The Contemporary Astrologer's Handbook

by Sue Tompkins, Melanie Reinhart (Contributor), Frank C. Clifford (Editor)

The Contemporary Astrologer's Handbook is the long-awaited, complete guide to horoscope interpretation by Sue Tompkins, author of the modern classic Aspects in Astrology. Drawing on Sue's 30 years of experience as a leading light in her field, this manual presents an in-depth exploration of the planets, signs, houses and aspects, and guides the reader through the essential stages of chart delineation. Rich in material for beginner and professional alike, there is simply no other book like it. Included are insights into Chiron and the Centaurs, co-written with Melanie Reinhart.

Genres: Astrology, Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help

362 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book suffers from a lack of focus and could do with some tighter editing. Since the author goes through the basic introductory material, the book would seem to be meant for beginning astrology students. But I think those same beginners will be confused when Tompkins presents material out of order. She talks about planets being dignified or in fall before she explains what the planetary dignities are, refers to midpoints before explaining what midpoints are, and so on. She also attempts to cover more astrological topics than I think an introductory text can successfully manage. Tompkins herself says that the centaurs and the asteroids are "non-essential bodies," but she includes them anyway, not in much depth. Indeed, she slips in introductory material on homeopathy which seemed to me like it should be in another book altogether.

The other aspect to Tompkins' writing that I found annoying was her fascination with mundane astrological correspondences. She writes about them at some length, and while that could be useful in a horary astrology book, in a book on natal astrology, it's astrological trivia. The correspondences were presented more as stuff that had caught her interest than in any systematic way that might help beginners work with them. At times, the author tosses out blanket statements that just set my teeth on edge, especially when they touched on racial issues.

Parts of the book worked particularly well. Tompkins starts out strong with good descriptions of the elements and modes, especially of elemental lacks. One of her sample chart interpretations ("Amanda") specifically addresses how to synthesize strongly contrasting themes in a chart, which I think is helpful for beginning and more experienced students alike. Overall, however, I think the book is caught in a difficult place: meant for beginners, but at an intermediate student's level of understanding—and there are much better beginning texts out there.

[Nimue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was due to the redundancy of the sections involving the planets in the different houses. This is a fantastic and thoughtful book on astrology, good for both beginners and intermediate students!

[Mladen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of The Modern Astrologer’s Handbook says it’s a “detailed guide to interpreting horoscopes,” but it’s really more of a handbook than a guide—an impressively comprehensive reference book that manages to play with a cookbook-like format while staying astrologically grounded and relevant for both students and experienced astrologers.

As expected, it covers elements, modes, signs, planets and other bodies; planetary combinations; and houses. But it also includes genuinely important considerations on the philosophical foundations of astrology, along with a set of instructions on how to approach interpretation and chart synthesis—plus some, interesting delineations of choice in the final section of the book.

The author seems intent on giving you ideas for how each category can be interpreted, without rushing to recommend a single “correct” way to do it. She also doesn’t posture as an authority; instead, he leans on what is clearly rich experience as an astrological consultant over many years. Some of the biggest strengths here are the inspired correspondences and the abundance of off-the-beaten-path associations the author has come up with for the benefit of less experienced astrologers.

The philosophical grounding and broader reflections are mostly distributed throughout the book, and they’re also one of the better, more unique selling points of this title. The final section—profiles and different chart types and their delineations, built on principles laid out earlier — ties the whole thing together nicely. That said, I do wish there were some closing thoughts, because it ends rather abruptly after the Profiles section.

Still: 5 out of 5. Solid reading, and one that deserves a place on your shelf.

[Arune · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely the book for all astrology enthusiasts to have!
It’s very well written and organized, which makes it easy to read and understand.
I’d say it’s beginner friendly, but I’ve been into astrology for over 10 years (mostly learning through online blogs and posts) and am only now trying to dive deeper and learn it more thoroughly. Even though I already knew what many of the concepts meant, I still think this book is a must-have for anyone learning astrology!

[Mariya Shiderova · Rating 5 out of 5]

The must have book for every astrologer!!!!

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference book, a good reference book to read again and again, and she will revisit every time you read a chart

[雨 刘 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basic and laconic