Where in the World? Astro*Carto*Graphy & Relocation

This is a fantastic book. Essentially, it is the manuscript of a series of seminars explaining this fascinating subject. Erin Sullivan is lucid and articulate bringing what could be a complex subject to life, and makes it accessible. It’s like having a front row seat at the seminar. Ana Isabel for Lightways Astrology   It's a real pleasure to be able to review this book, as it is unique in several different ways and it has been out of print for some time. The original publication year was 1999, as volume 12 of the Centre for Psychological Astrology Seminar Series, which rendered seminars given at the center (located in the UK) in print form. I'm not sure how this one ended up going underground, a term I use because a search for old copies of the original in several well-stocked used booksellers online turned up exactly one, listed on Amazon at a scalper price of over $900. My advice in regard to that one is to save your money, because the edition under review is exactly the same book, and the gap of a couple of decades since first publication haven't dimmed its luster. Erin Sullivan is a well-known and well-traveled writer and lecturer on astrology, and when it comes to this particular subject she definitely knows what she is talking about, as she learned it as one benefit of her long friendship with the late Jim Lewis, the originator of the mapping and interpretive system that he styled Astro*Carto* Graphy (ACG). It's important to note here that not only is she an expert on the subject, but she also was the central figure in keeping it before the astrological public by convincing a reluctant Jim to write a book on the subject, which at that time was understood in depth by only a few astrologers who had gone through his certification course. Erin, who at that time was the series editor for Penguin's Arkana Contemporary Astrology Series, was ready to sign a contract with him when he was diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer. The writer of this review ended up finishing that book (The Psychology of Astro*Carto*Graphy) about a year after Jim, who was also my longtime friend, had passed away. What is unique and valuable about the republication of Erin's work is that while books like the one just mentioned that deal with this subject do a good job of explaining the basic principles of the subject, her deep knowledge of ACG and her ability to present it in seminar form to a well-educated audience make Jim's creation come alive. Over the many years I've been reviewing books on astrology I've come to dread having to review books based on transcribed lectures and seminars, as all too often the magic goes out of even a perfect presentation when it's reduced to plain words on paper. Not so with this one, however, as from the first page you feel you're there in the lecture room, listening to Erin bring you right into the center of the topic. The audience participation is quite refreshing as well, as there is a lively give-and-take that moves the discussion along and elaborates the finer points of the relationship between the basic horoscope and the intriguing maps that extend its range from the birthplace to every corner of the world. It is all too easy in a seminar situation to let questions throw the lecturer off track, but Erin takes every interjection, answers it thoroughly, and uses that answer to bring it back to the main point. At times while reading through it I almost felt that I could raise my hand and ask a question, and though that may sound a bit silly, it just goes to the fact that what I was reading captured the essence of a well-organized, wellpaced, in-person seminar. The book is divided into two parts, the first of which aims at giving the reader an overview of ACG and an understanding of the details of the subject, and the second of which explains how to use the combination of a birth chart and an ACG map to consider a move, a vacation, or even a long-distance relationship. Erin Sullivan's Where in the World? is a lively, detailed presentation of every aspect of Jim Lewis' Astro*Carto*Graphy, and it's a good way to start learning the subject in order to apply it to your own life, or to the lives of friends, family, or clients. It is good to see it back in print. Reviewed by Ken Irving for Horoscope Guide May 2021