English-speaking readers fond of Astrology already know the Author, thanks to his previous works - Transits and Solar Returns and Lunar Returns and Earth Returns, which have also been translated into several other languages. In a practice of almost forty years of astrological research, the Author has studied and guided over twenty thousand aimed birthdays; he has also published a dozen books specifically on Solar Returns and Lunar Returns. This is his fifth work in English; two of them can be downloaded free from his webpage www.cirodiscepolo.it – In this volume Ciro Discepolo deals with the second ‘resource’ on which his Active Astrology is based (the first one being the aimed birthday): the so-called exorcism of symbols. In these pages the Author suggests to the Reader about what can be done when you cannot aim, i.e. actively relocate your birthday (either your Solar or Lunar Return) by a practical application of the notion of ‘activating’ or ‘constellating’ a symbol. For example, Ciro Discepolo claims that if you can not leave for an aimed birthday to avoid Saturn being placed in the 5th House of your next Solar Return, during the twelve months covered by the SR, you had better devote more time to your kids, help them in their studies or in their sporting activities, pay the fee to enrol them in a course, perhaps abroad, where they could learn new subjects and/or nurture and improve their condition in a broad sense. Planet by planet, House by House, this volume contains all the suggestions of the Author on the exorcism of symbols – a useful practice also in the case you do relocate your Solar and/or Lunar Returns: for example if you have willingly left some dissonant position in your map of Aimed SR or of Aimed LR, and you wish to lower the threshold of risk a little more. The volume also explains the philosophical and psychological roots justifying the practice of the exorcism of symbols.
Ciro Discepolo is a journalist and a former researcher of CNR (National Research Council). He’s been dealing with astrology since 1970. He has written over sixty books – most of them on this particular subject. Astrologically speaking, he followed the school of André Barbault. He then founded the school of Active Astrology. He has been doing statistical researches from the very beginning of this interest in astrology. At the beginning of the ’90s, he obtained very brilliant results with researches on astral heredity on a sample of over 75,000 subjects. His works have been translated, from Italian, into English, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Hungarian, and Slovenian.
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
By Roy
I have been practicing astrology for a very long time, and generally avoid astrology books. When I discovered the work of Ciro Discepolo, and this book in particular, I was pleasantly shocked. Ciro's approach to working with clients is almost identical to my own. What I try to do with clients is to give them suggestions as to how to "ground out" or "discharge" the "difficult" planetary combinations. I have thought of hundreds of ways to help them do so, but Ciro probably has a hundred to every one I've thought of. Plus, he is the founder and foremost practitioner of "Aimed" return chart methodology in the world today. The clarity with which fundamental astrological principles shine through his writing is impressive, despite the translation. About that - if anyone has a hard time reading through the translation - study Hindu Astrology with the vow not to read a book written or co-written by a westerner on the subject.
Anyway, I've studied, used and taught many techniques of astrology (Sidereal, Hellenistic, Tajika, and others) in the past. I find Ciro's methods of "Aimed Birthdays" and "Symbol Exorcism" to be simple, succinct, direct and useful. Some of the suggestions may appear to be difficult, but the inconvenience is far less painful than accepting the worst possibilities of a difficult Solar or Lunar Return. This is my indisputable observation. My experience proves that these methods work, and I have several decades of it. Some may think this is an old-fashioned view of astrology. I don't really care, because I'm into what works. I look at the indications of the horoscope as being multifaceted; there are good and bad possibilities in everything. Generally, the undesirable possibilities have a tendency to manifest themselves more easily in our lives; that's how life is. Most professional analysts and therapists will tell you the same thing using different language. With Active Astrology, we use the chart in such a way that we give the unwanted possibilities something else to do, so that we don't have to suffer their imposition in our affairs.
I have written elsewhere that we have the fatalists and determinists of the past two or three thousand years to thank for coming up with reliable guidelines for quickly finding difficult astrological combinations. Mr. Discepolo's approach to "Aimed Solar and Lunar Returns" enables us to change our personal relationship to these combinations in order to moderate or antidote their worst possibilities. As opposed to the expensive and culturally dissonant "propitiatory" methods of Hindu Astrology (not to mention the almost indecipherable methods of "Lal Kitab"), the techniques of Active Astrology are almost universally applicable and produce startling results, without requiring a change in your belief system. And, more often than not, they are fun.
