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Parkers' Astrology: The Definitive Guide to Using Astrology in Every Aspect of Your Life
Curious to calculate and interpret your or others' birth charts? The new edition of this highly praised reference to astrology from world-renowned astrologers Julia and Derek Parker is here to guide you.
Explore the world of astrology and learn how to draw and interpret your own charts with this authoritative approach to the practice. Parkers' Astrology guides you through the techniques, showing you how to use astrology to improve every aspect of your life, from relationships and career to health and finance.
Written in an easy-to-understand style, beautifully illustrated, and filled with practical information, it is an unbeatable reference guide for every aspiring astrologer and those with more experience. Informative descriptions of the 12 sun signs, explanations of interpretative techniques, guidance on chart interpretations, and updated text on all the latest astrological developments make Parkers' Astrology the most authoritative guide to astrology.
Explore the world of astrology and learn how to draw and interpret your own charts with this authoritative approach to the practice. Parkers' Astrology guides you through the techniques, showing you how to use astrology to improve every aspect of your life, from relationships and career to health and finance.
Written in an easy-to-understand style, beautifully illustrated, and filled with practical information, it is an unbeatable reference guide for every aspiring astrologer and those with more experience. Informative descriptions of the 12 sun signs, explanations of interpretative techniques, guidance on chart interpretations, and updated text on all the latest astrological developments make Parkers' Astrology the most authoritative guide to astrology.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Julia Parker
233 books26 followersJulia Parker (née Lethbridge) (b. 1932 in Plymouth, Devon) is an astrologer and author who, often in partnership with her husband Derek Parker, has written many popular and introductory books on astrology. (Source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
May 19, 2010
A lot of astrology books are not my favorites because of their, I don’t know, odd sexism, prejudice against certain signs, or useless generalities (among other faults). I really like the Parker’s, though. I have a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in this book because of time spent going over it with friends. It’s been pretty trusty. I’m persuaded it was written by Geminis because, I mean, let’s be real, no one is this rah-rah about Geminis. Sorry, Geminis. You are my friends, but I’ve seen the kind of stunts you pull. But the favoritism to Geminis is only a funny thing, and not a fault. Sometimes, I am totally out of the mood for astrology, but tonight I finished a long day of studying for the bar exam, and I’m feeling like some hokum. I’m going to give you your own personal (not-so-)brief guide to astrology according to me.
I don’t really go in for the future-telling part of astrology, though I do like this horoscope a ton: http://www.freewillastrology.com/horo.... So, what I’m going to talk about is the personality analysis side of astrology. I like the personality part of astrology because I don’t understand people at all. So, if I can imagine someone’s motivation, it is not so disorienting and such a betrayal when they act the opposite of how I would. And people don’t usually explain their own motivation as clearly as an astrology book does.
So, let’s talk about personalities! For a lot of my friends on here, I’ve already done your natal charts, but if you want to calculate your own natal chart, you can go to http://alabe.com/freechart/, and it will let you do your chart for free. You have to know the date, time, and place you were born, or it won’t be entirely accurate. The natal chart tells you where all of the planets were when you were born and what constellation was behind them. I do not care for the analysis that website does, though. I find it more useful to look up the chart and then go to the Parker’s for the analysis. So, for example, I’ll tell you my chart:
Sun: Aries
Moon: Virgo
Rising: Taurus
Mars: Aries
Venus: Aries
Mercury: Aries
I’m not going to go over the planets that are farther out because they are more generational – they don’t rotate as quickly, so large groups of people have them in common. They are important because of the interaction between the planets, the “aspects,” but I’m not going to go into those either because you can just check in this book if you get that cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I’m also not going to go into the houses because this is freaking long enough.
So, when I was born, most of my planets were lined up with Aries behind them. The moon was in front of the constellation Virgo, and Taurus was on the horizon. Now, if you look at what I say about those signs, you know me! Yay! I am an open book. Except for my seeeecrets. Now I’ll tell you what the different placements represent, and later I’ll tell you about the signs. You can correct me if your understanding is different.
Placements
So, those are the main parts of the personality (the “personal planets”). Now I’m going to go through the signs and talk about their characteristics. They are all categorized into one of four elements: fire, earth, air, water. Captain Planet knows all about this business. Fire and water signs are both based in emotion. Fire signs are passionate emotion; water signs are subtle, interpersonal emotion. Earth signs are practicality and steadiness. Air signs are intellect. The signs all get older through the zodiac, so Aries is the youngest and Pisces is the oldest.
So, what you do is you go back up to the link at the beginning of the review, then you find your chart. Then, you look at what the planet represents above. Then, you read about the personality characteristics that are in your chart below based on the results of your chart.
You can post your chart below if you want, and we can talk about it. These are the signs:
Aries.
