Political Astrology, by Michael O'Reilly, Wingspan Press, Livermore, CA, www.wingspanpress.com, 2006, paper. 224 pp. $17.95 US
Political Astrology is both an interesting and useful branch of astrology, as well as one that could possibly prove astrology's validity. The problem is in using the right chart, since in most cases there are several charts in use for the same country.
For the United States, O'Reilly favors the Scorpio rising chart. In Part One of this book (which is divided into three parts), he makes a clear case for the validity of his chart of choice, looking at natal transits, and secondary and tertiary progressions against the backdrop of history.
I found the chapter on Relocating the Chart Around the World particularly interesting in this section. Here, he looks at a combination of the Astro*Carto*Graphy map and various relocated charts, with the U.S. chart being relocated to Riyadh, Moscow, Saigon, and other capital cities for countries whom the United States has had a challenging time. The results are fascinating. I have not seen these two techniques used in combination before, and together they are amazingly insightful. O'Reilly's technique is simple to use, and a useful addition to the astrologer's bag of tricks.
In Part Two, O'Reilly focuses on asteroids particularly Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, and Juno and shows how these bodies have contributed to the various Kennedy tragedy sagas, and the lives and behaviors of newsmakers such as David letterman, Britney Spears, and others. Interpretations of the big four in the signs are included in this section. O'Reilly also touches on various subgroups of asteroid study and usage, and provides a brief bibliography of recommended reading for those enticed into further asteroid study which I suspect will be a few.
Part Three of this book consists of a list of NewsScope articles from 2001-2005. These are interpretations and relevant charts for various headline news stories. They were previously published on www.StarIQ.com. If you missed them there, they are definitley worth a look and provide fascinating reading.
I would also mention that about 5 ½ chapters of this book were previously published in Dell Horoscope magazine.
Overall, this is one of the best astrological reads I've encountered in at least six months and I say this as someone with no interest in books with a strong emphasis on United States politics and political families.
If you haven't encountered O'Reilly's work elsewhere, treat yourself to a copy of Political Astrology. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
