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THOUGHT FORMS REVIEWS
Diamond Fire – Joseph Polansky
Steady Diamond Fire readers are well acquainted with the genius of Bob Makransky. He has been a steady contributor for years. At times he is iconoclastic, at other times infuriating – but always, invariably, illuminating. This is someone who does his homework and knows whereof he writes.
Thought Forms is an interesting mixture. It starts off as a treatise on the planet Mercury and winds up taking us on an excursion through the psychic and mental worlds. The book should appeal to astrologers and non-astrologers alike.
Chapter I – The Synodic Cycle of Mercury, is a must reading for the astrologer or serious astrological student. After reading this, you will never look at Mercury in the horoscope in the same way.
One Mercury conjunction (even in the same sign and house) is not the same as another; Mercury oriental is read differently from Mercury occidental; Mercury at his greatest eastern elongation is not the same as at his greatest western elongation; Mercury at stationary retrograde is not the same as stationary direct. All of these nuances of the Mercury cycle are discussed in depth with interpretations given. This is meaty “essence knowledge” that is worth taking into meditation and testing. Of itself, this chapter is worth the price of the book.
The rest of the book is devoted to an analysis of our mental functions – both conscious and subconscious. Here the book would appeal to non-astrologers as you don’t need much astrological knowledge to
understand it. It’s a beautiful description of the inner world.
He deals with thought forms and how to deal with them, active imagination, visualization, black and white magic and exorcism. It is all vintage Makransky – written in an original and often iconoclastic style. We might not agree with every little thing he says, but we sure enjoy the read.
Highly recommendable.
Magical Blend – Jeffrey Scott Ginn
Thought Forms by Bob Makransky is a new-age astrology work that floats between Jung and Castaneda. Our thoughts and beliefs are twisted, distorted, and formed from a very early age; our perceptions are controlled by society. So how can we truly know our feelings when we are taught to deny our senses and to be irresponsible and phony enough to hate ourselves? Thought Forms touches upon the dream mind as well as the active imagination. Learn how to banish thought forms and use light fibers to cast out demons. Not only can this book help you understand the power of your thoughts, it will also show you that what you see is what you are
American Astrology – Kenneth Irving
Having just witnessed, along with the rest of the world, a confusing period that started at a key point in Mercury’s cycle, it’s interesting that the book on top
of the review pile just happened to be about that planet. Though it’s the planet of communication, Mercury doesn’t seem to be very good at public relations, as we would guess there are few books written about it relative
to other planets. Along with that, books about Mercury tend either to be overly theoretical or threaded together out of astrological cliches (of which there are many) about the planet.
Makransky’s effort is quite a
bit different than the usual Mercury book, however, as it is based on some rather deep philosophical considerations – which nevertheless Makransky gives a practical spin – as well as some things which are unique to the
planet. As one example of how the author’s approach is on a different track than most writings about Mercury, consider the fact that there is little if anything mentioned about sign or house positions, and the aspects
considered are not of the “Mercury trines mean such and such” variety.
The real subject of this book, at the astronomical level, is Mercury’s synodic cycle. At an astrological level, it is the effect this cycle has
at the interpretive level. At the philosophical level, however, the book is concerned less with giving the reader hints and tips on using Mercury in a practical everyday sense than it is about placing Mercury
configurations in larger context.
Where the purely astronomical matter is concerned, Makransky provides a thorough explanation of key points in Mercury’s cycle – stations direct and retrograde, superior and
inferior conjunction, and greatest eastern and western elongation – and provides a complete listing of the dates, times and zodiacal positions for these phenomena from 1900 through 2050. Along with this, he also gives
instructions for using an ephemeris to find approximate dates for years before 1900.
This makes it easy to go through an existing chart file and mark either people or notable events according to where their birth falls in relation to this synodic cycle.
By the way, I’d like to take time aside to
thank the author and publisher for including something in this book that’s often missing from astrology titles: an index. The Thought Forms index is not only complete, it is also clear and easy to access.
In its most practical astrological aspect, Makransky offers interpretations for those born at key points in the Mercury cycle, using a time orb to determine which dates fall within the range of those events.
For inferior conjunction and for the retrograde and direct stations, that orb is plus or minus two days, while for superior conjunction and greatest eastern and western elongation, the time orb is plus or minus five days. As an example of how such configurations are interpreted, the author says that people born near Mercury IC (inferior conjunction) are “ .. quick to take the offensive, but in the most defensive manner. IC women are often extremely alluring – not in a crassly coquettish or flirtatious way, but with a primal sexual openness and intimacy – a naïve vulnerability which disarms men and invites them to submission. IC men often project an image of honorableness, reasonableness, punctiliousness, disinterestedness, and high-minded seriousness of purpose, which invites the trust and confidence of others … .”
This might seem to the reader of this brief review as if it were simply grabbed out of thin air, but this is only because the context, the philosophical level at which the book is written, is difficult to show
here. The title is not simply metaphorical, but rather points to the thoughts behind such interpretations. We will, however, have to leave it to the reader to explore that. Thought Forms is both highly
readable and highly informative, and is very definitely worth checking out.
