FEB 21, 2011 - Skyscript Astrology Texts is an example of the new (virtual) Library of Alexandria. I know full well that many a bibliophile will shudder and recoil at my saying so, but a case can be made that virtual books are the best kind. They're easy on trees, and the fossil fuels it takes to turn trees into books and then move those books around, store them, and move them again - and oh God, you're always having to move them again. The several thousand volumes of my old physical library took up the better part of 400 square feet back in the day, whereas it all fits in my shirt pocket in virtual form today - and is vastly more accessible. (Ever try searching a few thousand books to find the one piece of information you're looking for? With e-books, it's done in not a lot more time than it takes to type in the search phrase.) Thanks to my Facebook friend Les Kates, there's another virtual library at my disposal - and at yours too, if you click on over to Skyscript Astrology Texts. Here you'll find links to a number of online repositories, harboring astrological works from ancient and classical through the medieval to the modern: from Babylon's Mul Apin to Claudius Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (in a couple different translations) through Abraham Ibn Ezra's Sefer ha-Olam on into contemporary astrology including the entire collection of Ken Gilman's most excellent journal Considerations. (Got a classical education, and want to read the originals? Check out the Greek and Latin section.) Some of the Skyscript Astrology Texts links don't work - or at least they didn't the last time I checked - but there's still plenty enough to pack your Kindle, iPad or trusty laptop for untold hours of astrological study. The Library at Alexandria burned down, but it would take one whale of an X-class solar flare (or a boatload of high altitude nuclear explosion EMPs) to fry a planetful of e-books - heaven forfend. In either case, we'll likely have higher priorities than catching up on our astrological reading.
