Lecture Descriptions
Lynn Bell
Uranus in Aries and the New Barbarians
As Uranus rushes into Aries with Jupiter close behind, the joyous, raw energy of the new can overwhelm old, familiar structures, like a horde of invading barbarians. How to channel the excitement into conscious courage and zest for the new, rather than wanton destruction of the old ways of being? What happens when the supercharged 'I' runs into the Saturn in Libra 'thou'?
Aspects as Defenses
While aspects in our charts seem to describe our natural response to events, such as openness or withdrawal, retreat or confrontation; they can also function as fault lines in the psyche, a tendency to react again and again in similar ways. Part of the gift of astrology is the ability to identify overused patterns, and redirect our responses along other pathways in the chart. We will focus on the specific tensions carried by the square aspect bring your chart on transparency.
Gary Christen
Introduction to Symmetrical Astrology
Gary's outline of Symmetrical Astrology, which is an evolution of Uranian Astrology, will cover the basics of this modern approach. You will be introduced to Personal Points and how to prioritize factors in the horoscope. In addition, an introduction to Planetary Pictures will also be shown and discussed. While a complete understanding of this work takes many classes, you will gain an understanding of the main elements of these ideas and see how they are applied. While this is an introductory talk, seasoned professional astrologers will gain insight into this fascinating work.
Solar Arcs
This talk is about using Solar Arcs in the Horoscope. There are many approaches to prediction, each more complicated than the next. The use of Arcs combines simplicity, elegance, ease of use and they deliver terrific results. When combined with transits, they set up conditions for life’s destiny to unfold. You will be shown how Directions differ from Progressions and how to use Sensitive Arcs. To make this useful and simple, we will incorporate a Lifetime Solar Arc table and a list of the natal arcs between planets called the Difference Sort to use with our Solar Arcs. These simple, personal tables, unique to each individual, allow us to see at a glance, a lifetime of possible events and the sequence of when the events unfold. This is a talk for all levels of astrological knowledge and ability. While beginners will follow with ease, even seasoned professional practitioners will gain some great new tricks that are easy to use.
Darby Costello
Love & Strife in Creating a World
During the first two years of the Uranus Aries transit, Saturn will be in Libra. While this demands that we keep awake to the larger currents around and within us, it will also bring Mars and Venus into focus in our natal charts. Our instinct to give love and cultivate beauty and grace will be challenged by demands from the world, as our instinct to act and overcome obstacles is excited. This talk will look at ways of allowing life to reshape our relationship to our Venusian values - the beauty in life - while liberating the fierce hunger for life that is Mars.
Self-Discipline & Community: How to Reap the Rewards of Saturn while Pluto is in Capricorn
Venus has always been connected to the ecstasies of Beauty, Joy and Love. It seems, however, that her gifts carry a high price – and it is hard to learn to live with her seasons; their flowering and dying. This lecture will trace the history of Venus' personification in literature and poetry from ancient Mesopotamian star worship to the Renaissance astrology of Marsilio Ficino. We shall then look at the natal chart, to see what hooks us psychologically into 'falling in love', how we handle the loss and pain of loving, and how we become gardeners of love.
The Joy of Love: Venus and Her Gifts
Saturn moves from Virgo to Pisces during the long transit of Pluto in Capricorn. This means it transits through half our charts. Each time it changes signs the work to co-ordinate the inner and outer world moves into another sphere and each time it changes houses another part of our life comes under scrutiny. While Pluto is in Capricorn all of this work will be part of the larger changes that are happening planet-wide. This talk will consider how to bring awareness and even joy to the demands of Saturn.
Steven Forrest
Local Space
Astro*Carto*Graphy as developed by Jim Lewis has become a staple of modern astrological practice. It works well, but it often misses places to which we feel connected. A second technique, Local Space, is equally powerful and typically fills in the blanks when the two systems are used simultaneously. It also has the advantage of being applicable to small distance scales, like an astrological Feng Shui.
Oops, We Forgot Neptune in PiscesWith all the hoopla about the intense planetary activity in the Cardinal signs and the spooky (and alleged) Mayan prophecies about the end of the world in 2012, it is easy forget that Neptune will be a major part of the mix for the fourteen years starting next Spring. As the planet of dreams and visions enters the sign of its modern rulership, its impact on everyone rachets up. What will it add to the stew?
