Postcards to the Future: Mercurial Musings 1995-2021

by Anne Whitaker

Postcards to the Future: Mercurial Musings 1995-2021
Order here or here

From the Preface:

I love being able to look out at the night sky, seeing the beauty of the lunar cycle and the visible planets in their ever-changing, ever-repeating patterns, knowing that being an astrologer offers one the privilege of perceiving not only astronomy but also symbolic meaning out there.

And:

My studies began as the next step in a lifelong quest to prove that our existence has some meaning, that we are not just butterflies randomly pinned to the board of fate, that we are each here because we have something unique to contribute to the Big Picture. Astrology has provided me with that proof.

Thereʹs always the right moment for everything, they say. And so it happens that these last months since Anne Whitaker send me this wonderful book as a token of friendship and long-standing cooperation, I have been incredibly busy and there was never a moment when I could take time to appreciate this gift. Now, as the darkest time of year approaches, the time has come to delve deep into the mysteries of the fine craft of astrology as practiced and experienced by this excellent astrologer.

Even just reading the table of contents feels like looking at a treasure map. You can follow the tracks of these ʺMercurial Musingsʺ in a linear way, chapter by chapter, article by article and collect your treasures along the way - in true Virgo fashion. Or - like the Gemini side of Mercury - skip and jump to and fro, picking cherries or raisins or apples to your heartʹs content, fluttering here and there like a butterfly, stopping to take a draft of nectar from a blossom only to fly to the next one for more ambrosia.

One thing is certain: whatever you do, wherever you go on this treasure hunt, youʹll always find a gem.

So, what are the stations on this map? Iʹll just name the categories to make your mouth water:

Angles & Degrees; Cusps, Houses, Twins; Cycles (KH: one of her favourite topics); Ethics & Practice; Fate; Healing & Wounding; Astrology Meets Science; Interviews; Lunar Stuff; My Mary Shelley Obsession; Planetary Ingresses, Transits, Progressions (KH: obviously another favourite); Scotland; Teaching Astrology; The Big Picture; The Twelfth House (KH: a deep one); P.S.: Windows to the Future.

Fittingly, the first article is about inspiration in the face of deadlines, or rather the presence or lack of it… Well, as Anne points out in the article, with her fiery chart, it always comes, even if like a firebolt out of the blue (her Uranus in the 10th house). Probably like the inspiration for this book, which contains not only her lifeʹs written astrological work (in this case essays, columns and articles) from 1995 to 2021 in retrospection, but also - as the title points out - Postcards to the Future. Present and future astrologers will find in this deep and varied collection nuggets of pure gold, forged in a lifetime, collected and polished for display and - most importantly - for enlightenment and use.

But not only the contents of this book are noteworthy but also Anneʹs unique writing style. It is story-telling at its finest: humourous, direct, clear, full of with and depth. Combining the ordinary with the extra-ordinary, the biographical and anecdotal with the greater context and the big picture. True to style, Anne never leaves the sphere of everyday experiences, while never failing to lift them up to a cosmic level. She never leaves the metaphysical, while weaving it into the fabric of the plainly physical.

This is something Iʹve always loved about Anneʹs articles. Youʹre drawn in from the word ʺgoʺ and you donʹt want to stop until you have reached the final full-stop.

So? Want to know more about this fascinating book? Well, go ahead: buy it here or here and immerse yourself into this world of cosmic experience. Thatʹs far better than reading a summary by some reviewer or other. May you find many precious insights and lots of inspiration!

Okay, okay, for those who would like a sneak preview: some of the ʺpostcardsʺ have indeed found their way to astro.com on previous occasions. Donʹt let this distract you from buying the book, though! Thereʹs much more to it than meets the eye...

Angles & Degrees: What Happens When Pluto, Neptune and Uranus Cross the IC?

Cycles: Paradox and the Saturn-Pluto Cycle: "In my end is my beginning ..."

Fate: The Astrological World of Jung's Liber Novus - Daimons, Gods and the Planetary Journey

Healing & Wounding: Reflecting on Chiron, as his Aries trip begins ...

Planetary Ingresses, ...: Jupiter in Libra - Putting Flesh on Symbolic Bones

The Twelfth House: Contemplating the 12th House - An Optimist's Take on Self-Undoing