Book Review

The Ultimate Guide to Astrology

Use the Guidance of the Planets

to Manifest Your Power and Purpose

by Tanaaz Chubb

Fair Winds Press

176 Pages

 

 

I started reading The Ultimate Guide to Astrology: Use the Guidance of the Planets to Manifest Your Power and Purpose, by Tanaaz Chubb, a pre-released copy sent to PaganPagesOrg for review by the publisher, Fair Winds Press. I was only on page 19 of this book and I had already learned so much about myself that I was beyond amazed. I was talking to myself – the way I do – saying, “That makes sense!” and “Wow, who knew?” and “Aries! No way!”

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book on astrology that has affected me in quite this manner – at least not in the last forty years. That’s really saying something. I dug out the professional astrological reading that I had done when my son was born – I had charts done for both of us – and started pouring over them, as I read Tanaaz’s informative prose.

Tanaaz Chubb is the creator of “Forever Conscious”, a website dedicated to all things spiritual and metaphysical. The Ultimate Guide to Astrology: Use the Guidance of the Planets to Manifest Your Powers and Purpose is her fourth book. Her website is HERE. It’s a great place to spend some time; I spent the better part of an afternoon checking out all the links and reading all the articles.

Unlike most books on astrology, Tanaaz does not start out talking about sun signs – the “what’s your sign, baby” part of astrology with which most of us are acquainted. “Your Map to the Cosmic Skies” is the title to the first section, and she explains in the paragraph on the title page that “Astrology is an ancient art that connects the Universe around you to the Universe within you,” adding that, “Once you understand the basics of it, you will be able to read your own chart, the charts of others, and the chart of our present time as well.” (Chubb, 9)

Chapter One is called “Your Birth Chart: Decoding the Cosmos Within” and the focus is on the twelve houses of the birth chart, the ascendent, descendent, midheaven, nadir, nodes, and aspects of the planets. She presents this as the foundation of our astrological education.

Reading about the descendent, midheaven and nadir, I reflected that you hear about the ascendent – the “rising sign” – all the time but rarely the descendent, midheaven or nadir signs. This is true, also, of the various aspects. I have a book about the aspects – I’ve had it for over thirty years – but most generalized books about astrology barely mention them. They are complicated – Tanaaz admits this, saying, “Aspects can be challenging to understand, especially when you are first starting. Don’t worry about grasping it straightaway.” (Chubb, 19). She adds, “Astrology can feel overwhelming but remember it’s an intuitive art.” (Chubb, 20).

In Chapter Two, “Zodiac Signs”, Tanaaz delves deeply into the “twelve energies of the zodiac” (Chubb, 24) that we each possess, regardless of our sun sign. She describes each Zodiac sign, listing its Elements and Qualities and its “Energetic Expression.” Indeed, the section starting on page 25 and continuing through page 33 is all-important and should be read carefully. If knowledge of one’s chart – the houses, the points, the various aspects – is the foundation of astrological wisdom, then the Zodiac signs that occupy these houses and make up these aspects are most certainly the walls in which that wisdom resides.

The next section, “The Blueprint of Your Soul” looks at each of these in greater depth. Tanaaz writes in the preview, “While your entire chart tells your story, there are a few key components…These are your Sun sign, Moon sign, rising sign and lunar nodes.” (Chubb, 35). This section is the nuts and bolts of the book, and every detail is important.

Chapter Three is about the Sun. After explaining that the Sun is ruled by Leo and rules over power, leadership, vitality and energy, among other fiery characteristics, Tanaaz then explains the meaning of our sun sign. She writes, “The Sun represents our life force energy and the core of who we are. It is the foundation of our personality…” She adds that we must “take the journey into understanding our Sun sign” to “connect with the essence of your center.” (Chubb, 38). She then describes the sun in each sign and house.

Chapter Four is the Sun’s opposite, the Moon. Its ruler is Cancer and it rules over emotions, moods, relationships with one’s mother, the ocean. What I really like about this chapter is that Tanaaz also writes about the cycle of the moon and how to set intentions by the moon. She even includes a fabulous Full Moon ritual for releasing negative habits and issues. Then, like the chapter about the Sun, she describes how the moon manifests in each sign and house.

 

Chapter Five is about the Nodes. Again, this is something that is never brought up in most generalized books about astrology but they are quite important. As Tanaaz writes, “The lunar nodes are technically not planets but a mathematical point calculated between the Sun and the Moon…These points indicate the karmic debts of our past and what our soul has come to achieve in this incarnation.” (Chubb, 65). Ever wonder why you act the way you do? Even if it’s not in your best interest? Look to your nodes. As Tanaaz writes, “Your north node is where you are heading, and your south node holds the clue for how you can get there.” (Chubb, 66).

Nodes are also important, because when there are eclipses – either lunar or solar – great personal transformation is possible, especially if we are aware of how the astrological reality of the eclipse lines up with our personal node signs. During what is called “eclipse season”, this knowledge can spare us unnecessary angst and drama, especially where other people are concerned.

The next section is all about the planets. The personal planets, so called because they make up our “base personality” (Chubb, 75) are Mercury, Venus and Mars. The gateway planets are Jupiter and Saturn and the asteroid Chiron. These planets are the bridge between the personal planets and the planets of the higher consciousness. The planets of the higher consciousness are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. “These planets work with us on a subconscious level, which means we don’t notice their lessons and gifts unless we are paying attention.” (Chubb, 133). Each planet has its own chapter. I’ll admit – I thought I knew quite a bit about the planets and their various aspects but I learned some new things here! For instance, it makes a difference if you’re born during a planet’s retrograde motion, something I had never considered but realized that it made sense. Naturally I had to find out what planets of mine were retrograde when I was born! Also – I knew about the Saturn Return, but I had never heard of the Jupiter Return or the various Squares of Uranus, Neptune or Pluto. In fact, every planet has its own particular cycle and knowing how these cycles affect one’s personal life and how they manifest within one’s chart is all-important. Reading about these cycles made me think about my life in an entirely new way.

The book ends at this point – I was a tad disappointed that Tanaaz did not discuss the various aspects of the planets – the trines, squares, conjunctions, oppositions and sextiles. Even if it was a superficial introduction, I think it would have been a welcome addition to this fabulous book. This is really my only criticism – I absolutely loved this book. I do hope that Tanaaz returns to this topic in more depth in the future.

All in all, The Ultimate Guide to Astrology: Use the Guidance of the Planets to Manifest Your Power and Purpose, by Tanaaz Chubb is without a doubt one of the very best books on astrology I have ever read. Put it on your list! You don’t want to miss this one!

References

Chubb, Tanaaz. The Ultimate Guide to Astrology: Use the Guidance of the Planets to Manifest Your Power and Purpose. Beverly, MA: FairWinds Press, 2021.

https://foreverconscious.com/tanaaz-chubb-biography

 

The Ultimate Guide to Astrology: Use the Guidance of the Planets to Manifest Your Power and Purpose on Amazon

 

***

About the Author:

Polly MacDavid lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic.

Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan but she gets along with a few of the masculine deities. She loves to cook and she is a Bills fan.

She blogs at silverapplequeen.wordpress.com. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.