So I was reading Bernadette Brady‘s fascinating book but had to stop and give you this article “by popular request” – i.e. you guys DM-img me a couple of days in a row to ask me the same thing over and over again :)) And because I love you, I thought I’d prepare a short post where I feature some of the books that have inspired me, served me and taught throughout the years. These are books on astrology, tarot booklets and some miscelania ones on witchcraft and lucid dreaming. It’s important to keep in mind that one doesn’t need books to practice tarot or astrology, but deeper learning will always make you better, since you’ll train your mind to analyse and interpret clues in birth-charts and the cards (also, you can add brag-value to your work, and occult books are pretty fab in general!)
Astrology
I learned astrology throughout many years (roughly 15 now), from Liz Greene, Donna Cunningham, Stephen Aroyo, Susan Miller, Lada Duncheva, and more recently Pam Gregory and Karni Zor. For all of these authors, I strongly recommend their work and resources: Liz’, Donna’s, Susan’s and Stephen’s are primarily to be found in books or online articles, while Lada, Karni and Pam have their own Youtube channel under the same names. I also recommend the reports of the wonderful and mysterious Mystic Medusa: https://mysticmedusa.com/
Delving into the work of all or just some of these experienced astrologers should set you up nicely for a career in the same field. Donna Cunningham‘s astrological books especially felt cathartic to me when I was reading them. Donna is a Cancer Sun Sign and you can tell how motherly and nurturing the tone of her writing is as she unpacks some difficult to digest astrological discussions of rape and abuse. For someone like myself, who was born with a very strong Pluto and an afflicted Moon in her chart, she made me understand the deeper layer of my astrological placements and find empowerment in them. Her insights also help me see the charts of my clients in a more positive and empowering light rather than as a something pre-destined and doomed.
On the other hand, Stephen Arroyo has a more associative approach to the discussion of astrology. He made me aware of the Eastern philosophical undercurrents and symbols which Western astrology borrows from, and how karma and astrology are combined. Stephen is a Libra Sun Sign, and you can tell this by the deep level of analysis his work comprises – he also helped me understand how to read complexities in a birth-chart and why someone’s Saturn placement can be a blessing when activated by the right transit. I absolutely loved his book ‘Astrology, Karma and Transformation” so much so that I took it with me on a romantic holiday with a boyfriend and we had an argument in the train-ride back home about why I was paying more attention to the book than to him – well…honestly now, I prefer astrology to men 🙂 (a view toppled only by maybe ‘astrological men’ like Stephen). Stephen also wrote a book on Jupiter which I have as an ebook and frequently refer to when I need some clarification on a Jupiter sign (for example I was always intrigued by how Jupiter in Cancer works in the 9th house since that is contradictory energy, but Stephen got me covered).
Now potentially the most well-known and astute astrologer of the ones listed above, is Liz Greene. A Virgo Sun Sign with enciclopedic knowledge of literature, fairy-tales and ancient myths she has a very no-nonsense approach to the study of astrology. She regularly contributes with articles on www.astrodienst.com and I highly recommend her audio-courses on myths and folk-tales in astrology, but I also loved that she is one of the few teachers who comprehensively made me understand my own ruling planet, Neptune. Although mostly known for her acerbic discussion of Saturn and how it distributes karma in our lives, I enjoyed more her book ‘Relating’ which helps one reflect on parent-child dynamics in your own life and generational aspects, as well as love and romance issues.
And speaking of relating, I feel that Debra Silverman‘s book on astrological elements (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) was a fun and useful update to Liz’s work, so these go together like a cup with its saucer (although remind me again who is still using saucers in 2021?!) Also for more details on Debra’s book please read my previous post here.
Speaking of relating, the ever-fascinating subject of astrological romantic and erotic compatibility is well-captured in two entertaining books. I really enjoyed the funny and in-depth, astrological guide to men, provided by the Astro Twins or Tali and Ophira Edut, two Sagittarius Sun lifestyle astrologers from New York who get into such rich detail regarding the romantic expectations women should have with their specific Sun sign lover (it’s all done in good fun, so don’t take it too seriously but the typologies described are sometimes so accurate it hurts).
In addition to the Love Zodiac ‘massive’ book, I remember purchasing some years ago, during one of those procrastination bouts from my PhD, a book that actually gathered interview data with people of a given astrological sign about their sexual experiences and erotic fantasies. All these impressions, collected from real people, give life to Myrna Lamb’s “The Astrology of Great Sex”. From this collection I specifically remember how one Libra woman described making love to her partner, with the windows open during winter time, while watching the snow fall – poetic ❤
Tarot & Miscelanea
With tarot it’s relatively easy because usually each tarot deck comes equipped with a tarot booklet that describes the symbols, the mythology behind the cards and their meanings, in both upright and reversed positions…usually. I found that some decks are richer than others and have some better designed booklets. There are some exceptions, for example the famous Italian company Lo Scarabeo offers some gorgeous tarot decks but also infamously has very brief and cheap-looking accompanying booklets that do not provide much information. The upside is that they leave space for multi-lingual descriptions, so you might be able to read the concise meaning of the cards in your own language.
But I’d like to show you my favourite tarot booklets, which are in my opinion the most complete, since they are clearly based on some scholarship and tarot experience, they are packed with information for both upright and reversed positioned cards, and they are just well made and beautifully illustrated (plus they look like actual books): 1) The Mary El Tarot, 2) The Linestrider’s Tarot, 3) The Dreams of Gaia Tarot and 4) The Mystical Dream Tarot.
And finally the two other books I thought are worth mentioning are like a beginner’s manual on how to get into practical witchcraft and handle your bouts of lucid dreamings (and understand what these might mean). I received both of them as gifts (plus, they make great gifts!) and simply fell in love with the word ‘oenirounautics’ and the candle spells in the witch’s spell book:
That’s all I could think of for the time being, but stay tuned because my ebook occult library harbors 89 books at the moment and I’m slowly (but surely) making my way through them all. Will report back with other gems I’ll find. Enjoy your readings in the meantime and feel free to share your favourites below!
With universal love,
Lexi ❤
spiritualsocial.wordpress.com 
Very interesting selection. Donna and i spoke about her stellium work alot before she died. I would also add to this list, Steven Forrest.
His understanding of Neptune, and then everything else, a very functional Capricorn understanding.
LikeLike