Volume 23 Number 1 Winter 2014 - opaastrology.com · Volume 23 Number 1 Winter 2014 marvel daily at...

T H E C A R E E R A S T R O L O G E R W I N T E R 2 0 1 4O P A � The Organizat ion for Profess ional Astro logy 1

THE CAREER ASTROLOGER The Newsletter for Professional Astrology

Volume 23 � Number 1 � Winter 2014

marvel daily at worldwideevents, near and far, ruminatingon being alive today.

Opportunities abound, motivating us tocultivate new habits as we move from theknown and familiar to renewed ways ofbeing together, ways we have yet to dream.New frontiers await. For those whostruggle with real change, personal orcollective, historically speaking, thistransitional period promises to be abreathtaking roller coaster ride! At this writing, we can feel the heat ris-ing as we approach the fourth exactUranus/Pluto square. Recent politicalevents in our own USA have been grip-ping, for us and the rest of the globe. As Iwrite this, Mars in Virgo is in exact opposi-tion to Neptune, and shortly Chiron, in-spiring me to imagine, focus on, and expectthe best, and to remember that we don’t al-ways know what that looks like. For OPA, these times are proving to behealthy and beneficial as our organizationcontinues to grow and prosper. We are nowtending to the details for our upcomingretreat, March 20-23, 2014, at the lovelyOcean Creek Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC.

T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O R T

BY ALEXANDRA KARACOSTAS

V enus had areputationamong the

gods as being the most beautiful of all andpossessing the secret to love andfulfillment. She ruled over the arts andsciences as well as war and conquest.Sumerian priests composed hymns in herhonor. The ancient

Of the twelve tracks offered, two are nowfull. If you are thinking of joining us, andwe sincerely hope you can, sign up now.This year group size is limited to onlyeight participants, except for theCertification Program, which is four. Ifyou are interested in becoming an OPACertified Astrologer, register soon. Thereis still space, but don’t delay.OPA is proud to have some of theleading astrologers in their field on ourfaculty. We feel honored they are on ourteam. This year, two exceptionalastrologers, new to the OPA faculty, willjoin us at the retreat. Jane Ridder-Patrickfrom Scotland will be offering CreatingHealth with Medical Astrology and HalBahr will be teaching Human Design forthe Astrologer. Our retreat program is rich,varied and offers something for everyone. The OPA monthly phone lecture serieshas been a huge success! We will continueto provide this benefit exclusively to ourmembers. The monthly OPA-e-zine isanother valuable and popular forum weoffer to our members. Read and contributeto monthly topics of interest and addressissues which arise in

President’s Report ..................................1

Venus & Her Many Desires ....................1

Learning to Cook ....................................4

The System Approach ........................7

Dreams Eclipsed..................................9

Why Do People Become Professional Astrologers? ..............11

Lessons in Self Love ........................13

I N T H I S I S S U E

Venus

[CONTINUED ON PAGE 2]


I

BY JACKHOPKINS

& Her Many Desires

is dedicated to promoting excellence for astrologers. Incorporated on

October 4, 2000 at 1:45 pm EDT inTallahassee, Florida, OPA provides members

with tools to establish or improve theirastrological practice. Membership is open toaspiring and current astrologers. Benefits

include subscription to the Career Astrologerand E-news, free monthly talks by top notchastrologers and members registration fees

at OPA retreats and conferences. Annual dues are $60.00.

OPA BOARD

PRESIDENTAlexandra Karacostas

[email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT/CONFERENCE COORDINATOR

Arlan Wise508-645-9292

[email protected]

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARYChristine Ferraro267-918-5242

[email protected]

SECRETARY Sandra Leigh Serio

[email protected]

TREASURERAlice Kashuba954-894-8685

[email protected]

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS & PROJECTS

June Morrow847-864-1063

[email protected]

COMMUNITY OUTREACH DIRECTORMaurice Fernandez

[email protected]

E-NEWS EDITORRichard Weber

[email protected]

THE CAREER ASTROLOGER EDITORTwink McKenney203-267-4986

[email protected]

OPAastrology.com

[CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1]

T H E C A R E E R A S T R O L O G E R W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 O P A � The Organizat ion for Profess ional Astro logy 2

Mayans aligned doorways and windows oftheir buildings to capture her vibrations.Julius Caesar even dedicated a magnificenttemple to her patronage. Who could resisther? And why would you want to, anyway?In the earlier writings, the image ofVenus was associated with dire portentsand tales of apocalyptic disaster. She wasabout power and control as well as loveand intimacy. Following her legacy canshed light on her nature, both as thegoddess of beauty and as the guardian ofgreat power and influence. Modern day Venuses appear everywhereon the covers of Vogue and Cosmopolitan,not to mention the issues of Women’sHeath, Self, and Fitness. In her modernincarnation, Venus never looked so good.And if these women are not full-blowngoddesses, who cares? Besides beingphysically beautiful, they are smart,sophisticated, and eager to take theleadership role in many corporations andin businesses of their own. In the past 15years, the number of women-ownedbusinesses grew by 54%; there are now 8.3million women-owned businesses in theUnited States alone.And yet Venus, mistress of the heart, hasalways eluded our best efforts to captureher essence. Renaissance painters and pre-Raphaelian masters alike have tied toportray her in vain. Most people you meethave at least one story about how sometragic love affair practically put them overthe edge. Sour grapes about not gettingwhat we want go back to Adam and Eve.The feminine mystique still remains aliveand unattainable, perhaps by design.Everyone has Venus in their astrologicalmakeup. It’s where we yearn to love and beloved, and feel beautiful and fulfilled.Regardless of how many billions of dollarspeople spend on fashion or real estate, thebottom line is this: Unless you’re believe inyour heart you’re truly wonderful, all theprops in the world cannot help you. Venus

is our sense of what we feel we deserve,plain and simple.We all start off knowing the assuranceand warmth of caring parents and family.But by the time we become adults, all thatgets replaced by the dreadful realizationwe don’t have the right body type, knowthe right people, or are on the fast track tothe top. For the 99.9% of us that fall intothis category, Venus can seem like a crueljoke. And yet, somewhere in our heart ofhearts, we know we’ve been duped, butdidn’t quite fall for it. Life is notcontained by money, sex and approval, atleast not in the long run. It’s all about thatspark of feeling special, despite thosestring of unhappy love affairs and failedbusinesses. It’s knowing that our love isstill the real thing.