Lunar Phases in the Birth Chart
Perhaps the most obvious lunar phenomenon is the monthly cycle of phases, but it is curiously marginalized in astrological practice. How is a Full Moon in Gemini different from a crescent Moon there? What about waxing versus waning? This lecture introduces an eight-phase interpretation of the lunar phase cycle based on Steven’s latest work, The Book of the Moon.
Moll Frothingham
The Beauty of Libra
Libra is a sign so concerned with ‘other’ that we sometimes don’t recognize the full essence of its archetype, or the necessity for Libran civility and harmony in our lives. As Saturn prepares to spend two years in the sign of its exaltation, what lessons can we learn from Libra’s scales of justice about getting along with not only our cherished partners, but our open enemies? And how can we stop looking for Libran values outside ourselves, and fully embrace our inner beauty?
Stephanie Gailing, MS, CN
Planetary Apothecary: Wellness Suggestions for Outer Planet Transits
Astrology can provide stellar insights to help foster a greater sense of personal well-being. In this lecture, we’ll explore a basic approach through which astrologers can better understand clients’ individual wellness needs as well as self-care recommendations that enhance the health of mind, body, and spirit. Our discussion will focus on personal planetary transits, reviewing dietary approaches, essential oils, flower essences, and lifestyle recommendations that can help support the growth and unfolding of clients as they navigate through these phases of their lives.
Adam Gainsburg
A Fuller Venus; a Deeper Mars: the Venus & Mars Synodic Cycle
What if the template of planetary phases could be made intimate with the intrinsic nature of the planet in question? The result of 7 years of research into the synodic cycles of our neighbors, this lecture introduces the 13 Venus and Mars Phases and their larger Journeys, a holistic and direct system of exposing the inner feminine and masculine for any native.
Demetra George
The Rising Signs: Twelve Templates for the Life as a Whole
The rising sign is much more than simply a description of personality and physical appearance. The lens of whole sign houses and traditional rulerships reveal how each rising sign sets the archetypal template describing a person’s approach to all the other topics of life. Furthermore, this template connects the experiences of sets of houses, such as all Scorpio rising people have the 7th house of relationships connected in some way to the 12th house of loss because Venus rules both these houses. Discover the archetypal experience contained in the entire chart that is common to each rising sign, regardless of the placements of the planets.
First Steps in Traditional Astrology
The recent translations of ancient astrological texts are impacting the way many astrologers are rethinking some of the basic principles of chart interpretation. This lecture will give the modern-trained astrologer an introduction to the terminology and concepts of traditional astrology in a way that can be integrated into your current practice: whole sign houses, planetary sect, traditional rulerships, testimony and aspects, and special solar and lunar considerations.
Ceres, Persephone, Pluto & the Eleusinian Mysteries
The recent reclassification in 2006 of Ceres and Pluto as dwarf planets with equal status in the solar system recalls their ancient feud where the lord of death abducted the daughter of the life-giving goddess of agriculture. Have contemporary astronomers initiated the next act in this ancient drama that was ritually enacted for over 1000 years as the Eleusinian Mystery Rites? Is an old injustice being rectified? What do these mythic archetypes reveal about the secrets of life, death, and renewal in the earth changes prophesied for the future?
Deva Green
Pluto in Libra from an Evolutionary Point of View
This lecture will address the core evolutionary intentions of the Pluto in Libra generation from an evolutionary point of view. It will demonstrate how to interpret Pluto in Libra not only from a generational point of view, but how to apply this within the individual natal chart using the evolutionary paradigm. It will also incorporate the evolutionary conditions of the Soul, and also how to adjust the core evolutionary intentions symbolized within Pluto in Libra to the main/evolutionary karmic dynamic within the individual chart using real case studies.
Evolutionary Progression/Development of the Soul
This lecture will demonstrate how to interpret/understand transits from an evolutionary point of view, and how to interpret specific transits in the context of the individual natal chart. It will focus on the transits of Pluto, the transiting nodal axis, and also the transits of the natal planetary rulers of the north and south nodes within the natal chart in order to understand current areas, or dynamics, of development and progression within the Soul in the context of actualizing the core evolutionary intentions within the natal chart.
