infusion of writer’s inspiration, so I opted
for the writing track - but not without some
regret that I would not be moving my astro-
logical ball forward.
I had little pre-conceived notion of what
to expect from the writing track but admit
that I presumed it would address writing
more than astrology. I now appreciate the
irony that what I had projected as an unfair
challenge was a reflection of my own igno-
rance. Not only did the writing track deliver
abundant astrological insight along with the
many excellent writing tips, but it also
teased a few of my more minimally con-
scious perceptions about how to approach
them to the surface. That writing track de-
livered more value than I had initially bar-
gained for... in a veritable mother lode of
discovery - about writing, about astrology,
and about me.
My first in terface of any kind with an as-
trological community occurred the previous
May, when I traveled to New Orleans for
the United Astrology Conference. Talk
about a sensory overload, that experience
had been surreal. The energy I felt there is
beyond my ability to describe with words
(which speaks ironically to the difference be-
tween reading about astrology and actually
putting it in motion). Suffice to say, in this
orgy of kindred souls I discovered something
that I didn’t know I had been missing. Im-
mersed in that highly charged environment,
which was thrilling and mind-bending at the
same time, I felt as though my astrological
ball and I were riding astride a one-way
rocket on its way out of the stratosphere.
At UAC I had to choose 4 lectures out of
16 every day... but I wanted to consume it all!
I felt like a kid in a penny candy warehouse
with only a nickel to spend. I already knew
what the planets were and what the houses
were, and that there were other things I still
needed to grasp like aspects and transits. So I
designed an improvised program around
what I perceived as the most delectable
choices, like a kid on a sugar high who could
do little more than feed her jones according
to the color of a candy wrapper or the recog-
O P A
nition of a brand name. Even so, during that
time I began to sense the universe taking over
the reins and leading me into an even grander
design of coalescing choices. UAC trans-
ported me to a nether realm that existed be-
yond my textbooks, and provided me with a
glimpse of how lurking in the ingredients of
a chart is the recipe for a soul. Where I had
been focused on the ingredients, this meant
the difference between
visiting a museum all by
myself to look at all the
pretty pictures hanging
on the wall and taking a
guided tour with a de-
partment curator who
knew how to tease the
pictures into life through
the stories they told.
I carried this dawning
insight to my second as-
trological conference a
couple of months later.
The Midwest Astrology
Conference had a more
regional flavor which
translated into a calmer and more intimate
experience of astrology. There I was able to
confirm my earlier observations and layer
them with further clarity. The format was
similar to UAC in that for each session we
were given a variety of lecture topics to
choose from, and so we slipped in and out
of different classrooms with reconfigured
audiences. What was different from UAC
was that I actually had an opportunity to
meet and rub elbows with a few of the mas-
ter astrologers, some of whom I learned
would be present in Myrtle Beach the fol-
lowing spring. I was so impressed with them
that before I left MAC I reserved my seat
for OPA, which would be my third and in
some ways most illuminating, encounter
with an astrological community.
OPA’s retreat concept is designed to im-
merse the student in a single topic for three
days in an intimate small group setting. This
also serves to keep the student up close and
personal with the Professional group leader.
The Organization for Professional Astrology
5
It was in that setting, on day three of our
writing track, that our leader, Arlan Wise,
handed us our final assignments: to com-
mence work on an article destined for the
Career Astrologer. Gulp.
Over the past three days Arlan had done
an admirable job of weaving her experience
and tutelage through the group’s diverse
range of astrological knowledge (with “moi”
occupying the nadir of that par-
ticular curve), skill, personality
and background, so that by now
we were all more or less sitting on
the same afghan. Still, I thought
to myself, surely she meant to say
“pretend” article...didn’t she?
My rational side understood
that as a group, Arlan trusted our
ability to tackle this assignment.
But my emotional side took it as
a pinch to the seat of my insecuri-
ties. This surprised me. I thought
I had worked through my insecu-
rities after the first day, when I
had to come to grips with my
greenhorn status relative to the
astrological grownups occupying all the
other seats in the room. When Arlan
handed out that last assignment I figured I
might be able to stretch and actually “pre-
tend” to be a writer, but I wouldn’t dare to
pretend I was an astrologer. There had al-
ready been far too much damage done to
this important profession, by the few mini-
mally informed who tainted the astrological
label for everyone else when they fell into
the delusion that they could spear an astro-
logical truth with their flimsy dime store
creds. I respected my newly adopted kindred
buddies far too much to want to give them
reason to bump me into the same shark pit.
There I sat, deer in the headlights, once
again having mixed up the sequence be-
tween the chicken and the egg. So then what
the hell could I contribute to the “CAREER
Astrologer” that most of the OPA member-
ship hadn’t already learned by the time they
could walk? These rock stars would no doubt
have a good chuckle [C ONTINUED ON P AGE 6]
THE CAREER ASTROLOGER
WINTER 2014