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UNDER ONE SKY * Rafael Nasser
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"...[E]xpresses a universal genius." --Geocosmic Journal, Winter 2006
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"...[T]his well-written, well-edited and well-presented book has a thousand-and-one uses. It's an education in itself." --Kenneth Irving, in the August 2004 Horoscope Guide

     A penetrating astrological reading . . . how does the astrologer do it? Watch twelve experts representing twelve different astrological traditions interpret the same natal chart, blind! All they knew was the birth data of the woman whose birthchart they analyzed. Read how each one applies his or her real-world techniques, just as they would with a client. To deepen your understanding, all of them explain their underlying interpretive strategies, and answer ten pressing questions about their work.
    How accurate are the readings? After it was all over, the mystery woman, Joyce, submitted her autobiography, so you can be the judge.

In addition to the actual readings, there is an "astrologers’ forum," in which the presenting astrologers provide their own brief biographies, including when and how they got into astrology, comments on the astrological system they use, and their views on how astrology might change in the coming century. Additionally, they respond to more philosophical questions such as "What is your metaphysical view of reality?" and "What is consciousness?" Combined with the readings, these materials in themselves make for fascinating case studies. I only wish--and this is my one quibble with this book--that the astrologers' birth data had been included. It would have been interesting to get a sense of why one astrologer might choose one system over another, and from a research perspective this could have added a whole new layer of wrinkles and insights.

But what about those readings? Were they similar? Were they accurate? In answer to the latter, in most instances the answer was yes. As far as similarity, yes, there was also some similarity of substance, but the style differences also made for different areas of emphasis and different insights. So if you're concerned about being bored after reading several interpretations of the same chart, don't be--because you won't be! And I'm saying this as someone who gets bored easily.

There's a brief glossary, which will be useful if you're not familiar with some of these interpretation traditions. There is no index or bibliography.

This book is clearly a labor of love. It's a well-done effort and something that definitely fills a gap in our existing literature. Personally, I'd like to see it become required reading for intermediate astrology students." --reprinted with permission.

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Demetra George, Asteroid Centered. B.A. Philosophy; M.A. Classics, received the 2002 Regulus Award for Theory and Understanding. A practitioner of astrology for over 30 years specializing in archetypal mythology, she is the author of: Astrology For Yourself (with Douglas Bloch); Asteroid Goddesses; Mysteries of the Dark Moon, and Finding Our Way Through the Dark. Currently, she translates Greek Hermetic astrological texts, teaches Hellenistic astrology, and is on the faculty of Kepler College and the University of Oregon, lecturing on the history of astrology in ancient and medieval civilizations. Contact info.: POB 5431, Eugene OR 97405, tel. (541) 345-5680, dgeorge@orednet.org.

Evelyn Roberts, Archetypal. D.F., Astrol. S. A student of astrology most of her life (who predicts this will never end), and a practicioner for over 11 years, Evelyn's formal training was in London at the Faculty of Astrological Studies and Liz Greene's Centre for Psychological Astrology. She holds the FAS Diploma and the CPA Certification.These diverse yet complementary approaches, coupled with her own spiritual beliefs, have helped shape her personal style of chart analysis. In her practice, her goal is to use astrology as a tool for deepening self-knowledge, and love and acceptance of the self, enabling the individual to have a more authentic relationship to the rest of life. Besides her consultancy practice she teaches classes at all levels. Contact info.: tel. (805) 688-6789, astroeve@earthlink.net, www.evelynroberts.com.

Gary Christen, Uranian and New Wave. B.A. in Astrology, Livingston College, Rutgers University, Level 4 NCGR, PMAFA. An astrologer for over 36 years, he started his career working for the New York Astrology Center in 1968. A protégé of Hans Niggemann, he is regarded as one of today*s foremost experts in Uranian astrology. He teaches and lectures nationally and internationally. He has been continually employed in the astrological field doing projects ranging from designing astrological software, writing and producing periodicals, magazines and books to salaried work as a corporate astrologer for an international steel company. A co-founder of Astro-Graphics Services in 1979 (now Astrolabe), he is currently President and CEO of Astrolabe, Inc. Contact info: PO Box 1750, Brewster, MA 02631, (508) 896-5081, gc1@alabe.com.

Hadley Fitzgerald, Psychological. B. A. English, M.A. Psychology, M.F.T. An astrological consultant for more than 35 years and a psychotherapist for 23 of those, Hadley Fitzgerald uses the birthchart as a map to help clients discover: the soul's best intentions for this incarnation; the ways to resonate consciously with those intentions; and methods for dealing with the challenges to both earthly progress and spiritual evolution. The question: "What does your soul want of you?" is at the heart of her training and her work. She has degrees from UCLA and Phillips Graduate Institute and is currently at work on a book entitled Traveling Eternity Road. Contact info: POB 55576, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413, tel. (818) 783-3891, FitzHere2@aol.com, www.EternityRoad.com.

John Marchesella, Modern Western. A professional astrologer in New York City, John is certified by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, Chairman of Faculty for the New York Chapter, and a frequent lecturer and contributor to astrological publications. John is also a certified psychotherapist and bereavement counselor. His approach to astrology, both natal and predictive, is with the adage, "To every season under heaven, there is a purpose." The horoscope describes the meaning of a moment, thereby illuminating its purpose. Contact info.: www.astrojohn.com; astrojohn@earthlink.net.