Robert Hand
The So-Called “Arabic Parts”
The so-called "Arabic Parts" date from the earliest times of ancient astrology and may be Egyptian in origin. To the Greeks they were known as lots. This lecture discusses some of the most important of these including the Lot of Fortune and the Lot of Spirit, and the seven basic lots associated with each of the seven classical planets. It turns out that their most ancient use is quite different from that associated with these in the Renaissance and modern times.
Introduction to the Classical Method of Solar Revolutions
The medieval method of solar revolution a.k.a. solar returns, is much more comprehensive than its modern equivalent. The method is thoroughly embedded in traditional natal chart delineation and integrated with other predictive techniques. Much of the ambiguity of modern solar return methods is therefore avoided. The use of the complete medieval method of revolutions should restore the technique to the status that it once had of being one of the principal predictive techniques of astrology.
Nesceintes Nullam Libertatem Habent: “Those who are Ignorant Have No Freedom”
There is a strong relationship between freedom of the will and wisdom. One cannot have one without the other. This lecture discusses the issue as to whether astrology denies free will and, if so, is this generally true of all kinds of astrology? Also, is astrology necessary for one to make progress on the path to wisdom?
Amy Herring
Integrating Aspects in a Natal Chart to Find the Theme
The planet keyword is the noun. The sign keyword is “adjective” and the and the house keyword is the “verb”. Put those together and you’ve got sentences, but 10 sentences don’t make a novel! We’ll discuss how to put the pieces of a chart together in an integrated way, by uncovering the planetary aspects in any chart and finding the glue that holds the chart together. Every chart has a theme - I’ll teach you how to find it! Bring your tough questions.
Jeff Jawer
The Yoga of Writing Horoscopes
Sun sign astrology is generally considered the least meaningful expression of astrology. Yet while the structure of dividing the world into twelve discrete categories severely limits the personalizing aspects of our craft, the ongoing practice of writing Sun sign horoscopes is a powerful tool for sharpening your astrological skills. The techniques used to write in this format will deepen your understanding of the zodiac and enrich your mastery of our work.
Astrology & Community
In the course of its 2000 plus year history astrology has moved from the center of society to its fringes. Being outside the mainstream has allowed us the freedom to develop our work with relative independence yet has reduced astrology’s influence on the culture. Is there a more significant public role for astrology in today’s world and how can we contribute to its well being without losing the Uranian perspective that has made us unique?
Inner Journey – Outer Life: Making the Connection
Every natal chart describes the inner yearnings of the soul and the outer expression of the personality. We all have contrasts between what we feel and think and how others see us. In this workshop we will explore the dynamics of these contrasts in birth charts and under stimulation from transits to open a new a dialogue between our private and public selves. Healing the breach between the individual and the community may be necessary for humanity to survive and prosper.
Mark Jones
The Bottom Line – Nature & Function of Pluto
In this talk I will explore the nature of Pluto in both a personal and a generational context. Pluto will be approached as corresponding to the deeper self, the deepest unconscious security structures and desires that we as individuals and societies possess. In personal terms I will attempt to outline a way to approach Pluto in every house or sign and every aspect within the natal chart. In generational terms I will focus on Pluto in Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Libra, with suggestions for the maturation of the Scorpio and Sagittarius generations (Why do so many incarnate together with the same signatures?)
With so much material to cover this will be a dynamic talk that will embody a classroom feel – as we learn a method for understanding Pluto – alongside an understanding of contemporary history and psychology in order to place our own lives in a meaningful context. You are invited to bring charts and questions about this giant disguised as a dwarf…
Towards an Astrology of Liberation
Mark will explore the idea of astrology as a multifaceted tool that may have a defensive application, just as it may be used to facilitate human freedom and growth. I will explore how certain developments within depth psychology may help us as astrologers to understand the potential for real human encounter and discovery within our consultations, even as they also reveal certain pitfalls. I will offer some thoughts on transference dynamics, personality disorders and so called clinical or psychotherapeutic issues, as well as the nature of the ‘false’ or adaptive self, showing how awareness of these has relevance for astrologers. I will also question the fundamental assumptions we may have of ourselves as astrologers, healers or teachers, focusing on how we might ultimately get out of our own way to allow the potential for liberation to come through into our work and our lives.
