Customer Reviews

Sextrology: The Astrology of Sex and the Sexes

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I happened upon this book while perusing the shelves at my local library. I was lingering by the "133.5" section when its bright-red cover caught my eye. After reading the title, I knew that I would be taking it home. I thumbed through the pages to my own section and that of my partner. I didn't find anything too objectionable, so I checked it out.

Unlike a seemingly-similar-and-also-excellent tome, "Linda Goodman's Love Signs," this book does not discuss in length signs in combination with each other. It does, however, give in-depth interpretations of each individual sign with a cursory list of the different combinations for both straight and gay couplings. The format separates men from women so that the nuances of each gender may be better understood.

I really like the construction of this book. Each sign/gender has a one-page introduction followed by the subheading "Sign + Mind." This first section describes the psychological makeup of its natives, using the cosmology of astrology (polarity, rulership, element, quality, etc.) in association with and represented by mythological and Biblical archetypes. If examples exist, modern literary characters are cited as well.

The second section, "Body + Soul," illustrates how the psychology of an individual expresses itself in corporeal form. I do find this section to be less "on the money," because an individual's physical form is highly colored by the Ascendant sign at birth; thus, making morphological generalities based upon sun sign alone somewhat less accurate. If you know your own (or your partner's) rising sign, you can cross-reference the corresponding section for this other sign.

The third section, "Sex + Sexuality," addresses the reasons most of us are interested in this book in the first place. It synthesizes the previous two segments in order to tell us how we like it and why. The language is of an adult nature, but this is an adult topic meant for adults, so it is wholly appropriate. I don't have enough experience to know whether all the sexual proclivities are spot-on, but after reading the corresponding "sign + mind" divisions, I can see that there is quite a bit of congruence.

Throughout the book, there are informative asides for each sign/gender in the margins of the pages -- "principle," "planetary symbol," "sign quadrant," "sign glyph," "element + quality," "polarity," "sign number," "sign-age association," "psychology," "archetype + myth," "Bible + literature," "keywords for the astrological house," "keywords for the sign," "body rulership," "list of famous people," "straight turn-ons," and "gay turn-ons" -- which serve as a sort of "Cliffs' Notes" for this hefty tome. In fact, the reader can get a heck of a lot out of just reading the margins without ever delving any deeper into the chapters.

In summary, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing themselves, and their partners or prospective partners, intimately. You will not be disappointed!

I am an astrology book junkie, and this one is very interesting to say the least. it is loads of fun for everyone to read. the style is refreshingly open and down-to-earth, yet it also goes deeper than other books i have read.
i had a hard time with this book in the sense that my pet peeve is when it is obvious that the author(s) are biased about a certain sign or group of signs and they portray these signs in more of a negative light than the others. Lets face it, we all have our light and dark traits, none of which are more beautiful or uglier than our brother's and sister's of different signs. if i were really the bratty, self-centered, steeley eyed, compassionless aries that the authors portray, i might as well jump off a cliff. I mean, I laughed aloud when i read this simply because it made me out to be such an [...] Some of it I could identify with, others things seemed to be the the realm of an aries prototype concentrated times 1000. Lets remember that astrological signs are TENDANCIES, not a black and white road map to a person's personality. if the world consisted of 12 different personalities as rigidly described in detail as they are in this book, we would have a pretty boring world indeed! people are much more complex than that! that is why it bothers me to see such generalizations. also because we all have other astrological elements that play into who we are... what about our rising sign, moon, venus and mars? Wouldn't those planetary aspects be factored into a book that represents this term, 'sextrology'? maybe it is my moon in libra, thinking this all a little bit unfair....

this is a entertaining coffee table book that is good for a few laughs. it has a few points of validity here and there that will certainly cause a few 'ahhhh's' but in the big picture please remember, if you want to REALLY know how 'you are' don't rely on some trendy sun sign book to tell you. Get your entire chart done by a professional.

Learned and encyclopedic meet playful and raunchy ... Sextrology is so much fun I quickly found myself reading ALL the signs and ALL the combos - not just those that had me "Taurus Man" pegged.

No astro-sex guidance through inference and innuendo here - this book goes straight to the (pardon me) head. Would highly recommend to anyone aspiring to a richer (mental, physical, spiritual) sex life ... and anyone who loves a raucous romp through a mix of history, mythology, astrology and the urge to merge.

I never was one for astrology, but this book is so smart and so accurate, I've been completely turned around. It's freaky how dead-on the descriptions of each sign are. Plus the writing is so sharp and funny (and VERY sexy), it's absolutely impossible to put down. I stayed up reading (mostly about my exes) till 2 last night. My friends keep begging me to lend them my copy, but they'll have to get their own; I just can't let go. Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox are my new idols! Buy this book for yourself and your friends. You'll thank me.

This book is, at best, interesting. As with most astrology books, its content needs to be taken with a grain of salt unless you know more about the individual persons chart. The sexual turn ons sections were interesting, and had most of mine listed. but then there were other things in there that didn't describe me at all. And a lot of the people I have talked to who were of different signs didn't agree with what the book had to say. So, again, it comes down to getting to know the individual person and not just traits of their zodiac sun sign. It also uses Greek mythology as a basis for its comparisons. So if you don't now too much about it, then you might be confused. Luckily i wasn't put off by that. Its a FUN book to read, but nothing in it is concrete.

Finally someone has dragged astrology into the current millenium. I couldn't speak more highly of this book. Starsky and Cox take us for a stimulating walk down a well trodden path. Those who compare them to other authors in the same field miss the point entirely.

This book is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in astrology. Not only does this book give in-depth analysis of each of the astrological signs, it accommodates both sexes as well as both gay and straight sexual orientations. From reading this book, you will learn about some of the historical, including biblical traditions, and lore related to your sign. For each sign, male or female, gay or straight, this book describes topics such as sex and relationships, emotional tendencies, as well as general personality traits. I would keep this book on my coffee table. At the very least, you will have an interesting icebreaker for new acquaintances, as well as a generally interesting peak into the mind of your friends.

Typically, astrology guides tend to over generalize the signs and how they effect the planets in them. Fortunately, this is not a typical astrology guide.

Sextrology develops a far more intuitive and in-depth examination of each sign in regards to sex and sexuality. It distinguishes between males and females of each sign which is a nice change from many other astrology books. Despite the focus on sex, each description helps the reader develop a sense of how the sexual functioning of the sign effects the other aspects of life.

The only thing this guide lacks is a better overview of the planets in each sign. Being as the average reader only knows their Sun sign, this is understandable, but Mars and Venus have a lot more to do with sex in astrology. I was disappointed there was not more information about them here.

As it is, Sextrology is still excellent. It was recommended to me by several very well-versed astrologers. I've jotted in the margins and underlined several passages, and that is the sign of a very useful book.

The book is very helpful in explaining the different personalities so you not only better understand yourself but the other signs and why they are the way they are. Knowing that just makes it easier to accept(or not) yourself as well as the others so you don't take things so personally. Which is huge!! It's a great source of reference.

this book is so much fun..it's great at parties, it's great to share with a lover, to share with a friend, or just pore over by yourself. it's addictive. everyone i know who's read it is fascinated.

it's written in a really upbeat, playful way while still being impressively in-depth and touching on a variety of cultural topics. the book really pushes some envelopes too. everyone can learn something. people are always titillated the 'gay/straight turn-ons' sections.

the book has a great layout and design and makes a great gift too. have fun ; )