Customer Reviews

Houses: An Astrological Guide (Special Topics in Astrology Series)

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I have to say I was very pleased with Gwyns book, her voice as an author is easygoing but informative. She gives you a good feel for how to read the planets in the houses with lots of nice examples, from the famous, to her family. I like the fact she quotes her own, and her husbands charts at points in the book, it gives the text a nice cozy intimate feel.
Gwyn also uses alot of Pop Culture refernces that add a bit of sparkle to the work. Overall this is a nice book to just curl up with and read, if your an astrologer.

Of course one of the most important features of any Astrology book to my mind is the charts. Gwyn has provided us with a large number of charts of very interesting people, and Llewellyn has presented them in a nice large easy to read format. -Thankyou :)

The book is very positive in its overall tone, as Gwyn says, "We can also think destructive thoughts, engaging in negative self-talk, like, I'm too old, dumb, ADD to learn new technology"... snipped ... "knowing the strengths and challanges of the Planetary and Zodiac placements with-in the houses will help readers rethink and reprogram such negative self talk, to throw away the outdated mythology."

Because Gwyn wants to keep a positive focus, sometimes the lower vibration of a placement or house will get played down. Say Saturn in the 10th house. She does rightly point out that individuals with the placement very often outperform their co-workers, but steps over the fact their motivation is that Saturns impact in the 10th is very often to make a native not feel good enough in their work, so they very often overcompensate; or if they dont overcompensate, the native might either drop out of the workforce altogether, or settle for work well below their abilities. Liz Greene's Saturn explores this aspect more fully if your interested.

I would also have liked to see a little more specific information on the art of reading empty houses. Or perhaps some examples of charts using other systems besides Equal Houses, rather than just pointing the reader to websites for alternate house systems.

For myself I hope she expands into these area's if a 2nd edition should be forth coming. ;)

Still I dont want to come across as overly negative myself. The book is wonderful for what it is, an uplifting and informative exploration of the houses. It was never meant to be an all encompassing work. The beauty and challange of Astrology is in its depth. The reader will certainly want to expose herself to other visions of the houses after readings Gwyn's book, but if you are a intermediate Astrologer who wants to add more depth and color to your interp of the houses. Your going to learn alot with this book, and its going to earn a place in the bookshelf on your desk.