"Planetary Combinations in Astrology Charts"

[e***@gmail.com]

Hi, I just reviewed the Charter to make sure posting a notice of a new Astrology Book is within the guidelines, and it seems to be! My "Planetary Combinations in Astrology Charts" is 473 pgs. in text, 420 or so in e-book format. What I did was take all the major aspects between planets (including Sun and Moon, of course) , and found famous or notable, unusual or unique persons who happen to have a given aspect (up to 4 aspects per individual). I ended up with some 900 sections and 700 individuals. Now, when someone wants to see what MARS CONJUNCTION PLUTO or SUN SQUARE NEPTUNE, (as two examples, may signify, they can see paragraphs about individuals who have these aspects. There is also preliminary descriptions of the meanings of individual aspects, and I get to throw-in some of my own (at times controversial) viewpoints on things astrological.

Right now I have the book available in one format only: Amazon/Kindle, but I'm hoping to make it "publish on demand" through Changespace within a few weeks. I would be thrilled if any astrologers would report back with suggestions or with a Review. It is under my name -- Ed Augusts. I also have a new Tarot book and one coming up on the Four Elements.

Gee, I haven't been here on alt.astrology.mod for quite a while, and it seems very quiet here, with limited posts and topics compared to years ago. Hmmm, I wonder what happened? People drifted away? Are they on Twitter and Facebook these days? That's sad! Thank You!

[unknown]

Post by e***@gmail.com
Hi, I just reviewed the Charter to make sure posting a notice of a new
Astrology Book is within the guidelines, and it seems to be! My
"Planetary Combinations in Astrology Charts" is 473 pgs. in text, 420 or
so in e-book format. What I did was take all the major aspects between
planets (including Sun and Moon, of course) , and found famous or notable,
unusual or unique persons who happen to have a given aspect (up to 4
aspects per individual). I ended up with some 900 sections and 700
individuals. Now, when someone wants to see what MARS CONJUNCTION PLUTO
or SUN SQUARE NEPTUNE, (as two examples, may signify, they can see
paragraphs about individuals who have these aspects. There is also
preliminary descriptions of the meanings of individual aspects, and I get
to throw-in some of my own (at times controversial) viewpoints on things
astrological.
Right now I have the book available in one format only: Amazon/Kindle,
but I'm hoping to make it "publish on demand" through Changespace within a
few weeks. I would be thrilled if any astrologers would report back with
suggestions or with a Review. It is under my name -- Ed Augusts. I also
have a new Tarot book and one coming up on the Four Elements.
Gee, I haven't been here on alt.astrology.mod for quite a while, and it
seems very quiet here, with limited posts and topics compared to years
ago. Hmmm, I wonder what happened? People drifted away? Are they on
Twitter and Facebook these days? That's sad! Thank You!

Yes, even a few months ago, the group was busier than this. I don't know
quite what went wrong, but maybe it'll bounce back - it's happened before.
I haven't been doing much astrology myself, because I haven't been well and
it affects my concentration. I drew up the abdication chart for Queen
Beatrice (Todd's posting 28th Jan) though, so I'll post something about that
when I finally get around to interpreting!

Can't get along with e-books, but will keep an eye out for the paper
version. Do let us know if and when that comes along.
All the best,

[Ato Z]

Your book sounds like a worthy and informative addition to astrological
literature. Best of luck!

As to this site, I'm not sure where everyone has gone, either. I lurked
here a lot (and posted a number of times) about 8 or 9 years ago.
I got the impression that most of those here seemed unusually interested
in non-traditional and experimental astrological techniques. Nothing
wrong with that, except that there was a tendency to defend some
unproven astrological theories as if they were undeniably true; and to
sniff at more traditional techniques as being outmoded and "unglamorous"
- even though I have found tried and true doctrine much more reliable
when it comes to interpreting.

I recall that I once pointed out that much the same view was advanced by
a very well known and respected American astrologer who lived in the
first half of the 20th century. The general response was sort of, "Well,
who cares what he thought? He had his opinion and we have ours." But
what those posters apparently were unaware of was that the aforesaid
astrologer was the head of a group that had, in a virtually
unprecedented way, for decades researched astrology, collecting vast
numbers of data, and had tested very many theories, old and new, with
the intent of correlating the data with demonstrated facts. And they had
concluded that some of these theories simply are not reliable in actual
practice.

But people have their pet theories and it would seem they don't care to
have them challenged.

Perhaps these posters have formed their own group, where they can
speculate to their heart's content!

Best,
RW

[Todd Carnes]

Hi Ed!

Long time, no see. :)

Todd

[Kjell Pettersson]

/The following is slightly off-topic, sniffing along the border of what the Charter allows./

Though we are not supposed to discuss moderation in the group, I seize this opportunity to clarify that if on-topic and of obvious interest to the group, "ads" are allowed, at least for books, courses etc that seem they would pass peer review. We think of such as information. It need also to be said that the *allowing* of such a post does not constitute *endorsement* of any product or person's point of view.