Venus takes 19 months to orbit the sun,spending about 9 months as the morningstar before the dawn and another nine asthe evening star. The ancients referred toher appearance before dawn as the ‘Bearerof Light’. Her twilight name wasHesperos. These two faces of Venus are aclue to her changing role over time. WhenVenus rises before the Sun, she isinspirational, youthful and concernedabout manifesting herself successfully onthe physical plane. When she rises afterthe Sun, she is wise and qualified, and herintuition understands the language ofemotion and the human heart. We’re allborn with Venus in our natal charts aseither Morning or Evening Star. Othersystems exist which further break thisdown into more detailed phases1.The art of relationships has gonethrough a lot of changes over thecenturies. At the bottom of it all lies theissue of involvement and power. Thistranslates into establishing some sort ofvalue system on our lives and acorresponding system of transferring ‘the


goods’ from one person to another. VeryVenusian stuff. Marriage was the principlemeans of formalizing the connectionbetween men and women, but there weremany others, such as the head ofthe tribe or localcommunity and eventhe pact that existedbetween the godsand the rest of us,otherwise knownas religion. Thisall fell under thespell of Venus,who delicately rulesthe affairs of ourhearts. Everyone wasexpected to do good andavoid evil to keep theserelationships on the up and up. And yes,there were consequences for people whobecame enticed by one vice or another.Economists are quick to tell you 90% ofthe law is about ownership. In the firstpart of her cycle, Venus develops anincreasing stronger grasp on her ownpower and worth, and is willing to pitherself against anyone who would deny herconnection with the solar force. Evennative-born Thomas Jefferson wouldallude to the ‘unalienable Rights’ that lie atthe heart of our American dream.As Venus forms its inferior conjunctionwith the Sun, the value system that iscreated is most pliable and subject to theinfluence of the Sun’s incredible power.This usually produces people who adhereto what the people in charge espoused, asort of doing the right thing because it’s sooverwhelming compelling to do so.However, Venus brings a new dimensioninto the blind self-assurance of the Sun.She is the key to opening the heart to theSolar force and personalizing it. Sheknows perfectly well that we want to feelspecial and emotionally fulfilled. Butalthough having a rock-solid solar belief inyourself makes for great leaders, it does soonly because there’s so little second-

guessing. Venus looks closer, to thephysical world she must inhabit on theway. She takes the Sun’s grandeur andshows us how to integrate it in our

worldly and personal affairs. If Mercury is themessenger, she is theambassador, andshe is tasked withmaking ourexperiencemeaningful andenlightening.She’s all aboutincarnation andbeing conscious of

the physical reality wehave to contend with. At

the end of the day, she’s points usto the best life has to offer, steering usaway from cheap values and addictionsthat could otherwise ruin everything.Over the next 9 months after inferiorconjunction, Venus struggles with findingher place in the world until she starts toquestion whether those values that meantso much in the beginning were relevant inthe first place. We start to see the fly inthe ointment, the flaws in the plan, andthe wrinkles in our partner’s face. Theheart knows. Something has got to give.It’s time to redefine and work onperspective.That’s what happens at superiorconjunction. Venus lines up with the Sunagain, only this time on the other side ofthe earth. Now we feel lost, disconnected,betrayed. Like the prodigal son, we’vebought into something, but discovered wecan’t live with it. It’s exactly at that timethat Venus gives us a clue to her cosmicwisdom: Attaching yourself to the passingparade is madness. Like Buddha wouldsay: ‘Attachment to possessions are theroot of unhappiness’. The values weshould pay attention to are formless andeternal. Like love. Like beauty and honor.Forget about thinking you can remainyouthful forever or surround yourself with

yes-men to ease the pain. The cat’s out ofthe bag, and that’s just not going to do itanymore.On the second part of her journey,Venus picks up understanding andwisdom. At the beginning, she is a bitunsure and so will mature over those ninemonths, learning what’s worth fighting forand what can be ignored. By the time she’ready to come back to the rough andtumble of the next cycle, she is the wisewoman or sage, totally conscious of what’sgoing on, but able to avoid being suckedinto life’s vanities and rabbit-holes. She isthe voice of experience and compassion,savoring the impetuous love of her youthbut in touch with her heart, withoutneeding anyone’s permission or approval.She has come to know the world and theworld her. She will enter into the Sun’sembrace once more, to experience the nextstep in her amazing journey. A bit wiserperhaps, but altogether lovable, and able toinspire the best from us.

Jack Hopkins was last seen havingaltogether too much fun exploring hispassionate interest in alternative divisionsof the Zodiac. He has worked in the ITfield for over 30 years and is author ofseveral astrology programs which utilizehis research on harmonics and degreeareas. He is author of several astrologicalvideos, one of which was presented at theSpring 2013 Retreat. Find him on the webat: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzvSAbWoOuUkWbQe4T7c1eTk-y8EpM9Pn&feature=mh_lolz andwww.eagleeyes-spiritguide7.blogspot.com

1. The Light of Venus by Adam Gainsburg, SoulsignPublishing ISBN:0978853555

2. The Politics of Relationship by Bob Makranskyhttp://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/LIokUi6CJrOPGFwsccxQoHO0JSy43fNXx8PwJBwJcN8Na0dOfTHBiOt5lDGz1aD6gcVXQ8dm15KpXU1vkKf9N2_XNlRdEnZwHkvg/Astrology%20Articles/The%20Politics%20of%20Relationship.doc

3. Venus Morning Star, Evening Star by Michael R. Meyerwww.khaldea.com/planets/venus_type.shtml

4. Venus - Her Cycles, Symbols and Myths by Anne MassetLlewellyn ISBN:0738709913

5. The Many Faces of Venus, Ev Cochrane Aeon PublishingISBN:0965622909

eserving a seat at the OPA retreatin Myrtle Beach, for an ocean viewfeast on astrology, was a no-brainer

for me. Choosing a track proved far morechallenging. Show me a Taurus womancontent to select a single entree from agourmet menu laden with ten mouth water-ing choices and I’ll show you a woman whohas successfully solved one of the more dif-ficult, if delicious, riddles in her nature.Raise the bar on her sensory overload by in-forming her that each of the entrees is ac-companied with its own master chef and abird’s eye view of their particular techniquefor boiling the bones of a theme into a richextract of experience, which she can thentake to the bank. I didn’t think it was fair ofOPA to develop such a tantalizing menuand then expect me to choose “just onetrack”. Hungry as I was at the time, any oneof them would have fed me handsomely.Nearly every description of my Sun signsays that a practical component comes stan-dard with my Taurus nature. This may betrue, though I personally don’t use it veryoften. The last me (or whoever placed the

order for this one) must have had their rea-sons, but the present me wouldn’t havebothered with the extra expense. I find itway more fun to fly by the seats of my pantsthan to deploy a parachute out my bootieonly to slow me down. But hey, if it camewith the package maybe I could deploy itnow, to help settle me down and start tonarrow my choices. I meditated on “practi-cal” for a minute and indeed, I did manageto narrow the choices to two that seemedmost likely to fill my most pressing dietaryvoids. As far as I was concerned these tracksrepresented two different food groups, aprotein and a carbohydrate if you will, butboth necessary components of a well-rounded meat and potatoes diet. Allow me to digress for just a momentwhile I feed you a little more backgroundinformation about my particular dietary sit-uation. I love astrology and I want to write.The beginner’s track was tempting as ameans to fortify my astrological diet, whichso far consisted primarily of books. I neededto bulk up in other areas to fill out thisrather flaccid approach. The writing track

