A public message appeared 1 by Deb It?s the Capricorn ingress. The world is another year older and deeper in debt, and the phrase ?happy Saturnalia? seems like an awkward oxymoron. But with the longest night coming to an end, it?s all onwards and upwards from here (except for the antipodeans who now get the crappy end of the deal; but let?s face it, they are a minority who will insist on being upside down; so let?s enjoy our solstice whilst we can). Here follows a quick introduction to this month?s updates: The main article - Mundane Matters: The National Chart - is by Claire Chandler. Claire reminds us that we need to actually think about the charts we use in mundane predictions, and not just grab the first so-called ?official? chart we find, or settle for something simply because it is recorded in Nick Campion?s book. This is one of those articles that ought to be on every practising astrologer?s list of things to read and think about, and which will tend to get referred to (I think) again and again. (In fact, I might refer to it again at the end, just to prove my own point). http://www.skyscript.co.uk/chandler.html The exact opposite is probably the case for my ?Interview with some American astrologers?. This is not so much ?food for the soul? as ?nibbles for the giggles? and I doubt that anyone will take it as seriously as I did. But do read it, because it has some serious warnings about the kind of people that are allowed to call themselves astrologers in America. It is what I would call ?an ugly but necessary expose? of the American underbelly of cosmic exploration. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/US_interviews.html For the seasonal offering, we have medical herbalist and decumbiture expert Dylan Warren-Davis?s exploration on the Myths of Mistletoe (a.k.a. ?all heal?), a plant which very much captures the spirit of the winter solstice. Yes, it is true that mistletoe has a practical use besides that of women claiming a legal right to be kissed. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/mistletoe.html And finally, I offer my review of Gavin White?s Babylonian Star-Lore. I don?t want to spoil the ending or tell you what the review actually says, but if you are short of time the bottom line is this: ?just buy it?. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/rev_BSL.html TTFN Deb PS - don't forget about Claire Chandler's artcile on Mundane atrology at http://www.skyscript.co.uk/chandler.html PPS - those of you with time on your hands might even want to read about the continuing mystery of Papretis?s missing PM. It is in the thread below this. Was it you? All I can tell you is that it wasn?t me, and I knew nothing about it. My conscience is clear. Quote Sun Dec 21, 2008 11:15 am
2 by granny_skot The biggest problem with American Astrology is that because it is treated as entertainment only, it is not respected and you get a very large amount of con artists trying to make a living, Also because of this you Get the resultant con artists to deal with... so, unless one is willing to treat it with the respect of other modes of study, such as astronomy, and Hustory, one will not get much in the way of real respect and understanding of the subject... okay my two cents on the subject, as an american... put in another light I had thought about opening up a shop, or doing some consulting and a few people I mentioned it too, said, "what name would you use?" as though I should be ashamed or worried about using my own... pretty much made me not want to put up a shingle... so yes astrology in america is not what one would like it to be... Granny. Quote Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:56 am
3 by Deb Hi Granny Before this turns into an international incident, let me explain that I was writing tongue-in-cheek. (In fact, to avoid all potential confusion, let me explain that when I say I was writing ?tongue-in-cheek? I don?t mean that my tongue was actually in my cheek as I wrote, but that I was writing according to the style explained on this page: http://www.answers.com/topic/tongue-in-cheek ). put in another light I had thought about opening up a shop, or doing some consulting and a few people I mentioned it too, said, "what name would you use?" as though I should be ashamed or worried about using my own... pretty much made me not want to put up a shingle... so yes astrology in america is not what one would like it to be... Further, I can?t see the problem here. If you talk about opening a shop it seems natural to ask what it will be called. If you open an astrology shop and call it ?Granny Skot? how will people know it is about astrology? (That?s assuming that Granny Skot is your real name, and not some pseudonym you use here through the shame of being an astrologer). In any event I don?t think ?Granny Skot? really words for an astrology shop. It?s a problem because the company called Equinox might already have the trademark for ?The Astrology Shop? but you might get away with ?An Astrology Shop?, if you are happy to keep your profile modest. Just a little tongue-in-cheek thought? Deb Quote Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:48 am
