Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America [Paperback]

Jessica Murray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2008

"Astrology and geopolitics may seem strange bedfellows, but Soul-Sick Nation puts the two together in a masterful hybrid to provide a perspective as extraordinary as the times we are living in. Using the principles of ancient wisdom to make sense of the current global situation, this keenly intelligent book elucidates the meaning of an epoch in distress and proposes a path towards healing. Soul-Sick Nation is neither a conventional astrology book nor a standard-issue political commentary. With clear, accessible language and a thorough appendix at the end, the book requires no previous knowledge of astrology; though it will introduce the newcomer to the subject with substantial depth. Using the vocabularies of astrology and Jungian psychology, Murray invites the reader to consider critical contemporary issues with a perspective that reaches far beyond partisanship and provincialism, piercing through the confusion and labeling that keeps so much of America's cultural discourse unimaginative and unhelpful. In Soul-Sick Nation, Murray offers an in-depth analysis of America's essential destiny -- uncovering, chapter by chapter, the greater purpose motivating this group soul. With a rare blend of compassion, humor and fearless taboo-busting, she shows how this greater purpose has been distorted, and how it can be re-embraced in the decades to come. She decodes current astrological transits that express the key themes the USA must learn in this period of millennial crisis -- including that of the responsibility of power -- spelling out the profound lessons the nation will face in the next few years. She sheds new light on troubling issues that the pundits and culture wars inflame but leave painfully unresolved: the WTC bombings, the violence in the Middle East, media propaganda, globalization, consumerism and the American Dream. In her interpretation of the birth chart of the entity born July 4, 1776, Murray reveals America's noble potential without sentiment and diagnoses its neuroses without delusion. Combining the rigor of a political theorist with the vision of a master astrologer, she explains how each of us can come to terms with this moment in history and arrive at a response that is unique and creative. This book will leave the reader revitalized, shorn of illusions and full of hope."

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Murray MotherSky Press (February 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981487505
• ISBN-13: 978-0981487502
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Page-Turner That Illuminates and Educates, November 28, 2006

By 

Paula Grace - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America (Paperback)

Jessica Murray has done the impossible: used astrology to explain America's current state of affairs. And she's done it with wisdom, wit, insight, and intelligence. You don't need to be an astrologer or a political scientist to benefit from reading this page-turner. Murray lays out the facts that back up her theories in clearly-written English with loads of interesting footnotes. She peppers the easily-accessible prose with dynamic examples that clearly illustrate her points. This is a must-read book for anyone who cares about America.

She is right to focus most of her attention on Pluto. Pluto's impact in America's chart, especially with regard to its squaring Sun/Jupiter, explains much in terms of Americans' attitudes about (and ignorance of) the wars of aggression that are perpetrated in the name of freedom. (Given its immense influence, how ironic that the IAU recently reclassified Pluto as a 'dwarf planet.' We astrologers laughed at the 'reclassification' since Pluto rules, among other things, death. How fitting, then, that Pluto was killed off in this way.) But Murray doesn't stop with Pluto. Full attention is paid to, among other planets, Uranus and its relation to the American constitution, and Jupiter and its relation to American's immaturity and constant need to expand.

Murray answers the questions we have about why Americans value money and material possessions above all else, why the populace is so unconscious about what its government does and how its country is perceived throughout the world, and why corporations have license to run amok. Her insights into how America's astrological chart and current transits are reflected in current events show the kind of erudition that only comes from decades of study leading to mastery of her subject.

Last week two news stories appeared that bolster the claims Murray makes. Firstly, for the first time in history Americans have reached the point where their individual debt surpasses their savings. Americans have been trending in this direction for some time now, but as of last week, the majority of Americans owe more money than they have in their savings accounts. Murray explains why this is inevitable given the current planetary transits to the country's natal chart. And secondly, a study has shown that tourism to America is at an all-time low, and in fact is so substantially reduced that the country is losing billions of dollars. The reason given for this drop is two-fold: it is increasingly difficult for foreigners to gain the visas and security clearances necessary to visit America; and many foreigners are afraid that once in the country, they could be detained for no reason and held indefinitely, unable to contact their loved ones or legal representation. Again, Murray points out how an unforeseeable situation like this could occur.

