(06-30-2015, 08:20 PM)Lighthead Wrote: That book was written in 1979 and Alan Leo died in 1917. I'm pretty sure it's a mistake on the part of Amazon. I think that it's a weird coincidence that the astrologer that you mentioned, Alice Bailey, wrote a book with the same name.
As far as malefics go, I sort of think that modern astrologers want to, sort of, sanitize astrology to make it more appealing to younger people who may be intimidated by the complexity of astrology. They also want to integrate planets into the field of the modern sciences, like psychology and the like. But I think that there is a lot of wisdom to traditional astrology. But there's no hard and fast rule. We have to accept that as society evolves, astrology has to evolve as well. So I think that, as time goes on, traditional astrology will become less and less relevant. Not because it actually is less relevant, but because society is moving beyond the overly complex "old" system.
But, ultimately, that's why you have to know what you're doing because if you try to interpret charts and say, we have to 100% accept the new way, or 100% accept the new way, that's basically the way the amateur goes about it. You can't throw the baby out with the bath water.
The best way to go about it is to use the old system in a chart and then use the new system and compare. And just in case you don't know, the old system says that any planet, house or aspect that is formed with a malefic is weakened. With a benefic (Venus, Jupiter), the opposite. Mars is the lesser malefic and Saturn is the greater malefic. Venus is the lesser benefic and Jupiter is the greater benefic. Jupiter is said to be very lucky and Venus is mildly lucky when compared to Jupiter.
So to summarize: I think that traditional astrology can still be relevant, but it is becoming increasingly less relevant. But there is a great amount of wisdom in it. And Alan Leo is an absolute genius.
Amazon can be tricky..the dates can be reissues which is what they have posted. I've confused myself many-a-time looking at books or cd's and their dates. I was flipping through Leo's book at a used bookstore the other day, so it does exist
I did a google search and Leo and Bailey were both theosophists, which is where the esoteric influence apparently comes from http://www.esotericquarterly.com/issues/...chmond.pdfBy what you describe, it sounds like astrology allows room for interpretation just like the tarot, and can be used to experience higher states of consciousness by observing patterns and tuning into them.