Astrological Gifts for the Holidays

As we approach the holiday season, the annual question comes up: What shall I give to all those wonderful people on my list? There has never been a better time to give books, and the gift of an astrology book can change a person's life in more positive ways than you ever thought possible. Whether you are buying gifts for the non-astrologer, the beginner, or someone more advanced, there is a full array of possibilities. I have placed these suggestions in categories, but we all know that those boundaries are made to be broken. A professional can learn something from a beginner's book, and the beginner who has a profound interest in a particular subject can tackle an advanced or professional level book as well.

For the Beginner
Kevin Burk's book is for the beginner and for the more seasoned astrologer. Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart provides all the basics you need, and it will carry you into the next stage, where you are able to put a chart together and make sense of it. Kevin has included a short history of astrology, along with clear discussion of the planets, the signs, and the aspects—the basic building blocks of the birth chart. His approach is classical, so you get all the traditional information about interpreting a birth chart.

Intermediate to Advanced Astrologers
For your friends or for yourself, once you are past the bare-bones beginning, you want more meat. You will find just that in three special volumes:

• Astrology and Relationships, by David Pond, gets down to the essential answers. David takes a good, hard look at the nature of each of the planets where relationships are concerned. You discover what helps you find that special partner, and also what is keeping you from finding your soul mate. Then he tells you how to work with your own chart to move you toward a fulfilling relationship, whether you are seeking love, a business partner, or just better relationships in general.
• Charting Your Spiritual Path with Astrology—it's never been possible to go through your chart, planet by planet, to examine your spiritual potential. Now you can consider Spirit from a dozen different perspectives, and you can find the right activities to help you understand yourself and your life more fully. Whatever your religious beliefs, this book helps you to follow them willingly, until you find satisfaction in your daily progress along life's path.
• Predicting the future is a big part of what people seek from an astrologer. Carol Rushman is simply one of the best astrologers alive today. Her book The Art of Predictive Astrology assists you in making more accurate forecasts. She discusses marriage, divorce, success, and numerous other topics as she instructs you on how to read progressions, transits, lunations, and eclipses. This is a solid reference volume, valuable as a reference tool.

For the Professional
Noel Tyl has written some of the best volumes on astrology for the practicing professional. Now he gives us insights into the nature of relationship in his release, Astrology of Intimacy, Sexuality & Relationship. Noel says the book is for intermediate to advanced level astrologers. I feel it is also an excellent volume for that professional on your list who is always looking for another perspective in the most frequently discussed area of astrology—relationships.

Noel, an expert teacher and counselor, approaches the subject with a keen awareness of the subtleties of the subject. Among the topics he covers, you will find:

• Individual behaviors
• Intimacy needs in couples chart comparison
• The Anima and Animus as active factors in relationship
• Fear
• Fated connections
• Sexuality

If you are looking for something entirely new and different—something to give your astrological work new vigor—then Ricki Reeve's book, The Quindecile (pronounced keen-deh–CHEE-lay), may be just the ticket! The quindecile is a newly researched aspect of 165°, and Ricki adds a powerful tool to your delineation with her insights into this aspect of obsession. You have probably heard of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and think it is an extreme psychological problem. Ricki points out that each of us has our obsessions, and we need to learn to deal with them.

Ricki carefully analyzes this aspect in regard to the birth chart as a whole, revealing not only the nature of the aspect, but also how to deal with its less than fully conscious "outbursts." Then she provides a thorough review of the possible aspects and combinations that produce the quindecile aspect. Throughout the book Ricki gives us insights into how to deal with this provocative aspect—an aspect we never even knew we had!