, and used, this book for my own informational needs and I have used it as a Textbook for my classes. I find this to be one of the top three books I have read for the beginner and those wishing to learn more about serious Astrology. This book contains EVERYTHING. It leaves no stone unturned in its survey of Astrological information. I highly reccomend it for all students and teachers of Astrology alike. Lovingly, Rev Dr. Steven L. Maness Mtimbalero@aol.com

I am bewildered about the previously reviewer's personal comments regarding the author, especially his remarks regarding Mr. Meyer's conviction and understanding of the subject. Perhaps the reviewer has not kept current with Michael R. Meyer's work and contribution to the field of serious astrology. Anyone who takes moment to visit Meyer's very large website - www.khaldea.com - will see for themselves the author's true depth of understand and conviction.

A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer is one of the outstanding astrological books of the 20th century and had an important impact on many of today's leading astrologers. It is even more important today because it is one of the few books which gives the novice a comprehensive introduction to the subject.

This book is full of technical but accessible information, yet it has a depth that brings me back to it again and again. This was one of my first astrology books when I began studying astrology 10 years ago, and it covers the whole gamut: planets, signs, houses, aspects, chart patterns and everything else an astrologer needs to draw up and interpret a chart well.

Most other beginner's or start-to-finish astrology books are too basic or have a lot of soft "fluff" in them, which made them useless for me once I'd read them the first time. I sold or donated those, but not Meyers' book.

I still use "Handbook" (10 years later) and refer back to it, since Meyers packs the book with practical, useful information AND depth that appeals to the advanced astrologer. This really is a handbook to be used regularly and is one of my favorites.

This is a good beginner's book and a staple astrology book for any serious astrologer's bookshelf.

The first half of this book - the sections dealing with the theory behind Meyer's ideas about 'humanistic astrology' - is pretty much a distillation of much of what Dane Rudhyar wrote earlier in the twentieth century, especially in 'The astrology of personality'. Now, if anyone needs a bit of tidying up, Dane Rudhyar certainly does, so this was not unwelcome in itself. However, as I read on, increasingly I got the impression that Meyer's idealogical borrowings were also a symptom of a lack of discernment and ultimately, originality and conviction in his general thinking.

Meyer's astrological techniques are really quite mathematical, and his reluctance to use the first person - he prefers to state matters in the third person in categorical fashion, often without qualification or doubt - makes me in turn doubt how much of his own personal judgement he would take credit for in a consultation setting.

This book is however, quite useful as a potted reference, especially re: planets, signs, houses, lunation cycle, retrogrades, etc, but even so I wouldn't recommend it for the beginner because it's so laden down with unnecessary jargon and vague terms and ideas.

Have a look at books by Tracy Marks, Liz Greene, Stephen Arroyo: these people have acquired experience and conviction, and are confident enough in their understanding to be able to put it into truthful and accessible form.