Astrology and the Era of Uncertainty
Table of Contents
Front Matter
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What People Are Saying About Astrology in the Era of Uncertainty
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Other Books by the Author
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About the Author
Acknowledgements
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Dedication
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Preface
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Introduction
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Astrology's Sad Scientific Track Record
Gauquelin's Legacy
The Astrological Community's Ambivalent Embrace of Science
The Real Issue Underlying Scientific Research of Astrology
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Astrology as a Participatory Sport
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Multiple Astrologies Make for Superior Cloud Watching
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Astrology's Kaleidoscopic Advantage
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Leaving Science Behind
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Why Astrology is Considered a Pseudoscience
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Science's Reluctance to Do Boundary Work
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Putting Our Quest into Historical Perspective
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How Do We Know What We Know?
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Notes
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Part One: The Awkward Dance of Astrology, Science & Religion
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Chapter One: The Direct Experience of Truth in the Mythopoetic Era
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Animism
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Participation Mystique
Participation Mystique and Archetypal Astrology
Participation Mystique and Mythopoetic Astrology
Mythopoetic Astrology and the Evolution of Consciousness
Mythopoetic Astrology and the Roots of Language
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Shamanism
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A Matrilineal Embrace of the Archetypal Feminine
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The Integration of Masculine and Feminine in the Mythopoetic Era
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Gylany
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Notes
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Chapter Two: The Intertwining of Astrology and Science in the Mystical Era
Divination
Divination, Intent and Recepetivity
Divination and Mysticism
The Mystical Roots of Eastern Religion
The Mystical Roots of Western Religion
The Gradual Transition to Written Language in the Mystical Era
Spoken Language and Whole-Brain Intuition
Spoken Language and Magic
The Socio-Political Impact of Written Language
The Origins of Astrology in the Mystical Era
The Confluence of Astrology, Science, Religion and Culture in the Mystical Era
Notes
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Chapter Three: The Divergence of Astrology and Science in the Philosophical Era
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The Milesian Evolution
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Pythagoras
The Rising Importance of Rational Argument in the Discernment of Truth
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Xenophon
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Plato
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Aristotle
Aristotle's Philosophical Support of Astrology
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Stoicism
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Ptolemy
Hermeticism
Vettius Valens
Neoplotinism
Imablichus
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The Roman Era
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Notes
Chapter Four: The Ascendancy of Science in the Logical Era
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The Role of the Church in the Split Between Astrology and Science
Gnosticism
The Role of Islam in Preserving Astrology During the Reign of the Church
The Islamic Revival and the Primacy of the Imagination
Astrology and the Mundus Imaginalis
Scholasticism
Marsilio Ficino
Notes
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Chapter Five: The Dominance of Science in the Empirical Era
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Empiricism
Galileo Galilei
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Francis Bacon
The Incompatibility of Inductive Reasoning and Astro-Logic
Isaac Newton
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The Misguided Quest for Scientific Proof
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Objectivism Versus Eclectic Fertility
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Reductionism Versus Synthesis Within a Context
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Astrological Context
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Living Context
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Replicability Versus Interpretative Flexibility
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Positivism Versus Metaphorical Possibility
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Determinism Versus Poetic Exploration
Notes
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Chapter Six: The Deconstruction of Science in the Era of Uncertainty
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The Impossibility of Accurate Measurement
The Critical Role of the Observer in the Act of Observation
The Scientific Study of Astrology in the Ear of Uncertainty
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August Comte
Probability and Statistics
Statistics in the Era of Uncertainty
The Limitations of Statistical Analysis
The Evolution of Qualitative Research Methodology
Science's Credibility Crisis
Science's Complicity in Spreading Mis- and Dis-Information
Charting Astrology's Course in the Era of Mis- and Dis-Information
Notes
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Chapter Seven: Knowing in the Era of Uncertainty
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Psychoanalysis
Surrealism
The Changing Nature of Art in the Era of Uncertainty
Postmodernism
Jacques Derrida
Phenomenology
Hermeneutics
Post-Structuralism
Jacques Lacan
The Postmodern Invitation
The Psychedelic Revolution
Consciousness and the Development of Language
Astrology as a Language of Consciousness
The New Age
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New Age Perspectives on Science
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The New Age as a Postmodern Phenomenon
Notes
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Part Two: Astrology's New Landscape in the Era of Uncertainty
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Chapter Eight: The Spiritual Foundations of Psychological Astrology
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Theosophy
Helena Blavatsky
Blavatsky's Attitude Toward Science
The Theosophical Influence on the Development of Astrology
Alan Leo
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Alice Bailey
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Alan Oken
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Rudolf Steiner
Astrosophy
Elisabeth Vreede
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Willi Sucher
The Work
George Gurdjieff
Gurdjieff and Astrology
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Gurdjieff and Science
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Rodney Collin
Dennis Elwell
Magick
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Aleister Crowley
Crowley and Science
Crowley and Astrology
Notes
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Chapter Nine: Psychological Astrology in the Era of Uncertainty
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Depth Psychology
Carl Jung
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James Hillman
Depth Astrology
Dane Rudhyar
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Alexander Ruperti
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Richard Tarnas
Astrology as a Postmodern Phenomenon
Astrology's Current Renaissance
The Upside and Downside of Astrology's Popularity in the Era of Uncertainty
Approaching Astrology as an Exploratory Language
Notes
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Part Three: An Astropoetic Exploration of Psyche and Cosmos
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Chapter Ten: Basic Principles of Astropoetics
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Who Is It That Stands at the Astrological Threshold?