piqued my interest thanks to a long and un-requited desire to write. This urge, by nowlong repressed, was the excuse I used for de-viating from my father’s sage advice byswitching my major from business to Eng-lish. I had long ago paid the karmic careerpath debt for that move but had yet to reapthe supposedly forward thinking benefit. Speaking of forward thinking, when Itake the time to reread anything I havewritten I usually wind up rearranging mysentences. They almost always make bettersense when I place the second sentence thatI have written before the first one. Truth betold I don’t know if this suggests my think-ing is forward or backward, or that I am be-hind or ahead of my thoughts. I do knowthat I have a sufficient quantity of hard as-pects to explain away either scenario. I’vedetermined that this idiosyncrasy, my diffi-culty determining whether the chicken orthe egg should come first, is a repetitive pat-tern. I know it should tell me somethingabout myself, but for the life of me I haveno earthly idea what. In any event, the lazyin me nuzzled up to the thought of a quick


Written as Part of Arlan Wise’s Writing Track at the 2013 OPA Retreat

By Mary Wittbold

R

infusion of writer’s inspiration, so I optedfor the writing track - but not without someregret that I would not be moving my astro-logical ball forward.I had little pre-conceived notion of whatto expect from the writing track but admitthat I presumed it would address writingmore than astrology. I now appreciate theirony that what I had projected as an unfairchallenge was a reflection of my own igno-rance. Not only did the writing track deliverabundant astrological insight along with themany excellent writing tips, but it alsoteased a few of my more minimally con-scious perceptions about how to approachthem to the surface. That writing track de-livered more value than I had initially bar-gained for... in a veritable mother lode ofdiscovery - about writing, about astrology,and about me. My first interface of any kind with an as-trological community occurred the previousMay, when I traveled to New Orleans forthe United Astrology Conference. Talkabout a sensory overload, that experiencehad been surreal. The energy I felt there isbeyond my ability to describe with words(which speaks ironically to the difference be-tween reading about astrology and actuallyputting it in motion). Suffice to say, in thisorgy of kindred souls I discovered somethingthat I didn’t know I had been missing. Im-mersed in that highly charged environment,which was thrilling and mind-bending at thesame time, I felt as though my astrologicalball and I were riding astride a one-wayrocket on its way out of the stratosphere.At UAC I had to choose 4 lectures out of16 every day... but I wanted to consume it all!I felt like a kid in a penny candy warehousewith only a nickel to spend. I already knewwhat the planets were and what the houseswere, and that there were other things I stillneeded to grasp like aspects and transits. So Idesigned an improvised program aroundwhat I perceived as the most delectablechoices, like a kid on a sugar high who coulddo little more than feed her jones accordingto the color of a candy wrapper or the recog-

nition of a brand name. Even so, during thattime I began to sense the universe taking overthe reins and leading me into an even granderdesign of coalescing choices. UAC trans-ported me to a nether realm that existed be-yond my textbooks, and provided me with aglimpse of how lurking in the ingredients ofa chart is the recipe for a soul. Where I hadbeen focused on the ingredients, this meantthe difference betweenvisiting a museum all bymyself to look at all thepretty pictures hangingon the wall and taking aguided tour with a de-partment curator whoknew how to tease thepictures into life throughthe stories they told. I carried this dawninginsight to my second as-trological conference acouple of months later.The Midwest AstrologyConference had a moreregional flavor whichtranslated into a calmer and more intimateexperience of astrology. There I was able toconfirm my earlier observations and layerthem with further clarity. The format wassimilar to UAC in that for each session wewere given a variety of lecture topics tochoose from, and so we slipped in and outof different classrooms with reconfiguredaudiences. What was different from UACwas that I actually had an opportunity tomeet and rub elbows with a few of the mas-ter astrologers, some of whom I learnedwould be present in Myrtle Beach the fol-lowing spring. I was so impressed with themthat before I left MAC I reserved my seatfor OPA, which would be my third and insome ways most illuminating, encounterwith an astrological community. OPA’s retreat concept is designed to im-merse the student in a single topic for threedays in an intimate small group setting. Thisalso serves to keep the student up close andpersonal with the Professional group leader.

It was in that setting, on day three of ourwriting track, that our leader, Arlan Wise,handed us our final assignments: to com-mence work on an article destined for theCareer Astrologer. Gulp. Over the past three days Arlan had donean admirable job of weaving her experienceand tutelage through the group’s diverserange of astrological knowledge (with “moi”

occupying the nadir of that par-ticular curve), skill, personalityand background, so that by nowwe were all more or less sitting onthe same afghan. Still, I thoughtto myself, surely she meant to say“pretend” article...didn’t she? My rational side understoodthat as a group, Arlan trusted ourability to tackle this assignment.But my emotional side took it asa pinch to the seat of my insecuri-ties. This surprised me. I thoughtI had worked through my insecu-rities after the first day, when Ihad to come to grips with mygreenhorn status relative to the

astrological grownups occupying all theother seats in the room. When Arlanhanded out that last assignment I figured Imight be able to stretch and actually “pre-tend” to be a writer, but I wouldn’t dare topretend I was an astrologer. There had al-ready been far too much damage done tothis important profession, by the few mini-mally informed who tainted the astrologicallabel for everyone else when they fell intothe delusion that they could spear an astro-logical truth with their flimsy dime storecreds. I respected my newly adopted kindredbuddies far too much to want to give themreason to bump me into the same shark pit. There I sat, deer in the headlights, onceagain having mixed up the sequence be-tween the chicken and the egg. So then whatthe hell could I contribute to the “CAREERAstrologer” that most of the OPA member-ship hadn’t already learned by the time theycould walk? These rock stars would no doubthave a good chuckle




over of my rendition of chopsticks. I shouldhave started at kindergarten.I was a mite too big to go run and hidefrom this assignment, and our wonderfulgroup provided a very safe container, so tobuy some time I leaned back and began toexplore the source of my unease. I owned upfairly quickly to an unreasonable fear ofsounding stupid. I didn’t know where it camefrom and please, don’t blame my parents.They were and are the loveliest of souls and Iam the last to consider them the source of it.I was encroaching on some tender territorybut I hung in there and kept prodding. Bythe time the rest of my group were half waythrough their articles I had yet to tap a key. The realization of which brought anotherof my insecurities to light. It takes me for-flippin’- ever to figure out what I want tosay and longer yet to say it. The other writ-ers in my track seemed to pop out entire lit-erary babies in the time it would take me tochange their baby’s diapers. I realized thesame phenomena was true of astrologers,who could breathe life into a piece of paperwith chart printed on it. A good astrologercould look at a chart and turn it into a reallife simulator. In the time it took me to callout “Sun in Sag in the 6th”, they had al-ready grasped the plot, moved past the cli-

