![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Where I started
Jan. 19th, 2012 04:02 pm"Astrology is valid for the same reason multiplication tables are valid: it works." -- Grant Lewi
I don't remember exactly why I started looking into astrology, but I clearly remember how I did it. I was a member of The Science Fiction Book Club, and a flyer included in one of their mailings was a solicitation to join something called The Universe Book Club. Same deal as any other book/record (or CD)/movie club that's ever existed -- get several items for an insanely low price when you join, on the condition that you buy several more within a certain time frame at 'regular price'. But this one had a unique range of offerings: books on the supernatural, metaphysical, and what would generically be referred to as "the occult". This included astrology.
My father was a fairly talented amateur stage magician, and I'd picked up that hobby from him. As an adjunct to that practice, I became interested in some of the fields the tricksters were able to imitate -- psychic abilities, hypnosis, and even "real magick". So I selected my several books, and joined The Universe Book Club -- and for reasons I really can't recall, one of the titles I got in that initial shipment was Heaven Knows What by Grant Lewi.
As far as 'how-to' astrology books are concerned (although I didn't realize this until years later), Heaven Knows What is extremely simple to use, and rather limited in scope. It starts off with the 144 possible combinations of Sun and Moon placement, and from there deals only with the planetary aspects -- the angular relationships of the luminaries I mentioned in an earlier post. But don't misunderstand me when I refer to it as limited -- in spite of all that's not included (signs for the planets, ascendants, houses), the results produced within those limits amazed me!
I used myself as the subject of the first chart I cast, and was astonished as to how closely the text matched up my own understanding of my personality. Phrases like "sticks to their guns, even when out of ammo" suited me to a "T" - so much so that I can recall that bit even now, decades after the book left my hands. Doing charts for my siblings produced similar on-target results -- there was *far* more accuracy here than in anything any of us had seen in the sun-sign summaries, which had been the limit of our previous exposure to astrology.
I was hooked. Lewi's other major title, Astrology for the Millions was quickly added to my collection, but that one wasn't able to hold my interests anywhere near as well as the first -- of course, your mileage may vary. If I recall correctly, the latter book was much more technical in nature, and at that time, I was spoiled by the 'easy-to-use' aspects of the first. But the door had opened, and I had set off along a path I'm still following (with varying degrees of diligence) to this day.
I'm curious: what was your first step into serious astrology? A book, a teacher, having a chart cast? Please share that experience in the comments.
More another time.
I don't remember exactly why I started looking into astrology, but I clearly remember how I did it. I was a member of The Science Fiction Book Club, and a flyer included in one of their mailings was a solicitation to join something called The Universe Book Club. Same deal as any other book/record (or CD)/movie club that's ever existed -- get several items for an insanely low price when you join, on the condition that you buy several more within a certain time frame at 'regular price'. But this one had a unique range of offerings: books on the supernatural, metaphysical, and what would generically be referred to as "the occult". This included astrology.
My father was a fairly talented amateur stage magician, and I'd picked up that hobby from him. As an adjunct to that practice, I became interested in some of the fields the tricksters were able to imitate -- psychic abilities, hypnosis, and even "real magick". So I selected my several books, and joined The Universe Book Club -- and for reasons I really can't recall, one of the titles I got in that initial shipment was Heaven Knows What by Grant Lewi.
As far as 'how-to' astrology books are concerned (although I didn't realize this until years later), Heaven Knows What is extremely simple to use, and rather limited in scope. It starts off with the 144 possible combinations of Sun and Moon placement, and from there deals only with the planetary aspects -- the angular relationships of the luminaries I mentioned in an earlier post. But don't misunderstand me when I refer to it as limited -- in spite of all that's not included (signs for the planets, ascendants, houses), the results produced within those limits amazed me!
I used myself as the subject of the first chart I cast, and was astonished as to how closely the text matched up my own understanding of my personality. Phrases like "sticks to their guns, even when out of ammo" suited me to a "T" - so much so that I can recall that bit even now, decades after the book left my hands. Doing charts for my siblings produced similar on-target results -- there was *far* more accuracy here than in anything any of us had seen in the sun-sign summaries, which had been the limit of our previous exposure to astrology.
I was hooked. Lewi's other major title, Astrology for the Millions was quickly added to my collection, but that one wasn't able to hold my interests anywhere near as well as the first -- of course, your mileage may vary. If I recall correctly, the latter book was much more technical in nature, and at that time, I was spoiled by the 'easy-to-use' aspects of the first. But the door had opened, and I had set off along a path I'm still following (with varying degrees of diligence) to this day.
I'm curious: what was your first step into serious astrology? A book, a teacher, having a chart cast? Please share that experience in the comments.
More another time.
