This slim 32 booklet provides some insight into the personalities and politics of the state of Israel. It was originally published in Hebrew in 1997 as a supplement to a special 18th anniversary edition of the author's book Astrology and your Horoscope.

At the beginning of the booklet, Talila Stan provides a short, simple and very useful introduction to mundane astrology. A list of the planets and their meaning in mundane charts is also included together with a table outlining the houses and how they relate to the public and political sphere.

I found the information interesting, well presented and clearly written. The charts used were clear and fairly easy to read. For those interested in mundane astrology, it has some reach pickings.

The author makes some very valid points on the synastry between the charts of political figures and that of the state of Israel. She also uses eclipses as indicators of events in the public and political life of the personalities and the country. Although there were some things which I would disagree, the author makes a reasonable case for the techniques and methods on which she bases her predictive work.

A section outlining her public forecasts and their eventual outcomes are also interesting and serve as a reminder to all astrologers how important it is to be consistent in techniques and also to monitor the outcome of predictive work. Talila Stan also documents where she has failed to take into account some factors which resulted in a less than satisfactory forecast.

I was impressed by the level of research that has gone into this work. The sections on the interpretation of the chart of Israel and on future world events are also worth a look. When discussing progressions, the author provides the progressed date for the year in question so that the reader, may if they choose, refer to the ephemeris to gain their own insights.

The main difficulty I had with the booklet was its apparent lack of direction. In spite of the obvious depth of research, it lacked continuity. Its magazine lay-out with short articles and boxed information scattered through its pages was very distracting and somewhat unsatisfactory as I ended up with no sense of actually getting to the heart pf the publication.

I was also disappointed that there was little or no sourcing of chart data although the text is well footnoted.

In spite of this, the booklet is worth a read to any astrologer with an interest in Israel/or mundane astrology. Stan provides interesting insights and commentary as well as a good understanding of Israeli politics. The booklet also has a good glossary explaining the different terms used throughout the publication as well as cross referencing of terms where appropriate.

Reviewed by Mari Garcia