Your book certainly seems to hold this professional standard, which, truth be told, not all attempts at posting information about books or other products to this group can be said to have done. It is the good ol' idea of signal versus noise, cherished by moderators of all stripes and colors. Though I have not read your book, I have read your posts and the description of the book also shows clearly that signal is high, noise low or non-existent. Naturally, such a post with commercial information from a person with a history in the group -- preferably not a history of rejected posts -- will be easier to judge than one from someone who never posted to the group before. Content is king, and context is queen.

Everyone is welcome to contribute with such information, on behalf of their own products, or those of others, if on-topic and with more content than a pure sales pitch. Reviews are also welcome.

And if I take off my moderator hat I'd say that the concept of the book seems to be a good one that could very well attract general interest. I wish you the best of luck with finding customers and readers!

If I speak with both hats on and say something about the relative silence nowadays I think it has a very concrete reason: many ISPs nowadays do not provide Usenet any more. Usenet via Google Groups is always there, of course, but switching interface is a barrier interfering with habits. And, of course, the whole social media thing is a form of competition, too, though it does not necessarily need to be. I think the ISPs is more of a problem.

Ways to address this and suggestions on how to increase posting are welcome. All suggestions will be considered and if practical and possible, may very well be implemented. I will probably make a separate reply on this and let it branch into a new thread, so hang on and share if you have any thoughts!

Again, best wishes for your book!

/Kjell

Post by e***@gmail.com
Hi, I just reviewed the Charter to make sure posting a notice of a new Astrology Book is within the guidelines, and it seems to be! My "Planetary Combinations in Astrology Charts" is 473 pgs. in text, 420 or so in e-book format. What I did was take all the major aspects between planets (including Sun and Moon, of course) , and found famous or notable, unusual or unique persons who happen to have a given aspect (up to 4 aspects per individual). I ended up with some 900 sections and 700 individuals. Now, when someone wants to see what MARS CONJUNCTION PLUTO or SUN SQUARE NEPTUNE, (as two examples, may signify, they can see paragraphs about individuals who have these aspects. There is also preliminary descriptions of the meanings of individual aspects, and I get to throw-in some of my own (at times controversial) viewpoints on things astrological.
Right now I have the book available in one format only: Amazon/Kindle, but I'm hoping to make it "publish on demand" through Changespace within a few weeks. I would be thrilled if any astrologers would report back with suggestions or with a Review. It is under my name -- Ed Augusts. I also have a new Tarot book and one coming up on the Four Elements.
Gee, I haven't been here on alt.astrology.mod for quite a while, and it seems very quiet here, with limited posts and topics compared to years ago. Hmmm, I wonder what happened? People drifted away? Are they on Twitter and Facebook these days? That's sad! Thank You!

[Kjell Pettersson]

Post by e***@gmail.com
Gee, I haven't been here on alt.astrology.mod for quite a while, and it seems very quiet here, with limited posts and topics compared to years ago. Hmmm, I wonder what happened? People drifted away? Are they on Twitter and Facebook these days? That's sad! Thank You!

Thank you!

The few survivors left, including possible lurkers, and returning old-timers cannot fail to notice the same thing as you comment upon above. When I was asked if I wanted to moderate at first I thought it would -- or should -- include being some kind of "host" to the group. But that is not what moderation is about, and I did not choose that role.

However, at this point it may be that a host role is becoming more relevant. I take your post as a starting point to present some thoughts on your comment, and invite you and the group to think out loud with me.

For one thing, speaking of hosts, the expectations of the general public have been changed since the phenomenon "social media" came into being, which actualizes the question if the group should re-position of re-purpose itself.

These are thoughts that have been on my mind, and -- as always, and it cannot be too much repeated -- ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Let me also share a couple of ideas that I am contemplating, though I have not found a format for them yet.

- - -

1. "Group for hire"

As I touched upon in another post, the role -- and availability! -- of Usenet is changing. Google Groups, though probably a bit frowned upon by Usenet purists, provides a web-based interface. It is possible to use this interface to let web sites host Usenet groups on the website, by simply using a form of frames.

This is how the website is made available at www.altastrologymoderated.com.

We could offer this form of "hosting" the group to astrologers with websites, but without the inclination, or time, to engage in moderation and all that stuff. Though I wrote "for hire" above, that was only an expression, for this would then not be charged.

However, to make this an attractive alternative one needs to have an idea about the format, and I have not yet had that self-evidently supreme idea worth pushing for -- read: suggestions welcome!


2. Group archives

There is a wealth of information and interesting discussions in the archives of the group. This gold mine could be made more visible, somehow, but the challenge to overcome in connection with this idea is that the group's raison dŽêtre is not really about providing information or reading material but about interactivity between people who share an interest. We were social media of a kind long before the phrase came along.

For that matter, as Todd's recent post on getting emails about a years old post testifies to, the traffic is really higher than what can be seen by the participation. The archives ARE accessed and used -- but when we speak of increasing the traffic, what is really of interest is increasing the *participation*.

So, how do we make of our gold mine something that activates the stray visitor and invites them contribute as well?

- - -

These are two ideas that may, perhaps, be worth developing. I could go on, but I think it is good to leave some space for others to think also, so I stop here.

For now at least. ;)

/Kjell