Herbert S. Green (1861-1937) was an English astrologer who collaborated on many publications with Alan Leo (1860-1917), “the most famous and influential of the modern English astrologers,” according to historian J. H. Holden. Born William Frederick Allan, Leo emerged as a leading figure in the European revival of astrology during the early twentieth century. Around the turn of the century, Green joined Leo’s publishing team, compiling data, editing, and also writing textbooks and leaflets. Directions and Directing: An Introduction to Predictive Astrology is Manual 5 in a series aimed at students of astrology, and it remains one of the most succinct technical manuals on prediction. Most importantly, this book presents the first citable evidence for the modern interpretation of converse progressions, a now-rare technique that flourished in the 20th century following the publication of this book. Green’s discussion of converse progressions challenges our Cartesian experience of the space-time continuum, positing that events happening before one’s birth have a corresponding effect throughout one’s lifetime.

This third edition of Directions belonged to the late Al H. Morrison, an influential career astrologer from New York City, who popularized the Void-of-Course Moon and pioneered research on the astrological significance of asteroids. In June of 2025, Morrison’s estate bequeathed his astrological library to the CAELi Institute located in historic Tumwater, WA. Upon finding the book in precarious condition, the library’s director brought it to me to see how we could save this historic text, both in its content and provenance. The director, familiar with my work in curliquesieessesse, asked if it would be possible to create a leather binding that captured the spirit of the original cover’s artwork, but made it more like a relic, a fossil, something lost to the ravages of time.