Taurus.
Gemini.
Cancer.
Leo.
Virgo.
Libra.
Scorpio.
Sagittarius.
Capricorn.
Aquarius.
Pisces.
I don’t really go in for the future-telling part of astrology, though I do like this horoscope a ton: http://www.freewillastrology.com/horo.... So, what I’m going to talk about is the personality analysis side of astrology. I like the personality part of astrology because I don’t understand people at all. So, if I can imagine someone’s motivation, it is not so disorienting and such a betrayal when they act the opposite of how I would. And people don’t usually explain their own motivation as clearly as an astrology book does.
So, let’s talk about personalities! For a lot of my friends on here, I’ve already done your natal charts, but if you want to calculate your own natal chart, you can go to http://alabe.com/freechart/, and it will let you do your chart for free. You have to know the date, time, and place you were born, or it won’t be entirely accurate. The natal chart tells you where all of the planets were when you were born and what constellation was behind them. I do not care for the analysis that website does, though. I find it more useful to look up the chart and then go to the Parker’s for the analysis. So, for example, I’ll tell you my chart:
Sun: Aries
Moon: Virgo
Rising: Taurus
Mars: Aries
Venus: Aries
Mercury: Aries
I’m not going to go over the planets that are farther out because they are more generational – they don’t rotate as quickly, so large groups of people have them in common. They are important because of the interaction between the planets, the “aspects,” but I’m not going to go into those either because you can just check in this book if you get that cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I’m also not going to go into the houses because this is freaking long enough.
So, when I was born, most of my planets were lined up with Aries behind them. The moon was in front of the constellation Virgo, and Taurus was on the horizon. Now, if you look at what I say about those signs, you know me! Yay! I am an open book. Except for my seeeecrets. Now I’ll tell you what the different placements represent, and later I’ll tell you about the signs. You can correct me if your understanding is different.
Placements
So, those are the main parts of the personality (the “personal planets”). Now I’m going to go through the signs and talk about their characteristics. They are all categorized into one of four elements: fire, earth, air, water. Captain Planet knows all about this business. Fire and water signs are both based in emotion. Fire signs are passionate emotion; water signs are subtle, interpersonal emotion. Earth signs are practicality and steadiness. Air signs are intellect. The signs all get older through the zodiac, so Aries is the youngest and Pisces is the oldest.
So, what you do is you go back up to the link at the beginning of the review, then you find your chart. Then, you look at what the planet represents above. Then, you read about the personality characteristics that are in your chart below based on the results of your chart.
You can post your chart below if you want, and we can talk about it. These are the signs:
Aries.
Taurus.
Gemini.
Cancer.
Leo.
Virgo.
Libra.
Scorpio.
Sagittarius.
Capricorn.
Aquarius.
Pisces.
August 3, 2013
I gave this one 2 stars because I found the descriptions of the signs to be pretty stereotypical—maybe this was because the book was last published over 10 years ago. Hopefully the next "new edition" will be a bit more evolved without having to rely so much on oft-repeated things like: "Scorpios are intense, dark, and possessive," or "Virgos are overly-obsessed neat freaks who are most happy working as accountants or being worker bees," or "Aquarians are the lights of the world and the next best thing to Jesus Christ." Yikes! I was forced to stop reading less than a quarter of the way in because it seemed to be just a rehash of the types of things astrologers were spouting many moons ago. Plus there were obvious biases depending on which sun/rising sign was being discussed.
November 20, 2014
I grew up with this book on hand, learning all the basics of natal astrology through it. I believe it was this book that also taught my mom how to cast charts by hand.
It's an excellent, thoughtful, and thorough training manual for beginners. The best part, however, is that it never loses value, as it becomes a reliable reference for advanced students. I have my family's second hard cover copy on hand now, making it about 20 of the 25 years of my life I've used this book. ;)
It's an excellent, thoughtful, and thorough training manual for beginners. The best part, however, is that it never loses value, as it becomes a reliable reference for advanced students. I have my family's second hard cover copy on hand now, making it about 20 of the 25 years of my life I've used this book. ;)
July 2, 2018
Beautifully illustrated and in-depth. The most comprehensive book I've ever found on the topic. I checked this out from the library, but I love it so much I'm buying a copy for myself.
July 11, 2021
Took me a while to understand how to navigate this book and to use the content about astrology. For someone who is a novice, and curious, this book is like a mysterious investigation of my life. Do get your dates, time, and planets/houses right, and go for a magical fact-finding with this book.
March 23, 2022
A lot to take in but very useful and can be easy to understand if you’re familiar with the subject.
