The FAA International Astrology Conference
Sydney 2008
 Julia & Derek Parker the Compleat Astrologers |
 Chris Turner with Sabian Symbologist Lynda Hill |
 Colleen en route to the Masked Ball |
 Julia, a prime intelligence behind the Cosmic Intelligence Agency |
The FAA Conference doesn't get the attention it deserves. It seems I was the only American there who just showed up to attend and hadn't been invited to speak, and they were amazed that a Yank came all that way just to attend! It was well worth it, one of the better conferences I've been to. The Aussies and Kiwis have some perspectives and techniques I was very glad to learn from. And besides which, they were all utterly charming! As with all these events, there were any number of simultaneous lectures and it's impossible to get to all the good ones.
The focus of the conference was Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto has a 248 year orbit and the last time he was in Capricorn was the time of the American Revolution. As Pluto was discovered in 1930 the last time he was in Capricorn nobody even knew there was a Pluto! (Nor even Neptune and Uranus!) We can look historically at Pluto in Cap in previous cycles, but this will be the first time it is ever consciously observed. The conference was timed to occur at Pluto's ingress, and a ceremony marked the moment that he changed signs. Later this year he will retrograde into Sagittarius, move forward into Capricorn again, and stay there until 2023. Of course other topics were addressed, but there was a lot about Pluto in Capricorn.
Just a few of the highlights from the conference:
International speakers included Jeff Jawer and Richard Tarnas from America, Erin Sullivan from Canada, Lynn Bell from France, Christian Borup from Denmark, and Branka Stamenkovic from Serbia. My fellow North Americans represented our continent well, but as they are old friends I'd like to focus here on more southern perspectives:
Colleen Coffey from New Zealand gave one of the first lectures, an amazingly cogent and tight demonstration of analysis using the four principle asteroids (Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta). One case was of an elderly anorexic who was starving herself due to her husband's influence. The roles of Ceres and Juno were very clear in the chart. Another chart was from an incest victim who prosecuted her abuser late in life. Starting with the birth chart, then looking at the progressions and transits of the asteroids, the original situation and the timing of the court case fell right into place. Colleen's delineation was brilliant.
To anticipate the effects of Pluto in Capricorn Mari Gomez offered the technique of looking at trends that begin in one sign and culminate nine signs later. Effectively this is looking at a first house beginning and tenth house culmination, so we can look at what started with Pluto in Aries to see what will come to a head with Pluto in Cap. She used a history of the Christian Church to illustrate the technique.
Glennys Lawton took an interesting angle at anticipating the 2nd Saturn return (crisis of maturity around age 58) by examining the crisis of the first Saturn opposition -- around age 14-15. What ambitions did you have then that have not been fulfilled?
Coming all the way from Serbia, Branka Stamenkovic gave a great demonstration of receptions, a medieval technique relying on planetary dignities, using them more or less like aspects, but to clearer, simpler, and more direct effect.
I was utterly starstruck to meet Derek and Julia Parker who wrote The Compleat Astrologer, an excellent introductory text that helped launch my own studies in astrology, many years ago. I still recommend this book as one of the very best books for anyone interested in learning the basics of astrology. I was in my teens when The Compleat Astrologer opened up whole new worlds for me, so the Parkers are rather like childhood heroes. Meeting them -- lovely, very down to earth folks -- dining and chatting about astrology with them at the masked ball, and even dancing with Julia was a dazzling experience.
Of course, since then, other astrologers keep opening doors with their insights and techniques, these brilliant Aussies -- and Kiwi Colleen -- among them.
Thanks, mates!
Australia
Brisbane * Sydney * Melbourne
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