Liz Greene

Giving this 3.5 stars. Greene and Sasportas really do have a knack for getting to the planets' essence, Liz even more so. I particularly liked her Venus seminars, because I didn't understand the mysterious links between pleasure, enjoyment and values and she helped to flesh that out.

This, like their other seminars, is a mish-mash of stuff. The main part of the book is split into the mythological and symbolic representations of the planets, their aspects and how they behave in the houses. Some example charts are also given, to illustrate how the planets work in tandem. And, as again, there are tidbits scattered everywhere. A few examples include the explanation of the Yod aspect pattern, the archetypal meaning of Uranus, how Venus and Mars are expressed in men and women.

What got on my nerves, however, was some of Greene's psychological perspectives, especially those concerning sexuality. I maintain a cynical ambivalence with regards to the understanding of our sexuality, since we seem to think that we understand everything (for which history has consistently shown to be untrue) but reading about penis envy in 2019 only provoked ludicrous laughter from me, not illumination. Having said that - if there's an updated version of this book, I would be very interested in re-reading it.… (more)

This is less an actual book, and more like bite sized bits of astrology scattered here and there. She makes interesting elaborations on squares and oppositions, the outer planets, the effects of Saturn coming into conjunction with them, and the 'fated' paths of people who possess strong outer planet contacts to their inner ones.

Some predictions are also made here (by both the audience and Liz herself) with the national charts of the UK, USA and Russia which is fascinating, especially when viewed in the light of recent global and political events.… (more)

Liz Greene has an admirable knack for sewing everything together (mythology, psychology and factual information) into a beautifully coherent tapestry for hapless Neptunians like me. It delves into several mythologies that help the reader to gain a helpful ancient cultural context AND links this to our current cultural Neptunian tendencies (our obsession with movie stars and musicians, who in turn also get themselves into tragic situations or drugs)

It's one of the few astrology books that handles a planetary archetype very well, because it actually defines what Neptune "feels" like to the reader, instead of pelting the poor reader with vague descriptions of suffering, incarceration, addiction and insanity that incites this equally vague anxiety for the heavily Neptunian (read: highly sympathetic but also very emotional door mat). Though I did see "self-immolation" bandied about more than a few times.

Screw it. Everyone should read this book - not just for those into astrology. Maybe read an astrology intro first, then dive into this. It's for anyone who wants to understand why these seemingly helpless people behave as they do. Sure, we Neptunians can't help ourselves, but we can do some hella magic with smoke and mirrors...… (more)