Llewellyn’s New A to Z Horoscope Maker and Interpreter by Llewellyn George, the classic text revised and expanded by Stephanie Jean Clement and Marylee Bytheriver. Llewellyn Worldwide, St. Paul, MN. 2003. $19.95 paperback. This is a great book. I can’t believe how much is packed into one $19.95 book—everything you ever wanted to know about astrology.
Years, and generations, have gone into putting this book together. Llewellyn George lived from 1876-1954. He was one of the most important teachers of modern astrology, and he founded Llewellyn Worldwide. He first published the Moon Sign Book in 1906, and it is still an annual staple in most bookstores. He published the A to Z Horoscope and Delineator in 1910.
Seventy years later the book was still selling as a basic textbook. And in 1981 Marylee Bytheriver edited the New A to Z Horoscope and Delineator.
Now author Stephanie Jean Clements has expanded and brought up to date this great study guide, in a very concise and usable fashion.
This book includes not only basic principles of astrology and of interpretation, but it also includes advanced techniques, such as progressions, and contemporary developments, such as the locality chart. There are brief sections on horary and mundane astrology, and other systems of astrology, such as Chinese and Mayan astrology There is a chapter on health astrology, and one on planetary mythology. The Astrological Dictionary is also very useful.
There is a chapter which thoroughly explains how to calculate an astrological chart, handy if the power is out for awhile (although you will need a Table of Houses book).
In some ways parts of the book appear dated, but I find that to be an advantage rather than a disadvantage. For instance, some of the older classifications have dropped out of general use and may not be immediately familiar. However, I personally find them all applicable. Planetary decans is one example.
A to Z grabs the reader’s attention immediately. It starts off with the example chart of the explosion at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. At the end of the book we have that same chart progressed to September 11, 1212.
At the back of the book there is a free birth chart offer, so that you can work with your own birth chart as you study.
A to Z gives the reader enormous value packed into one book. It can be a study guide for the beginning student, a brushup book for an intermediate student, and a reference book for the advanced student. I recommend it for anyone with a serious interest in astrology.
