Astrological Rulership Books

What, exactly, is Saturn said to rule, what are the keywords for the 11th house, what does the sign Taurus concern herself with, and how do these modern concepts compare to those of the medieval era? These books are essential for all advanced studies of astrology.

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	THE RULERSHIP BOOK: A Directory of Astrological Correspondences - Rex E. Bills, $23.95 Contents: Foreword 1. An alphabetical listing 2. A listing by planets 3. A listing by houses Appendix: Special listings: Principle bones in the body, Vertebrae Principle muscles of the body Principle arteries of the body Principle veins of the body Chart of an organization Flavors, Forms Bibliography. Comment: Classic, exhaustive listing of astrological rulerships, organized by alphabet, by sign, by planet, by house & by anatomy. Includes rulerships for Uranus, Neptune & Pluto. Be sure to read the foreword closely. In it, Bills gives valuable hints on how to adjust rulerships for specific situations. On the back of the book, it says, This volume is the result of a research project that drew together the thoughts of many others into a reference book, assuming the role of a dictionary to astrologers, but vastly more complete. It is the only place where all rulerships have been brought together & put in a good workable order [true, c. 1971]. It is organized in such a way that one can use the book for quick & easy reference, and it eleminates the need to search through various other volumes. This is an essential reference, the bibliography is an excellent list of the better astrology books published in the first two-thirds of the 20th century. AFA, 428 pages, paper.

	THE BOOK OF RULERSHIPS: Keywords from Classical Astrology - J. Lee Lehman, $18.95 Contents: Introduction: The basis for rulerships; Key to abbreviations; Alphabetical listing of rulerships; Planetary rulerships; Sign rulerships; House rulerships; Glossary of medical terms; References. Comment: Contrast this book with Rex Bill's: Here are the ancient astrological rulerships of al-Biruni, Claude Dariot, William Lilly, Nicholas Culpepper, John Gadbury, Partridge, Ptolemy, Ramesey & Saunders. Sorted by alphabet, planet, sign & house, with a glossary of 17th century medical terminology & their modern equivalents. Exhaustive, with many entries that Bills lacks, and multiple entries for the same item, each with its original source (eg, Lilly, Gadbury, Dariot, etc.). Notes on agreements & disagreements among the various sources & the implications that can be drawn from them. An essential reference. Whitford Press, 351 pages, paper.

	A NEW CONCEPTION OF SIGN RULERSHIP - L. Edward Johndro, $4.99 Contents: Forward, by Al Morrison; Introduction; Sign rulership; An index for chart reference; Planetary sequence; Fundamental rulers & subrulers; Very important; Outline of signs, rulers & subrulers; The alpha & omega; Cosmic design; Interpretive considerations; Two-way influence or meaning; Which way?; Correlating sign rulership & the Astrological Dictionary; More about aspects; The houses of the horoscope; Testing the rulers by the houses. Comment: Johndro's new concept of sign rulership starts by dividing the zodiac into eight parts of 45 degrees each. Each of these primary divisions is sub-divided into 24 15 degree segments, which are further divided into 48 7.5 degree segments, and finally, into 96 3.75 degree segments. Starting at 0 degrees Aries, for all divisions, sub-divisions, sub-sub divisions, and sub-sub-sub divisions, the order of planetary rulers are: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. Sun & moon have no rulerships. This is an orderly pattern based on the division of the zodiac by 8, which, as it happens, is the number of planets that rule over it. 1 degree Aries is ruled by Mercury-Mercury-Mercury-Mercury. 30 degrees Pisces is ruled by Pluto-Pluto-Pluto-Pluto. These levels of rulerships are designated as R, R1, R2 & R3. This is part of Johndro's general reworking of astrology, which he accomplished in the first half of the 20th century. At various places he references his Astrological Dictionary, which, at the moment, is out of print. (Enough of you demand it, the AFA might reprint.) A chart in Johndro's system, with its many layers of rulers & sub-rulers, is in wheel format. 0 degrees Aries is in the usual ascendant position, the chart runs counter-clockwise as normal. Radiating out from the center are the signs, followed by the 8 principal rulers, then, successively, the subrulers, sub-sub rulers, and sub-sub-sub rulers. Around this are placed the planets, and around that, the house cusps. So the primary difference is to change from fixed houses (1st house always on the left) to fixed zodiac: 1 degree Aries on the left. To this, Johndro adds 15, 75, 105 & 165 degree aspects. Noting that the swastica implies three dimensions, not two, Johndro parlays this into some sort of three-dimensional chart, though, without any reference to fixed stars. What does all this mean? Here's a bit of summary: For instance: It should be obvious that Saturn in 15 to 18 Taurus would augment Saturn R3 and tend to make Neptune R2, Jupiter R1 and Venus R dance to its self-seeking tune in all particulars, whereas Neptune in these degrees would tend to make Saturn R3, Jupiter R1 and Venus R serve the notion of world (Neptune R2) affairs. So to, Jupiter in these degrees [such as FDR's at 17 Taurus - Johndro's note] would make justice and prosperity (Jupiter R1) a main aim and by legislation (Jupiter R1) bend both national (Neptune R2) industry (Uranus R3) and agriculture (Saturn R3), as well as sociological (Venus R) outlook, to that end. One with Venus in these degrees would emphasize Venus R, and thus would be more the out-and-out socialist (Venus R) and make capital (Jupiter R1) still more subservient to the comforts of society at large (Venus R). (page 27, column 1) Superficially reminds me of Krishnamurti's subs & sub-subs. If you like Johndro's take, Krishnamurti's many techniques will supercharge your work. AFA, 30 pages, oversize.