max and were closing in on the punch line. Then I thought about my own (real) kids,and how during their formative years I kepta record of the milestones that marked theprogress of their youth. Hmm...would thatcount as me having written a book? MaybeI could borrow from that and write an arti-cle with the intention that it provide a snap-shot in time, as a marker along the path ofmy astrological development. I could lookback on it one day to see how far I hadcome: kind of like how old I was when I lostmy first baby tooth... except I had the dis-tinct feeling sitting there that I still had allmy baby teeth. Alright then, I would prodaround some more. Surely I could findsomething to write about.My “kids” had grown and gone now,which is why I thought I had the time towrite. Speaking of time, where had yester-day’s darling babies gone? Indeed, wherehad those thirty four years gone, since thetime I exited university with high hopesand honors in English in tow? Could it bethat I was too much a perfectionist - thattime would never be able to ripen me to thelevel of my expectations? That was the moment when I heard acomment that one of my fellow writingmates had pitched my way earlier in theday, when I was very obviously editing myessay on the fly as I read it aloud in front ofthe class. I realized that the comment, de-

livered with caring intent, had been echo-ing silently through my mind: “You’re toohard on yourself.” Now that I heard it, itrang true. I wouldn’t think of being evenremotely “hard” on someone else wearingsimilar baby shoes, so why was I so de-manding of myself? Obviously we all haveto start somewhere. And then I heard myanother voice in my head, one I recognizedas my own. It said, “if all you do is readabout taking a step and think about takinga step, you’ll never learn to walk. Give your-self permission to fall on your face. Anyonewho ever got anywhere has had to gothrough the same passage.” This proved to be a remarkable insight,thank you very much. For all the time andknowledge I have accumulated under mybelt - 56 years of it - it was the OPA expe-rience that busted that belt loose a notch ortwo, and in the process allowed me room tobreathe and further expand. Perhaps I willcall myself a writer some day, maybe evenan astrologer - if I live long enough. Thiswas never about the chicken and the egg. Itwas about learning to walk, no matterwhere that takes you. What comes first, thechicken or the egg? It doesn’t matter. Justpick one and run with it. But don’t forgetto loosen your belt first.Thank you OPA, I now know why you de-fine your community as a family. I appreci-ated your support while I practiced my steps.

Learning to Cook[CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5]

your astrology practice, whether you are aprofessional or amateur astrologer. You, our members, are the organization. Yourparticipation is always welcome andencouraged! As always, if you have an article aboutyour practice or a piece of poetry, etc., youwould like to submit, please send it toTwink, our priceless editor, at [email protected] you a peaceful, healthy andbright 2014. — Alexandra

The President’s Report [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1]

{OPA Group Leaders Mix Work & Play on the Vineyard}

Hal Bahr, Jane Ridder-

Patrick and Rick Levine

Above, Monica Dimino,Vicky and Richard Smoot.Right, Chris McRae andhostess, Arlan Wise.


M any acquaintances, espe-cially those who know meas a representative of the

technical world and an engineer through andthrough, are astonished that I am also an as-trologer. “How can it be?” they ask. But thisonly seems strange at first. After havingworked at a plant I realized that even the besttechnical education cannot answer many lifequestions. I decided to make good this deficitby studying astrology. Once I had this ambi-tion, the opportunity was not long in com-ing. Soon I completed astrology training withDmitry Paramonov. As a Russian saying goes, “It is tales that arequickly spun, deeds are sooner said than done.”Of course, I needed time to master the newsubject. But then a miracle oc-curred. My technical educationhelped me. I discovered a corre-spondence between productionapproaches, techniques andmethods and those used in as-trology. For example, you shouldfind the major source of prob-lems both in a birth chart and anelectric circuit to figure out whythis or that electronic chip goeswrong or why a person shouldmodify his/her life in a particularsphere to work out the wholeprocess. This persuaded me thatastrology is not an abstract concept, but a keyto my problems. So my technical education hasbecome a basis for studying astrology, due towhich I was able to master the astrologicalknowledge efficiently and fast.So what do technical subjects have incommon with astrology? It turns out thatthere are a lot of things in common. An-swers are given by the subjects that are farfrom astrology: system analysis and decision

making, system modeling, programmingtheory and technology, methods of neuralnetwork programming etc. Astrology can beconsidered as a system containing as manydifferent models as a person, social media,out world, etc. Models can be logical,actable, discrete, imitative and others. Sincethere is a system, there should be key-notesof the system approach, such as long-runobjective approach, unanimity, principle ofconnectedness, simulative approach etc.How can an astrologer use the system ap-proach? Due to the system approach wecan draw out the scheme of chart interpre-tation. Moreover, every astrologer can drawout his/her own scheme. So I drew out myown scheme. Due to this I made the chart

ingress automatic. A fasterhoroscope adjustment savestime for solving particularcustomer’s problems. In such a manner, the sys-tem approach is a naturalmethod of solving theoreti-cal and real-world prob-lems. I regret to say thatmost of people neglect thisfact. In engineering, systemignorance brings about abreak down, in otherspheres it produces needlessconflicting views which can

mislead even an expert. That is why I sug-gest examining the key-notes of the systemapproach. One of the key-notes is the long-run ob-jective approach. First of all, you should seta clear survey objective. Vague, uncertainand inarticulate objectives result in an incor-rect conclusion. People setting clear objec-tives are abler than those acting with noobjective. Giving up objectives we decline

all responsibilityand shift it to othershoulders. Having a clear objective we caneasily work out our way to success. Whensucceeding, a person grows and improves.Here is an example. Our customer (awoman) is preoccupied by a following prob-lem: she cannot get married. I suggest examining this problem regard-ing the long-run objective approach. There-fore we should take the following steps.

a) Examine the customer’s problem: what isnot the customer happy with? Why? Is herobjective real?

b) Set an objective (define what result youwant to have): give clear problem-solvingrecommendations.

c) Define the resources that can help ussolve the problem: necessary knowledge,finding the area in the birth chart that canhelp solve the problem.

d) Adjusting the criteria of achieving theobjective. We need facts and circumstancesto understand if we achieved the objective,not to give up the decision taken and not todrift off the heading.

e) Follow the adjusted scheme of interpret-ing the chart: get into the horoscope step bystep, following the plan of reading the chart.First, get the general idea about the cus-tomer and sift the information needed forsolving his/her problem.

f ) An important issue is the responsibility ofthe astrologer in respect of a customer. If anastrologer doesn’t as-

BYMARINA POZDERINA



sume responsibilities for the results ofhis/her work, he/she escapes from the cus-tomer’s problem solving.

g) Take notes of the principal points of theconsultation. This is a very important rulefor an apprentice astrologer. The notes areof the facts and circumstances which en-gage, recall, and pushes forward.

