ISAR, International Society for Astrological Research, produces a member’s journal. The April, 2017 issue includes a book review of my book, Personal Moon-to-Sun Returns 2. This review is written by Donna Van Toen, a respected astrologer and reviewer. The following text is that review.
Personal Moon-to-Sun Returns 2 by David Monroe
Southborough Publishing, PO Box 97, Southborough, MA 01772-2016
First of all, I have to say that I was very impressed with the reviewer’s package the author sent. It was professionally presented in a pocket folder that included a press release plus information on key concepts, the target audience, and the author’s background, plus a cover letter. The book is equally well-organized. Each chapter begins by telling you what will be presented, then presenting it, and then reviewing what was presented. This is a textbook in the truest sense of the word. Material is clear and usable but by no means dry. My only bit of confusion was with that “2” in the title. That got cleared up rapidly. This is the second edition. It has been expanded by 20% over the first one, including expansion of a chapter discussing untimed or “noo” charts and the addition of a chapter on eclipses.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here. These Moon-to-Sun returns are also sometimes referred to as Tropical Solunars. While there is a fair bit of information out there on Sidereal Solunars, not much has been written on the tropical ones. And that’s a shame, because these are very good predictive tools, especially for short-term predictive work. The premise is that as adults, we have taken the potentials of the natal chart, with the natal Sun here symbolizing the manner in which we manage our lives and the transiting Moon symbolizing changes that come into our lives and needs arising from those changes. Meanwhile, because you have a new chart for the time of the return, you will see both natal and transiting planets coming to the angles of the new chart. These tend to correlate with actions and events. And these events may be important.
Note that while the title just talks about returns, we are actually talking about two types of returns — the new (t.Moon conjunct n.Sun) and the full (t.Moon opposing n.Sun). These are each in effect for roughly (a) 2 week cycle. You can also advance these charts for several days ahead if you see things moving towards exactitude.
Calculation using various software is also clearly explained. And in this section I found a software program I’d never heard of — something called StarFisher, which was apparently reviewed in TMA back in s014. This is a free, easy-to-use program. Note, however that it is no longer being supported. If this makes you uncomfortable, he also shows you how to calculate these using WinStar Express, Kepler/Sirius, Halloran Software, and Solar Fire.
The book contains 50 case studies, most of which are advanced beyond a single return. There are 126 charts in total. They appear to be in Tropical Placidus. Included are the charts of Lance Armstrong, Marily Bell, Susan Boyle, Marvin Gaye, Amy Winehouse, and others. I noted a number of misspelled names in the table of contents, which was both disappointing and amusing in spots. Thion Camilla Bowels… It took me some time to get used to reading the transits in the inner wheel and the natal chart on the outside (and it has to be done that way because you need the transiting angles to work with this), but once I got used to that, they were easy to follow. And, the extensive case studies, including one from Monroe’s files, were all interesting.
In addition to everyhing else mentioned above, you will find interpretatios for the various new and full lunation placements and for each of the planets and Chiron when aspecting the Sun and Moon. So yes, everything you need is here.
This book is a keeper and I will continue to explore this technique.
— reviewed by Donna Van Toen
The Ninth House 3 