The following review of The Light of Venus appeared in the March/April 2013 NCGR Member Letter. It is reprinted here with permission.
The Light of Venus: Embracing Your Deeper Feminine, Empowering Our Shared Future, by Adam Gainsburg, Soulsign Publishing, www.Soulsign Publishing.com, 2012. Paper. 289 pp.
This book offers not only a thorough discussion of the 13 Venus phases,but also a complete system of tracking those phases in the sky should you want to. And even if you don’t want to,Gainsburg—who is clearly an avid skywatcher himself—may change your mind with his insights. He also makes it easy for you to know where to look for Venus, as clear diagrams of each phase are included along with other astronomical information such as the length of each phase as they are not of equal length.
The book opens with a statement of purpose, a bit of relevant background on Gainsburg himself, a discussion of life purpose, dharma, and the feminine, and an introduction to what the phases are and how they work. This is followed by a section containing the interpretations of the phase cycles themselves. For each of these phases, there are several names, a description of this phase of the Heroine’s journey and what it means, and relevant astronomical information. There are also interpretations of the sub-phases within the phase itself. And last but not least, there are meditation images designed to help you access parts of your consciousness beyond the filter of your left brain.
The meditations are evocative and powerful and can be done either simply as a personal meditation for your phase or as an ongoing serious of meditations to carry you through the whole cycle of the year. And yes, a table of phase cycles is included for dates from 1900 to 2105, so you’re more than covered for whatever work you want to do. I found the meditational material evocative and the phase interpretations very relevant both for myself and the few people I guinea-pigged.
There are several appendices too. If it’s your habit to just skip these, don’t! While some of them are more or less review of the material already covered, you’ll also find some very good information on the relationship between Venus and the Moon—and most of this information covers ground I have not seen covered elsewhere—plus a bit of information on Sun-Venus aspects. And last but not least, there’s an extensive bibliography that includes astrology, astronomy, psychology, spirituality, and of course the feminine. No index, but the table of contents is thorough. No charts, though there is an example case study for Candice Bergen, with data listed.
Gainsburg has taken pains to make this book as jargon-free as possible, and has pretty much succeeded. The book is clear, readable, and user-friendly. It is therefore suited to all levels of astrology as well as to the interested layperson—no mean feat to accomplish. More than a cookbook, more than a meditational tool, and more than yet another discourse on the feminine, this book is a definite keeper. I heartily recommend it!
Review by Donna van Toen
