Professional photographer Macy Lau worked her magic with this image. This photo of me has the seven chakras, or energy centers, placed to show their location within the body. Behind, captured with a background of bright stars, is my birth chart. A unique snapshot of cosmic space for that moment in time at which I was born.
Astrology
I view the birth chart as a whole. The client and I, together, have an open dialogue inquiring into the nature of their experience in this moment as well as experiences in the past that may be impacting the present experience. The language I use is the language of astrology, as I believe the Logos of astrology is one way to understand our purpose for being here as embodied human beings.
It is our unique attunement with the cosmos, and our place and purpose in the cosmos, which my clients and I explore. The location of the Sun, Moon, Ascendant aka Rising Sign, and Nodal axis of the Moon are the most important points to study for clues as to how the soul is attuned, how she chose to further her development, with special importance given to the Sun sign. But the entire chart is interlinked, and it's an art to take all the information symbolized there and flesh out the meaning as a whole.
Additionally, I use my astrological knowledge to help clients illuminate and thus gain understanding around energetic issues. Reiki works with the energy of the seven chakras. Click here to read about my approach to Reiki. Each of the chakras is ruled by one of the ancient/traditional planets – Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In addition, I believe that the outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto rule the higher octave vibrational expressions of the 5th, 4th and 3rd chakras respectively-the 4th, or heart chakra, being in the middle and serving as a bridge between the upper and lower chakras.
I take the placement of the planets in the zodiacal signs to help my clients discover the where and why of planetary placement in their birth chart from a chakric perspective. Using my own chart as an example, I have a stellium (two or more planets placed closely together) in Scorpio. Mars is the ancient ruler of Scorpio, Pluto the modern ruler, and so of the third chakra, also known as the Solar Plexus chakra. Armed with this information, I am shown there is the potential for me to transform unconscious material, to transform self-will to universal will. In the chart is symbolized the possibility of deep spiritual transformation with an applying Sun Neptune conjunction of less than one minute. It is a transformation of mind and heart with Mercury and Venus in Scorpio/Third Chakra. It also points to becoming something of a female spiritual warrior, a ripening of my soul in asserting and expressing my own spiritual awakening in service to others.
I don’t practice predictive astrology. The belief that it is we who control our lives is an illusion. It’s like believing we know better than God (or whatever conceptual term you care to use to name the intelligence of the universe) how our lives should go. It also leeches all the spontaneity from our world. However, I do feel it is useful to be aware of upcoming astrological weather so to speak. It's really no different than checking out the daily weather report, if there is a prediction for a 100% chance of rain then common sense tells us we may want to wear a rain coat or take an umbrella if leaving home. We can't stop the rain, but we can be prepared for what might transpire in our lives. Or, maybe you like dancing in the rain, so maybe you don't grab that raincoat or umbrella. But either way, you have a certain awareness of the energies unfolding around you and how you might choose to consciously respond.
My experiences in both the Gurdjieff Work and the Diamond Approach augment an energetic and psychic sensitivity. Both spiritual paths emphasize the importance of somatic awareness. This can be on a number of levels, the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. It is possible to use what the Sufis call the subtle organs of perception, and gain knowledge about issues in our lives. It is possible to see, taste, hear, feel, and/or touch the energy of our physical as well as subtle/invisible bodies, and more importantly, our essence. There is a tremendous amount of tension, pain, and suffering stored in the physical body. As this is ultimately housed in the invisible/subtle body, because the subtle body in-forms the physical body, direct, objective knowledge of this tension, or body armor, can be valuable.
My spiritual work also enables me to offer insights into the soul. The Diamond Approach has been called spiritually informed psychology or psychologically grounded spirituality. There is an appreciation and understanding of many ancient wisdom traditions integrated with knowledge gleaned from modern psychology. Going back to the birth chart as a snapshot of your unique soul gives you the possibility to discover, for yourself, what the issues your soul chose to work on in this life. We are born in physical form at the perfect moment to explore the issues symbolized in the chart.
My clients and I work together to literally re-member ourselves. The pre-birth intent is contained symbolically in the chart. Part of this process is to re-member the wholeness, the unity in which the soul floated before birth. In truth, it still is, we’ve simply forgotten. This remembering is part of the soul’s purpose. Ultimately, if there is any purpose at all, I think it’s to understand how we are each a unique individual, a spark of the divine, and yet paradoxically, at least to the waking mind, to understand that there is only the One. We are the divine expressing itself, knowing itself, from this unique place and time. The divine looks out through our eyes, and our “job” is to make that window as clean and clear as possible.
