The Art of Chart Interpretation: A Step-by-Step Method for Analyzing, Synthesizing, and Understanding Birth Charts Paperback – Illustrated, December 1, 2008

This is an excellent guide to chart interpretation! The author provides an easy, step-by-step process on how to put a chart altogether and make sense of it. Aspects are not meant to be plucked out here and there, there is a process to weigh what is more important and what is not so important. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is seeking a clear, well-written guide by a superb astrologer who happens to be an excellent, very thorough author. All levels will find this to be a useful handbook to refer to many times.

After years of studying astrology I have been struggling with finding a way to bring a chart reading into focus. This book is exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I have been studying astrology for only one year, but this book is helping me develop my self-confidence, which I tend to lack. I am grateful to Tracy Marks for writing this book and look forward to becoming more confident in my chart reading.

The book overall is written well. It explains the general ideas of interpreting the natal chart. What is really nice is the Tracy Marks gives you her method of Analyzing the Natal Chart. She uses the Koch house method throughout the book because it has worked the best for her for the past 20 years when interviewing others. She goes through the elements, modes, planetary pattern, aspect configurations, sun and moon sign relationship, ASC and MC, Retrograde, ect. The reason I gave the book 4 stars is because it is a starting line. It is what you need to know to go further into your studies. The book does not go into too much detail. That's why there are books for transits, retrograde, aspects, and so forth. I continue to use the book all the time learning the general steps in approaching a chart. I Keep around 5 books with me all the time, and this one is included. I don't use the Koch house method. I still learned from it though.Synthesis worksheet:A: The chart as a wholeB: Determining planetary strengthC: Aspects and other chart variablesD: Preliminary SynthesisE: Additional ConsiderationsF: Primary characteristics of this chart

Fast shipping. As described. Thanks.

The explanation is so clear, that everybody can learn everything of astrology interpretation at a basic level. Worth every cent.

Not what I was hoping for, but not a bad book at all.Whether or not you like this book depends on your style of interpretation and your purpose for studying astrology.I'm not at expert in any shape or form, but I just didn't vibe with this book. I didn't like the style of interpretation used or really agree with the interpretations for many placements.This book really aims to hold your hand through chart interpretation. The method for doing that is using a big, long list. It comes off as really boring and rigid, and not to mention daunting.Then there's the issue of how the author interprets charts. They put a huge emphasis on "weighing" the importance of each placement, using the "more important" ones to read a chart. That's fine, but I think that concept is an issue in its self. What stands out in a chart is different for each person, and ultimately, you can focus on different areas of a chart and still wind up with the same conclusion. I also don't like this "weighing" method because you have to constantly ask yourself, "Is this placement more important than that one, and why?" It's just needlessly complicated to me.Another thing I didn't like is that the topics addressed were advanced, but they were discussed on a surface level. It's not very useful for a beginner.Don't get me wrong, this book has a lot of good information and I do not doubt the author's knowledge or ability at all. But for me, as a beginner studying astrology for fun, it wasn't very enjoyable or the most useful read.Conclusion: If you have a similar interpretation style, meaning you like organized lists and weighing different elements in a chart, this might be the astrology book for you. This book could be good for someone who is already at an advanced level and wants to read charts professionally. It's designed to give you a very concrete way to interpret charts. On the other hand, for a beginner like me, who is learning about astrology for fun, this book wasn't the best choice.

Excellent book! Arrived as described.