Essays on the Foundations of Astrology

Charles Carter (1887-1968) wrote this book in London during World War II. It was his first book in more than a dozen years. In this book, Carter turns his attention to fundamentals. Why the planets are what they are. How the Sun differs from the Moon. How Jupiter and Mercury are interrelated. Having had his fill of aspects in terms of the planets, in this book Carter tells us of aspects in terms of signs and the elements they represent. A planet in a fire sign, in square to a planet in an earth sign, Carter says, is an obviously difficult combination: Fire consumes earth, or, earth smothers fire. On the other hand, air/water squares are much less stressful. Carter was particularly fascinated by the nativities of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, his contemporaries. Charts for both men are given. Mussolini he declares to be a "bombastic Italian dictator", but Hitler remained a puzzle. Carter's books, penetrating & full of unique insights, are ideal for intermediate & advanced astrologers. They are, in fact, virtually in a class by themselves. Carter's books are organic wholes. He shows how individual astrological factors combine to create living, breathing people. It is this constant interplay of factors, and Carter's brilliant, lucid exposition, that makes his books so precious.