My interest in astrology started early. I remember reading a feature in a magazine when I was 12 that sparked my curiosity. The symbols and attributes of the signs were fascinating. I also discovered Chinese Astrology and was excited to discover I was born in the year of the Dragon – a marvellous mythical creature.
Later I had my chart drawn up, just a basic computer printout, but the start of a journey of self-discovery. I read all I could about the planets and signs, I found out about aspects and houses. I talked to friends and bored people at parties as I explored the relationship between a person’s sun sign and observable behaviour and personality traits. I loved finding out how the four elements – fire, earth, air and water – combined with the three qualities of cardinal, fixed and mutable energies to describe the twelve basic types, the zodiac signs.
I found anything and everything I could that gave insight into my approach to and experience of life. In the days before easy access to the vast repository of information available on the internet, that took time tracking down books by astrological pioneers like Alan Leo, Stella Goodman, Dane Rudhyar Liz Greene and reading popular writers whose columns appeared in magazines – Mystic Meg, Milton Black and even Sylvester Stallone’s mother Jackie Stallone, and many more. I learnt how to use an ephemeris and began to draw up charts for friends and family, astonishing myself with the accuracy of insights available.
Astrology is a geocentric system – based on the positions of the planets against the backdrop of the constellations (signs) as viewed from Earth. The planets, known as the ‘wanderers’, transmit the energetic signatures of the signs, and based on a person’s birth time and place, fall into the twelve houses of the natal chart, giving a picture of the cosmic forces at the time of birth.
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst, described astrology as giving the ‘vintage’ of a person’s character, just like a wine vintage describes the flavour of a particular place and time.
And there was always more to know and more to learn. I delved into aspects – looking at the angular relationships between planets in a person’s chart to discover their challenges and strengths, took a look at transits to see what new influences might be affecting the basic imprint of the birth chart, learnt about phenomena like the Saturn return and how to compare and combine the energies of two people in a relationship chart.
Eventually I turned my interest into a profession, practicing as an astrologer from the early 2000s. I also wrote astrology columns and features for publications in Melbourne in the 1990s and more recently for Canberra website On the Cover, giving an astrological oversight of the ‘astro-weather’ each month.
I feel astrology has much to offer us, not so much as a predictive tool, but as a way of looking into ourselves, our personality and character, and learning what makes us tick, what lights us up and how we can best work with our strengths and weaknesses to make the most of our lives and ourselves. I believe we can gain a lot from studying our own birth chart and gaining an understanding of our place on the cosmic stage.
Next month I am offering a 4 week introduction to astrology course in Canberra called AstroLogica. It’s a chance to explore your own birth chart and to learn the language of astrology and apply it to your own life and experiences. We will learn about the 12 signs, 12 houses, the 9 planets, the elements and qualities in an interactive and fun environment.
AstroLogica begins on 5 September as a face to face evening class. It’s a very affordable $90 for 4 classes (or $25 per week). You can pay via PayPal: https://paypal.me/KarenLJames888?country.x=AU&locale.x=en_AU
Feel free to email if you have any questions: karenl.james@gmail.com
I would love to share the wonders of astrology with you.
Luminous Spirit 888 