The Real Astrology

by John Frawley

Spica International Book of the Year, 2001. The astrology that is ubiquitous today is quite different from astrology as practised throughout almost all of its long history. The dilute and distorted version with which we are so familiar is not the study that has fascinated so many of the finest minds in our culture with its intellectual depth and practical precision. John Frawley provides a searching - and often hilarious - critique of modern astrology, and a detailed introduction to all the main branches of the traditional craft. Accessible to those with no prior knowledge of the subject, yet sufficiently through to serve as a vade mecum for the student or practitioner.

Genres: Astrology, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Esoterica, Occult

206 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

A professional traditional astrologer, author and lecturer. Frawley has written several books on the subject of horary astrology and also sports astrology.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book but too filled with his polemic against Jungian astrologers (though amusing) and not enough astrology. His chapter on Modern Astrology is worthless. He gives a few case examples but they are hard to follow.

[Jeri Massi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some readers get angry with Frawley because he is not handing them a step by step recipe book on how to do a chart. Well, there are a dozen of those books out there that give you step by step instructions. Go read one of them. Frawley's book is really a sort of apologetic in a lot of ways. He defends "Real" (that is, traditional, or Renaissance, or Christian) astrology. He defends it first from skeptics and then from modern astrology.

If you don't know the difference, "Real" astrology is based on a world view held in the middle ages that the eternal things are "Real" and the life that we live here on this earth is merely the manifestation of the Real in the material world. If you like CS Lewis and have read most of his works, you will find some ideas that Lewis briefly touched upon further elaborated by Frawley. But, in terms of astrology, Real astrology tells you the hard facts, No, you will not be hit by a bus today, or yes, you will be hit by a bus today. You can pin down Real astrology: was the astrologer correct or not correct? You can't do that with modern astrologers, because they are too nebulous, ethereal, and psychological. They will tell you the high side and low side of every planet. And they have scads of aspects to discuss, in which every planet has equal weight with every other planet in the chart. So anything is possible. Real astrology dispenses with all that. It looks at a planet's strength in the chart. It looks at four possible aspects, and it derives an answer. It gives you a definite prediction.

But Frawley barely touches on "How to" in this book. He glosses those concepts quickly. First, he assumes the reader already knows the basics of astrology. What he's doing is arguing for traditional astrology against modern astrology. And he does a very good job. His book is also entertaining to read, very witty. In a lot of ways, it can be used to defend a Creationist view of the world. But don't worry: the Christian Fundamentalists will not recruit an astrologer, even though he has a far better grasp of what they say they believe than they do.

Frawley shows WHY planets are stronger in some houses than in others. He shows WHY they are stronger in some signs than others. He also divides up some of the niceties of distinction between a planet being dignified vs a planet being "in its joy." Read this book if you are serious about the self discipline and education necessary to be a really good astrologer. Read it if you want another opinion on Creationism. If you want to make money, read Liz Greene and buy a printer/copier to enable you to print off lots of templates and reports. John Frawley is really trying to help his reader THINK like an astrologer.

[Acquafortis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read for traditional astrology.
That said, I would have prefered if the author would have grumbled less about modern astrology and used those pages to give more details on certain techniques.
I felt it lacking in the discussion of essential dignities, faces, terms and temperament.

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent synthesis of the tradition of astrology. A real eye-opener for astrology students.

[Torres Catriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le puse una calificación muy buena porque es el libro que mejor describe cómo es, en la práctica, la astrología humanistica moderna. Es tan preciso en su descripción, negativa, que si uno quisiera practicar astrología humanistica éste sería el manual más instructivo. La contraposición entre la interpretación moderna y ja tradicional, con la carta natal de Hitler, es espectacular. Imprescindible.
Ahora bien... El autor crítica a C.G. Jung sin haberlo leído. Y se nota mucho. Se deja despistar por lo que hacen los "astrologos" "junguiana". En vez de entender que son tan malos junguianos como son malos astrologos.

Además (aunque esto es entendible y es un problema menor) el libro ahora está desactualizado. Frawley fue un pionero. Fue uno de los astrologos que empezaron a recuperar la tradición. Entonces es muy renacentista. Es un fanático de William Lilly y de Ptolomeo. Usa los términos y las triplicidades de Ptolomeo, también usa el sistema de cuantificación de Lilly, que es medio delirante... Esto no lo digo para restarle méritos a Frawley. Sino porque ahora hay libros mejores de instrucción a la astrología tradicional. El de Ben Dykes es muy superior en todo sentido.

[Paulo De · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on the subject. For beginners, I recommend to read The Horary Textbook first and maybe Lilly's Christian Astrology.

The Real Astrology has a wide cover in philosophical aspects of astrology and the author make astonishing criticism to modern astrology in a clear and direct way.

It's really a must-read book.

[Shad Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frawley has a acerbic wit that matches his mastery of concise, informative prose. This book doesn't have much in terms of practical information but it is a great resource for Lily-inspired renaissance astrology. I purchase his book on horary because of this.

[BruxeBaba · Rating 5 out of 5]

bué de fixe

[Felipe Oquendo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "The Real Astrology", John Frawley purports to, at one single blow, differentiate modern astrology from its traditional form, attack the so-called scientific view of astrology, uphold tradition in the light of the perennial school, and give an outlook on the various branches and uses of traditional astrology.

This book can easily be picked up and read by a total stranger to the celestial arts, but it paradoxically remains challenging even to the initiated. Written in clear, ellegant if tong-in-cheek prose, this book delivers what it promisses, backed by a solid cultural foundation.

The Real Astrology won't do what it does not promisse to, i.e., teach you the art. But it is a fine entrance to the world of traditional astrology, packed with suggestions of further reading for the ensnared apprentice.

I have been told that John Frawley now rejects some parts of this book. Maybe he was under a too heavy influence of the perennial / islamic sufi school; maybe he feels his critic was exaggerated on some points. Nevertheless, this is still as good as it gets.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning. This book decidedly is not for modern astrologers who think nothing bad will ever happen. This is for astrologers with a more traditional bent. Indeed, Frawley, who is blessed with excellent British wit, deploys it against the thinking of the moderns.

I liked this book a lot, but I found it to give somewhat short shrift to natal astrology in favor of horary. For that purpose, his Horary Textbook can't be beat. If you already have that one, you will probably find that you don't get much extra from The Real Astrology. Except entertainment, of course.