Astrology for Mystics: Exploring the Occult Depths of the Water Houses in Your Natal Chart

by Tayannah Lee McQuillar

A guide to discovering and developing the spiritual and mystical talents hidden in your astrological chart

• Explores the 4th, 8th, and 12th houses of the natal astrological chart—those connected with the water signs, the deepest and darkest areas of the individual psyche, profound spiritual insights, and hidden knowledge

• Explains how to interpret the signs and planets in the water houses of your birth chart, including how to develop the innate talents and spiritual powers you discover

• Reveals the occult and psychic significance of water and shows how this significance is expressed in each of the three water Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, the rulers of the water houses

Your astrological birth chart, or natal chart, shows the positions of the planets, sun, and moon at the time of your birth. Shaped like a circle or wheel, it is divided into 12 sections, or “houses,” each connected with a different area of life or self. The positions of the planets within the houses offer deep and often complex insight into your unique gifts and your life’s path.

In Astrology for Mystics , Tayannah Lee McQuillar explores the 4th, 8th, and 12th houses--those connected with the element of water and all things occult, mystical, and spiritual. The fourth house, ruled by water sign Cancer, is traditionally the house of family, home, ancestors, and suffering. The eighth house, ruled by water sign Scorpio, is the house of sex, death, secret powers, and transformation. The twelfth house, ruled by Pisces, is the house of karma, loss, unspoken expectations, fantasy, and confinement. As McQuillar explains, these are the houses that reveal the deepest and darkest areas of the individual psyche, which many people are reluctant to explore, yet this triad is the key to profound spiritual insights as well as the discovery of hidden knowledge and abilities.

The author guides you through interpreting the signs and planets that inhabit the water houses in your natal chart and shows how they reveal specific innate talents. She describes how to develop the hidden powers revealed by your chart and offers practical advice for incorporating this knowledge into your daily life for spiritual growth and self-improvement. Sharing interpretation examples from her practice, she also explores how to embrace the challenge of the occult water houses so you can claim the many treasures that can only be found on the ocean floor of the psyche.

Genres: Astrology, Magic

176 pages, Paperback

Published March 9, 2021

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will note from the outset of my review that I am not a professional astrologist, but I have read a number of books on the topic and am studying astrology in a fairly dedicated way at the moment. My review comes from a perspective of, I would say, someone on the more advanced end of "beginner."

Astrology for Mystics focuses on the four water houses - 4, 8, and 12 - of the birth chart, in particular emphasizing the significance of the sign and any planets present. I picked up this book having previously appreciated another book by McQuillar, and having three planets in these houses (two in the 4th and one in the 12th - including my Pisces sun).

McQuillar is clear from the outset that in terms of her own approach, she "consider[s] the forecasts of experts" and integrates her own experience [4] - in discussing astrology for mystics, she characterizes mystics as having various relationships with traditional knowledges of the societies in which they live, but separating themselves to a degree to "connect with the divine on their own terms" [1].

I appreciated McQuillar's care in making her book easy to navigate for a beginner. She explains how to print a chart on astro.com and how to find the relevant information, providing an example (and several more examples of chart readings at the end). She doesn't get into house systems here, but her diagrams depict Placidus charts. She clearly explains not only the significance of each sign and planet in each of the water houses, but also does something too many authors seem to forget to do: explain the relationship between sign and house, planet and house, sign and planet. This means the book gets past, for instance, "someone with cancer in house 4 may ___" to the point that a beginner can put together some concepts to begin to understand why.

The book feels, broadly speaking, inclusive, though in the odd place language like "the opposite sex" turns up, which feels rather limiting. I really, really like that the book doesn't lean into gendering the elements or feminizing water energy -- McQuillar's wonderful introduction includes a brief discussion of water deities and spirits, water in Hoodoo, water in flood myths, and more, and doesn't ascribe gender to it at all. A short bibliography would've been nice - being already familiar with her work, I know McQuillar's work is well researched.