While carrying out your work, be mind-ful of the objective. So our objective is togive an answer to the customer.

You seem to be at a dead-lock, as the ob-jective is large and ambiguous. Neverthe-less, it can be broken apart and we canachieve little objectives. Step 2 is similar to the objective setting,but at this step the detailed study of thechart is very important. It is necessary todiscover weak points at the chart, in otherwords areas covering the reasons for mar-riage problems. For example, we have dis-covered communication obstacles. She istoo aggressive to acquire information. Sheis a leader. She considers people as hercompetitors, rivals. She finds that her part-ner’s support is a sign of weakness.

This step involves revision, synthesis, andconclusion, so the answer. The point is thattrying to change the scheme of the objec-tive can result in the whole system destruc-tion. If the process outline is not clear, yourun the danger of failing the result for dif-ferent reasons. So before answering thequestion, it is very important to be sure thatwe didn’t fudge the information to match itwith the problem. Therefore we examinethe chart checking out the notes taken.So why is it important to have clear ob-jectives? When you know clearly what youwant, all your activity is well-ordered andobjective-orientated. What can happen ifan astrologer doesn’t want or cannot statehis/her objectives? It is not a big deal, ofcourse. But he/she will pick the informationrandomly and a customer will not get aclear answer. Consequently, the time andmoney are gone with the wind.The long-run objective approach consistsof the following steps: 1) objective setting,2) breaking apart the objective and 3)analysis of the work done. The advantage ofthis approach is in setting an objective andhaving a specific result. Achieving resultsmotivates the future work and self-im-provement. Marina Pozderina is a member of OPA’schapter in Russia.

14ascend-ing stars(includ-

ing some OPAmembers!) atthe forefront ofthe current as-trological re-vival have

contributed an essay reflectingtheir area of expertise - from thetraditional and mundane to thespiritual, psychological and evolu-tionary to Astrology: The NewGeneration. This anthology oftechniques and insights will en-hance your astrological skills andunderstanding — no matter howlong you have been studying!

Planetary Cycles & Cinema TrendsWendy Stacy

The Visual Journey of Venus Gary Caton

Highlights and Echoes Nick Dagan Best

Pluto in Libra and ScorpioTony Howard

The Devil in the Detail —Pluto in Virgo Generation

Marc Jones

An Astrological and SpiritualPerspective on Mental Health

Maurice Fernandez

The Planets of AwakeningEric Meyers

A New Look at Astro-CartographyMoses Siregar III

The Sun, Moon & Midheaven in Vocation

Frank Clifford

Charts are like PassportsBranka Stamenkovic

Time Lords in Traditional AstrologyDr Benjamin Dykes

The Astrology of SelfJohn Green

Essential Skills for the Counseling Astrologer

Rebecca Crane

The Archetypal Dynamicsof Individuation

Keiron Le Grice

A V A I L A B L E O N

The System Approach[CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7]

The OPA Board ...

... takes a lunch break at one of Boulder'syummy restaurantsduring a planningmeeting at Sandra-Leigh’s home.

A wedding day is supposed to be theculmination of a girl’s childhooddream: the prince on the white

horse. On August 30, 1980 I married myprince. Heading off into that fantasy of“happily ever after,” who could have imag-ined what surprises would await us?The first clue was a rocky start with hisparents. We walked into their hotel roomthe morning after the wedding, a little foggyfrom the merriment the night before. Thefog lifted quickly as I heard my new father-in-law say, “You whore!” Now that caughtmy attention and I was completely cluelessas to what had prompted it. Turns out some-one in his family misinterpreted my behaviorat the reception while I was visiting withsome old friends at a crowded table.My husband was the oldest of six childrenin a close Irish Catholic family. News trav-eled fast within the clan. The shock of thisencounter had me a little shaky. So less than24 hours after my wedding, I was back inmy parents’ home while my new husbanddealt with his family. Lucky for me, he tookmy side and asked his parents to leave town.Once back in the city where we all lived,we didn’t speak to his family for two years.When his siblings started getting married,we attempted to repair the rift. The first ef-forts were not successful so we missed thefirst two weddings. By the time the thirdone came along we had a truce, although

not the reconciliation my husband hadhoped for. No one was willing to admit theywere wrong.Life went on, careers were building, andbabies were born to our siblings. My hus-band had made it clear he was not inter-ested in having children and I agreed. Eventhough I had imagined myself with chil-dren, I was more interested in having mygreat love, my knight in shining armor. Heweakened his position on children after afew years but I never conceived.Our life was everything I had dreamed of,beginning with the honeymoon in Hawaii.Back in high school a classmate had mar-ried and when I read in the newspaper thatshe had honeymooned in Hawaii, itsounded so romantic. I had never traveledmuch out of the state of Florida, so the tripto Hawaii was as fabulous as my fantasy.My idea of marriage was fashioned out ofthe TV shows of the 50’s like Donna Reedand June Cleaver, greeting the husband atthe door all dressed up with dinner ready.But this was the 80’s. Women had careers. Iwas a CPA and my husband was an attor-ney. Secretly, I was just biding my time untilI could be that 50’s housewife.I was changing jobs about every twoyears. My husband started his own businessand once it was off the ground, I wanted tobe free to travel with him and entertainclients and their wives. He finally gave in.

My dream resumed.There were businesstrips to California,Hawaii, and London.We built a home onthe water. We vaca-tioned in the Ba-hamas and then bought property there.Sure we had the usual relationship issuesthat come with marriage and in-laws. Withthe entertaining lifestyle came lots of alco-hol, which at times was excessive. We areboth Pisces: Sun, Mars and Venus.Then in September of 1997, after a trip tothe Bahamas, my husband became ill. Atfirst, he thought it was just an infection dueto a cut he received while cleaning fish.When he didn’t feel better, the doctorstarted doing all kinds of digestive tests buteverything looked normal, so they said.We began building a home on our prop-erty in the Bahamas. He didn’t get better.This Bahamas house was his dream. Withhis Sun-Mars conjunction, no illness couldkeep him from his goal. Then on April 1,1998 after 7 months of tests, a radiologistfinally found the culprit - pancreatic cancer.We were devastated. What happened to our“grow old along with me, the best is yet tobe”? We got second and third opinions.Same diagnosis, prognosis: one year max. Now our lifestyle became doctors andtreatments. I may be [CONTINUED ON PAGE 10]