I must admit that I am rather excited about this method. I am in the process of developing a website to give people easier access to this technique. This project has Mr. Discepolo's "benediction", and we do correspond with one another. I am also somewhat of a minimalist as far as my artistic taste goes, and Active Astrology appeals to me in this way too, because it uses a minimum of simple astrological technology, and puts the emphasis on the experience. You can't control the wind, but you can control the sails, and the Solar and Lunar return charts, as described in his books, are one heck of a well-seasoned crew that can help you get your ship of life where you want it to go.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
By Georgiana Costescu
I went to different astrologers to receive answers on my life and get cure for the problems that I faced. They all indicated with precision the problems that I had and offered only psychological counseling, like "try to be more flexible", "think positive", "concentrate" or "wait ten more years and maybe you will get what you are looking for". Others even comforted me with the karma: "I'm sorry for you, but now you are paying for the wrong things you did in a past life" or even menaced "Stop all these things that you are doing now or you will pay double in a future life". Tired of all these "pieces of advice", I decided to find somehow a different approach in Astrology.
Luckily I discovered Ciro Discepolo's books on Solar Returns. This truly changed my outlook in life. His work on Solar Returns indicates exactly how to attain positive situations in life using Astrology. His book Aimed Solar and Lunar Returns shows in the purest way how to use the transits together with the Solar Returns in order to protect ourselves from the bad celestial influence and even achieve our goals in life.
I discovered that it is in our power to change bad situations into positive ones. We only need to understand the meaning of the aspects and transits and act accordingly to their nature. Ciro Discepolo explains all these aspects in his book and offers many examples. It is easy and important to identify problems on a chart, but it is more important and vital to find real solutions to these problems, otherwise Astrology would be useless. Mending trough personal actions challenging celestial influence defines Active Astrology. The individual no longer waits for bad events to arrive, not even confronts them, but manages to avoid or even eliminate them. This is simply wonderful!
This book, together with "Transits and Solar Returns", is a masterpiece of Astrology and the work of a genius. No one, until this point, has ever interpreted the Solar Returns and Transits this way before. This astrologer not only tells people how to get rid of forthcoming problems and disasters ("Transits and Solar Returns"), but also indicates, in this book, how to confront bad aspects and transits and manage to make it through.
Ciro Discepolo writes in a very direct manner, the journalistic style, and this makes the information very accessible to the reader. Anyone can understand how transits and Solar Returns truly work by simply reading Ciro Discepolo's books. He brought Astrology close to people that want to make a difference in life by manipulating good or bad astrological aspects.
Anyone should read this book, whether they are professional astrologers or regular people. "Aimed Solar and Lunar Returns" could be interpreted as a very strong and useful conclusion of a lifetime passionate research in the wonderful field of Astrology. Her author dedicated more than 40 years of his life studying hundreds of thousands of charts and doing researches on Solar Returns and transits, so this is 100% an authentic Astrology document.
Ciro Discepolo started a new era of science in Astrology seen eyes wide opened. There is no longer place in the field of sciences for philosophical or metaphysical Astrology. Traditional philosophical Astrology can only be read as a very good piece of literature that enriches ones vocabulary, but is not able to empower people to forecast and ease their future. We need straight answers to our concerns and substantial solutions to our endeavors for a better life. Encouraging and nice words like "the Sun in the 12th house of the Solar Return will make you grow spiritually" won't stop the unpleasant events to take place. A Saturn will always bring difficult situations or will completely block ones actions, even with good aspects. So, it is useless to promise spiritual growth, maturity and stability just for the sake of optimism.
It may seem that positive situations are difficult to achieve. It is true, but since we have this powerful tool called the Aimed Solar Return, we will finally be able to decide ourselves what to improve, achieve and, moreover, when.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
By Raven Hawk
Ciro Discepolo is one of those rare Astrologers that get it.
His books are made to be easy to understand. If your a novice then you can learn from them and if your a professional then you can use them for reference.
I personally am a professonal Astrologer and have LOVED all of Ciro Discepolo books.
In this edition it teaches you how to interput the planets and their aspects in relation to the sun and its return to the birth position. Each year the sun return to the same degree when we were born, from this is called the Solar Return, indicators for the future year are given from this stand, and how to detect future possible problem areas.
With a Normal Solar or Lunar return the planets are based on where you are located at the time of your birthday. If this is not possibleto be in a better zone, then with AIMED SR AND LR you can find a way to help the balance of the planets.
Here Ciro shbows how to make the best of the planets in the location they are in.
AIMED SOLAR AND LUNAR RETURNS has been right on the mark with all the charts I have sampled it against.
I strongly recomend this book for anyone who is seeking the answers.
Well written and totally enjoyed
Cece Stevens, professional Astrologer
