The Passion of the Western Mind
Understanding the Ideas That have Shaped Our World View
Richard Tarna
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The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World Views by Richard Tarnas

I have to be honest, I have not finished this book. And, it is not an astrology book.

It’s the last book of the month for 2018, because it represents the energy of Jupiter in Sagittarius’ mission to improve one’s understanding of the bigger picture, of knowledge, and philosophy. To be good astrologers, to make good choices, it’s helpful to broaden one’s horizons. One way would be to learn something we don’t know about.  Or learn it more deeply.

In Evolutionary Astrology we talk a lot about Natural Law and Natural Truths. How did we come to understand those Laws and Truths and do we even understand them adequately or … truthfully?

I was in a bookstore with a friend over the summer and she waved this book toward me. So perfect. I’ve wanted to read this for a long time. Richard Tarnas writes about the history of thought, philosophy, spirituality and religion in the West. What amazed me was how much of Plato and Aristotle’s philosphies are active today. I resonated to those sections in a way where I felt… oh my gosh, I must have been alive during their lifetimes… and, wow, we are so influenced/conditioned by the past today. Just as they were influenced.

The other reason I bought the book was to practice reading something more meaty, difficult, intellectually challenging, outside of astrology, to prepare for my Uranus over the Ascendant, change of direction, which meant going back to school and reading things I had little awareness of. I was trying to train my brain to make the new learning easier. It helped.

I will finish it. A cup of coffee and section at a time to let the information sink in. I do recommend the book, if you want to know more about how we came to think the way we do. You might even understand yourself, and your family and culture’s origin of belief/religion better through your birth chart.

This might be helpful for those troubled by the current times. This is a history book about The Passion of the Western Mind. We are passionate here in the West about our beliefs, aren’t we?  For me, I like the idea of knowing about the roots of our zealousness and enthusiasm for our beliefs, then stepping back and observing, myself and others.

So the Book of the Month wraps up.