It is our unique attunement with the cosmos, and our place and purpose in the cosmos, which my clients and I explore. The location of the Sun, Moon, Ascendant aka Rising Sign, and Nodal axis of the Moon are the most important points to study for clues as to how the soul is attuned, how she chose to further her development, with special importance given to the Sun sign. But the entire chart is interlinked, and it's an art to take all the information symbolized there and flesh out the meaning as a whole.
Additionally, I use my astrological knowledge to help clients illuminate and thus gain understanding around energetic issues. Reiki works with the energy of the seven chakras. Click here to read about my approach to Reiki. Each of the chakras is ruled by one of the ancient/traditional planets – Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In addition, I believe that the outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto rule the higher octave vibrational expressions of the 5th, 4th and 3rd chakras respectively-the 4th, or heart chakra, being in the middle and serving as a bridge between the upper and lower chakras.
I take the placement of the planets in the zodiacal signs to help my clients discover the where and why of planetary placement in their birth chart from a chakric perspective. Using my own chart as an example, I have a stellium (two or more planets placed closely together) in Scorpio. Mars is the ancient ruler of Scorpio, Pluto the modern ruler, and so of the third chakra, also known as the Solar Plexus chakra. Armed with this information, I am shown there is the potential for me to transform unconscious material, to transform self-will to universal will. In the chart is symbolized the possibility of deep spiritual transformation with an applying Sun Neptune conjunction of less than one minute. It is a transformation of mind and heart with Mercury and Venus in Scorpio/Third Chakra. It also points to becoming something of a female spiritual warrior, a ripening of my soul in asserting and expressing my own spiritual awakening in service to others.
I don’t practice predictive astrology. The belief that it is we who control our lives is an illusion. It’s like believing we know better than God (or whatever conceptual term you care to use to name the intelligence of the universe) how our lives should go. It also leeches all the spontaneity from our world. However, I do feel it is useful to be aware of upcoming astrological weather so to speak. It's really no different than checking out the daily weather report, if there is a prediction for a 100% chance of rain then common sense tells us we may want to wear a rain coat or take an umbrella if leaving home. We can't stop the rain, but we can be prepared for what might transpire in our lives. Or, maybe you like dancing in the rain, so maybe you don't grab that raincoat or umbrella. But either way, you have a certain awareness of the energies unfolding around you and how you might choose to consciously respond.
My experiences in both the Gurdjieff Work and the Diamond Approach augment an energetic and psychic sensitivity. Both spiritual paths emphasize the importance of somatic awareness. This can be on a number of levels, the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. It is possible to use what the Sufis call the subtle organs of perception, and gain knowledge about issues in our lives. It is possible to see, taste, hear, feel, and/or touch the energy of our physical as well as subtle/invisible bodies, and more importantly, our essence. There is a tremendous amount of tension, pain, and suffering stored in the physical body. As this is ultimately housed in the invisible/subtle body, because the subtle body in-forms the physical body, direct, objective knowledge of this tension, or body armor, can be valuable.
My spiritual work also enables me to offer insights into the soul. The Diamond Approach has been called spiritually informed psychology or psychologically grounded spirituality. There is an appreciation and understanding of many ancient wisdom traditions integrated with knowledge gleaned from modern psychology. Going back to the birth chart as a snapshot of your unique soul gives you the possibility to discover, for yourself, what the issues your soul chose to work on in this life. We are born in physical form at the perfect moment to explore the issues symbolized in the chart.
My clients and I work together to literally re-member ourselves. The pre-birth intent is contained symbolically in the chart. Part of this process is to re-member the wholeness, the unity in which the soul floated before birth. In truth, it still is, we’ve simply forgotten. This remembering is part of the soul’s purpose. Ultimately, if there is any purpose at all, I think it’s to understand how we are each a unique individual, a spark of the divine, and yet paradoxically, at least to the waking mind, to understand that there is only the One. We are the divine expressing itself, knowing itself, from this unique place and time. The divine looks out through our eyes, and our “job” is to make that window as clean and clear as possible.