IVY GOLDSTEIN JACOBSON
Astrology Center of America, a major source of hard-to-find astrology books, says the following about Ivy and her work:
"Ivy Goldstein-Jacobson was one of the great astrologers of the century. Entirely self-published, her method of publishing was to prepare a perfect typewritten master, reduce it in size, print on both sides, and bind the result in a hard cover. She passed away in 1990 at the age of 97. Her friends have kept her memory and her books alive. We are pleased to present them to a new generation."
Ingrid Naiman adds, "I was one of Ivy's students, along with Gilbert Navarro and Joan Quigley. I received at least one letter a week for 18 years, all perfectly formatted like her books. She never wrote things and then edited; she insisted that everything came out perfectly the first time (a Mozart rather than a Beethoven.) She typeset her own books because she did not want someone else to introduce errors."
Perhaps her greatest and most enduring contribution to our field is in the area of horary
astrology, incuding several books and a correspondence course which she carried on for years
and a system for certifying students. Nearly every horary astrologer practicing today draws extensively on her work.
BIRTH AND DEATH DATA: AstroDatabank gives the following birth information, rated A, from Ivy's own chart, found in the files of Franc Hammer Baird. She was born on April 13, 1893, at 12:12 PM LMT in Brisbane, Australia, 153E02; 27S28. She died on May 5, 1990 at 7:30 PM, in Arcadia, CA.
NOTE: As Ivy would wish, the time of uploading her memorial was recorded. It was May 31st, 2000, at 1:40 PM, in Portland, OR. Now then, what was the question?
Ingrid Naiman remembers Ivy:
"Ivy was born with the star Sirius rising in the land of the Southern Cross where the star around which we revolve is magnificently bright. She was born in the vintage year of the Neptune/Pluto conjunction, and her Mars was part of the stellium that squared a lonely and poetic Pisces Moon in the 8th house.
"Once a year, her father, a Sephardic Jew of Spanish descent allowed her to have anything she wanted from London. At three, she asked for Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, but she was nearly four by the time the mail order reached Brisbane and five by the time she memorized it.
"Upon the death of her mother when Ivy was ten, she began to care for her twin brothers. Her father was afraid of contamination by other people so she was prohibited from going to school. She learned foreign languages, violin, architecture, and astrology from books and correspondence courses. At nineteen, she came to San Francisco and went into a classroom where she saw blackboards and other students for the first time in her life.
"She repeated the pattern with her father when she married her beloved Louis. He jealously kept this ravishing beauty at home. He died when Ivy was in her mid-sixties and for many years, she published one book a year. She has always been an inspiration to me because I have been so slow producing my own books.
"At a time when other astrologers took pages to write out their specialties, Ivy wrote "rectification." As I look at that time in the astrological world, there were a few shining lights. Dane Rudhyar developed the interface between psychology and astrology; Isabel Hickey reminded all of us that astrology is first and foremost a spiritual science; and Ivy restored the tools and techniques that we all needed to be proficient in what we do.
"Ivy's textbooks are a great legacy: concise, perfect, and rich mines with endless treasures for generations to come. It is, however, her private side that touched me the most, her wit and warmth, her marvelous combination of gentle love with clear insights. A few weeks before she died, I received a note saying, "In three years, I'll be a hundred." I was lecturing at ISAR and remember tears choking me when I bravely announced that the astrological world had lost a great light."
Edie Custer Wrote in Mercury Hour, October, 1990:
"Gilbert Navarro sent us an obituary for IVY GOLDSTEIN-JACOBSON who left us at the age of 97 on May 5, 1990. Gilbert and Ivy were very close for many years and it was from her he learned Horary Astrology. Many of Ivy's books are classics. Gilbert says: 'She has had a positive impact on most astrologers alive and will likely have a positive impact on countless future astrologers to come.'
"I don't think that statement could be improved upon. I remember many years ago when I first started the Mercury Hour and she subscribed, she would drop me little notes usually on a card, and there was always a warm feeling attached to them. Hard to describe but I think Gilbert and some of you others will understand what I mean. We have lost another pillar in our society who will be dearly missed.
"That 'great conference in the sky' continues to draw some of our best astrologers. I wonder what they would have to say today if they could give a lecture to us? They may be gone but they will certainly never be forgotten."
Astrology Center of America
keeps in stock 11 of Ivy's books. They include:
Simplified Horary Astrology
Here and There in Astrology
The Way of Astrology
All Over the Earth Astrologically
Astrological Essays
The Dark Moon Lilith in Astrology
In the Beginning, Astrology
Gilbert Navarro's Tribute
Memorials A-K, Continued
To Memorials L-Z
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CREDITS: The photo of Ivy was taken from her book, Horary Astrology, and was part of Lois Rodden's collection. The background came from an elegant collection at Classical Themes. Book covers on this site are courtesy of the Astrology Center of America.