Setting Out on a Path of Discovery

Where It All Began

When a person embarks on a spiritual path, I believe it is impossible to ever truly pinpoint the start. For me it began when I recognized that I had a deep need, although quite vague, to discover something. I felt a lingering sense that something was missing and calling out to me in some way.

The Journey Takes Shape

The early signs started when I was only 5 years old, when for some reason, I decided to remember all of my life as best as possible. As I look back on this now, it seems quite odd. I would recall all the days, weeks, and months and years until it would take too long to do. I remember feeling that it was important to be aware of my history, but had no reason for doing it.

The existence of my spiritual path took more shape when I was a freshman at Tulane University. I began reading Alan Watts and started asking questions about the meaning of life.

What I didn’t know at the time was that transiting Uranus/Pluto was conjunct my natal Mercury, the ruler of thought and in my 9th house of spirituality. I remember being criticized by my parents and friends for asking these questions, but the drive to wonder about life and what happens after we die was intense.

After a failed attempt to find answers in the Mormon religion, I went back to my hometown in Missouri and put this part of my life on the backburner. It was time to work and marry, but although dormant, the spark to know more continued.

I became a social worker and a therapist, when suddenly the seeker in me was reignited. It began when I read a book by Carlos Castaneda, whose work described his training in shamanism under the tutelage of Don Juan, a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge."

It wasn’t long before this led me to the study of astrology, but by this time, I had become  a therapist and was only interested in the type of astrology that could help me understand a person or client with whom I was working. This meant that I did not want to use astrology to label someone in a fixed way. Nor did I want to look at a person’s chart in a binary way that might suggest that certain aspects were either good or bad.

Astrology as a Tool for Understanding

Although astrology has traditionally focused on making concrete predictions, I found this approach to be irrelevant, and even dangerous. I simply wanted to use astrology to better understand the people I was working with and find ways to approach them that would lessen their defensiveness.

I believed astrology could open doors to new ways of living and improve how we communicate, which will be quite different from person to person. Above all, I always maintained that astrology could not predict anyone's fate. I had to remain open to any insights and behavioral changes they could make. Essentially, I valued the potential for human change and refused to let astrology limit this perspective.

Reimagining Astrological Signs

I didn't know about the term "Transpersonal Astrology" until much later, but I did know that traditional astrology could not be useful to me. When I began teaching astrology in the late 90s, new concerns emerged about how it was presented to the public.

Many students had unrealistic expectations about what astrology could provide. In my teaching, I saw firsthand the issues I would have to confront with current astrological practices. There was a growing trend of trivializing astrology, which greatly contrasted with the profound depth and potential it truly held.

In 1994-1995, while living in Portland, Oregon, my colleague Gary Lorentzen and a few others  decided to begin a process of reimagning the astrology Signs. We spent several months looking for alternatives to the binary, keyword-based definitions that dominated astrological practice.

Our deliberations led to a new approach which focused on the deeper motivations and needs of each sign which could lead to a clearer understanding of how astrology reveals our unique individuality as well as to our connection to the Cosmos itself. 

The next step in my development as a teacher was my introduction to the works of Dane Rudhyar, who actually coined the term Transpersonal Astrology in 1930. In particular he created what he called the gifts of each Sign which could be seen as a way to balance the traits which define the make-up of the 12 zodiacal types.

They could now be seen as being the “healing virtues which alone can restore functional balance and harmony” to each astrological sign. Now one could begin to regard each sign as having the potential for real transformational growth.

Inspiration for Your Journey

In the upcoming issues of this newsletter, we will guide you through an exploration of Transpersonal Astrology, sharing fundamental concepts necessary for using astrology as a transformative tool.

Stay tuned until next week!