The Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino (Studies in Imagination Series) [Paperback]

Thomas Moore (Author), Noel Cobb (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0940262282 | ISBN-13: 978-0940262287 | Publication Date: January 1, 1990 | Edition: Revised

THE PLANETS WITHIN asks us to return to antiquity with new eyes. It centers on one of the most psychological movements of the prescientific age-Renaissance Italy, where a group of "inner Columbuses" charted territories that still give us today a much- needed sense of who we are and where we have come from, and the right routes to take toward fertile and unexplored places. Chief among these masters of the interior life was Marsilio Ficino, presiding genius of the Florentine Academy, who taught that all things exist in soul and must be lived in its light. This study of Ficino broadens and deepens our understanding of psyche, for Ficino was a doctor of soul, and his insights teach us the care and nurture of soul. Moore takes as his guide Ficino's own fundamental tool-imagination. Respecting the integrity and autonomy of images, The Planets Within unfolds a poetics of soul in a kind of dialogue between the laconic remarks of Ficino and the need to give these remarks a life and context for our day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With Tom Moore as guide you will feel at home in the marvelous world of Renaissance Hermetism..." -- James Hillman

About the Author

Thomas Moore was a monk in a Catholic religious order for twelve years and has degrees in theology, musicology, and philosophy. A former professor of psychology, he is the author of Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, The Education of the Heart,The Soul of Sex, and Original Self. He lives in New England with his wife and children. Noel Cobb was born in 1938 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a young man, he lived for almost a quarter century in Oslo before returning to the US. He has published numerous books of poetry and non-fiction. He has worked with R.D Laing, studied various forms of meditation, became a Jungian analyst, and founded a charitable trust, The London Convivium for Archetypal Studies. He is the author of Prospero's Island: The Secret Alchemy at the Heart of The Tempest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books; Revised edition (January 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940262282
• ISBN-13: 978-0940262287
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Moore is the author of the bestselling book Care of the Soul and fifteen other books on deepening spirituality and cultivating soul in every aspect of life. He has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist, and today he lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and ecology. He lectures frequently in Ireland and has a special love of Irish culture. He has Ph. D. in religion from Syracuse University and has won several awards for his work, including an honorary doctorate from Lesley University and the Humanitarian Award from Einstein Medical School of Yeshiva University. He also writes fiction and music and often works with his wife, artist and yoga instructor, Hari Kirin. He writes regular columns for Resurgence and Spirituality & Health and has recently published A Life at Work and Writing in the Sand. He is a patron of Re-Vision, a London center of spirituality and counseling, and on the board of Turning Point, a bereavement counselors training program in Dublin, Ireland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been real good..., November 20, 2003

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Courtney Field (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino (Studies in Imagination Series) (Paperback)

Marsilio Ficino was an astrologer and mystic - one of the precious few produced in the western sphere. It therefore seems somewhat strange that Thomas More seems so deeply uncomfortable with this singular fact and, at every turn, attempts some alchemy of his own in an attempt to cram all of Ficino's depth into the little box of analytical psychology (which remains an admirable field, nonetheless). Psychological insight can be of incalculable value in making mystical and esoteric treatises of the past more comprehensible to the modern reader but these are things which speak to man's heart and guts and soul... not just his psyche and I assert that by contorting Ficino into the proto-psychologist of the renaissance you end up disavowing the greater part of his genius - a tragedy. If you are uncomfortable with the reality of astrology, Mr Moore, I suggest you leave the astrologers in peace.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino, May 12, 2007

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Barbara Molfese (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino (Studies in Imagination Series) (Paperback)

An excellent book! Glad I finally found it. My background in theology, philosophy, Neoplatonism and astrology prepared me to appreciate this book, in which these ancient traditions coalesce. I have read other books by Thomas Moore, but never came across this one before. The time was right!

13 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ficino Revived!, August 21, 2004

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Elisa (san fran) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino (Studies in Imagination Series) (Paperback)

As the first Depth Psychologist, Ficino really did it up. Read this book and learn about it. Then with this wisdom in your back pocket you can go to cocktail parties and no one will want to hear about it. But you will know that it doesn't matter anyway because one day you will meet someone who does and you will be able to both look each other in the eyes and say... "We're crazy." And it will be great.