I read the book with particular attention to my own placements as well as those of my partner, and found a lot of very specific details to be very accurate in McQuillar's analysis of our placements.

[Lalia Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reviewer received a copy of the book from the publisher.

Astrology for Mystics is a detailed exploration of astrological birthcharts from the perspective of the water houses. The six inch by nine inch 170-page book looks at the signs and planets occupying the fourth, eights, and twelfth houses of the horoscope. There is much that is called to our attention in this volume. While pieces of the information are available here and there, this is the first book I’ve seen in over five decades that specifically addresses these three houses in Western Astrology.

Let me start by praising the author, Tayannah Lee McQuillar for her HooDoo Tarot deck and book, a remarkable and useable deck with much to teach all. Here McQuillar again pioneers new ground as she did for the HooDoo Tarot. In this case, few astrologers address much about the three water houses, the fourth, eighth, and twelfth, at all. McQuillar is to be congratulated for seeing this gap and creating a way to enter a chart reading by focusing on these private houses of the horoscope.

That said, it is useful to distinguish between her audiences for this book. First, for the general public, there is a lot to learn about yourself and others from your chart and using this book to interpret it. However, if this is your only exposure to “real” astrology, you need to be aware that there is a whole lot more to the subject, some of it seeming to contradict what you read here. Second, for the psychotherapist or clinician, here is a real key to understanding aspects of your clients that are private and that they may not even be able to verbalize. That said, there’s a lot more to astrology than you will see here. But, this book will give you then information that may well be what you need to help a client.

Lastly, astrologers will have a number of complaints or concerns. First, almost every astrologer is taught to approach the chart through the Big Three: Sun sign, Moon sign, and Ascendant or Rising sign. That is not how McQuillar approaches birthcharts. Instead she is approaching the chart through the fourth, eighth, and twelfth houses. Astrologers, remember that you can interpret a chart by pulling any thread. You can literally start anywhere. The art of using astrology for others involves picking the right threads to pull, finding the elements of the birthchart that are meaningful to the client at this time.

Astrologers will also notice that McQuellar did not speak of which zodiac she is using. We can pretty safely assume that it is the Western Tropical Zodiac, not the Vedic or Sidereal Zodiac, but that was not stated. Of more concern is the question of astrology’s houses, something of great importance in a book about any of the houses. Astrology has at least ten different house systems, a subject of great controversy in the astrological community. Why it matters here is that the sign on a specific house is determined by the house system used, almost always subject to change for the eighth and twelfth houses.

In addition to not stating which house system she was using, McQuillar did not indicate how she determined which sign influenced which house. Was it the sign on the house cusp? Or was it the sign that “owned” the most degrees of the house, even if it was not on the house cusp? McQuillar also did not specifically point out how to look at a chart and see what line represented the house cusp. (As you go counter-clockwise around the houses it is the first line demarking that house.)
Finally, for reasons of simplicity, the degrees were omitted from the illustrations and the discussions. This may be confusing to both novices and astrologers.

In summary, while there are some omissions in this book, there is much that is of value. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to look “inside” a chart.

[~m · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Astrologers have have a different way of pulling meaning from a birth chart. In this book Tayannah shows you hers with the caveat that you use it to find your own. It is a good and useful read. I loved the invitation this book gives to pull a thread in your chart and create a story to stimulate growth for yourself.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy read. With birthchart in hand, one can very easily find the necessary information. Descriptions are interspersed with action points and advice. As always, Tayannah Lee Macquillar always leaves you wanting more because it’s fascinating stuff.

[MacKenzie Galloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely concept, but many errors. Classified Virgo as an air sign. Misread Dorthey Dandridge's chart. I tried to read it front to back but it's definitely something you more so use as a reference when giving readings or studying specific charts.

[Blogger6Fowl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, so insightful and accurate and interesting. I understand more things about my birth chart after reading this book than I did before.