The Degree of the Moon: Parallax and Bound Lords

Though a student of traditional astrology, I’m hardly averse to poking around the vast and diverse discipline in search of technical gems that intrigue. As such, while you’ll most likely see my nose buried in Bonatti or Paulus, I’ll occasionally incorporate a little modern astrology into my reading buffet.

Enter Steven Forrest’s The Book of the Moon: Discovering Astrology’s Lost Dimension. Before I delve into the reason for my post on Mr. Forrest’s book, I need to say that his highly accessible volume, The Inner Sky, launched me on my journey into the depths of astrology — a rabbit hole that I went down a few years ago and have barely emerged from since.

I’ve amassed more than a few titles concerning Luna. Yasmin Boland’s Moonology (and her companion oracle deck), was my first engagement with the Moon beyond what Mr. Forrest’s Inner Sky covers. Though an extremely high-level introduction, I nevertheless think Ms. Boland’s work is often the framework to which many astrological learners first come to encounter the Moon in the natal chart: that is, through its various phases. I’d consider Ms. Boland’s and Mr. Forrest’s work — along with Demetra George’s various texts — a far more accessible entry to lunar phases than Dane Rudhyar’s The Lunation Cycle, which Mr. Forrest credits in his tome. I’ve read The Lunation Cycle at least three times…