Ancient Whispers from Chaldea
Quite a book here! Much work, beautiful systemization, and intriguing discoveries. Chadbourne's new book is REALLY new: it digs into the past for renewed dimensionality for astrology's future; it revives the undeniable values of the sidereal scheme in a most significant way within the Western tradition; it systemizes a fresh concept of time measurement that is intriguing in its premise, attractive in its subtlety, and promising in its potentials. The expertly written text shows us how to embellish and rearrange the body of knowledge we have to make new discoveries. These findings and Chadbourne's creativity are not really "Whispers" at all: they sing loud and clear for all of us to hear.  --Noel Tyl, AstrologerWe know that earliest astrology was observational - sunrise at different times of year brought changing lengths of shadows during the day, and sunset began the night watch of the sky. "Ancient Whispers from Chaldea," an extensive exploration of astrology's pre-Greek roots, has been informed by the author's long (26 years) research of Babylonian and Egyptian texts that recorded celestial observations along with other aspects of life. Arthyr Chadbourne's book demonstrates techniques that he has developed and tested, based on his interpretation of the existing ancient sources; much of it is speculative, as the specifically astrological written sources are scarce. Mr Chadbourne uses his understanding of the ancient world to present a model of astrology that is historically, philosophically, and spiritually rich, and replete with practical techniques at the same time. As did the ancients, the methods in the book use only sidereal measurements; the author, however, presents this work as an adjunct to modern tropical astrology -- it is not viewed as a replacement, but rather an enhancement of contempory practice. ...One of the many fascinting ideas born from this scheme is that the position of the Sun in the birth chart wil reveal at which age a "true solar return" will occur for the individual, resulting in a strong "wake-up call" and events of life changing importance. Since each house has a value of six years, the natal Sun at the IC, for instance, heralds this wake-up call at age 18, earlier in life than for an individual born with the Sun at the Midheaven, where the true solar return occurs at age 54. In the sunset chart itself, which can be used even if a birth time is unknown, the first aspect that the moon makes and the first planet to cross an angle are seen as defining influences in the life. When there is a known birth time, the birth chart is placed inside the sunset chart and the two are compared for timing. To use in forcasting, one can surmise upcoming events from previous events; the author stresses the importance of TALKING with the client. ...This book is an abundant resource from a third generation astrologer in love with his subject. It will be welcomed by serious astrologers who are interested in exploring the sources and roots of their work.  --Mary Plumb, The Mountain Astrologer Feb/Mar 2000