Heart of Astrology Book Review

The Heart of Astrology on the spiritual path

by Bob Mulligan

review by Arlan Wise

In 2004, Bob Mulligan’s spiritual master, Meher Baba, told him that he must write this astrology book which teachs how to use astrology as a path to spiritual growth.  The book grew as Bob grew. It is a distillation of Bob’s wisdom from his travels on the spiritual journey and his experiences as a professional astrologer during fifty years of practice. It is an excellent book.

Bob teaches the foundations of living a life devoted to the spiritual path combined with astrology. He begins with a chapter on the five gifts of astrology – Tolerance, Timing, Comprehensiveness, Self-understanding, and a Spiritual Path. He shows how each planet offers rewards and tests to transform thinking and answer the big question of “why was I born at this time and place.”  Instead of the thought that astrology shows us our purpose because of when and where we were born, he flips the thought to that we were born at this time and place because our soul required it for spiritual growth. We can look at the birth chart as our personal code for spiritual growth. This is the crux of the book.

Besides the philosophical and spiritual ideas, this book has thorough explanations of the meanings of the planets, signs, houses, and aspects. There is also practical advice, such as how to harmonize the Moon’s cycle with spiritual practice, or how to use Saturn as a timer for meditation.There is teaching on the chakras and the planets that rule them, and some useful tips to keep one’s body in good health. He covers it all, from the physical to the spiritual.

Bob sees astrology as a form of yoga, Dnyana yoga, the path of knowledge. This yoga directs the mind toward universal knowledge with the goal of purifying the mind. Venus, Mars, Saturn, Mercury, and Jupiter have their own chapters in the second section of the book which explain their roles in spiritual growth. Bob shows how to meditate with the planets, and tells us to make friends with them, especially to note when a planet is not integrated and causes problems and irritation.

The content of each chapter is illustrated with an excellent delineation of the chart of a holy man, holy woman, or a person who did good deeds in their life. He quotes spiritual masters to give examples of what he is teaching. Bob also quotes other astrologers and refers the reader to their books. He is inclusive in showing the connections between all religions and pointing out the commonality in their teachings. Every religion has the same guiding ethical principles at root. Although there are many spiritual quotes from his personal master, Meher Baba, Bob honors other teachers by citing their words of wisdom.

The third section focuses on how karma works.He uses images to explain these concepts. Speaking of reincarnation Bob says that a single lifetime is a chapter of a novel. He describes the Ascendant, Moon’s Nodes, Retrograde planets in the context of past lives and karma. He tells us the importance of raising one’s vibration and which planets help us do that. We learn the history of the discovery of the outer planets, their cycles, and their relationship to higher consciousness. He concludes this section with a chapter on how to use your birth chart as spiritual road map and brings the book full circle.

Bob ends with:

All the ideas in this book are born directly from my own experience,if you apply the astrological principles examined here, your experience will be different than my own, but we all share common ground….While we were searching for God, it was really Him searching for us. 

The final chapter, which is in the Appendix, talks about astrology as a form of Karma yoga, the path of doing service to others. He quotes Meher Baba:

When you help others, God knows instantly and is pleased. No amount of prayer or meditation can do what helping others can do. 

The Appendix has a full glossary of the astrological and spiritual terms he uses.There is a long bibliography.

No matter what kind of astrology you practice, this is an important book to have on your bookshelf. It contains excellent astrology and spiritual wisdom. Reading this book will make you a better astrologer, a better person, and give you guidelines for your spiritual journey. You will refer back to it many times to savor the wisdom it imparts.