Ken Bowser, Western Sidereal. Ken Bowser has studied astrology since 1970, first as a tropicalist and fairly early on as a siderealist. He has a B.A. in history and has studied Akkadian at the University of California and the University of Minnesota. He became a personal service astrologer for American Astrology magazine in 1979 and began to write articles in that magazine and others in 1980. He was twice a long-term columnist for American Astrology and has made his living solely from writing and astrological interpretations since 1991. Contact info: k.b.bowser@worldnet.att.net, tel. (612) 331-1475.

Kim Rogers-Gallagher, Light-Hearted. After years of examining potential nesting locations, Kim Rogers-Gallagher has settled happily in Florida (where she's working on her Professional Tanning Certificate), with her much-loved furry family: a very large, very spoiled dog, and several cats, ferrets, and parakeets. Kim writes for magazines and online venues (please search "Google" for specifics) and serves on the board of ISAR. She lectures internationally and has authored several books, including Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain. She also claims full responsibility for "The Cosmic Cafe," a creative column available at StarIQ.com and astrocom.com. Contact info.: KRGPhoenix@hotmail.com, tel. (941) 794-5821.

Robert Hand, Medieval. B.A. History, Brandeis University. Patron, Faculty of Astrological Studies. An astrologer for over 43 years, his books include Planets in Composite, Planets in Transit, Planets in Youth, Horoscope Symbols, Essays on Astrology, and tracts on ancient and medieval astrology. In 1979 he co-founded Astro-Graphics Services, Inc. (now Astrolabe, Inc) and Astrolabe Software. He uses a synthesis of heliocentric, sidereal, Uranian/cosmobiological, in mundo and more usual techniques. He is completing an M.A. from Catholic University in medieval history. In addition he publishes books on traditional astrology under the name ARHAT. He lives with his wife Elyse in Reston, VA. Contact info: 11901 Escalante Court, Reston, VA 20191, www.robhand.com, tel. (703) 758-7150.

Robert H. Schmidt, Hellenistic. Robert is a co-founder and current director of Project Hindsight, for which he has translated many of the original astrological source texts from the Hellenistic period into English. Believing that "great ideas have great beginnings," he has nearly completed his reconstruction of "The System of Hermes" as a practical predictive system supported by a comprehensive theoretical framework. In addition to historical investigations, Robert conducts research into the problem of astrology from many other angles: scientific, epistemological, and philosophical. Contact info: 532 Washington St., Cumberland MD 21502, tel. (301) 724-4463, fax: (301) 724-3003, rhschmidt@charter.net, www.projecthindsight.com.

Ronnie Gale Dreyer, Vedic. B.A. English/Theatre; C.A. NCGR. An internationally known consultant, lecturer and teacher, Ronnie was a pioneer in bringing Vedic astrology to Western audiences. She authored Healing Signs, Vedic Astrology, Your Sun and Moon Guide to Love and Life, Venus, and numerous columns, articles and reviews in publications and websites. Ronnie conducts Vedic astrology courses and lectures for groups and conferences worldwide, and is on the faculty of the American College of Vedic Astrology (ACVA) and Sri Jagannath Center (SJC). She studied Jyotish (Vedic astrology) in Benares, India, was AFAN's Corresponding Secretary (1992-1998) and Presiding Officer (1999-2003), and edits NCGR's Memberletter. In 2002, she received the Marion D. March Regulus Award for Community Service. Contact info.: POB 8034, FDR Station, New York NY 10150, tel. (212) 799-9187, RGDreyer@aol.com, www.ronniedreyer.com.

Wendy Z. Ashley, Mythological. B.A.s: Anthropology, Observational Astronomy, Cross Cultural Studies of Women. Private study in mythology, dream interpretation and symbol with Dr. Charles Ponce and Dr. Joseph Campbell. An internationally known teacher and consultant to private clients, she's published Sticks and Stones: Paleolithic Astrology and Naked-Eye Astronomy, numerous articles, and contributed to Communicating the Horoscope, ed. Noel Tyl. She's completing Goddess in the Sky: Stars and Mythology in the Lives of Women. She lives on the coast of Maine, where she can see the stars clearly. Contact info.: 53 Luther St., Peaks Island, ME 04108, skymyth@maine.rr.com.

Rafael Nasser. B.S. in Economics, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. "By the time I was five I lived in three different European countries and at age eleven, when my family relocated to the United States, I could speak five languages. My youthful peregrinations prevailed upon me to adopt a chameleon like personality that reflected the cultural context in which I found myself. My sense of identity vacillated like a weathervane. About fifteen years ago I discovered astrology and came to realize--to my utter amazement--that below my shape-shifting self existed a deeper, integrated structure that could be coherently discerned by people who interpreted weird looking scratchmarks placed around a twelve-spoked wheel. I was wonderstruck. This book was inspired by my earnest desire to demythologize and demystify astrology in order to deepen our understanding of this ancient science, discover the nature of our profound relationship to the the kosmos, and perhaps shine a ray of light on the mystery of our being.