A Beginners Guide to Astrology
The book that started it all: Vivian Robson’s A Beginners Guide to Practical Astrology which I found in my basement the summer I was 12 years old.
During the pandemic, my engagement with astrology increased. Astrology is thought of as predicting the future, yet can also provide an understanding of the present. Or as one of the famous books in Astrology is titled, Character is Destiny (Leo n.d.). Astrology is a way to understand oneself and one’s place in the world. This year of the pandemic has been a time where astrology has flourished as an industry. It’s a time where many are looking to understand oneself and the world.
Daniel Defoe described astrologers and their followers in his book A Journal of a Plague Year written by a citizen who continued all the while in London. He wrote during the plague of 1665 Apparently the astrology periodicals that people bought and read were the following: Lilly’s Almanack, Gadbury’s Astrological Predictions and Poor Robin’s Almanack. In fact, William Lilly, the great astrologer and the namesake of the Almanack, lived from 1601 until 1681.There is a plaque on a house in London that says Lilly lived there from 1627 until 1665. I read it on google. Looks as though he must have hightailed it out at the time of the plague, predictive arts being what they are.
A Beginners’ Guide to Practical Astrology by Vivian E. Robson, was my first introduction to astrology. He also wrote other astrology books and was accomplished in many areas, including Latin. He studied William Lilly’s works, the astrologer who lived and was well known during the plague. Robson’s book was published in Philadelphia in 1941. The same year that the U.S. entered WWII. Another time of crisis. That was when my mother learned astrology.
My introduction to astrology took place the summer I outgrew summer camp. I was 12 and my mother wanted to send me to camp, again. Camp for me was sun poisoning and hot cereals that I didn’t care for. I pleaded no and said I would clean up the basement instead, city girl that I am. In the basement I found an old trunk with two kinds of reading material. One was old softcover periodicals or books about Leninist/Marxist ideas. The other was astrology books.
Does astrology gain viewership and acolytes during times of crisis? It has during this pandemic (Forbes 2020). Apparently, astrology shows up at many times of crises. Already mentioned is the plague of 1665, now, our current pandemic, the entry to WWII and the beginning of my own adolescence, often a time of developmental upheaval.
My astrology/tarot gig has been steady at the NYRenFaire in Tuxedo NY for 40+ years. I work mostly with individuals and engage as a coach, consultant, counselor and also, since it is a Renaissance Faire, and blue laws being what they are, as entertainment. RenFaire was in person, and hopefully, it will be again. In the meantime, I’ve been exploring the online world of astrology and tarot.
The horary chart for my question: where is my misplaced wallet?
Recently, I put up a chart on an astrology website that asked a question: Where did I misplace my blue wallet? This is probably the kind of question William Lilly entertained. It’s a branch of astrology called horary. The chart is not for a birth time, it’s for the moment that one thinks to ask a question. Horary, referring to the hour. I enjoyed the engagement from other astrologers. It was a puzzle, a game that everyone could play. Entertaining, fun, and engaging. I learned some more about a branch of astrology that I wanted to explore, and I found my wallet!
References:Juliana, K., & Mark, S. (2020, December 26). Meet the astrology entrepreneurs who turned an awful 2020 into a boom for the $2.2 billion industry. www.businessinsider.com. Retrieved Feb 2, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/astrology-industry-boomed-during-pandemic-online-entrepreneurs-2020-12
Leo, A. (2010). Character is Destiny. Kessinger Publishing LLC.