BYNANCY BEALE


a Pisces but my Libra moon is no nurse!Hospitals are the last place I want to be.Luckily, I was spared hospitals for the mostpart, but I still had to help administer andmonitor his chemotherapy treatments athome. This was my beloved; my soul mate,so I would do whatever was required.His determination was impressive. Hecontinued to work. If we weren’t flying toMD Anderson in Houston for check-ups,we were flying to the Bahamas to check onthe construction of the house. The homewas completed in May 1998 and we spentweeks at a time there, entertaining friends,fishing and diving. He insisted on squeez-ing every last moment out of the time hehad left.We had a New Year’s Eve party in the Ba-hamas to celebrate with our local friends.Then two days later, he decided we shouldget back to Florida and 3 weeks later he died.This story is just the prelude. Six yearslater, I was surfing the Internet looking fora vocational vacation. I had been studyingmetaphysical subjects since the Uranus-Neptune conjunction of 1993, even thoughI didn’t know astrology then. The wordCPA caught my eye. I was not interested inanything accounting related, having leftthat profession behind years ago.This CPA was the Centre for Psychologi-cal Astrology in England. They were offer-ing an intensive beginners course in SanFrancisco for a week. Just what I was look-ing for! I signed up and headed to Califor-nia. My “AH HAH!” moment was whenthe instructor glanced at my chart after Itold her that my husband had died. Shesaid, “it’s right here in your chart, Plutowent over your IC”. I was dumbfoundedthat my husband’s death was showing up in

my astrology chart. Why would that be?I didn’t know much astrology then, butthat was the spark that propelled me tocontinue on this path. As I would learn inthe coming years, my marriage was part ofan eclipse cycle. It lasted 18-1/2 years.Looking back, there was a solar eclipse onAugust 10, 1980 (20 days before the wed-ding) at 18°Leo 17’. My natal Pluto is18°Leo 16’ in the 12th house. The nexteclipse in that cycle was a solar eclipse onAugust 11, 1999 (6-1/2 months after hisdeath) at 18°Leo 21’. I experienced some very intense, disturb-ing events in the months following thatAugust eclipse. My metaphysical studiestaught me that there are no accidents andeverything happens for a reason. Still reel-ing from the transition of wife to widow, Iwas vulnerable. I no longer had the protec-tion of the husband I had deferred to allthese years. Other people did not have mybest interests at heart. After the worst lossof my life, there were more losses to come:Losses of wealth and self-esteem. It was likebeing sucked into a vortex with no way out.I consoled myself with the thought that,whatever happened was for my highestgood. I would be okay. I was divinely pro-tected even if I didn’t feel like it. It has now been 14 years since I jour-neyed to the underworld on that Plutoeclipse. I have been blessed with newfriends who encourage my authenticity. Icontinue to deepen my knowledge of astrol-ogy and connect with my colleagues at con-ferences and workshops. I’ve got 4 moreyears before the next eclipse in this cyclehits in 2018. I’m counting on my astrologyawareness to moderate my next meetingwith Pluto.

BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN & THOUGHTFULA delightful and nicely written book thatplaces astrology in the broad context ofsociety and human evolution. Each

chapter is a small gem in itself. A pleasureto read. — Allan L. Combs

I N C L U D E D

Benjamin Bernstein: Shamamic Astrology

Faye Cossar: Is the TranspersonalBecoming Personal?

Dena DeCastro: Neptune and Opening to Creativity

Armand Diaz: Tracking the Evolution ofCollective Consciousness

Adam Elenbaas: No Such Thing as Source

Maurice Fernandez: The Death Chart

Adam Gainsburg: The Archetype ofMasculine Transformation Through

the Mars Cycle

Margaret Gray: Changing Relationships: A Transpersonal Approach

Mark Jones: The Transpersonal Dimension:The Higher Octave of the Personal Planets

Eric Meyers: A Transpersonal Vision for Astrology

Jessica Murray: The World Moment

Rafael Nasser: Astrology: A Noetic Science

Julene Packer-Louis: The Vertex: Fate, Serendipity and Attraction

Sherene Schostak: The Killer Within

Andrew Smith: Locational Astrology A Transpersonal Perspective

Bill Streett: The Telos of Techne:Technological Development and the

Uranus-Pluto Cycle

AVAILABLE ON

OPA Members Contribute to

Transpersonal Astrology [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9]

Tell us about your work as a professional astrologer! We would love to hear from you,

see what’s doing on your website, read your blog, hear about what’s new and exciting in your consultations.

Deadline for the next Career Astrologer is March 7. Send your articles to Twink McKenney at [email protected]


T oday, it is not uncommon to meetpeople who see astrology as morethan a fascinating hobby; more and

more view astrology as a profession. Thisshift is due to the fact that we have access tomore information, an abundance of astro-logical software, the availability of modernmeans of communication, availability ofelectronic payment systems, as well as thewidespread introduction of Internet. Thisgreatly simplifies issues related to advertisingand office procedures - all this makes astrol-ogy an attractive form of commercial activ-ity. Astrology is becoming cost-effectiveand, as a consequence, there is a growinginterest on the part of astrologers, who areready to offer people paid consultations.Every year the astrology market producesa group of young astrologers; full of energywith confidence believing that their astro-logical knowledge, the ability to speak well,and their ability to establish contact withpeople will allow them to quickly achievesuccess in the field of astrological counsel-ing. Consequently, beginning astrologers en-thusiastically enter the world of professionalastrology, but for some reason, some timelater, their enthusiasm wanes, and they quit.What’s going on? Let’s find out.The main reason this happens is found inthe motivation for opening a private astro-

logical practice. Why does the person wantto become a consulting astrologer? What isthe expectation of life as an astrologer?What forethought has gone into the state ofthe astrological market? And what are hisviews on the future work?If the original motivation was wrong thenthis astrologer is disappointed, and returnsto a more stable source of earnings, leavingastrology to the status of a hobby.Therefore, to avoid disappointment andnot lose faith in yourself before you plungeheadlong into professional astrological activ-ities, it is desirable to think: why, exactly, youwant to become a professional astrologer?What is your relationship to astrology? Andare you ready to make it your profession?Ponder these questions, think about the mo-tivation, and try to see yourself as an as-trologer. What is you reason for developingyour astrological practice? If your reasons arefocused mainly its outer side, then youshould reconsider a different profession.This can save you a lot of grief. Naturally, low motivations to do it just tomake money or for personal power in thefield of astrology has the potential for doingreal harm to others, damaging the field ofastrology, and being personally disappointedin the outcome.This problem of the initial motivation ex-

