Horary Astrology: Your Ultimate Horary Textbook-Book Review

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Horary Astrology: Your Ultimate Horary Textbook with 124 Example Cases
by Ema Kurent (Author)
Publisher: Kurent, Ema (23 Feb. 2019) Paperback
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9619463706
ISBN-13: 978-9619463703
Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 2.6 x 27.9 cm

This is a major new textbook of horary astrology; it's a substantial work - 460 pages long with a price to match. So it is only fair for the prospective purchaser to ask: What do I get for the money?

Ema Kurent is a Slovenian astrologer who has decades of experience as a horary practitioner in her native country. She took the QHP with Olivia Barclay and so is firmly rooted in the William Lilly tradition of that school. However she is not afraid to update that practice where necessary and has added her own research on eclipses, declinations and locational astrology. She writes in an uncomplicated way and patiently explains even the most obtuse concepts. We are indebted to the author for sharing her insights into the practice of horary astrology and presenting them in such a systematic manner.

The book consists of three sections: theory (138p), practice (299p) and an appendix (5p). In addition there is a detailed table of contents (5p) and a short index (just over one page; really an index of techniques used).

The theory section covers those preliminaries necessary to successfully use horary astrology, both general astrological and horary-specific topics. The practice part of the book consists of twelve sections of example charts, 124 example cases in all. These are arranged by topic (e.g. love & marriage, employment & career, missing articles, travel, etc.) Each topic opens with a detailed discussion of what to consider in the chart for that type of horary question. These principles are then applied to between 4 and 17 example cases in each section, taken from the author's extensive case files.

Each example case includes a full page chart with associated tables (planetary hours, mutual receptions, nearest eclipses, planetary stations and speed, essential dignities, Moon aspects & planetary sect). In addition there is a detailed discussion of each chart - how it arose, how it was interpreted, the result (in most cases) and reflection on the outcome. These discussions range from one half to a full large format page.

One of the strengths of this work is that the author is not afraid to investigate where her predictions miss out on some part of the answer, such a timing or location of a lost object. She then goes on to discuss what went wrong and what lessons she learned. She is not afraid to take an honest look at where she could have done better and draw the necessary lessons for future readings.

In my view there is sufficient material in this book for three courses on horary astrology: introductory, intermediate and advanced. In due course, I hope to post my suggestions for such courses below.


Q. IS THIS THE ONLY BOOK ON HORARY ASTROLOGY I WILL NEED?
Probably not. But this together with Barbara Dunn's Horary Astrology Re-Examined and William Lilly's Christian Astrology Book 2 would be sufficient.

Q. COULD I JUST SIT DOWN AND READ THIS FROM START TOI FINISH?
Obviously yes - but I think the size of the work is so formidable that most people would quit. Better to take it in three stages - as I suggest - introductory/intermediate/advanced. Then you can get as quickly as possible to actually reading horary charts.
I think the text is equally suitable for both self-study and classroom/tutored courses.

Q. WHAT BACKGROUND IS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THIS MATERIAL?
In order to get the most from this book, a reader needs a basic knowledge of planets, signs, houses and aspects, as would be taught in an introductory course on general astrology. (But they would not need to have studied natal chart delineation.) The author does cover all the necessary topics from the beginning (zodiacs, planets, houses, etc.) but in quite a sophisticated way.

[In the interests of full disclosure I should say that I am a former student of Ema's (I took her Personal Predictive Astrology course in 2017/18, which included 10 hours of horary astrology). I also assisted in the proofreading the manuscript and received a complimentary copy of the book. So I can claim to be intimately associated with the work and in a unique position to provide a critical review.]

Readers may also be interested in Anthony Louis' review - see https://tonylouis.wordpress.com/2019/03 ... ma-kurent/
(He is the autor of the well- received Horary Astrology - Plain & Simple (2014)

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Really great and well written review, Andrew. Thank you. If I was a horary astrologer, I would buy the book. The prices on these bigger astrological books (such as Chris Brennan's Hellenistic Astrology) are very low considering the amount of time and literally years that go into putting those books together. And translations from ancient texts such as the books being turned out by Benjamin Dykes? Pure giveaways in price.
http://www.snowcrest.net/sunrise/LostZodiac.htm

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Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the review. I haven't read this book yet. I started with Horary Astrology Re-Examined by Barbara Dunn and wrote a review on it for my personal Astrology essay dune blog. It doesn't have any reviews on GoodReads, so I thought I could contribute mine. It was my third Horary Astrology book review and I'm stuck with the tasks for my online course, so I've put aside the books I'm planning to review later.

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arthurnottheking wrote:Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the review. I haven't read this book yet. I started with Horary Astrology Re-Examined by Barbara Dunn and wrote a review on it for my personal Astrology Rapid Essay blog. It doesn't have any reviews on GoodReads, so I thought I could contribute mine. It was my third Horary Astrology book review and I'm stuck with the tasks for my online course, so I've put aside the books I'm planning to review later.

in fact, I was faced with a similar question, so I can safely confirm your statement.