Reviews

Sasson, Gahl Eden.
Cosmic Navigator: Design Your Destiny with Astrology and Kabbalah.
Red Wheel/Weiser. Jul. 2008.
c.358p.
bibliog. ISBN 978-1-57863-420-0.
pap. $21.95. PARAPSYCH

Verdict: Sasson's activities and blended interpretations are a revelation to the uninitiated and reinvigorating to the experienced astrologer. The personal and briefly annotated bibliography is likewise illuminating. A great addition for most public libraries.
Background: Besides having one of the coolest titles ever, this book delivers a highly readable fusion of the arts of astrology and the Kabbalah. Sasson (coauthor, A Wish Can Change Your Life) makes the case that the two have always been highly integrated systems and does a superb job making both accessible and relevant to each another using metaphor and story. Not your usual this-is-what-this-means interpretation of chart placements (although he includes his own version), Sasson encourages readers to explore the 12 signs of the zodiac and their corresponding Kabbalah Hebrew alphabet and sphere from the Tree of Life; they are to take on the unique characteristics of each sign for a week in order to integrate, resonate with, and navigate their deeper cosmic messages and soul path.

— Janet Tapper, Western States Chiropractic Coll., Portland, OR Read More

Have you ever noticed how your eyes look up whenever you are looking for answers? Whether you are consciously seeking “divine intervention” or unconsciously scanning for answers to human affairs, this behavior is instinctive among all ages, cultures, and eras. Intuitively we have always known that our destiny is “written in the stars,” although the practice and science of star-gazing has changed considerably since the Babylonians first observed celestial movements and omens.

In raising our eyes to “the heavens,” could it be that we are remembering how astrological beliefs were once epitomized in the Hermetic maxim “as above, so below,” and that astrology is no less than a cosmic roadmap to our destiny? Author Gahl Sasson certainly remembers and in Cosmic Navigator he weaves us through the rich tapestry of astrological history, symbols, and myths to deliver meaningful insights into the universal dimension of human experience.

Cosmic Navigator is designed in three parts. In the first part, readers are introduced to the basic concepts of Kabbalah and Astrology and how they work together and complement each other. According to Sasson, astrology and Kabbalah have never been separated; for each it was historically a calculated and political divisiveness that created the separation. Delving into the origins of Kabbalah, Sasson discovers that in the collections of the ancient Hebrew stories, Hebrew letters were specifically associated with astrological signs and qualities. Through this and other unexpected connections, such as the Tree of Life, Cosmic Navigator re-unites astrology with Kabbalah, bringing both back to their source of mystical and philosophical backgrounds.

The second part of the book teaches you how to understand your own astrological chart and how it functions as a guide to your life. More than just another superficial self-help manual on how to find your true love or win the lottery, Cosmic Navigator encourages readers to utilize the wisdom within astrology as their personal evolutionary guide.

For example, I was pleasantly surprised to gain a new perspective about what “my sign” means in terms of my life learning. I had always assumed that as a Taurus I was pre-disposed to exhibit and embody many of the sign’s common qualities and characteristics: deep, practical, intimate, determined (not stubborn, thank you), etcetera. But Sasson gives an insight that opened my eyes: our astrological sign is actually representative of the energies that we have come to learn in this lifetime. His analogy is how we perceive the color of grass (or the sky, or anything): grass absorbs all the colors except for green, which is why/how our eyes perceive it as green. Our sign is like the color green—it is what is “missing” or not absorbed within our astrological template. As with going to university, we don’t come to this lifetime to study what we already know, we come to learn and apply what we do not know.

The final part of the book takes the reader through the twelve zodiac signs and teaches us how to use each one to bring balance and success into our lives. This dynamic section is based on Gahl's twelve-week workshop. Even if we have “mastered” our own sign, working with the predominant characteristics that the other signs represent can help us to stabilize or energize specific aspects of our astrological destiny.

As a professor, spiritual speaker, and astrologer who teaches and travels around the world, author Gahl Sasson brings an innovative approach and accumulated wisdom to understanding our changing world and our position in it. In conclusion he writes,

…we are near a tipping point. The future can go either way. As a cosmic navigator you can mold your own astrological destiny. You gravitated to that realization because you can craft the destiny of all of us too. We have arrived at this critical junction together. And our future is not written in the stars, but in our hearts.

And, for those who might be inclined to get a reading (you can get one by phone), I can say from personal experience that his readings are as innovative and illuminating as his book.

Review by Julie Clayton

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser (July 1, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-1578634200 Read More