I openly admire astrologer James Braha. Having studied astrology since I was eight years old, I have read several hundred astrology books over these last decades and when you do this, certain things emerge. Some books stand out, and in some cases it’s the writer that captures your attention, for good or ill.
I like a variety of astrologer authors for a variety of reasons. I like some writers because they are concise to the point of cutting. Others are funny. Others impress with the sheer breadth of their knowledge, others with their humility, but with all this, I consider James Braha to be in his own class. And the thing that kills me is I am pretty sure a lot of western astrologers are unfamiliar with his books.
They are unfamiliar because Braha identifies himself as a Hindu or Vedic astrologer and I think that might turn the average western astrologer towards another book on the shelf, which is too bad, because odds are it’s going to be inferior.
The other problem with these books getting out is the way they’re titled. James Braha is not a flashy person. He is not going to write How to Spot A Bastard By His Sun Sign! My impression is that he is a subtle, spiritual man in service. The kind of person who would lay his book on a bench and hope it found its audience.
This is not obvious by the book cover. Take his most excellent offering, How To Be A Great Astrologer. If you see this book on the shelf, what do you think it is? Would it occur to you that it is one of the best books on astrological aspects on the market? Probably not. Would you think that he thinks he is a great astrologer and you should be too? Maybe.
Article comments
1 - Mark
I wonder -- is it easier to write a book about astrology when the entire subject is a fabrication with no basis in fact? I don't mean to be unkind or confrontational, but it makes me sad to know that in 2007 such fantasies are still taken seriously.
2 - David
As Newton would put it.., "That's because you have not studied astrology and I have."
3 - Mark
It's actually surprising that one has to go back only 300 years to find a quote that can be twisted to seem in support of astrology. I only had to go as far as Wikipedia to get the rest of the story.
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From Wikipedia:
"I have studied these things " you have not."
-- Reported as Newton's response, whenever Edmond Halley would say anything disrespectful of religion, by Sir David Brewster in The Life of Sir Isaac Newton (1831). This has often been quoted in recent years as having been a statement specifically defending Astrology. Newton wrote extensively on the importance of Prophecy, and studied Alchemy, but there is little evidence that he took favourable notice of Astrology. Brewster attributes the anecdote to the astronomer Nevil Maskelyne who passed it on to Oxford professor Stephen Peter Rigaud.
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Really, astrology has been discredited often and thoroughly. In the interest of civility, I'll leave the details as a Googling exercise for anyone so inclined.
4 - David
But you see.., I have not mentioned astrology, you have. What I mean by the quote is.., if you have studied this art and have been unsuccessful with it, I could probably understand. But to discredit something of which you lack total knowledge.., that's called ignorance. Take astrometeorology, one can predict month, years in advance weather forecast, successfully, amoung other things.
5 - Mark
Wow, David. The claims you're making are totally amazing! I assume you must have some equally amazing evidence to back them up. Because I know you don't expect anybody to accept this stuff out of good will alone.
On the other hand, if any such evidence did exist, we'd all know about it because it would be the biggest discovery in the last thousand years.
6 - Matthew Currie
The funny thing about this conversation is that if more astrologers were like James Braha, there'd be a lot less doubt about astrology working...