October 4, 2011
Being the first book I bought on astrology, proper, I owe a lot to the Parker's for such a detailed introduction to the astrological realm. It covers everything from what you'd expect to what you never knew about astrology, from detailed descriptions of the zodiac signs and planets to an impressive cookbook format of how to interpret planets in signs and houses and planetary aspects and angles. There's a whole section of how to calculate and draw up birth charts, as well as other types of charts including progressed and synastry and composite charts. It's really a must for any astrologer's bookshelf, even if just as a reference. The only curiosity that stuck with me from this book is that the Parker's believe the Sun sign represents our superficial character while the Ascendant/Rising sign is our true, inner character; most astrologer's, including myself, understand it to be the opposite but each to their own!
April 4, 2010
This is the most detailed book on astrology I have read to date. It was complete with examples of birth charts and other useful things. There is a lifetime worth a reading for a lover in this field, but it is worthy information. Incredible details throughout, and I learned a lot from this book.
A fabulous read for any astrology enthusiast!
A fabulous read for any astrology enthusiast!
April 2, 2023
I loved this book! Julia & Derek Parker are amazing teachers. I began my study of astrology 30 years ago using a book that they co-wrote, I received an ARC Copy of this of this book. I was curious to re-visit the authors who started me on this amazing astrological journey. In my opinion, the Parkers have only gotten better with time. You cannot go wrong learning this ancient art with these two as teachers. It Is a BIG book but astrology is a huge subject that you never really stop learning. This newer version has much more in it than I remember. It introduces astrocartography and midpoints to name a few of the newer topics. This book can take the very newest beginner to a good solid foundation in astrology. There is much in here that even a more advanced astrologer will enjoy.
April 24, 2019
A modern classic in astrology. I first read it in my native language, Hungarian, in the early 2000s when I was at uni. Now I purchased the English language edition.
What I particularly like about the book is that it is full of real-life example charts. I absolutely love the reference part. I still use it as "cookbook" to look up what a certain placement means in a chart I'm working with.
The book is huge! Certainly not something you would read on the train commuting to work. But it makes a perfect coffee table book as the illustrations are gorgeous.
What I found somewhat alienating it the authors' recommendation to use the equal house system. I'm a strong believer in Placidus.
What I particularly like about the book is that it is full of real-life example charts. I absolutely love the reference part. I still use it as "cookbook" to look up what a certain placement means in a chart I'm working with.
The book is huge! Certainly not something you would read on the train commuting to work. But it makes a perfect coffee table book as the illustrations are gorgeous.
What I found somewhat alienating it the authors' recommendation to use the equal house system. I'm a strong believer in Placidus.
November 25, 2023
The one and only astrology work that addresses all aspects of astrology and above all the only one still published to show how to create an astral chart with the calculations and all the work that accompanies it. No “go see your theme on the internet and it reads like that” no no! we first rack our brains to create it and then take the pleasure of reading it and that’s astrology – the real one. A pleasure to discover it.
July 24, 2020
This book is insane. Basically everything I have ever wanted to know about astrology with all the tools and resources you could EVER need in one place. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 18, 2024
This book is very comprehensive and shows the techniques necessary to draw out your natal chart, as well as your progressions. It contains some history and dives deep into the signs and planets, along with the major aspects.
January 4, 2020
Para quem se inicia no mundo da astrologia é fantástico. A informação é fluída, pormenorizada e com ilustrações esclarecedoras. Recomendo!
October 7, 2020
Classic astrology book to keep as a reference guide. Good for beginners looking to delve deeper into astrology
March 6, 2021
Muy bueno
August 9, 2023
this book is ok-ish, i found that the descriptions were quite stereotypical but other than that i enjoyed 😊
September 29, 2023
Pretty thorough
February 11, 2024
Worth the money, one of the few astrology books out there that actually explains things properly instead of just making examples
Read
September 3, 2024Hoo
May 14, 2025
unable to read at all
May 2, 2021
Of course, I have not read this whole thing, it is huge. But if you’re into astrology, this is almost like the Bible. It’s gorgeous and well organized, much needed for reference. Get it.
December 31, 2020
Really good reference book and contains a LOT of detail. It touches on many different astrological basics and techniques, plus contains extensive tables, sample interpretations, and “practice problems” - it’s like a textbook for astrology students. It’s beautiful and would make an excellent coffee table/party book or a gift for a nerdy astrology friend. The illustrations in section one are so striking!
I have two major qualms with it that are the only reasons I didn’t give it 5 stars:
1) There are noticeable typos and formatting/kerning issues throughout the book. This is frustrating due to the cost of the text ($40 new) and the reputation of the publisher. It feels like the printer rushed to get it out and didn’t give it the care and attention the authors and editors intended.