My Astrological Story
Cosmos is Self and Self is Cosmos
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Walking the Path Between Self and Cosmos is the Journey of the Soul
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Knowledge of Astrology is an Aid to the Journey, Not a Substitute For It
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To Be Useful Astrology Must Illuminate What We Don't Already Know
Astropoetics
The Origin of the Word
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astro-
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-poetics
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astro-poetics
Fate Versus Evolutionary Opportunity
Signs Versus Symbols
Personality Versus Evolving Sense of Self
Causal Versus Relational Language
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Alleviation of Suffering Versus Empowerment Within Suffering
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A Living Example
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Knocking on the Door
Notes
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Chapter Eleven: Opening the Archetypal Eye
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Astrology as an Innate Archetypal Language
Exploring Astrological Archetypes
Standing at the Threshold
Insights on the Threshold
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Entering the Stories
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The Near Rape at Cybele's Party
The Phallus in the Hearth
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Hestia's Dual Birth
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Hestia's Oath of Virginity
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Controversy Surrounding Hestia's Place in the Greek Pantheon
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Brigit
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Shakti
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Cinderella and the Cinder Biters
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Calling in Vesta
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The Queen of Wands
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Opening Dialogue with a Living Archetype
Notes
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Chapter Twelve: Getting Empirical
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Astrological Empiricism
Exploring Vesta Empirically
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Mapping My Vesta Returns
Taking a Cyclical History of Vesta Returns
Memoria as a Soul-Making Empirical Quest
Notes
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Chapter Thirteen: Astrological Hermeneutics
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Elaborating Archetypal Themes
Becoming a Cinder-Biter
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Discovering the Fire Stick
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Following a Golden Thread
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Moving in and out of Liminal Space
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Working at the Forge
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Gestating Under a Cloak of Invisibility
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Building a Temple
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Becoming a Virgin
Recognizing Archetypal Presence
Taking an Awareness of Archetypal Presence Into the Present Moment
Astrological Hermeneutics
Two Complimentary Kinds of Hermeneutics
The Hermeneutics of Faith
The Hermeneutics of Suspicion
The Imbalance of Astrological Hermeneutics in Practice
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Notes
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Chapter Fourteen: Astro-Logic
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The Logic of Astrology
The Logical Abstraction of the Zodiac
The Birthchart as an Archetypal Field
Entering the Archetypal Field of the Astrological Map
Vesta's Sign Placement
Vesta's House Placement
Becoming a Comfortable Minimalist
Vesta's Aspects to Other Planets
Vesta and Venus
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Vesta and Jupiter
Vesta, Venus & Jupiter in the 2nd Chakra
Transits and Progressions to Vesta
Transiting Pluto Conjunct Natal Vesta
Notes
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Chapter Fifteen: Examining Philosophical Assumptions
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The Belief Systems Underlying and Influencing Astrological Practice
The Shaping Influence of Belief Upon Language
Asking Key Questions as a Point of Entry Into Your Basic Philosophy of Life
Pluto's Questions
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Neptune's Questions
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Uranus' Questions
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Saturn's Questions
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Jupiter's Questions
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Mars' Questions
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Venus' Questions
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Moon's Questions
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Mercury's Questions
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Sun's Questions
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Finding Your Own Seminal Questions
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Vesta's Questions for Me
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Becoming a Cinder-Biter
Discovering the Fire Stick
Following a Golden Thread
Moving in and out of Liminal Space
Working at the Forge
Gestating Under a Cloak of Invisibility
Building a Temple
Becoming a Virgin
Becoming a Comfortable Minimalist
The Art of Cultivating Astrological Koans
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Using Outer Planet Transits as a Catalyst to Breakthrough Questions
Standing on Pluto's Precipice
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Exploring Pluto's Function as an Agent of Transformation
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Pluto Conjunct Saturn/Mars
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Pluto Conjunct Neptune
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Pluto Conjunct Sun
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Pluto Conjunct Mercury
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Feeling Pluto's Role in Vesta's Story
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Pluto Trine Vesta
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Pluto Square Vesta
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Pluto Sextile Vesta
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Formulating Questions for this Pluto Transit to Vesta
Notes
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Chapter Sixteen: Entering the Archetypal Field as a Spiritual Practice
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Approaching Astrology as a Spiritual Discipline
Namburbi, Magic and the Ongoing Work of Self-Transformation
The Work of Self-Transformation that Precedes Astrological Wisdom
The Work of Self-Transformation and the Saturn Cycle
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The Work of Self-Transformation Understood as an Archetypal Quest
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Approaching My Work with Vesta as a Spiritual Practice
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Becoming a Cinder-Biter
Discovering the Fire Stick
Following a Golden Thread
Moving in and out of Liminal Space
Working at the Forge
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Gestating Under a Cloak of Invisibility
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Building a Temple
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Becoming a Virgin
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Becoming a Comfortable Minimalist
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Opening to this Current Pluto Transit
Articulating My Spiritual Path in Allegiance to Vesta
Notes
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Chapter Seventeen: Getting Intimate with the Cosmos
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The Method to My Madness
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Opening the Archetypal Eye
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Astrological Hermeneutics
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Orienting Within an Archetypal Field
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Finding a Worthy Quest
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Cultivating a Spiritual Practice
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Participating More Fully in a Living Cosmos
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Courting Vesta
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Going Home
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Entering the Defenseless Heart
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Taking Astrology Back to Its Mythopoetic Roots
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A Final Word
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Notes
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Postscript: My Pilgrimage to Bride's Mound
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My Experience of Brigit in Glastonbury
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Differentiating Brigit and Hestia
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Bride's Mound and Well
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Back Matter
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Bibliography
Index
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Sound interesting? Read the Introduction here.
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Or better yet, buy a copy of the book here.
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