Murray's take on America's juvenile psyche and the long-term cost of Americans' ignorance is devastating, and therefore essential reading. But all is not lost. The last chapters explain how transformation and maturity are possible, and what Americans can do to shift out of the soul-sucking behavior that has resulted in the current malaise. I rank this book alongside classics such as Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" and Arundhati Roy's "Power Politics." Do yourself a favor and order this book. You won't look at America in the same way after reading it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for anybody interested in politics or astrology., June 21, 2007

By 

Alexandra M. Harrison "Alex Harrison M.D." (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America (Paperback)

Soul-Sick Nation is a passionate and well-written book that brings an astrologer's skills to an assessment of the current status of the United States of America. The book is tightly organized and easy to read. Approaching the U.S. as if it were an individual seeking astrological consultation, the author moves through a careful and fascinating analysis of its birth chart, given the country's birth date of 1776 and place of birth Philadelphia. In this sense, Soul-Sick Nation is also a primer on astrology, and the author is a patient and clear teacher for the uninitiated, adding to the enjoyment of the reading. My favorite part was the astrological sketches of famous personalities, such as John McCain, Clint Eastwood, and Walter Cronkite. However, the portrait of the country was equally riveting. Given the contemporary situation in world politics, the author's analysis is sobering. The reader is grateful for the concluding section, in which she offers some ways in which we can work towards a better future. One of her suggestions is to challenge taboos, blind spots that we all have, particularly to appreciate the dangers of reductionism and challenge our beliefs about our government. This is a good admonition, since - as the author points out - complexity is the enemy of greed and stupidity.

- Alex Harrison M.D.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Surprising Marriage of Astrology and Politics, November 4, 2006

By 

V. Frazier (Middletown, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America (Paperback)

REVIEW


A surprising marriage of hardball political analysis and profound metaphysical understanding, Soul-Sick Nation is a unique book that challenges even the most intellectual and well-informed mind and the most compassionate, loving heart. With sparkling wit, yet utmost seriousness, this book beckons us to take a journey into the American psyche to understand just how we have ended up in perhaps the most frightening era in world history ever--with America currently leading the world to the brink of disaster on many disparate levels simultaneously.
With in-depth explanations from both the world of politics and that of astrology, we visit current events and situations and those of the last decade that have spawned ever-more disconcerting, if not downright terrifying, predicaments--such as Nine-Eleven, the War in Iraq, Global Warming, and the antics of the Bush Administration. Through our study of the American chart, we also see close up and personal certain woundings in the American character, such as a deep and unique sort of "money neurosis," embarrassing taboos, the dark side of glamour, and the irresponsible, greedy, adolescent wielding of power of a nation replete with resources it is squandering. We further examine the more and more obvious crumbling of our economic, health, education, and religious structures. It is clear, in reading Soul-Sick Nation, that the American Dream is tumbling down around us, whether its citizens are aware of it or not.
I don't believe anyone can read this book and remain ignorant, complacent or apathetic about what is happening in this country or the world at large. Combining years of geopolitical study and activism since the Sixties with several decades of practicing as a well-known astrologer and writer, Jessica Murray manages to educate us on a myriad of levels in clear, lucid prose and insightful explanations about this country. The astrologers and metaphysicans in her readership will be impressed with her breathtaking depth of understanding of this ancient art as she has applied it to understanding the chart of the United States. Most of them who choose to live outside the world of politics will also, of course, learn much about what is going on in the world on the mundane and very real levels of which we are all a part.
The political-savvy readers who keep up daily with the news, the editorials and the analyses of the news will probably be impressed at the depth of Murray's understanding of world events; and the most rational among them may be astounded at how astutely she describes the direct relationship between these events and the events happening in the sky. Indeed, any hard-core "realists" among her readers who tend to dismiss astrology as a silly pseudo-science only studied by misled new agers may find their heads spinning with mind-stretching realizations about this age-old tradition of wisdom. Some of the connections Murray makes between the planets' positions at the times of certain key events that have happened in the world are absolutely eerie.
Yet Murray does not stop with her vast breadth of understanding and analysis of the dire troubles we face as a nation and as a planet today. As in her explanations about events that have happened, she eventually turns to astrology for answers to these same problems. Her astute and compassionate understanding of the human mind and modern psychology is revealed when she comes to explaining what not only can be done by each of us as individuals to help alter the course of world disaster--but what must be done, and soon, if this planet is to survive.
As complex and intricate both politics and astrology can be, Soul-Sick Nation manages somehow to be a page-turner. At times, the book fairly crackles with electricity, as we jump with surprise at the no-holds-barred approach Murray takes to the absurd political situations we Americans find ourselves in at this juncture in history. At other times, we may find ourselves suddenly in tears--either with sadness and mourning--or with joy and hope.
Murray is a patriot in the truest sense of the word--it is evident she dearly cares about this country, while clearly seeing all its intricate flaws. Yet she is not just a patriot of America; she is one of the new millennial patriots of what has truly become one world. This type of intelligent caring may be, in the end, our only hope for survival as a species.