Hiatus; about the new Links page
– 23rd April, 2016
For reasons I am not in a position presently further to explain, there will be no further updates of the “Astrology Library Progress Report” series of postings in the coming while. They are indeed unlikely to resume this year, and can safely be regarded as a dormant feature for now.
Over the past few weeks, I have, however, developed a page of external web-links, which has lately been refined into a better organisation, divided into eight content categories. It now features 25 astrological organisations; 26 institutional astrological education providers; 50 personal education providers; 73 further sites rich in educational articles or lectures; 26 sites representing select publishers, publications, booksellers and scanned books; 11 astrological software and report sales sites; 15 financial astrology special interest sites; and 109 further astrological sites of friends of Astrolearn together with select other prominent astrologers: in all, 335 separately paragraphed links (in a few cases, multiple links serve different parts of the same site, so the true number of separate sites served is probably slightly lower).
The categorisation is imperfect. It is not always clear whether an education provider qualifies as institutional or personal, but as a general rule, if it has a sole proprietor and a sole listed teacher, or if it appears within the personal web site of a single astrologer, whether or not it has been given an institutional-sounding name, I have classed it as personal. If on the other hand it has at least two proprietors, or multiple listed tutors, and does not appear within the personal web site of a single astrologer, or there are other details provided that clearly demonstrate that it is run on an international basis by different tutors in different places, I have classed it as institutional. In some cases, personal education providers may nonetheless make use of more than one tutor.
Where sites rich with educational articles also represent personal education providers, I have tended to classify them as personal education providers. But not all personal education providers host sites rich with educational articles.
Where sites are rich with articles but they are not of a type I deem to be ‘educational’, then those articles do not qualify for consideration for a classification as a site rich with educational articles. Non-educational articles include analyses of the current astrological weather, astrological interpretations of celebrities’ lives or current mundane topics in the news, and mundane predictions. To be classed as educational, articles must aim essentially to teach something about the principles, methods, history, cultural dimension or philosophy of astrology or archaeoastronomy. Sites including many free-to-view astrological delineations or other resources such as ephemerides and tables of houses may also be called educational, but quantity and quality is important in all cases. Finally, please note that a site containing many non-educational articles may still qualify as educational if there is a sufficient quantity of educational ones mixed in with them.
The sites in the ‘Friends of Astrolearn’ category are not the only sites belonging to friends of Astrolearn, but they are the known ones from that group that are respectable and at least to a substantial degree on an astrological theme, and that do not fit into any of the other categories. Sites of friends that are not on an astrological theme (and there are many such) do not qualify, since the purpose of the links page is to serve learning about astrology. Likewise, I took the decision to categorically exclude all Facebook-based and Twitter-based pages, because these are commonplace, limited, and generically amateurish compared with proper external sites, and do not offer the best basis for astrological learning and education. Youtube channels may however be considered if they contain educational lectures and similar worthwhile content. The number of non-friends’ sites included in this category is very few (currently about three); and they are restricted to prominent and admirable astrologers whose sites do not fulfil the criteria for the other categories.
I warmly invite recommendations of other sites qualifying for one of the categories, to be added at a later date.
Among the linked sites of friends, I would like to take the opportunity to draw attention to some of the more creative pages. My German friend Yvonne Lech, for instance, runs the site Kreative Astro-Projekte, offering a truly varied array of astrologically-themed creative projects for sale to the public, including music, jewellery, calendars, postcards, mugs and printed tops. If you like them and can afford it, please support her! Meanwhile at least two other astrologer friends, Adele Berger-Wilson and Starlene Brieter, also make very nice jewellery; and my Australian friend Michele Finey sells T-shirts based on her father’s amazing astrological artwork through a separate site (not on the links page as it’s a commercial site that does not belong to her).
With best wishes to everyone,
Philip
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