Considerations – Ken Gillman
The author discusses the theory of thought forms from four very different
perspectives: astrological, psychological, metaphysical and magical.
He interprets the different phases of Mercury’s synodic cycle in terms of the natal chart and its progressions and transits. Six major signposts of Mercury’s cycle are distinguished: the Inferior and Superior conjunctions, the western and eastern greatest elongations, and the direct and retrograde stations. There are clear explanations of how different people tend to react, particularly how they think and make decisions, when born within a degree or two of these important markers, and also for those born between each pair in the sequence – producing twelve different thinking types. There are also clear instructions for determining which type an individual is, together with a listing of the times and dates of the six marking points over the period 1900 – 2050.
Over the years Considerations has been please to publish several articles by Bob Makransky. Readers have become familiar with his fresh insights into different facets of astrology. In this book Thought Forms he is especially effective and I strongly recommend its purchase and study.
S.H.A.P.E. – The Astrological Journal of Ottawa – Marion MacMillan
This book is the beginning offering from Bob in a series of books that he intends to write, following with books on the moon and
Venus. The material here relates to the subject of Mercury and the theory of thought forms.
This book is not a page turning skimmer, but one that must be read while engaging your mind. How refreshing! Mercury is the exploration of the mind which reflects our attitudes or feelings and which forms our thinking patterns and ultimately affects our choices. The synodic cycle of Mercury reveals the different ways we have of establishing our rationale toward our decision making process in forming individual logic and assumption patterns. The book explains “why people think they are right – doing the right thing and making the right choices.” Depending on where Mercury is located in relation to the sun (synodic cycle) will determine a dominant pattern of thought.
The book contains only four chapters but covers 236 pages of material.
The information is not regurgitated over and over to fill up pages, but is only referenced to connect the current information to the next level of understanding in developing the relationship between the four perspectives of astrological, psychological, metaphysical and magical processing. As stated, the material is deep, but in small summary he shows that our reality consists of sensory and conceptual thought forms that reveal how we deal with the principles of blame and shame in our lives. Thought forms fool us into thinking we are getting what we want to feel good about ourselves.
The second chapter deals with our relationship to society and its effect on our decisions of what is important, desirable, and to be avoided. Bob’s sense of humor shone through this very personal but direct layer
of our denial experience. The endless loop of seeking glory and denying shame absorbs our sexual and moral expression, projection of identity, and order of focus. All of these desires, memories and thoughts remove
us from true feelings. If you think you have heard it all regarding the female sexual role, male macho dominance or homosexual stereotyping, read this section to open your mind to another connection.
The third
chapter deals with our dream mind and how it operates to open up future prospects to our true feelings. Thoughts are linear in time, feelings are spatial and exist in dreams, but we experience these in separate
modes. This separateness causes us to doubt possibilities, use selective forgetting, or isolate memory factors. This is where the magical aspect comes into the picture.
In chapter four Bob explains the
concepts of active imagination and banishing thought forms.
To manipulate thought forms to our advantage is revealing and helps to define the level of responsibility we can accept for the consequences of our decisions. The information on black magicians and demons (don’t get hung up on the words, please) determines the local environment you find yourself in and how others are affecting you. The most difficult part of any process is awareness of what is being denied or feared and how this impacts your decision making.
Appendix 1 and 2 relate to the progressed and transiting cycle of Mercury.
He first describes how to progress the moving Mercury cycle mathematically. These progressed periods have a distinct effect on the self-image, behavior and beliefs. He interprets each progressed phase of the cycle and gives two or three examples of each phase to show how it works. The transiting phase and point of Mercury’s synodic cycle reveals a realization or inspiration, a rush of certainty or clarity, etc. He works the passage of Mercury to all the planets, moon nodes, part of fortune and the four angles in any chart, with a couple examples of each transit. Appendix 3 shows how to determine which of the six possible Mercury birth types we are.
This book has been difficult to review from a synopsis glance as the material is deep and rich. From a straight astrology perspective it will give you much to compare in charts, and reveals to me with a little
investigation so far how people are thinking, how this developed, and how it is currently impacting their actions. This interpretative nugget alone makes this book worth having on your shelf for reference and research.
Once one knows what is motivating a person’s thinking, one can choose words and suggest an approach or make suggestions that will tune into where they are now. It tells me something of how the person will be likely react in a given circumstance, and part of the motivational reasoning behind it.
Had I chosen this book from a store shelf and read the back cover I am not sure I would have wanted to read it as it sounds a bit too “New Age” for me. The book is described as a no-holds-barred guide to the
theory and practice of magic. I realized once I read the book that I was getting hung up on the terminology. I will fully agree with the statement that “You’ve never read a book like this before!” The material
is fresh and woven very skillfully to conclusion. I look forward to his next installment of the trilogy.
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