gregory said:
More than I shall ever manage, is what I see it as
Astrology has always defeated me and I don't think it plans to stop any time soon
hahaha Serious Gregory, think about getting the Horary book. It was the thing that made the biggest difference for me (I read Real Astrology, then Real Astrology Applied, and then worked with the Horary book for a couple of months, loving every minute of it). I'm still a shite astrologer, but I can talk astrology with really good ones and understand what they say and follow their discussion. If I applied myself to practice it, I'm sure I would work it out myself too also.
The Horary book is all about taking the basic bits of a chart, finding out which tiny parts are relevant to the topic at hand and then interpreting them. So rather than having to account for the entire chart, you may be working with just one or two planets and seeing how happy they would be in their current position, and if there is an aspect between them. Thats it. You can forget the rest as it doesn't apply!
The reading skills are very close to those of tarot. It's about 1% of the work you'd have to do to read a natal chart, and you get a solid answer to your question in a few minutes (or 20 minutes when you first start, as you'll have to re-read Frawley's chapter on how to read about the subject your asking for e.g. the first 3 pages of Chapter X tell you how to pull apart a chart and find out if someone is going to marry you. The next 2 pages will tell you how to work out when. The page after that will tell you how to see if it will be a good marriage etc... Tiny bite sized pieces, and wonderful training wheels for if you want to get into a full chart or more complex thing down the track.
Le Fanu said:
ETA; question; "know the basics" would be what, exactly?
What Frawley doesn't go into in great depth is what each planet represents, or what each sign relates to. But what he does do in The Real Astrology is go over the history of astrology, how it developed and why, and what practical importance is that. What the best way to learn it is, and what he thinks is most valuable and reliable in practice. He covers the different types of practice, and when they're useful. He also rants a bit about the glory of god, so as long as you don't choke on that part it's a fun and not difficult read. Then in the Horary book, he forces you to apply and use simple information to work with a real question and real chart.
I would suggest the prerequisite level of knowledge would be: be able to name the 7 planets, recognize their symbol, and say a sentance about them. e.g. Mars is about masculine fiery energy and its symbol looks like this (sorry, I don't know how to type it! haha). If you also know there are 12 houses in a chart, and that there are 12 signs, then you're laughing. For someone who's never heard of astrology it's not a good starting book, but anyone who has tried to read any other "beginner guide" will be fine.
