Once again, I wish to touch on the power of astrology, held within a compassionate therapeutic space, to speak of the divine self, lodged deep within the being of both self (the astrologer) and other (the individual coming for a reading). Martin Buber speaks powerfully in I and Thou about the powerful YES that the individual yearns for, so powerfully, to come as a blessing from the other person. This profound affirmation seems the crucial vantage point for the astrologer to find, before speaking forth on the nature of the birth chart and the soulful mystery contained within.
I share here some sections from The Soul Speaks: The Therapeutic Potential of Astrology:
“We can contrast the inherent divinity of the I-Thou perspective with the technological salvation myth, or the medical fantasy where, in this privileged world, no one should be allowed to suffer; we can rest assured that clever technicians will create a new pill to ease our pain. The shadow of such a model falls far across the face of the therapeutic venture, turning a person into an “it” for which a mechanical tune-up will satisfy. But if you rob a person of the meaning of her suffering, you steal a portion of her soul, her deeper self. Suffering, depression and questions about the meaning of the individual (and collective) life deserve recognition as the valuable parts of the human experience they are.
Trained in the mechanical vision, harassed doctors cannot be expected to answer the needs of patients, the great majority of whom seek their aid because of emotional, psychological and intimately human dilemmas and fears. Instead, this becomes part of the remit of astrologers, psychotherapists and alternative healers: to offer a context that gives potential meaning to human suffering, or at the very least, allows for the existence of that suffering—without being in a hurry to make it disappear.”
We see increasingly the former fringe professions of astrology, yoga, meditation, new age healer, or teacher to become increasingly powerful in the world as more and more people become frustrated by the mainstream narrative, or lack thereof. In these relatively new professions we must be careful, out of our sincere desire to help people, not to gloss over the pain of being alive.
“Poignantly, our compulsion to remove every trace of this suffering is just as much an indication of the prominence of basic anxiety as the needs of the suffering patients—it’s merely more covert. Just as the medical profession expresses this anxiety to heal, or medicate away pain, so we as astrologers and therapists must be vigilant about this tendency in ourselves.” -The Soul Speaks.
This month I have very much enjoyed teaching the Lunar Nodes 201 module for Astrology University and have found the quality of the questions and dialogue raised in the live Q&A to be truly inspirational. This month I am also busy creating content for Term 3 of the first year of the Psychosynthesis Coaching Training: The Alchemy of the Relationship, where I am using chapter 2 from The Soul Speaks: The Therapeutic Potential of Astrology, alongside other sources, to break down (pun intended!) the critical components of the therapeutic relationship and dynamics like projection, transference and countertransference. This course has brought the best of all my years of spiritual psychological training and 20 plus years of client work into the most dynamic expression I have yet brought about. I am busy giving shape to the year 2 program also. As the course progresses, we will look to create an online learning portal for those who might be interested in the training who missed out on the live 2-year training. Please email me directly with the subject line ‘Psychosynthesis Coaching Training’ if this interests you – [email protected]
All in all, I continue a great deal of work exploring the interface of astrology, psychology and an affirmative spiritual vision as to the true nature of the soul, the psyche and the cosmos. In this regard, despite the painful suffering endured by so many, I feel inspired to work together with colleagues, clients and students from all over the world to bring about the greatest healing through astrology, the most powerful support of the human spirit that can be encouraged from the birthchart.