Parkers' Astrology: The Definitive Guide to Using Astrology in Every Aspect of Your Life

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Taurus. Taurus is an earth sign, and kind of like a toddler (you get the idea with the aging through the zodiac). The symbol of Taurus is the bull (again big on the stubbornness). Taureans are practical and trustworthy (earth). Taurus is not jealous, but they are possessive. They are very proud of their toys, and most things are like toys to them. Taureans usually have the best stuff – whether it’s the most expensive, or not, they will often tell you why it is the best, and usually they’re right. Often this plays out with friends and family that a Taurus will be mad that her toys aren’t playing like she wants them to do – not exactly jealousy, but similar. Some Taureans are hoarders of either things or people.

Capricorn. Capricorn is an earth sign and a climb up the hill to a midlife crisis. The symbol of Capricorn is the goat. I don’t know what the goat has to do with anything, but there you have it. Capricorns are concerned about social status and attuned to popularity. They are usually really funny in a cynical, sometimes assholey way, and a lot of times I have mistaken them for Aries. But, then, later, they’ll make fun of you for a social faux pas and you’ll realize that they’re definitely not an Aries (Tennessee Williams makes this point, too, in Streetcar). Capricorns are immensely practical, and sometimes that can be fun, and other times it is mean – but anybody can be mean, right? Together they have produced a long list of titles including The New Compleat Astrologer, Dreaming, and The Complete Book of Dreams. Furthermore, Derek and Julia’s Parker’s Astrology, published in 2001, is regarded as the world’s best introduction to astrology, for beginners. In 1965, Julia studied for the Diploma of the Faculty of Astrological Studies. After completing her studies, Julia went on to become the faculty’s secretary, progressing to president and finally one of its three Patrons. Julia has written the horoscope column for Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping (UK) as well as the Hong Kong Tatler. Her books include Hearts of Fire and The Stars Shine Bright. Educated at Fowey Grammar School, Derek started his working life as a reporter on The Cornishman, a weekly newspaper in Penzance, and went on to become drama critic of the daily Western Morning News in Plymouth. By this time he had already published two slim collections of poetry, and seen his verse-play Beyond Wisdom produced. Really good reference book and contains a LOT of detail. It touches on many different astrological basics and techniques, plus contains extensive tables, sample interpretations, and “practice problems” - it’s like a textbook for astrology students. It’s beautiful and would make an excellent coffee table/party book or a gift for a nerdy astrology friend. The illustrations in section one are so striking!

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Lift the lid off this gorgeous box of treasures to understand precisely where you fit within the sun signs, planets, houses and moon cycles at play. Make sense of who you are and discover how the workings of the cosmos can affect and influence how you feel and what you do. With three sets of cards for the planets, sun signs, and houses, two double-sided wheels for the earth, wind, fire, and water elements, three twelve-sided astro dice, and a detailed handbook, you’ll be equipped to tune into the complex astrological landscape and reclaim cosmic control of your life. So, those are the main parts of the personality (the “personal planets”). Now I’m going to go through the signs and talk about their characteristics. They are all categorized into one of four elements: fire, earth, air, water. Captain Planet knows all about this business. Fire and water signs are both based in emotion. Fire signs are passionate emotion; water signs are subtle, interpersonal emotion. Earth signs are practicality and steadiness. Air signs are intellect. The signs all get older through the zodiac, so Aries is the youngest and Pisces is the oldest. Scorpio. Scorpio is a water sign, and again with the aging. The symbol of Scorpio is the scorpion. People are always afraid of Scorpios because if you cross them (even accidentally) and they sting you, you die. An old boss of mine, a Scorpio, says, “This office has a looooong memory,” and he says it in this menacing way, where you know he’s not kidding. I actually have had a lot of really good friends who are Scorpios, and they have this magnetism and intensity that pulls you to them, but if they ever think you’ve betrayed them, they kill you. This is an interesting thing to me with the jealousy idea, too. Scorpios, I think, are traditionally jealous, like you would think of jealousy in a movie. They are all about sex, and so jealousy with Scorpios is an interpersonal sort of sexual thing. Cancer. Cancer is a water sign, and I think they are the cool late teens of the zodiac. The symbol of Cancer is a crab because Cancers are tough on the outside and soft on the inside. Cancers are shy, and often that and the tough-outer-shell thing come off as mysteriousness. And in some ways, I think, Cancers probably just are mysterious, even if they do not think so themselves. Once you are a friend with a Cancer, she never lets go of the friendship. Rising (also called the “Ascendant”): This is the base of your personality. It is what is underneath everything that you do. They say that it is the part of your personality that a good friend or family member would know, but an acquaintance would never guess.

