Horoscope Guide reviews Between Past & Presence

There are many kinds of astrology, including areas of practice such as natal and horary, and schools of thought, such as psychological astrology, or humanistic astrology. If there is any neat way to classify those schools in a simple and understandable terms, we could say the clearest division is between astrology that deals with life in more or less day-by-day predictive terms, and astrology that place a person and his or her life in a larger context defined by the patterns in the chart. This division is by no means absolute, as those who deal in day-by-day astrology don't necessarily ignore that larger, more philosophical context, and those who focus on life patterns don't necessarily refrain from making predictive or practical statements of one kind or another.

Eric Meyers' book on the Sun and Moon definitely falls on the life pattern side of the line, as it is an effort to both differentiate the Sun and Moon from one another in a clear way, and to integrate them in terms of the complementary roles they play with each other and with the other elements of the chart. Much of what he says about these two bodies is essentially from the perspective of the psychological and spiritual motives underlying what a given configuration or sign position means. In understanding this, we can learn to reconcile the various sometimes conflicting and contradictory needs and feelings identified by elements in the horoscope, and make them work together as we aim toward spiritual growth.

That spiritual growth is itself often placed in a larger context that includes the idea that this life is not the only one, and that one thing we must do is to learn certain lessons. In this situation, the chart is a diagrammatic way of showing us what those lessons are, as well as giving us some idea of how to learn them. This is the author's viewpoint, but without lecturing us on it. Instead the reader will come to the idea naturally while reading through the book.

It is all too easy in a book that takes this approach for an author to fall into on overly structured and ultimately preachy rut that makes for a dull and unsatisfying read. As you might think from what I just said, that doesn't happen with Between Past & Presence. And just as the author allows us to come to these ideas in a natural way, he also presents us with the basic theme in the same way. The basic ideas underlying what the Sun and Moon mean are not in and of themselves new, as this is, after all, astrology, the ancient of days. But what is new, what the author brings to the task, is his way of elaborating and expanding upon basic principles. Even if you don't necessarily fall in with his basic philosophy, you can still learn something about the Sun and the Moon from reading this. And certainly, if you do feel comfortable with that philosophy, you will learn even more.

The Moon as Meyers presents it is the unconscious and instinctual side of ourselves, and at the simplest level it merely acts and reacts. The Sun is, on the other hand, the part of ourselves that tries to organize, integrate, and learn from what it sees. As he says, the Moon is what we are, especially at birth, while the Sun is what we are becoming.

In developing these basic ideas, he considers both separate elements (such as the meaning of the Sun and Moon in the various signs, or in combinations with other planets), as well as how they work together. He illustrates key points by using the charts of well-known individuals from various walks of life, something that allows him to avoid the kind of tedious cookbook presentation we see all too often. Regarding some of the charts, I did feel that his mention on page 278 that all but a few named exeptions were "consistent with Astrodatabank" wasn't too satisfying, so I hope in future editions he'll give more details about ratings, sources, etc. Astrodatabank includes data from the very good to the very bad, so the reader does need the specifics of each case.

Eric Meyers' Between Past and Presence is well-written, organized, and overall a good read. If you want to study the Sun and Moon in depth, especially from a spiritual and psychological perspective, this is the place to start. Regardless of what your own ideas or philosophies of astrology may be, you will get something out of this book. Reading it is a bit like discussing astrology over the kitchen table with a friend. Very enjoyable.

by Kenneth Irving