the consultation room, advertising and referrals, charging fees, all so important and so often neglected.
Even if you have found working practices which you are comfortable with, this section still contains
much of value. Finding out that other astrologers have also had to dare to ask the same questions is
both reassuring and challenging to a methodology which may have become a habit. ('What to do with a
client whom we simply do not like?' 'What about friends' charts?' 'What to do when a client cries, or
threatens me?) From there Ms Sharman-Burke moves on to communication skills and the internal
dynamics of a consultation - transference and countertransference.
Which leads to Liz Greene's section, from which this volume takes its name. Her views on the training
and responsibilities of astrologers are well known, and those who do not agree with her will find no
comfort here, though she does at one stage admit she is being deliberately provocative. She does,
however, give some reasons for her belief that astrologers should themselves go through a process of
therapy or psychoanalysis, and links this with the position which we have been 'forced' to take by the
collective, and hence by many of our clients.
Despite the fact that this seminar also apparently deals with the position of the astrologer both within
the 'helping professions', society in general and in the consultation room, it still succeeds - in Ms
Greene's customary style - in bringing up personal issues of deeper import. A fascinating consideration
of the archetypal background of astrology leads to the analysis of several charts of astrologers - and a
virulent 'non-astrologer'! Finally there is a group discussion on the issues which brought the
participants to astrology in the first place and the suggestion that it is of value to study the transits and
progressions in operation when any astrologer first begins to consider their art seriously - an exercise
which is so blindingly obvious it is likely that few of us have done it; this book is worth getting simply
for some of the comments in this section alone.
As an added bonus there are a number of footnotes for further reading, outside astrology but within
psychology, which are well wroth following up. It seems churlish to have any complaints about such a
valuable book, but there are two which would take so little time to rectify and would be so valuable.
Whilst the style of astrology practised by the CPA is very much House-based, for those of us used to
more Sign-based charts the 'American style' charts used by the CPA are nearly unreadable - please,
please, there are so many attractive and easy-to-read computer-generated charts available now the
reader surely deserves better. And secondly, as any half-way decent processor can now generate an
index in but a few minutes I can see no reason why any book produced now should be without one. By
virtue of their format the CPA volumes are books to dip into, and a good index would make that so
much easier. These are but details, but when there is so much of value it is a shame that there are any
shortcomings!
This is a book which should not just be recommended, but compulsory reading for all professional and
semi-professional astrologers. Juliet Sharman-Burke's section contains advice which will stand anyone
in good stead, and Ms Greene's section asks questions which, whether one agrees with her conclusions
or not, should be considered by every astrologer. I would suggest that we risk failing both our clients
and ourselves if we do not.
Copyright 1998 The Astrological Journal
Review by Donna van Toen - The Mountain Astrologer, August/September 1998
This book consists of two transcribed seminars given as part of the Centre for Psychological Astrology
curriculum. Part One, "Astrological Counselling," is by Juliet Sharman-Burke, a teacher and consultant
in astrology who is also a qualified analytical psychotherapist. In this section, you'll find a discussion
of everything you need to be aware of as a counsellor: boundaries (including time and fees);
communication skills (including paraphrasing and the art of asking questions); projection; "splitting
off" (and other forms of unconscious communication); and the difficulties caused by using too much
jargon. You'll also find exercises in listening, hearing, and interpreting. The emphasis throughout this
section is on practical issues that need to be considered when setting up an astrological practice - from
your choice of room to the power of predictions.
The use of questions from an audience of astrologers who have experience seeing clients nearly
guarantees that your own