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Visions of the Virgin Mary – An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession - Roberts
Visions of the Virgin Mary – An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession
By Courtney Roberts
Llewellyn Publications
St. Paul, MN
Copyright 2004
258 pages
Endnotes, glossary, bibliography, chart illustrations
$14.95
Sometimes a publisher just gets it right. Visions of the Virgin Mary – An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession is one of those times. Courtney Roberts has been an astrologer for over twenty years, and brings her two decades of experience to analysis the intriguing questions of what, if any, astrological relationships exist between the various apparitions of the Virgin Mary, as well as between the time of each apparition and the principals that see her. In writing of Visions, Roberts steps into an amazing twilight area of research that has intrigued many, but she is the first to write about it. Selecting only those apparitions deemed authentic by the Roman Catholic Church, she gives herself and the reader immediate access to a mass of material that has already been highly scrutinized. These are not visions of Mary on pizza boxes or wheat silos, but apparitions that the Roman church itself has fought to debunk and deny authenticity too, but as a result of overwhelming evidence, has conceded.
Focusing her research on the influences of the Moon, Venus, Lunar Nodes, as well as the signs of Cancer and Virgo, Roberts starts off in all the right places, and for the most part stays there. That is, one should not
expect any startling astrological revelations, on the contrary, simply good, clean, hard research based on the fundamentals. In a lot of ways, this is research at its best. Roberts shows us what has always been in
front of us, and in a writing style that will please the experienced astrologer, as well as be easily accessible to the novice. A solid introduction on the methods used, coupled with a glossary, make Visions a good book even for those who have little or no background in astrology. Experienced astrologers will be pleased to see that Roberts is highly skilled in cross analyzing charts, and dose so seamlessly between the events, as well as the events and their participants.
There is also a little something for everyone. Roberts references her sources, and uses endnotes liberally. Llewellyn Publications has been slammed, and rightfully so, for being so focused on the mass market that it has rarely
produced a book of genuine scholarly value. Hopefully Visions of the Virgin Mary will demonstrate that good reading, solid research, and mass-market publishing are not alien to each other.
In addition, Roberts carefully crosses the dividing line, showing that the apparitions, especially when viewed from an astrological perspective, cross sectarian boundaries and are clearly related to earlier pre-Christian cults,
without diminishing their current meaning.
This book comes highly recommended.
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