The Dark of the Soul: Psychopathology in the Horoscope

There is no doubt that this book is worth re-launching under its new publisher, for there is an incoming generation of astrologers who would benefit by the reading of it. The author is never surpassed in her easy and readable style which encompasses a wealth of psychological, astrological and mythological knowledge.

I don’t usually take to books that are transcribed from workshops, but The Dark of the Soul is certainly an exception for the pages, in my hands, turned in record time. Liz Greene’s insight into the human psyche is legendary. Mythological figures are the basis of her archetypes, and they certain come alive within the pages of this book. She weaves astrology and psychology together like the three weavers in mythology combined which results in an unsurpassed interpretation. But then ultimately, she is a psychological astrologer and she guides us straight to the point without a waffle in sight. Her mind, as always, is razor sharp and the murky paths of others’ minds are revealed with great clarity. She gives an extensive and detailed description of the clinical picture of psychopathology: traits that can be shared with the rest of humanity, but perhaps it is by degrees that we come to know those afflicted. The madman can seem quite normal on first meeting.

Though the idea of mad Dionysus initially sparks upon the page, we also look at madness associated with many of the planetary archetypes, as well as other mythological archetypes. Each has something to offer the psyche and as usual this is explained clearly and succinctly. At the time of reading and reviewing the book, Jupiter was square my Dionysus, which conjuncts my Saturn: there is no such thing as coincidence, is there?

What I particularly liked about the book is the author interweaves the human element with the archetypal, making it all seem quite natural, as if the answers were there all time, and uncovering them just needed scarce a thought. Case histories always underpin theory and there are good insights into the likes of Howard Hughes, Timothy McVeigh, Slobodan Milosevic and David Koresh.

The book, as outlined above, is the record of a workshop, and though we may marvel at the author’s insight, the students also give comments of a deep nature throughout which can naturally be put at the author’s ability to instruct.

There is really is no need to praise the astrological acumen of the author for she is well known, and continues to be venerated and read.

Traditional astrology, in my view, underpins our art but psychological astrology takes it to the more human level.

Reviewed by Wanda Sellar for Astrology Quarterly Magazine

Have you ever read through a medical dictionary and come away knowing that you suffer from cholera, diphtheria, and the Black Death? This book is an astrological study of psychopathology and offers an equivalent experience. Perhaps it should be issued with a disclaimer: “If you think the whole world is against you, read this book to discover that the outer planets have joined in too.”

With an acute astro-psych analysis of the natal charts of some of the psychopaths of recent history up to and including Hitler and colleagues, reading this book is a bit like watching Silence of the Lambs, only to realize that what you are being offered is less an opportunity to observe afflicted planetary constellations and their possible consequences in human life at a distance, but more an acutely uncompromising mirror that informs you that you too may carry the seeds of unconscious compulsion.

As ever consciousness is the $64k question. How an individual will respond to Moon-Chiron aspects (for example, among others) cannot be deduced from the chart. What can be seen in 20/20 psych clarity is how they did, and how they might be likely to. The chart itself is just a snapshot of a moment in time, applying equally to the nativity of a bedbug, a badger or a bad-actor. That said, we are shown here that there are some charts which offer greater challenge/opportunity than others in this context.

As with many of the books published by the CPA (Centre for Psychological Astrology, founded by Liz Greene) which are transcriptions of seminars, there are a few small typos in the text, a feature which is becoming more common in published literature everywhere. Juxtaposed against this small detail, is the extraordinarily impressive technical mastery of chart analysis and psychological insight displayed by Ms Greene. Kudos too, to those individuals attending the seminar who were brave and honest enough to exhibit their charts to her scrutiny.

What one comes away with after this immersion in case-study is the realization that personal choice, to the extent that one is free to make it, is incredibly important in the drama we call life, and that there but for grace … One concludes again, with Shakespeare: “The fault dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves, …”

Colin McPhillamy on Goodreads