Astrology is a complex, symbolic language that can be understood and appreciated on whatever level of consciousness it is approached. There are those - perhaps hoping only for a moment's escape or some cheap entertainment - who will find something of value by turning to the daily horoscope in the newspaper. There are others, yearning for predictability and a greater sense of control over chaotic lives, who look to astrology for its predictive potential. Some, wishing to know themselves better, might find comfort in typological descriptions that confirm their sense of self. Still others, caught in the midst of crisis, may turn to an astrologer or a study of astrology for guidance in dealing with difficult life issues. Whatever the motivation for one's involvement, the symbolism of a birthchart will reveal itself on a level that mirrors one's intent.
While each of these reasons for wanting to explore astrology is valid on the level on which it functions, the Basic Course presented by The Astropoetic School of Soul-Discovery is designed for those who wish to explore astrology's deepest, most spiritual potential, as an avenue to understanding the meaning, purpose, and evolutionary process of a life in progress. The Course is based upon the premise that the birthchart provides a map, and a timetable for the unfoldment of the soul's journey throughout a lifetime of experience, and that the symbolic logic of a birthchart ties this experience together into meaningful patterns.
By studying astrology - or more accurately put, by establishing an ongoing relationship of inquiry and observation in connection to the symbolism of a birthchart - it is possible to gradually penetrate to the heart of astrology's potential from a very intimate place of knowing. One can then use this emergent self-understanding to address core issues with a heightened sense of attunement to the soul's agenda in this life, and chart a more conscious course toward the full actualization of one's birth potential. It is to facilitate this process of self-discovery, attunement and self-actualization that The Course was created.
Philosophy Behind The Course
Beyond mere mastery of the principles of astrology, as understood from an astropoetic perspective, The Course is built on the premise that each of us has taken birth to accomplish three primary tasks: 1) to address and heal our core issues; 2) to learn to love ourselves and one another with consciousness and compassion; and 3) to discover and pursue a sacred vocation, which actualizes our creative potential in making a unique contribution to the greater whole of which we are part. By teaching astrology as an astropoetic language for mapping out this tri-fold journey of the soul in deeply personal terms, The Course aims toward facilitating progress in relation to all three of these tasks. Students entering The Course should understand at the outset that the teaching encompassed by The Course does not end with mere knowledge of astrological tools. All participants in The Course will be guided individually toward the application of these tools on an intimately personal level to the fulfillment of the life tasks they are designed to address.
Any study of astrology necessarily begins with an exploration of basic vocabulary - the houses, signs, planets, aspects, and planetary patterns that weave together to form the birthchart as a whole. From the perspective of this Course, however, the meaning that is ascribed to these basic symbols will necessarily change from individual to individual, and depend upon the consciousness that is brought to focus through them. Thus, in order to establish an appropriate level upon which to understand a given astrological symbol, the student must necessarily observe his/her relationship to that symbol in real life.
Rather than memorize lists of keywords in relation to each symbol, The Course will guide each student toward a recognition of how that symbol is actually expressing itself in his/her life experience. Basic principles are introduced throughout the lessons, but only as the point of departure for a process of self-observation within which the real learning at the heart of The Course takes place. It is a fundamental premise of The Course that it is only by correlation of astrological principles to real life experience that a birthchart becomes meaningful, and amenable to understanding.
Learning Through Self-Observation & Self-Remembering
The Course further assumes that the meaning to be derived from an astrological birthchart cannot be expected to reveal itself all at once. Only through a lifetime of observation, contemplation, and self-inquiry, will the symbolism gradually yield its secrets. From this perspective, a chart can never be interpreted once and for all, but must instead be approached again and again, as a mirror within which to perceive the ever-changing nature of the journey and one's relationship to it. From the astropoetic perspective, in fact, the very concept of interpretation has limited utility. Each student will be encouraged instead to develop habits of self-observation and contemplation of life experience in relation to astrological principles that will serve as the basis for a lifelong journey of ever-deepening self-discovery.
This journey unfolds not in chronological time, but in cyclical time, and it takes time for these cycles to complete themselves. At various critical points along the way, marked by the cardinal points of any cycle, it is possible for the soul to observe and experience the process in acute relief. Ultimately, it is only by observing the life process throughout the entire series of key points in any given cycle, that the full meaning of the cycle and the related symbolism is revealed.
For this reason, students of The Course are often directed to remember back to key "moments" of cycles relevant to the symbolism under study, in order to gain a more complete sense of how any given symbol is evolving over time. They are also taught to suspend final interpretive judgments, in order to allow fresh information to contribute to a sense of knowing that constantly evolves as they themselves mature through the cycles they are studying. Students are also encouraged to observe their astrological processes in “real time” in order to glimpse the unique expression of the symbolism within a living context that is specific to them.
Learning to See and Feel the Whole Chart
Within the context of this emphasis on self-observation and self-remembering, the basic vocabulary of astrology is taught as a whole system of astro-logic. That is to say, sets of symbols are studied in relation to each other, and to the principles that tie them together, rather that as isolated bits of information to be memorized. Each piece of the puzzle is defined, not just as a piece, but as an integral part of a larger whole pattern through which it derives its meaning. The underlying assumption behind this approach is that through understanding the basic principles upon which traditional interpretations of astrological symbols are based, the student is in a better position to intuit the meaning of those symbols in relation to real life experience, within the context of an actual birthchart.
In accordance with this emphasis on whole patterns, students of The Course are encouraged, even at the very beginning of their study, to look to the pattern formed by the birthchart as a whole in order to establish an astro-logical context in which to make subsequent observations of life process and to acquire an intuitive touchstone against which the validity of subsequent insights can be assessed. The core self, or soul that is seeking to evolve, will be most clearly represented through a consideration of the whole-ness of the birthchart, and each individual birthchart will have its own internal astro-logic derived from the way in which it is arranged as a whole pattern. To understand this internal astro-logic, students must learn how to observe their lives astro-logically, over the course of whole cycles unfolding in relation to whole patterns, and it is this basic practice that The Course is designed to teach.
To summarize, the Basic Course of The Astropoetic School was created to facilitate an understanding of astrology that is rooted in personal experience. Self-observation, and remembering of key points in important astrological cycles are the basis upon which the correlation is made between astrological symbolism and personal experience. With this correlation as a foundation, the student is taught to explore a birthchart with reference to principles of astro-logic, and an awareness of the whole pattern formed by the birthchart under scrutiny. It is understood that the process of interpretation is not something that happens all at once, but rather unfolds gradually through a lifetime of penetrating inquiry into the heart of the core issues and the important questions that define a life. These issues and questions, and the evolving answers with which they are addressed by the individual facing them, together generate the meaning of a life and the understanding that gradually emerges through an ongoing contemplation of the related birthchart. Students of The Course are taught to identify and track these core issues astro-logically, using their knowledge of astrology as a springboard to an ever-deepening awareness and appreciation of the soul at the heart of their life’s journey.
