The Key to Your Own Nativity

This book first appeared in 1911. Alan Leo himself described it as the most remarkable book ever published. In his previous books Leo told us how to calculate and interpret charts, with a distinctly Theosophical slant. In this book, Leo (1860-1917), gives the prize secrets of the astrologer's craft. Among them, delineations for the Ruler of the Ascendant (aka chart ruler), including by sign and house. More broadly, he delineates each of the planets through the twelve houses in order to turn it about and delineate the rulers of those houses, based on the nature of the houses themselves: Finance (2), Travel (3), Environment (5), Enterprise (5), Sickness (6), Marriage and marriage prospects (7), Legacies (8), Philosophy (9), Profession (10), Friends (11), and the Occult (12). What do these houses in your chart say about you? Peek inside and find out! Based on his lifetime's study, Leo gives succinct chart summaries. What life will be like if the majority of planets in your chart were in the East or West, above or below the horizon, or the majority in fire, or air, or water, or earth signs, as well as cardinal, fixed or mutable. He gives special emphasis to the luminaries (Sun and Moon), delineating the pair of them both by element, as well as in all 144 possible combinations of signs (polarities). In every chart there is a rising planet. Leo delineates it. The Moon's sign at birth gives a distinct color to the aura. Leo will tell you what yours is. What will the future bring? Leo gives delineations for progressed planets, including the progressed Moon by both sign and house. He concludes the book with a delineation for the King of England, George V. In his life, Alan Leo reintroduced astrology to the western world, a phenomenal achievement.

Alan Leo (born William Allan), lived from 1860 to 1917. He was an outstanding astrologer, but much more than that, he was an organizer and proselytizer for the art. He took the many existing pieces (those of Raphael, Zadkiel, A.J. Pierce, W.J. Simmonite, etc.) and brought them into a coherent mass. To him, and him alone, we owe the revival of astrology in the 20th century. He founded two magazines, The Astrologer's Magazine, (1890-94), as well as the celebrated Modern Astrology. He wrote numerous books & printed those of his friends, among them Sepharial, H.S. Green, Charubel, and many others.

He was a Theosophist, as were almost all the leading intellectuals of his time and founded the Astrological Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Leo was famous in his day & twice attracted the attention of the authorities. He was accused and acquitted of fortune-telling in 1914. He was again accused in 1917, losing in July of that year. He was fined some 25 Pound Sterling (about $2500 in current money). Weeks later he was dead from a stroke. Some think the strain of the second legal case brought on his death. The young Charles Carter was his successor.

The impact of his first court case was far-reaching. Advised by counsel that predicting vague generalities would spare him further legal harassment, in the last years of his life he turned from "event oriented astrology" to character description & psychological tendencies which led to the astro-psychology of the present day.