The Unlived Life
How to Identify & Transform Unresolved Material How often do we feel that we are fully expressing our creative potential? We may have times in life when we feel that we are stuck in a difficult pattern of behavior, perhaps in our relationships or in the way we feel about ourselves; we feel unfulfilled and somehow we know that there is more to our lives than this. In this talk I will delineate clearly areas of stress in the birth-chart, from squares to the nodal axis of the Moon, to difficult Saturn, Uranus or Pluto aspects, for example, that will help us as astrologers to identify unresolved material in the birth-chart. I will draw on my experience as an evolutionary astrologer and as a transpersonal psychotherapist to provide examples of client work showing both the identification of such material, and its potential for transformation.
Gretchen Lawlor
High School Astrology
Gretchen will be sharing experiences and insights from her work with teenagers in a high school astrology class she has run for the past 7 years. From a discussion of the cycles activated at ages 13-18, to describing developmentally appropriate subject material, from teaching tools and techniques for this age, issues to consider to seeing some of the creativity that has come out of these students.
Cell Salts: Energy Medicine for Astrologers
Cell salts, low potency homeopathic "tonics" are extremely useful for a depleted client (or astrologer). They are readily available over the counter at many health food stores and like most low potency homeopathics are compatible with other health regimes and free of side effects. Learn how to choose the right remedy at the right time from the astrological chart.
Rick Levine
2020: Vision Extending Past 2012
The media frenzy around 2012 is building, projecting fear onto the Winter Solstice of 2012. Should we be heading into the hills and honing our survival skills? Or is this another Y2K false alarm? This lecture explores the facts and myths around the 2012 prophecies. We will look at the major planetary cycles that carry us beyond the Uranus-Pluto square of 2011-2015 and up through the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 2020, along with "full spectrum living" strategies to maximize the potential of the dynamic decade ahead.
Uranus on Fire: A Cosmic Wake-up Call
Is the entry of Uranus into Aries the end of the world as we know it? Or is it an instantaneous awakening into the next phase of life on earth? This class examines the predictably unpredictable impact of this quantum planet natally, by transit and as part of the upcoming "Cardinal Initiation." Explore the possibilities and pitfalls of Uranus and how to work with this tricky planet in your charts and those of your clients.
Tad Mann
Astrology & the Akashic Records
The human genome as defined by geneticists only utilizes 3% of our genetic material. The remainder (called “junk dna”) probably contains an encapsulated history of all life and therefore our link with the past, our previous incarnations, and the legendary Akashic Record that Edgar Cayce and Steiner described. Astrology is the language with which we can access this phenomenal resource. Discover the origins of your deepest desires, dreams and fantasies of the past brought into your future.
Tibetan Buddhism & Western Astrology
The core concepts of Tibetan Buddhism are relevant to the practice and philosophy of Western astrology. Concepts such as emptiness, impermanence, dharma and afflictive emotions teach us much about how we can life our lives more harmoniously. The “Kalachakra Tantra Teachings,” are the most astrological of the higher initiations of Buddhism. Learn how to integrate Tibetan Buddhist principles with your astrology and your life.
Your Stories & Life Quest
Events and psychological developments of your life unfold in sequence around the horoscope circle, but they actually begin around conception. The sequence of your important inner and outer events can be dated accurately. Your life history is “Your Story.” A unique synthesis of psychology, biology and Buddhism provides a new dimension to astrology and is simple to understand and use as a guide for your life development. Learn to work with yourself, your family, your life process and your stories as a whole of related parts.
Laura Nalbandian
Mars: Going to War
Going to War ~ it’s a very powerful phrase. . . . . How do we manifest our courage, the will to take a stand and fight for something . . . or not. Mars is a fascinating planet, with a multiplicity of functions. Courage, anger, action, will, personal desires. Laura will also explore the idea that anger is a manifestation of thwarted or unmet desires.
Chop Wood, Carry Water: Virgo & the 6th House
The Buddhist say “How you do anything is how you do everything”. How we do our day to day work, the little things in life; is in fact, how we “do” our spiritual path, or the work that fulfills our dharma. Join Laura for a thorough exploration of Virgo & the 6th house in a way you may not have heard before.
Dorothy Oja
Compatibility & Conflict - Synastry
We'll discuss primary and secondary aspect grouping many of which you will know and some are more subtle that you may not have noticed as often. The level of connectedness between two people is, of course, often dependent on the level of consciousness that each person brings to the meeting. These patterns recur, as per my research over and over again in the charts of people in close relationships, whether they are ultimately positive or not, whether they are ones of compatibility or those of conflict.