2) Most of the language is old fashioned, likely since the authors have been in the game for a very long time. It’s very gender normative and white bread - no mentions of queer or gender expansive folks and nothing about race. This isn’t a book you should buy if you’re expecting the authors to disrupt astrological conventions.
I have two major qualms with it that are the only reasons I didn’t give it 5 stars:
1) There are noticeable typos and formatting/kerning issues throughout the book. This is frustrating due to the cost of the text ($40 new) and the reputation of the publisher. It feels like the printer rushed to get it out and didn’t give it the care and attention the authors and editors intended.
2) Most of the language is old fashioned, likely since the authors have been in the game for a very long time. It’s very gender normative and white bread - no mentions of queer or gender expansive folks and nothing about race. This isn’t a book you should buy if you’re expecting the authors to disrupt astrological conventions.
September 22, 2020
It seems like an eternity that Parkers’ Astrology has been on the shelves of bookshops and libraries, and every so often it appears in updated, revised, or newly-illustrated editions. Here, a masterwork arises from the essences of former versions.
Theirs is not (and never has been) a superficial treatment of the cosmic art; from the beginning the Parkers have presented their oeuvre on an historic and cosmographic basis with well-rendered illustrations and explanations. Yes, there is a great deal of Sun Sign emphasis, but the Parkers give nearly equal space to other important elements: Ascendant and Midheaven, Houses, planets, and Fixed Stars. Following these, the real deal on astrology is outlined - horoscope construction, prediction systems, and chart interpretation for birth and transit charts. Included are planetary ephemerides (1945-2036), House tables and other references, making this a complete package for the do-it-yourself astrologer.
This may be one of the last --and the best-- of teaching and reference tools remaining to the serious student of astrology.
Theirs is not (and never has been) a superficial treatment of the cosmic art; from the beginning the Parkers have presented their oeuvre on an historic and cosmographic basis with well-rendered illustrations and explanations. Yes, there is a great deal of Sun Sign emphasis, but the Parkers give nearly equal space to other important elements: Ascendant and Midheaven, Houses, planets, and Fixed Stars. Following these, the real deal on astrology is outlined - horoscope construction, prediction systems, and chart interpretation for birth and transit charts. Included are planetary ephemerides (1945-2036), House tables and other references, making this a complete package for the do-it-yourself astrologer.
This may be one of the last --and the best-- of teaching and reference tools remaining to the serious student of astrology.
October 22, 2020
Parker's Astrology is one of the best books I've ever read explaining Astrology. It has comprehensive how-to's on how to create and read your natal chart or you can can simply read the various sign, planet and house info for a chart you have created online. It's the perfect book for beginners and intermediate astrology afishionados, as it offers something for everyone.
I have a previous Julia & Derek Parker Astrology book and this one does offer new insight and modernise their previous work. It's very easy to read, if you don't take advantage of the more complex aspects of creating your own natal chart and even that was simpler to follow than a lot of how-to astrology books I've read.
An absolute must for astrology lovers!
I have a previous Julia & Derek Parker Astrology book and this one does offer new insight and modernise their previous work. It's very easy to read, if you don't take advantage of the more complex aspects of creating your own natal chart and even that was simpler to follow than a lot of how-to astrology books I've read.
An absolute must for astrology lovers!
April 17, 2015
This is a great book for those starting out in their exploration of astrology. Julia Parker has created a work of art with her illustrations. The content of the book itself is extremely useful, and for its size she has covered a huge area of astrology.
I enjoyed this book both as a beginner and now as an experienced astrologer still reference it, as the information is still current and meaningful.
I enjoyed this book both as a beginner and now as an experienced astrologer still reference it, as the information is still current and meaningful.
April 27, 2019
Very complicated for the beginner, however this is the most comprehensive study of how to "Astrology" - you will learn sidereals, charts and the psychology of astrology among literally everything else. Again, I would say this book is for the intermediate/advanced level learner. It is an ESSENTIAL book for anyone who is serious about astrology.
June 30, 2020
I can never say no to a DK book, and this does not disappoint. This is a huge book packed with a ton of information, so that combined with my dislike of Adobe Digital Editions made it take a bit longer than usual to read. I definitely recommend this for any astrology fan and can't wait to buy it when it's released. Thanks to NetGalley and DK for the ARC!
August 24, 2020
Really great reference book on Astrology, that goes beyond just the signs, but Is a lot more in-depth than most astrology books I’ve read, and provides lots of information on things like how to draw birth charts etc. As always with DK books, the text is accompanied by beautiful graphics and illustrations.
March 10, 2010
The most comprehensive amount of information regarding the integration of astronomy and astrology that I have ever seen. I pick it up all the time to reference it, for pleasure reading, or to show my friends.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews



























