Big Picture Chart Reading

A standout astro-epiphany was the day I noticed that most of my planets were at the bottom of the chart. As a Cancer, I'm already a very private person that is driven by an inward quest. Learning that this Northern Hemisphere Emphasis in my chart made me more likely to live below the public radar made sense. And it confirmed a deep knowing I had about my nature.

Joann Hampar's new book, Astrology for Beginners, starts with the big picture, by looking at the overall chart patterns. The seven horoscopic patterns-- splay, bucket, bundle, bowl, locomotive, splash and seesaw -- were developed by influential American astrologer Marc Edmund Jones. Hampar's book is an innovative approach that asks beginning readers to look first at these patterns in the chart. It's like an artist that draws the outline of a picture, and is sure of the dimensions, before filling in the color. And because it presents the foundational concepts of chart reading, it can remain a handy resource on the astrologer's bookshelf.

• Review of Astrology for Beginners: A Simple Way to Read Your Chart