Astrological Psychology, Western Esotericism and the Transpersonal

It was touching to see this fascinating book dedicated to the memory of my friend Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, who set up the MA in Western Esotericism at Exeter University. The title indicates the ground covered in the study, and very few readers will be familiar with all the different elements, which are also part of the author's own journey. The astrological psychology of Louise and Bruno Huber was new to me. Sue describes the genesis of their system and the work they did with Roberto Assagioli, mentioning his connection with the Eranos conferences and their key cultural role. She also describes the differences between astrological psychology and psychological astrology, which leads into chapters defining western esotericism and the relationship between astrology and esotericism.

A key theme is the relationship between the seeker and the scholar along with the influence of Antoine Faivre in defining the field. The assertion by Bruno Huber that their astrology is pure esotericism is elaborated in a historical chapter maintaining that esotericism is a third pillar of Western culture - largely neglected by the mainstream, which is a pity since it provides a ground of reconciliation between science and spirituality as realised, for instance, by Newton. Sue devotes a chapter to explaining the three-chart system (using her own chart and that of Alan Deyermond) and ends with some reflections on the evolving worldviews of science and astrology in terms of an emerging participatory vision. This scholarly book enables readers to understand the significant relationships between the important currents of thought that it discusses.