	ESSENTIAL DIGNITIES - J. Lee Lehman, $14.95 Contents: Introduction; 1. Two unsung revolutions in astrology; 2. Using traditional rulerships; 3. The origin of rulerships: A botanical interlude; 4. Modern "rulerships": Do they work?; 5. The meaning of each of the essential dignities; 6. Terms: A statistical interlude; 7. Detriments, falls & peregrines; 8. Conclusions. Appendices: A. Terms statistical tables; B. Rulership tables; C. Peregrine degrees of the planets. Index. Comment: Perhaps you've never thought why the sun rules Leo, or why Saturn falls in Cancer, or whether Mars or Pluto really rules Scorpio, but Lehman has. Among other highlights, compares al-Biruni's rulerships to Rex Bills's & in the Botanical Interlude, Lehman (who holds a Ph.D. in botany) sorts the plants in Culpeper's Herbal first by taxonomic group, then by rulership with the common (English) name and then gives two subsets of Jupiter-ruled plants, the second with medicinal uses of Jupiter ruled plants. In this book Lehman also explores various ancient & nonstandard rulerships. Whitford Press, 250 pages, paper.

	HOUSE RULES: A guide to astrological rulerships - Tracy Porter, $27.00 Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Signs in the horoscope; 3. Planets in the horoscope; 4. The rising sign in the horoscope; 5. The moon in the horoscope; 6. Houses in the horoscope; 7. Aspect analysis; 8. Chart interpretation; 9. Midpoints in astrology; 10. Arabian Parts of astrology; 11. Fixed stars; 12. Numerology & the horoscope; 13. The day of the week; 14. Tarot; 15. Cabala; 16. Colour; 17. Chakras; 18. Angels; 19. Runes; 20. Palmestry [sic]; 21. The body; Appendix Alphabetical listing of rulerships. Comment: The first half of the book is largely throwaway: A rushed, uninspired general intro to astrology, along with everything else the author can think of, related or not. The appendix is good: Ten case studies, taken entirely from the headlines. (I would rather they be from the author's own files, but anyway.) Following this are 94 page of rulerships. With approximately 132 entries per page, that makes for more than 12,200 entries, perhaps more than any of the other rulership books. Unlike Bills, there are no cross-references. There is only the alphabetical list, by keyword, each with planet, sign & house rulers. Uranus, Neptune & Pluto are included. As to how these compare to Bills or Lehman, I do not know. AFA, 202 pages, oversize.

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