Recommended Books

Almost all of these books have contributed meaningfully to the formulation of this course’s plan, vision and curriculum. Each one of these books would fill an important niche in your library. These are books you should spend a few years with at least, regularly drawing on their teachings. There is no need to acquire all these books at once; start with the first one on the list in both categories (Western/Vedic).

For Western Geometric Astrology

Planets in Transit, by Robert Hand

Many astrologers owe a lot to this book for giving them a deep understanding of Transits; and understanding well how transits work is essential to being a good astrologer. It’s one of those books that has almost no competitors. Much of the logic of interpretation of aspects and also houses Rob Hand presents in this book will be applicable and helpful in natal chart interpretation.

Horoscope Symbols, by Robert Hand

This book contains good explanations of various dimensions of a purely geometric astrology, specifically Aspects and Midpoints, including the 90 degree dial, minor aspects and “harmonic syndromes”. It does also examine zodiac signs, houses and other factors. This book analyses horoscope symbols in a very objective and neutral way; it isn’t an exposition of a single and very specific style of astrology. It generally takes a very logical view of key astrological factors and it’s very useful from this perspective.

The Combination of Stellar Influences, by Reinhold Ebertin

This is an excellent reference book for interpretations of aspect and midpoint combinations. The pithy descriptions are often incisively accurate and illuminating. Reinhold Ebertin was one of the early pioneers of the modern Midpoints technique in astrology. This can be a very useful tool for interpretation of even basic aspect combinations in a chart.

How to be a Great Astrologer: The Planetary Aspects Explained, by James Braha

The title says it- do aspects and become a great astrologer. James Braha has a gift for capturing all kinds of subtleties and nuances about people’s characters and life patterns in his interpretations. This book deserves a space in your library for that reason alone. Even though James Braha is widely known as a Vedic astrologer, this book is specifically about the aspects of Western astrology.

For Jyotish

Light on Life, by Hart de Fouw and Robert Svoboda

This is arguably the best and most comprehensive book on Jyotish in modern English you can find. It covers a very vast amount of territory in it’s pages. It doesn’t only present technical information, it also conveys much of the spirit of Jyotish within it’s original setting of Indian culture and Indian philosophy.

Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Western Astrologer, by James Braha

The great value in this book is the interpretation of the effects of the planets in the houses from a Vedic astrology perspective. Much of it will be familiar to a Western astrologer, but in many instances Jyotish will have insights into the implications of the planets in houses that are completely new and novel to the Western astrologer.

The Nakshatras, by Dennis Harness

Although Light on Life presents a very good and rich section on the Nakshatras, this book by Dennis Harness can be a useful supplement.

Astrology of the Seers, by David Frawley

This is a useful repetition of some of the basic information that is presented in Light of Life, but beyond that it goes into a bit more detail on remedial measures using ayurveda, gemstones, rituals and deities.