Frank C. Clifford

Not surprisingly for a collection of essays, there are several different topics covered in this book. Clifford begins with essays directed towards near-beginners, starting with an essay just on Sun signs, then one on how the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant differ from each other, and moving on to essays that help you learn how to tackle a chart. Much of this covered stuff I already knew, but I thought it was worth the read. His concept of the Sun as character, the Moon as behavior, and the Ascendant as personality was a new way for me to see them, and I think it'll be useful to me.

The middle of the book has essays on a variety of intermediate topics. They may go over a beginner's head, but I think they're worth at least attempting to read. Even if the technical stuff is a bit much, it was fun seeing all the ways Clifford found to put astrology into practice: identifying childhood scripts, looking for vocational indicators, an examination of the charts of talk-show interviewers, and so on. Several essays throughout the book use musicians as examples: I'm guessing this is a particular interest of the author, and your interest in these essays may depend on how close your interests match his.

The final five essays will probably be of the most interest to intermediate and advanced students. Clifford looks at several specialized techniques like the lunar gestation cycle or the Huber Life Clock as applied to Pluto in the chart of the United States. These intrigued me—at some point, I'll be sitting down and working out my own lunar gestation cycle. I'm glad I read the book, even if I don't ever reread some of those essays from the middle section.… (mehr)

Right at the beginning, Clifford notes that he's a Mercury-Mars-themed author. Based on my reaction, I'd have to say that the strongly Saturnine reader may find this book too scattered. :) Clifford begins with an introduction to the signs, planets, houses, and aspects. He then shows the reader what to look for when interpreting a chart and then groups those factors into themes. Throughout the book, Clifford gives examples of how to interpret a chart, usually using the charts of famous people. I'm not faulting his knowledge or skill, but I just wasn't the right reader for this book. I thought it could have done with tighter editing. I wasn't sure why the author devoted a whole chapter to the astrological basics after saying that the book wasn't intended for an astrological beginner. He also includes three essays he wrote for various astrological magazines. I found them all interesting, but none of them were on natal chart interpretation and I didn't think they went with the rest of the book. Clifford is generous with his examples of chart interpretation, but I found myself wanting more explanations before the examples were introduced. And, while the table of contents is detailed, the book has no index. I just couldn't get into the book myself, but other readers may find this to be a good introduction to chart interpretation.… (mehr)