Charts showing salient points under discussion, including the chart of River Phoenix, are included.į you’re a serious astrologer, this is a book worth looking at.Primary directions are one of the most venerable techniques in Western astrology. A bibliography, a thorough glossary, and a good index round out the book. ![]() There is also an appendix including those terrible mathematical formulae should you be brave enough to try to hand-calculate these yourself. Gansten doesn’t mince words in his reviews, though several of the programs appear to pass muster. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a summary of key points along with a listing of references and supplementary information.Ī useful appendix contains reviews of software offering primary directions, including Solar Fire, Janus, and several freeware options. Profections, revolutions (solar returns) secondary directions (progressions), tertiaries, transits, ingresses, and diurnals are also discussed. Then it’s on to discussing zodiacal aspects with and without latitude and major and minor directions. He tends to favor “real-time” Alcabitius house cusps, which he explains. Then it’s on to directing planets to angles and intermediate house cusps and Gansten notes that misunderstandings of as to how house systems operate has led to some errors in existing software programs. He starts out by defining primary directions and explaining the basics, then moves on to offer a brief history of the technique. Now, with the revival of classical astrological techniques, Gansten has set out to remedy this. The result is that they’ve fallen into disuse. That hasn’t changed in recent times until the arrival of this book, even though software is now available for their calculation. Additionally, there was very little existing literature that explained the use of directions in a clear and readable way. For years, it was referred to but rarely used because it required mathematical skill at a level that was intimidating for many astrologers and students. Primary directions is an ancient technique used by Ptolemy, Masha’allah, and William Lilly among others. “I managed to make a first reading of the three chapters of the book and the sensation was of someone entering a cluttered and disordered room and patiently putting everything in place.” Alexandra Haschi (astrology student) ![]() I am sure your book will remain the definitive book on the subject for decades to come. For the non-mathematically minded amongst us like myself it makes the subject far more approachable and dispels many myths. It fills a massive gap for the whole astrological community has been sorely needed. I do believe your work will become an astrological classic. You provide your reader with soil and seed for a rich harvest, indeed. There is more carefully thought-through and gracefully-presented information within these pages than in many works of three times the length. This is one of the finest astrological texts I’ve encountered – the writing is clear, precise and accessible without denying the complexity of the subject matter and I’m understanding the mechanics of primary direction to a degree that I wouldn’t have thought possible, given my limited mathematical background. I would definitely recommend Primary Directions anyone interested in traditional natal astrology and natal timing. Martin has managed to walk the fine line between oversimplification and overloading the reader with technical details. The explanations of the complex mathematical and astronomical basis of the primary directions are clear and lucid. Primary Directions is an excellent introduction to what Martin rightly pinpoints as a key natal timing technique. It then breaks the subject apart – so that the various elements and terms are explained – before putting it all back together again so that the student can apply the technique in practice. Assuming no prior knowledge, his book begins with an overview and a history of the subject. ![]() Martin Gansten has perfectly fulfilled the task. What has been needed for a long time is a no-nonsense text, which can offer a well informed outline of the topic as a whole, and then work towards shading in the details in a simple to understand style. Your book on primary directions is one of the best astrology books I’ve read in years! … really the best book ever written on primary directions. ![]() Up till now no technique in astrology has ever been the subject of such obfuscation. Martin’s book is the first clear non-technical exposition of Placidean and other primary directing techniques ever written, and that word is ‘ever’.
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