The Davison Relationship Chart
After using the Composite chart to understand relationship dynamics for many years, I tried the Davison Relationship chart. Still less widely used and known, this is an amazingly accurate relationship indicator. Because of the way it is calculated, you have an actual date with time and location to work with. This then opens up the ability to use progressions, solar returns and any other method to track the future that you would use with a regular natal chart! Come learn about the Davison chart, which I call the "Birthday of a Relationship."
David Pond
The Outer Planets: Friend or Foe?
The Outer Planets can bring such chaos and uncertainty into life that it is hard to be on friendly terms with them. They do wreak havoc in life, at least from the ego’s perspective, but they are the messengers from the soul. Their actions in your chart force evolution by letting your know where you are not in control. David will discuss methods for aligning with these forces of transformation and awakening. You will want to be on friendly terms with these transpersonal agents of evolution as a way of preparing for the approaching Cardinal Climax.
The 12th House: Life on the Other Side of the Looking Glass
The 12th house is shrouded behind a veil of mystery because it is a doorway to another dimension. Planets in the 12th house operate with a different set of rules than planets in other houses and require a different approach, a veiled approach. This is where the analytical mind fails and the mystical mind takes over, drawing associations and looking for meaning in the archetypal waters of the collective unconscious. If not understood, the twelfth house leads to disorientation and confusion from not fitting in.
Philip Sedgwick
It’s More Than Saturn & Uranus & Pluto
Many astrologers detail the ongoing alignments between Saturn in Virgo/Libra with Uranus in Pisces/Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. There's a lot more to it that just the planets. Saturn, Uranus and Pluto all align with the Super-Galactic Center - a point known for soul mate emphasis - and Saturn and Uranus continue to engage the Galactic Center. Sounds like an important time of evolution and breakthrough that just may set the table for 2012. Curious yet?
Dwarf Planets & Giant Goals
Yeah, so Eris is a planet (dwarf) larger than Pluto. But what does it have to do with the social networking explosion? Haumea, likely the most interesting "planet," offers up reason behind the Cougar phenomena, rime ice in aviation accidents and personal regeneration of creative and spiritual aspirations. Makemake comes closest to the Sun nearly in the same exact spot as Jupiter? That's got to be good, right? With some time behind us now, the dwarf planets speak their messages more clearly than ever... inspiring personal affirmation, fecundity and spiritual evolution for all. Better come find out.
Gisele Terry
Astrology & Psychotherapy: Psyche at the Crossroads of Healing
For an astrologer and psychotherapist, astrology provides a unique but unexpected contribution to the healing process. In the space between client and therapist, astrological images appear spontaneously and become guideposts on the therapeutic journey. This lecture will describe the process that allows symbols from the chart to emerge in nonlinear design in accordance with the mysterious path of healing.
The Moon & the Relational Nature of Growth
This presentation provides an interdisciplinary context for understanding human development. Because the meanings and sequence of the signs of the zodiac closely parallel developmental stages in early childhood, it is possible to form a unique hypothesis about human growth that dissolves apparent contradictions between nature vs. nurture and fate vs. free will. In merging astrology with developmental psychology, the Moon, representing the relational nature of growth, becomes the symbolic bridge between the two.
Patricia Walsh
When Planets Square the Nodal Axis
This lecture will explore the unique karmic dynamics that are presented when the nodal axis is squared. Using case studies from clients own past life recall compared to their natal charts you see how interpretation of both the south node and north node can be altered with a planetary square.
Imagery, Storytelling & Astrology
Storytelling activates both the right and left hemispheres of the brain simultaneously, allowing information to be processed and integrated holistically. As astrologers our left brain often takes the lead when analyzing all the information in a natal chart. Engaging the right brain using storytelling and imagery in counseling, or even to understand your own chart can enhance the way you use astrology. Using ‘active imagination’ we will open up to this process, by exploring Pluto in our own charts.
The Karmic Transits of our Time
With Pluto in Capricorn and the transiting nodes on the Cancer/Capricorn axis, these archetypes are highly activated in our collective and personal consciousness. This lecture will delve into the personal challenges and opportunities for spiritual growth that the heavens are beckoning us to embrace.