4 by mattG Never mind, I thought it was funny. As to Babylonian Star Lore I already have my copy and look forward to reading it some more. Matthew Quote Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:49 am
5 by Philip Graves Dear Deb, I think there is definitely room for a little light humour even when discussing a serious subject like astrology, so long as it does not come to replace the serious study as the main focus; and anyone who takes the time to read through your contributions here at Skyscript as well as your book 'The Houses' should be in absolutely no doubt as to your serious treatment of the subject. In fact so much so that I must admit I was a little surprised at first (though not unpleasantly so) by your show of good-humoured irreverence in these so-called interviews (parodies of spot-tests if you ask me)! Isn't John Frawley rather popular for his humorous flourishes while teaching traditional astrology? I think that is no bad thing so long as intellectual rigour is not sacrificed in the process. It is admirable for astrologers to take their knowledge of their subject seriously but it is arguably unhealthy for any individual to take himself or herself too seriously as an infallible authority on any subject, and it is only human to make occasional mistakes, especially, to use your words, 'under duress', and when success at the questions on the fixed stars, dignities and sect in this quiz requires prior memorisation of specifics that astrologers can habitually access easily enough in printed tables and literature, sparing themselves the trouble of learning it all by rote - although having said that, memorising these things can certainly save time in practical work, so if you have got every astrologer so far to have evaded your questions quaking in his boots in trepidation at the state of his knowledge of these specifics, maybe that is no bad thing! I certainly hope that all the astrologers you pounced on with these quizzes took them in the good-humoured spirit in which they were intended and did not feel personally disrespected when that clearly was not your intention. Perhaps if you were less well-known and respected within the traditional astrology community people might be raising an eyebrow or two and wondering whose side you were really on, but your past record speaks for itself as to your dedication to promoting historically accurate usage of traditional astrological terms and methods, and I am sure that all your interviewees realise this and won't respect you any less for having a little fun! Besides, it is very clear from the wantonly biased slanting of the difficulty levels of the questions in favour of some respondents as compared with others, and the deliberately obtuse answers you were looking for to some of the questions, that this was largely a parody of unfair tests and not to be taken too seriously by anyone. Best wishes, Philip Quote Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:52 am
Re: A public message appeared 6 by epurdue Deb wrote: The exact opposite is probably the case for my ?Interview with some American astrologers?. This is not so much ?food for the soul? as ?nibbles for the giggles? and I doubt that anyone will take it as seriously as I did. But do read it, because it has some serious warnings about the kind of people that are allowed to call themselves astrologers in America. It is what I would call ?an ugly but necessary expose? of the American underbelly of cosmic exploration. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/US_interviews.html I admit I was slow on the uptake on this one. I was reading the first interview, and I was thinking, "Gee Deb's being kind of a... oh wait." That was pretty funny. Quote Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:42 pm
7 by ### ...to avoid all potential confusion, let me explain that when I say I was writing ?tongue-in-cheek? I don?t mean that my tongue was actually in my cheek as I wrote, but that I was writing according to the style explained on this page ... Some people do write with their tongue literally pressed against their cheek, offering us something to stare at. I remember staring at Crystal in the classroom when we were wee ones. She always had such an earnest look on her face and a bump on her cheek while she fiercely concentrated on what she was writing. She looked very silly but she stood out from the others who were having trouble deciding if 'cat' was spelled with one or two 'k's. Last edited by ### on Tue Dec 23, 2008 7:18 pm, edited 1 time in total. Quote Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:32 pm
8 by granny_skot I understood the humor, just also the not so humorous pain in the tail undercurrents astrology suffers here in America. its that libra rising I see things in multiple lights almost always. Granny PS, sorry if I flattened your humor at all, when its certainly a time of year when one prefers to smile when possible. G Quote Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:06 pm