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Consultation Chart - Wanda Sellar
published by The Wessex Astrologer Ltd., price £14.50
Reviewed by Stephanie Norris in Astrology Quarterly Autumn 2001
  The
consultation chart is the chart drawn up for the moment astrologer and
client meet, whether face-to-face or over the telephone - the meeting
of two minds, the author calls it. Over more than 20 years as an astrologer
she has found it to be an “incredibly powerful” tool for getting
to the heart of whatever the client presents; it is “like Pandora’s
box: everything is in it, including Hope at the bottom”. And this,
it is the author’s firm belief, is the objective of both consultation
and natal chart reading: to give the client some hope even when the situation
at that moment looks bleak.
The consultation chart is also a flexible tool; used in conjunction
with the natal chart, it is an effective aid to counselling, offering
a practical way of dealing with the client’s problems. If he wants
an answer to a specific question - should he move house, will he get the
job - then it can be used as an horary chart. The author advocates the
use of any techniques that work for the astrologer, pointing out that
ultimately rules of delineation “serve only to prompt the intuition
in divulging unconscious processes”. However she recommends staying
with traditional horary rules when discussing the likely outcome of an
event.
One of the things that most appealed to me about this book is that the
author beats no drum for any particular branch of astrology; rather, she
draws on her extensive knowledge of psychology and esoteric thought, as
well as of traditional techniques, to deploy a rounded astrology, that
can perhaps be better adapted to the client’s level of consciousness,
which differs from person to person. Some people are interested only in
the physical aspect of life, others in their personal growth, yet others
in the higher, more spiritual aspects of life. No doubt this eclectic
astrology reflects the author’s role as President of the Astrological
Lodge of London, committed to “the study of astrology in all its
branches”.
It also makes the book accessible to astrologers across the board, whether
traditional or psychological, beginner or professional; that, and the
author’s clear, methodical style. Here are the terms of traditional
astrology simply and succinctly explained; a ‘cookbook’ chapter
on the all-important rising sign of the consultation chart, which indicates
the area of interest at that particular moment; chapters on both the personal
and outer planets, the nodes and Chiron - “The Magic Dragon and
the Wounded Healer” - and the houses. The author takes us systematically
through the meaning of each in the consultation chart, in a very thorough
piece of work that constitutes an invaluable aid to the use of the consultation
chart.
At the back of the book is a comprehensive section of case histories,
showing how the consultation chart can be used to help the client with
career, relationship and health issues - and even, in a sub-section entitled
Spooks, with relatives in the spirit world.
I particularly liked the chapter on the personal planets, attractively
laid out and illustrated, with a black-and-white drawing and imaginative
title for each - “Moonshine” for the Moon, “Mighty Aphrodite”
for Venus and so on. The book also has an attractive cover, showing simply
a table, chair and vase of flowers, in warm colours that invite you to
dip within its pages.
If you are a working astrologer, then this is a book you should not
only have in your library, but on your desk, next to your computer, for
quick and easy reference; however the beauty of it is that it is also
a book with which you can settle down in an armchair to pass an absorbed
hour or two.
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