THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF LUCK by Gary Goldschneider. Riverhead Books, Penguin, New York, NY, 2004. $15.00 pb. Gary Goldschneider is that unique author who combines intuition and intellect in a remarkable way to put together such books as The Secret Language of Birthdays and The Secret Language of Relationships, both of which are, rightfully, very popular.
Gary’s books are based on astrology, but he uses it in a special way. He divides the year into 48 periods, each of which is a "week" with a special character. Gary bases his descriptions on his lifelong study of "personology," which is about real people in real situations pegged to real times. Astrology can become too abstract, and formula- bound. Together with personology, Gary applies astrology to life in terms of the natural rhythm of the year.
In this book Gary works with Jupiter, considered the planet of luck. He also includes a shorter section of "Saturn’s Shadow." The beauty of all Gary’s books is that they are easy to use knowing only the birth date.
In the Luck book, Gary provides a simple chart so that readers can find the birth number of their Jupiter. Then he charts the meaning of that Jupiter on three levels. One level is through the year itself, another level is the periods of the year which hold that particular Jupiter luck depending on one’s birth date, and the third level is the all-time birth meaning for that person or for that date. Further, Gary gives us types of activities for each period or subperiod which can help to harness that particular luck.
For example, let us look up the luck of our two presidential candidates, GW Bush and John Kerry.
Bush was born on July 6, 1946. His birthday is in The Week of the Unconventional. Kerry’s birthday, December 11, 1943, is in The Week of the Titan.
Bush’s Jupiter falls in The Week of Society. "Get Out More" is the theme for this week. The description fits him perfectly. He needs to get out, make contacts, be involved in community activities, take responsibility, interact with family in order to realize his personal success. The election date does not fall during one of his "Lucky Seven" periods.
Kerry’s Jupiter is quite different. It is on The Cusp of Exposure, and the description is "Hide and Seek." He is forced to play a game of hide and seek in order to achieve success:
"Days, or even weeks, can pass without your saying much at all, and yet things work to your advantage."
"When you do choose to let it all hang out, if the right moment is chosen, you can achieve the maximum effect. If not, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again at another time…"
"If this seems confusing, imagine how it must appear to those around you! Your success, when it occurs, must seem highly improbable…"
This Jupiter works things out behind the scenes, has an excellent sense of timing, and sneaks up on success. There is much more, all of it very applicable. This description very well fits John Kerry, with his mysterious Neptune on his midheaven.
November 2 is not in one of Kerry’s Lucky Seven periods, either.
So let us check out November 2, 2004. Jupiter is in the Week of the Cusp of Oscillation. "Find Your Balance" says Gary. This couldn’t be more appropriate for the season, and Gary’s long description of this particular week is very instructional.
He begins, "Those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it." A review of activities of the past, and making plans for the future is central here. There is the pull of both inner, emotional forces, and outer, action-oriented forces, and reconciling these two forces is the key to success.
We have here both lunar and solar forces involved in a tug of war. They must ultimately work together for success to be achieved now. Let intuition and intellect combine. It so interesting, and so relevant, that at the election we will have just experienced both a Solar and a Lunar Eclipse.
Those eclipses give us unparalleled opportunities to experience both forces. At a solar eclipse, the solar, conscious forces are eclipsed, and instinctive moon takes us over. At a lunar eclipse, those instinctive forces are eclipsed, and solar consciousness has full sway. When those two forces are not balanced, as at eclipses, strange events can occur as impulses well up out of both the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious which so strongly impacts each of us.
One of the Lucky Seven periods for this Jupiter is Kerry’s period, the Week of the Titan. Bush’s Jupiter is not included in one of these periods. "Thinking big" is a strength for this Jupiter period. Go, John Kerry!
Such a fascinating book this is! It offers lots of stimulation and avenues for exploration, as well as good advice for success. All of this through simply knowing birth dates or event dates. You can use it continuously in your life for clues about how to approach particular times. Buy it, and you’ll be glad you have it. The holidays are coming, and The Secret Language of Luck would make a great gift.