BYDMITRIY PARAMONOV

ists in all spheres of activities that involveindividual entrepreneurship. It wouldtherefore be advisable to seek the experi-ence of specialists from other fields adja-cent to astrology. For example, let’s look athow to solve a similar problem in business.T. Hopkins, wrote a very interesting workon the study of this issue; his commentsand suggestions are quite applicable to theactivities of professional astrologers. I be-lieve that these tips will help in the devel-opment of professional astrology.Constantly communicating with profes-sional astrologers who give consultations,discussing with them the issues of profes-sional growth by participating in variousjoint astrological projects, I noticed thatthere are some specific stereotypes that aretypical of those astrologers who cannotachieve success. At the same time, there isanother group of stereotypes that operatewith successful astrologers. In both casesthese stereotypes relate with the initial mo-tivation. So, let’s look at some notions,most often found with unsuccessful as-trologers:“By practicing astrology, one can make

good money.” By practicing astrology, onereally can make good money, but ... it ismore than just being a true master of hiscraft. It should be borne in mind that allsuccessful people achieve their success byworking very much and constantly focus-ing on self-improving. Learning the secretsof effective counseling and creating a largecustomer base requires time and consider-able effort. If you intend to work intensely,then counseling can actually be a very prof-itable business. Otherwise, be prepared formodest earnings.“I love astrology and am well versed in it,

so I think I can be a good consultant.”The realization that you love and knowastrology very well does not mean that youcan be a good consultant. Even if you loveastrology as a science, the main quality forsuccess as a coun- [CONTINUED ON PAGE 12]


seling astrologer is the love of people.Guided solely by personal sympathy to as-trology, you will give preference to thoseareas of astrology which you find interest-ing; thus significantly limiting your rangeof activity, and missing things importantfor the client, because they are of little in-terest for you.“The astrologer is a free personality, and he

obey no ones, and works by himself.”If you are engaged in private practice, youare your own boss in terms of time planning.However, our time is often occupied withaffairs that you quite possibly do not want todo. Your success as an astrologer will be adirect reflection of your ability to do exactlywhat must be done. There is an old wisdom:“Success begins with a win over our ownshortcomings.” This is essential in the man-agement of any private practice. Many peo-ple become professional astrologers througha desire to be their own boss, but find thatthis is actually quite difficult. They just donot have enough self-discipline to managethemselves.“I have the gift of eloquence, so I can to be a

good consultant.” This is one of the mostcommon misconceptions. The ability toquickly to come in contact, start a conversa-tion on any topic and in no time process theinformation - this is not the most importantqualities needed for a good consultant. It ismuch easier to teach an introvert to askquestions than compel an extrovert to closehis mouth. The consultation process involvesthe interaction of the consultant and theclient. A good counselor asks the client theright questions and listens very carefully tohim, to accurately grasp, with how the ques-tion came to him and how help him. To bean incorrigible chatterbox or inattentivecompanion makes it very difficult to do agood consultation. Successful consultantsknow that it is necessary to listen twice asmuch than to speak. Most people are muchbetter at hearing their own voice than an-other’s. It is much more valuable to be an in-

terested person than interesting person. If itis more important for you to be interestingrather than interested, then professional as-trology is not for you.“Giving astrological consultations is a sim-

ple job and pleasant pastime.”Look at the esoteric salons, astrologicalsites and social networks, and you’ll see thatthey are filled by specialists-astrologers whoare gathered together and entertain eachother with funny stories. They are not doingastrology: they’re just gaily spending time.They have no time for counseling clients, orconducting research, or for participation inthe public life of the astrological community,or for self-education. These “specialists” areabsorbed with discussion of political events,of popular movies, news, fashion, and cook-ing.Remember that the best astrologers workmore than 40 ordinary hours per week, andevery minute of time is used for somethinguseful for their cause. If you decide to takethe path of professional astrology and at thesame thinking that you’ll work, withoutstraining, and be your own boss, then youneed to grasp that bosses usually work morethan all the other, and usually take workwith them wherever they go. If you do optto specialize in astrology, then use time effi-ciently, namely: constantly pay attention tothe study of the market, study astrologicalliterature, improve your skills, and learn newtechniques of counseling. The rational use oftime is a professional necessity.“It’s great to be constantly meet new inter-

esting people.”To be interested in new peo-ple is a great and necessary quality for theastrologer consultant. But you have to re-member that people will not necessarily havean interest to you. In practice, you still haveto search out these people, to win their at-tention, to deserve their time. You have facethat people are often reluctant to meet withyou. Often it takes great effort to have ameeting take place. Another important as-pect is that the sectarians, atheists, and reli-

gious radicals will often have an aggressiveattitude toward astrology. If you are seriousin you intent to become a professional as-trologer consultant, you need to be not onlymaster astrological counseling, but also learntechniques of self-motivation.“I can find a place in astrology without any

training.” If you want to become a truly pro-fessional astrologer, you should make astrol-ogy your lifestyle. It cannot be just your job,it’s not enough. Lifestyle means that fromthe time you wake up in the morning, everystep, every breath, every look and every con-versation is subordinate to the interests ofthe cause. Consider questions for astrologi-cal research drawn from your personal hob-bies. Observe how other astrologers work.Develop your astrological skills and try newtechniques. Yours astrological self-educationwill never be completed, because the worldaround us is constantly changing. To stayequal to the situation, you ca not stop evenfor a minute. In addition, ongoing trainingand familiarity with the new theories willsupport your enthusiasm. In any case, beforeyou master the skills of a leader in his pro-fession and to gain knowledge on the expertlevel, you have lots and lots to learn.Here are some truths about working as aprofessional consulting astrologer:It’s fun!The first positive point in thework of astrologer is that it is really fun.How great is the number of people who areterribly bored with their work? Life is meantto be joyful. And there’s no reason not tochoose a job to our liking.Astrologers are needed. The demand forskilled astrologers will always be there. Vir-tually every society feels the need for highlyskilled astrologers. And this need is neverfully satisfied.Small capital investment. Working as-trologers do have one big advantage: returnon our assets with little capital investment.How much is an “entry ticket” to the profes-sion? You can start a career as an astrologerhaving an initial capital of investing timeand effort spent learning astrology and hon-ing of the professional skills as a consultant.



