I had never done that before.
Where did I find these books? Everywhere. Bookstores of every description—arcane ones generally have a better selection, but I have found treasures in cardboard boxes in the backrooms of used booksellers. Libraries. On-line mail-order used catalogues. Yard sales. The Salvation Army basement. Friends. Friends of friends. Word-of-mouth. The Mountain Astrologer. One of my all-time favourite tomes came in a package from my Great-Aunt Emily, who vaguely felt I should have it–Destiny Times Six: An Astrologer’s Casebook, by Katharine de Jersey. That book changed my life and set my course. (I had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. de Jersey, a popular and well-respected astrologer practicing in Chicago from the ‘40s through the ‘70s, before she died—a generous and beautiful soul.)
What I read, I tested. With friends; with colleagues; and eventually, with clients. I also used my own map as litmus, since I knew that chart better than any other. And each of these books—even the awful ones—is like an old friend, since we’ve been through the wars together; and some reflect that, because they’re falling apart. Many are out of print. Some are missing—books I’d blithely lent, certain that the borrowers would return them: the churls betrayed my trust. I’m so happy that I took the time this morning to renew our acquaintance, and I know that my students will be a thousand times richer for it.
Hey, whoever has my copy of The Case For Astrology, by John Anthony West and Jan Gerhard Toonder, would you please give it back?