I think the goal of Libra is peace. They say that Libras are the mellowest people you’ll meet, but they will easily stand up for themselves. I have always seen the mellow, but maybe I just haven’t seen a Libra in a position where he needed to really take someone down. Libras in general just bring peace and balance. They don’t appease, they just help you see the other point of view. Lift the lid off this gorgeous box of treasures to understand precisely where you fit within the sun signs, planets, houses and moon cycles at play. Make sense of who you are and discover how the workings of the cosmos can affect and influence how you feel and what you do. With three sets of cards for the planets, sun signs, and houses, two double-sided wheels for the earth, wind, fire, and water elements, three twelve-sided astro dice, and a detailed handbook, you'll be equipped to tune into the complex astrological landscape and reclaim cosmic control of your life. Aries. Aries is a fire sign and the baby of the zodiac. So, Aries is based in passionate emotion (fire). The symbol of Aries is the ram. Aries are stubborn in the traditional sense. We think it is hilarious to dig our heels in until we see a good reason to move. We also, like a ram, frequently bang our heads against walls both literally and figuratively. We fear abandonment. Aries seek out independence, but we want to trust that when we look up from learning to crawl, someone will be there to clap for us. Lift the lid off this gorgeous box of treasures to understand precisely where you fit within the sun signs, planets, houses and moon cycles at play. Make sense of who you are and discover how the workings of the cosmos can affect and influence how you feel and what you do. c/o Dorling Kindersley plc, 80, Strand, London WC2R 0RL - but please note that Julia no longer does consultancy work.A lot of astrology books are not my favorites because of their, I don’t know, odd sexism, prejudice against certain signs, or useless generalities (among other faults). I really like the Parker’s, though. I have a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in this book because of time spent going over it with friends. It’s been pretty trusty. I’m persuaded it was written by Geminis because, I mean, let’s be real, no one is this rah-rah about Geminis. Sorry, Geminis. You are my friends, but I’ve seen the kind of stunts you pull. But the favoritism to Geminis is only a funny thing, and not a fault. Sometimes, I am totally out of the mood for astrology, but tonight I finished a long day of studying for the bar exam, and I’m feeling like some hokum. I’m going to give you your own personal (not-so-)brief guide to astrology according to me. Sun: This represents your overall personality. It is the filter through which all of your other characteristics are sifted. If the daily horoscope says you “are” an Aries or Virgo or Pisces, or whatever, that means the sun was in front of that constellation when you were born. I think the goal of Aquarius is innovation. They crave the outdoors and fresh air and originality. Again, though, if you just say “originality,” it sounds like something constructed and fake. With Aquarius, it isn’t fake, it is just truly original. They are the genuinely weird signs of the natal chart. For example, sometimes I’ll hear a Virgo say something like, “Oh, I put yogurt in my cereal this morning. I’m so weird!” And I always think, “????” But, Aquarius is genuinely weird. Like, Einstein and the laws of momentum weird or Virginia Woolf telling you about English literature through a hermaphroditic love letter weird. Beautiful, human weird. Leo. Leo is a fire sign, and the smug and satisfied 20-something. The symbol of Leo is the lion. Personal appearance is very important to Leos, like the lion lounging in the sun. You would think that Leos would be fashionable because of their concern with personal appearance, and that is not always, or even usually, the case. Usually, they do somehow identify their physical appearance with their personality (like my Leo friend who will try on five different crappy baseball caps before he goes out of the house because he’s not sure which beer company or college football team he wants to endorse that day). More than that, though, they enjoy compliments. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy some sort of recognition? But, it seems to me like with Leos, they take compliments to be a serious reflection on their identity. Derek and Julia Parker are among the best-known writers on astrology and dream interpretation - you have seen their books in the bookshops, and probably heard and seen them on radio and TV. Here are some facts about them, details of some of their books - and a free updated monthly astrological column!

Derek and Julia now live in Sydney with the similarly expatriate Toorak (the most recent of three wire-haired fox terriers). Derek (who had made his first radio broadcast at the age of fifteen) left newspapers to join the staff of TWW, an independent television station in Cardiff, Wales, as announcer, newscaster, scriptwriter, presented and interviewer. Julia, joining him in Wales, worked as a freelance set designer and graphic artist. They then moved to London, where Derek worked as a freelance writer and broadcaster and Julia first as an art teacher at Hammersmith Girls' Comprehensive School, then as writer and consultant astrologer. Moon: This represents your first instinct. It is the instinctual, emotional reaction you have in any given situation. I think the goal of Virgo is integrity. Virgos break everything down into their simplest elements and look at it all on equal terms – what is weak, strong, delicate, beautiful, ugly, sharp, soft. They look at what lasts and what blows away. A Virgo is never going to make a choice based only on some kind of fancy, but she will weigh the solidness of all of her options and go with what she can trust. And she’s honest about all of it. Libra. Libra is an air sign and ready to give up the party life to woo and be wooed. The symbol of Libra is the justice scales. Almost everybody in my group in Peace Corps was a Libra. Libras are romantic, but like with the Leo personal-appearance deal, the word “romantic” usually feels kind of wrong for Libras. Libras are about authentic, real, human-type romance, not trashy boxes of chocolate and creepy songs on the radio. They care a lot about aesthetically beautiful surroundings and fairy-tale endings (whatever that happens to mean to them). A Libra cares about falling in love, but in that sense that someday when he falls in love, things will fall into place.I think the goal of Aries is self-actualization, self-discovery (I just looked it up and, as I thought, Maslow was an Aries). This can play out in a couple of different ways, though. You have your arrogant, selfish Aries and your fun, genuine Aries. As a rule we do not take ourselves seriously. When an Aries takes himself seriously, and it typically happens on a matter of pride, no good can come of it. It is not that we’re so much selfish, though some of us truly are, it is more that we are egocentric – like a baby – and it is our job to discover ourselves, like it is a baby’s job to do. Mostly, though, we are just fun. Derek’s career began in radio but has spread to numerous written works on dance, opera, literature and astrology including biographies of Nell Gwyn and Casanova. He has reviewed books for The Times and edited The Poetry Review.