My natal Venus is retro-grade. I used to beashamed to admit I

didn’t get her. I’d think “How can Ibe an astrologer and not understandhow natal retrogrades work?” Duringthe first 10 years I studied, I readMartin Shulman’s book, Karmic As-trology: Retrogrades and Relation-ships, Vol. III repeatedly and anythingelse I could get my hands on. I knew Venus was the go to planet tobegin to comprehend one’s relationship pro-file. In those days I would pass her by andask a series of questions. I’d start at the 7thhouse to see what was happening there andwhat sign was on the house cusp. Where isits ruler? What sign is it in? Is it interactingwith other planets, angles? Are those rela-tionships easy and flowing or challengingand stressful? Is the 7th house occupied? If

so what planets, angles are those plan-ets interacting with? I wanted to knowwhy my relationships were uncom-municative, unsatisfying, and astruggle. When I looked at myVenus I focused on her conjunc-tion with Pluto overlooking hermore immediate conjunction tomy Sun. According to what I knew,

her not being in direct motionwasn’t good. Adding her place-

ment in Virgo, her Fall, further debilitatesher; but conjunct to Pluto? That had totrump any other consideration. I felt likePersephone before I was knew who she wasand what her myth meant. It became thestory for why my relationships seemed tomorph into some version of a familiar hell. Still early in my education I understoodthat what Pluto

And thanks to this in a short time you willhave great opportunities to realize your po-tential.Plenty of room for personal initiative.The profession of astrologer provides a fullopportunity of free self-expression. This isone of the few professions that allow you tobe yourself and, in fact, do what you like.A sense of satisfaction from work. Pro-fessional astrology is a helping profession.You’ll feel great when the client is satisfiedwith their consultation. It is nice to knowthat you have helped someone, and can saywith confidence: “Today another man got achance to become happier, and I have ashare of the merit.”When in people’s lives, at last, occur thelong-awaited events, which you suggested,you feel the rise and the satisfaction ofknowing that you helped these peopleachieve their goals. The success of thepeople who you advise is put into somedirect ------relationship to yourprofessional qualities and skills. The moreyou grow professionally, the greater thehappiness you bring to others.Unlimited opportunities of personal

growth.No one can limit capabilities yourgrowth, but you. If you want to achievegreat results, learn more. For a while, youwill work very intensely, work overtime, butsoon these efforts will be rewarded.Most people in this world have a profes-sion or a job which are for them a justmeans of livelihood, and do not allow themto completely realize their potential. Pro-fessional astrologers know no obstacles totheir growth except those that they placeupon themselves. We know that we alwayshave the opportunity to achieve somethinggreater. We know that professional growthdepends on our level of competence. Andwe do not fear the un-known, since in theformation of a betterfuture, it is our work.Dmitriy Paramonovis a member of OPA’schapter in Russia.


BY CHERYLHOPKINS



touches he transforms. Adjacent study ofspiritual wisdom supported that such aprocess was to be invited. It was just difficultto manage the emotional hits “plutonian”learning experiences took on me. I seemed tobe in some degree of hell when it came tomy finances, esteem, and relationships. Addin being frustrated for not getting why I wasunable to stop doing, being whatever wasbringing the pain. I scapegoated Pluto whileacknowledging begrudgingly that on that in-famous “some level” I supposed I was beinghelped. At some point I just forgot aboutVenus. She slipped through the cracks of myPluto fear. Time passed. It was easier connecting tothe meaning of transiting retrogrades, espe-cially Mercury. But when it’s encoded intoyour psychic DNA how do you identify it inyour behavior? I had a lot of information ex-plaining what it all meant but what good isthat when you don’t recognize it in who youare? I needed to go beyond concepts andtheory to see it in me. I hoped that at somepoint I’d get it. All the while I accumulated more symbol-ism: her representation of the feminine prin-cipal; what represents beauty to us; what welike, our personal values. I remember readingsomewhere a favorable aspect between Venusand Mars gave the ability to create what youwant and supports the personal freedom todo what you will. Mine are both in Virgobut over fifteen degrees apart. I couldn’t helpbut feel abandonment for her. She was closebut yet so far from her other half. Years later when my struggle to know re-ceded out of sight, I was in class listening tothe teacher respond to a question. It waswhen he casually mentioned that natal retro-grade Venus indicates an inability to recog-nize one’s own beauty the mirror cracked.Something caved internally. I thought of thetimes when I’d look in the mirror looking forthe person that had just been complimentedfor what I said, wrote or did, and who I wasor how I looked came flooding back to me. I

didn’t hear what else he said. I was in thefeeling I always had when looking to see theone complimented in me and instead foundher missing for me. The opaque veil between us thinned. Therewas an empty space I hadn’t identified be-fore. That was it. This was how a retrogradeplanet could be identified within you. It’s theemptiness. It’s the missing connection towhat the planet represents in your sense ofwho you are. In Venus’s case the inability toexperience the beauty in me was the blinkingneon clue hiding in plain sight. Vacantthough it felt, it was Venus being as presentas she could. How classic that through mysuffering misperceived view of what I wasmissing, I missed seeing that she requiredfrom me what I was looking to others for. Delving into this has been an importantlearning for me. A retrograde planet requiresyou to give to yourself what it represents in-tentionally whether or not you think or feelyou know what you are doing. You do it untilit feels natural to be it and then operate fromwhat you have built within and continueadding to it. Just as the first step to erect a new struc-ture on the remains of an old one is to builda scaffold, you do the same. The scaffold isthe knowing that you must give the planetprinciple to yourself. The consistent doing sofills in the planet structure on the remains ofthe memory. When you have built to whereyou can operate from there a natural shiftoccurs even as construction continues. At apoint your structure is strong enough to dis-mantle the scaffold and support self-reliantexpression. Venus went direct by progression severalweeks before I turned 24. I remember notic-ing that when I was 37 and newly separatedfrom my first husband. Deep in disillusion-ment I searched to find a memory that fit allthe descriptions I understood a retrogradeVenus turned direct to be like. It was déjà vuall over again, as Yogi Berra the illustriousNew York Yankee Manager was known to

say. I couldn’t relate. Five years later, takinganother look, I recognized there had been ashift though imperceptible then. After shewent direct I went from not knowing I couldhave better relationships and feel betterabout myself to realizing I deserve to haveexactly that. How to make it so? Findingthat road took a few more years. I needed myteacher/guide to appear and show the wayvia astrology and spiritual wisdom. I’ve beenbuilding that structure one step at a timeever since.

Cheryl Hopkins is an astrologer, teacherand energy healer. Born in upstate NewYork, she graduated from New York’s Fash-ion Institute of Tech-nology with a degree inBusiness Merchandis-ing. She enjoyed a suc-cessful career in sales inthe womens’ apparel in-dustry for twelve years.From there she moved into the corporateworld beginning with a several year stint atCalvin Klein Cosmetics.Though a student of human psychologyand development for many years her interestin astrology wasn’t serious until she receivedan astrological consultation as a gift in themid-eighties. It elevated her understandingthat astrology is a valuable catalytic tool fordeepening self-awareness and changed herlife’s direction.She apprenticed with her first teacherlearning astrology, spiritual wisdom and en-ergy healing in the early 1990′s. She is alevel II certificate holder in Steven Forrest’sEvolutionary Astrology Apprenticeship Pro-gram and is the Program Director for TheNational Council For Geocosmic Research(NCGR) Richmond, Virginia chapter. As anenergy healer, Cheryl is a PSYCH-K™(Psychological Kinesiology) Facilitator andReiki Practitioner. She maintains her prac-tice in the Charlottesville, Virginia area atthe foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridgemountains. Visit her at cherylhopkins.com


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