Susan Miller - Planets and Possibilities: Explore the World of the Zodiac Beyond Just Your Sign

Copyright 2001 by Susan Miller

All rights reserved.

Time Warner Book Group

Hachette Book Group

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New York, NY 10017

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A Time Warner Company

First eBook Edition: January 2001

The Hachette Book Group Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-75952-132-2

Susan Miller is also the author of

The Astrology Book of Days

available from Warner Books

To my mother and to my daughters, Christiane and Diana

Acknowledgments

All successful people have many other successful people behind them. Producing a book is a lengthy process involving the caring contribution of many wise and thoughtful people. This book was born out of talks with Maureen Egen, president of Warner Books, who first urged me to write a detailed book on astrology. I remember sitting opposite Maureen in her office, presenting various ideas for my book and crossing my fingers in hopes that she would select my first (and most ambitious) concept, Planets and Possibilities. She did, and provided the loving encouragement to make this book possible. In this, my second book with Warner Books, I can only thank my lucky stars that I have such a supportive publisher behind me. I would like to thank Frank Weimann, my agent, for his kind support as well.

I thank my hardworking editor, Jackie Joiner, whose instincts always were similar to mine. Part of Jackie's talent is her ability to preserve a writer's voice, soul, and spirit. Jackie did that and much more, and for her hard work and exceptionally good nature I am so appreciative.

I owe a tremendous debt to my longtime friend Jackie Meyer. Jackie's steadfast faith in me has had (and continues to have) an enormous influence on my life. Jackie gave me the opportunity to write my first book, Astrology Book of Days, with Warner Books in 1996, and she also gave me the opportunity to present my ideas for a Web site to Time Warner. As a result, I was able to give birth to Astrology Zone on Time Warner's Web site Pathfinder. Three years later, I moved Astrology Zone to its present home on the Disney Internet Group, with Time Warners blessings and encouragement. Without the opportunities Jackie provided me, my life would have taken a very different (and less exciting) course. In the figurative sense, Jackie will always provide the lilting, lyrical music to the background of my life.

In the astrologic field, I would like to thank Wendy Ashley, astrologer-mythologist, who first opened my eyes to the importance and enjoyment of learning the myths underlying each of the astrologic signs. Wendy's lectures were unforgettable and made me thirst for more. Her knowledge about the myths is encyclopedic and wise, and she delivers her expertise with all the colorful enthusiasm of a storyteller at a campfire. In the years since first hearing Wendy speak, I've discovered a number of valuable books both here and in Europe that helped to expand my knowledge and interest in this area. I also owe a debt to the equally erudite author/historian/lecturer Robert Hand, whose lectures inspired me to go back in time to study the genesis of astrology. Judi Vitale, astrologer colleague and trusted member of Robert Hand's Project Hindsight team, gets my sincere thanks for being a consultant to the historical section of my book.

A million heartfelt thanks go to my dear close friend Edward Rubinstein for his steadfast personal support of me over the years, in ways too numerous to count, and for his never-ending help on whatever facts I needed checked. Edward, I enjoyed our long sessions spent looking up and debating ideas together. My assistant, Pleasant Cragie, lent her talent and love of history by helping me check some of the historical facts, and she always made the process fun. Special thanks too go to Daryl Chen and Christopher Sandersfeld, who worked methodically and enthusiastically on making the actual corrections to the manuscript in the final edit. It is enormously comforting to work with such a talented team of individuals.

Finally, my family deserves an expression of gratitude too. I send thanks to my two daughters, Christiane and Diana, who got used to eating take-out food for many months as I worked on the book long into the evening without breaks. Chrissie and Diana are the best children on the planet.

Further, I would like to thank my mother, Erika Redl Trentacoste, who opened my eyes to the planets, the Moon, the Sun, and the stars and, in so doing, to the vast and humbling beauty of our universe and of the blessing that is life. Dear little Mom, I love you.

My Unusual Introduction to Astrology

When I was little and couldn't sleep, late at night I would creep into the living room to see if anyone was up. Invariably, I would find my mother curled up on the couch reading her astrology books or studying her charts. In those wee hours of the morning my father would be asleep, but Mom, as the busy mother of two young children, would try to use the only time she had to concentrate on her serious hobby. Astrology was not her only interest. She (along with my father) devoured three newspapers a day, had friends, and also helped my father in his specialty grocery store. But astrology deeply intrigued Mom, and she studied it every chance she got. Her penetrating mind sought to figure out why astrology always seemed to work, and her study also offered her creative clues to life's mysteries. My mother's biggest challenge, however, both in life and in astrology, would be to figure out how to help me with a debilitating and mysterious birth defect in my left leg.

She asked me not to tell anyone about her interest in and knowledge of astrology, saying it should be for just us and never for those outside our family. Times were different then, and she did not want to invite criticism about her hobby from either new acquaintances or old friends. Still, she said, It's always good that I know the cycles, SusanI can help you go with the cosmic tide, not try to swim against it.

I remember having lunch with Mom when I was little at the dining-room table. She would always sit down next to me, wearing her apron, and cheerfully keep me company. A Gemini, she'd make lots of interesting conversation. It was fun to be with Mom. I would eat my tunafish sandwiches, and sometimes she would talk about astrology. She said I would look at her with big eyes and swing my legs while I chewed. Today she laughs and says, I used to talk to you but you never said much, dear Susie, so I thought you weren't listening. Now I know that you heard every word!

My mother discovered astrology by accident. Her elder sister (my wonderful aunt) Harriet, the eldest of five, suddenly became interested in the subject and, wanting to have someone with whom she could talk about it, tried to get my mother involved. My mother was initially skeptical about astrology and resisted my aunt's suggestions. I think that is a very common and healthy first reaction by everyone who comes to study astrology. I don't think anybody is a born believer. Later, Mom, as a young girl of eighteen, moved to New York City and Aunt Harriet remained upstate, but they both took a home correspondence course in astrology. It was something the two sisters could still do together even though they lived apart. Mom continued to study over the next two or three years and become better and better at her hobby and more drawn to investigating the full spectrum of what the ancient art could offer. Its complexities fascinated her, and its richness never bored her active mind. My mother wrote letters to my aunt to debate certain shadings of current planetary aspects.