How to get started?

I am inclining toward Alchemy, Hermeticism & Ceremonialism. I have always known that an important discipline to that kind of path is Astrology. What can anyone here suggest as a good starting-point?

I am not entirely "iggerant" of the subject, which is a very GOOD thing ! hehe

But I think I need to learn 1 HECKUVA LOT more than I currently know!

Any help would be most appreciated. (I will probably be bumming around this here sub, which I heretofore have NOT been doing!)

Interesting!

Most introductory textbooks take a modern apporach and their aim is to give a basis for reading the character (well more the psychology) of the subject (native); that istThey are geared to a modern approach to natal Astrology.

Now I'm not quite sure this is really what you need - but if it is, there are some good books and other resources in the resources for study thread at the top of this forum.

If you intend to use Astrology as part of your ceremonies, then I think you need to look more at the very early traditions, to get a feel for the how and why. Without knowing more about your needs, I'd suggest starting with some background reading on the history of Astrology, especially Babylonian, Egyptian and early Greek views - where Astrology did have a significant role to play in communicating with 'God/the gods' and the 'will of God/the gods'

One extremely good book is Nick Campion's 'The Dawn of Astrology' but it's not cheap by any means. There's also a slim and more affordable volume by Michael Baigent called 'From The Omens of Babylon' and looks at the very early Astrology of Mesopotamia. It may be that someone can recommend a good book on Egyptian Astrology.

From there you could also extend your reading to have a look at some of the Astrology of the Golden Dawn and also Aleister Crowley. I'd tend to read other sources first and then have a look at how it's been used more recently.

If your Ok with this area already but wish to know more about the techniques of Astrology there's a good book by Joseph Crane called 'A Practical Guide to Traditional Astrology' - again slim and relatively cheap. it will give you a feel for the traditional approach, though applied in a more modern setting. Also it tends to look at natal Astrology rather than other branches.

Other books that look at the sort of techniques or ways of practicing traditional Astrology, which have a link to the older uses are John Frawley's 'The Real Astrology' and Lee Lehman's Classical Astrology for Modern Living.

I'll have a look for anthing else that might be of interest but if you can post a more detailed version of what you intend to do and what you really want to know then we might be able to be even more helpful.

Certainly the use of Astrology as part of, for want of a better phrase, 'Ceremonial Magic' is one that we don't get a lot of posts on and it really would be interesting to explore it in a bit more depth.

Thanx so much for the introductory notes!

Well. I just know that background in all things Classical is a real must for me at this point on my path, so to buckle down & really study my little eyes out appeals!

Yes, I DO need history, DEF. I am not entirely ignorant - as I've said - but what I know tends to be limited very much to personality-types in the Zodiac (though I am very good at that!) & some knowledge of the "sympathetic" doctrine of correspondences with different parts of the physical body to the Zodiacal signs.

It rather looks as though I have even MORE to add to my Amazon wish-list - argh, sure DO hope that this show in Zurich (of art - has anyone seen my posts on this subject?) goes REALLY well & I'm able to immerse myself in studies just as soon as I get back & have some extra $$$!!

ETA: Not that I ever expect to be a full-blown "astrologer" as such, but I'd like to have a well-rounded Classical education as a basis for my spiritual approach. Not sure if I'm giving enough info or not here...

you might also try Skyscript

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/

and search for hermeticism and ritual magick

you might find the following article helpful

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/bdykes.html

and there have other resources and references to books you might find useful

Hope this is helpful

Thank you much, I will look into those!

I'm currently reading Campion's book and have just read his chapter on Hellanistic Astrology. There's a lot of information on Hermetic texts and how it fits in to the Platonic outlook of the time. So I can thoroughly recommend this book (though given the cost, you might prefer to wait for a Library edition or a soft back edition).

I'm also interested in getting started with astrology and I'll definitely look up those books. Hopefully I can find some at the local library.

Are there any online horoscopes that you recommend? I've never been impressed when I come across them, but I'm wondering if there are good ones out there.

Astro.com is a *great* site for free horoscopes, info. for learning there is *fantastic* and I think you'll love the forum there (although you'll need to create a logon to participate there.) Their free horoscopes, generally, are based on the writings of Robert Hand, which I've found interesting and realistically reliable.

www.khaldea.com is also nice since you can print out a free astro calendar month by month for whatever time zone you're in. It also has a plethora of famous persons 'scopes so you can get a feel of how everything plays out.

Bookwise, my 4 go-to basic books:

Secrets from a Stargazer's Notebook--funny, easy to reference & remember info!

The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need--a *huge* misnomer, but it does an amazingly good job, esp. wrapping your mind around house meanings, aspects...all the basics!

Parker's Astrology--beautiful, easy to reference, in-depth info re: particular astrological situations such as individuals' charts or geneology.

A very good ephemeris...My Pick?: Michelson's Midnight Ephemeris for the 21st century----It's just *so* important to be able to track those planets, eclipses (both kinds : ) ) and more! Once you get the knack of the "character" or the planets and the houses, it'll be pretty easy to understand. Also, should you want to study your own chart (natal, progressed, whatever) it's *a thousand times easier* to have a book in your hands than to have to check an online emphemeris.

Hope this helps : )