AUG 10, 2009 - Ptolemy - Tetrabiblos is, if not the actual cornerstone of Western astrology, at least the foundational text of the Western astrological tradition. It's a subtle distinction, but the fact remains that reading and periodically re-reading Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos is a useful exercise for all students and practitioners of the western system. This is a complete and mostly faithful transcription of the 1940 Frank Egleston Robbins English translation of the seminal Greek text, courtesy of Bill Thayer and the University of Chicago. Students of the cosmic craft should read Thayer's "Notes and Apparatus, Terminology" passage (several paragraphs), for clarity's sake. (Non-astrological types needn't bother, but they should.) As with any true classic, what's important in the text varies with each new reading down through the years. All the more reason to come back to Ptolemy - Tetrabiblos periodically: it's as much a revelation about oneself and one's own astrological identity, as it is about Ptolemy's world and his astrology.
