Esoteric Astrology Class for the Intermediate I, 2018 – Calgary, CA

Posted on October 1, 2018 by skydancewp

Announcing: Intermediate Course I – a Weekend Workshop
November 16 – 18, 2018
Presented by SkyDance Astrology & hosted by Jeff Dunphy of Retooling the World

This course is open ONLY to those who have already taken the beginner course with SkyDance Astrology. Friday will be a review of the Beginner’s course and will NOT be open to the public as this is now an ongoing course. In preparation for this course,
try to learn at least the BOLDED keywords in the Beginner’s handbook.

Friday Nov. 16th: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday Nov. 17th: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday Nov. 18th: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

How to Approach a Horoscope
This course picks up from the basic structure – the nuts and bolts – learned in the first course. We now begin to flesh that framework out. We learn what is most important in a horoscope, how to view it as a whole and the beginnings of interpretation. These will take on more practical and personal meanings since we use your charts as examples. PLEASE LET Charlene KNOW ASAP that you are attending so that your chart can be incorporated into the powerpoint. For more information, questions or concerns, please contact SkyDance Astrology – info below.

You must RSVP!
Pre-work will be assigned to all who signup.

Course Fee:
$275 CDN; $225 USD

Location:
2112 Richmond Road SW, Calgary AL, CANADA T2T 5C8

For More Information please contact:
Charlene R. Johnson
SkyDance@SkyDanceAstrology.com
352-274-2100

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF.

Cancer and Leo – Catch up time!

Posted on August 1, 2016 by skydancewp

This is just a quick note to let anyone interested know that I am very aware that I have missed Cancer and Leo. The past couple of months have been amazingly busy which is the good news! Readings and reports are constant and the astrology classes have taken off in very gratifying ways! Our time has come!! Please go to my Events page to see both past and upcoming events. We DO have a busy calendar!!

Because of that, I am dropping in the writings from a couple of my weekly astrology columns in here, rather than creating something new. I will not say whether or not I will get “back on track” later, because perhaps this is my track! It’s good news! What I would love is interaction, however. So if you’d like to discuss the signs or esoteric astrology in general, please feel free to write comments and I will make sure that I respond in good order. Thank you for your interest!

CANCER:

“Sir, I believe in astrology because I have studied the subject. You do not, because you have not!” Sir Isaac Newton in response to Astronomer, Edmund Halley who ridiculed Newton’s belief in astrology

After a more than usual dramatic entrance last week (full moon summer solstice) we are now well ensconced in the month of Cancer. This is a good time of the year for Cancer to rule as it is a little slower moving and more relaxed than some of the signs. “The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” is an apt idea for this sign. Cancer rules sleeping and dreaming and of course it is a water sign. Nearly everyone loves to get to the water in the summertime, and “hazy” implies water even in the air around us, or smoke if in Taos! This is a great time to pay attention to your dreams, start a dream journal and begin to recognize the symbolism that our higher self uses in its attempts to communicate with us via dreams, meditations and visions.

Cancer also rules the mother and the home, both traditionally and esoterically. On an esoteric level we raise the meanings to the global mother, the one who cares for anything helpless or that which can’t care for, or stand up for itself, like babies and the geriatric, animals and planet earth itself. As the sign of mass consciousness, it is all about relating to and serving all of humanity. Home becomes the spiritual home in esoteric astrology. Seeking and recognizing where, or even more importantly, what the spiritual home is, is the goal of this sign. You might be unclear about this however, as well as other things, because this is also the sign of confusion, mists and fogs, those things which can create illusion, another thing Cancer rules.

LEO:

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” Buddha

This week (of July 20), we move into the season of Leo, the sign of love. The sun is the planetary ruler of Leo and thus this is its favorite and strongest season. Need anyone question the strength of the sun in late July and early August? Need anyone question the strength of the role that love plays in our lives? While summer may seem to be a great time for falling in love, the higher meaning of love in esoteric astrology is unconditional love, that which we all strive for and that which some people even think they can do. True unconditional love is unattached to emotion, to the need for approval or the expectation of a returned love. It is the pure form of love which includes everything that is. It recognizes that all of creation comes from the Source and therefore, We are all One. As Dr. Douglas Baker states in Esoteric Astrology, “The true self-expression of Leo is in love, not the passionate, sentimental kind, but pure goodness of heart towards all. We call it, ‘good will.’” So important is Leo, the Sun and Love that we will continue this discussion next week.
“The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.” Galileo Galilei

As we have discussed before, when we move from traditional astrology into esoteric astrology planetary rulers change. An even higher form of astrology than esoteric exists, called hierarchical astrology. Very few people on the planet resonate to that astrology yet, but by the end of the Age of Aquarius we expect it to come into full play. Only the Sun and Leo maintain their partnership through all 3 stages of evolving astrology. The strength of this continuing partnership is based on the continuing evolution of the Sun itself, the master planet of our solar system.

Traditional astrology is based mostly on the Sun sign, the sign the Sun appears to be passing through on the day of your birth. Esoteric astrology however, is based on the rising sign as most important, the first indicator of your Soul’s Purpose. We consider the Sun sign your personality, or the vehicle through which your Soul chose to manifest its purpose in this lifetime. The Sun sign is where the sense of identity, or ego is represented. Because the Sun is often surrounded by a conglomeration of other planets (the closer ones like Mercury, Vulcan and Venus, especially) these may be in the same sign as the Sun, creating an even more powerful personality. As a male, activating force the Sun can be a dominating factor in a horoscope. Depending upon how the Sun is placed in a horoscope, it can use those planets surrounding him to radiate his will and purpose. This month, all of our personalities shine just a little brighter.

Featured Sign – Gemini; Featured Ray – 2

Posted on May 26, 2016 by skydancewp

We have entered the season of Gemini, the first sign on the zodiacal wheel which is all about thought, intellect and the powers of the mind. From Aries (first sign on wheel) we had a kind of fire of mind which is more about creativity, instigation and inspiration. Then in Taurus (second sign) we began to recognize stuff, the material world and the fun of building and exploration of the physical bits about us. Now we come to Gemini and the mind becomes highly active. We want to know, to understand, to communicate all we know and understand with others. Sometimes, we forget about the space between thoughts.

This is also a time of duality. As our mind becomes curious about what exists beyond the material world, we realize that there is something more to us, something which the material world can’t explain. For the first time we see that we are two, body and soul, and that they don’t always see eye to eye. This could also be called the first conflict; Gemini rules both conflict and harmony. What could possibly be the purpose of conflict? To recognize harmony after working through the conflict. It’s a whole lot easier to look out there and point fingers for our problems, when all the time the difficulty lies in here. The idea, “The World is a Reflection of Me,” is not about ego, but about the recognition that we are all mirrors for one another. The reflection, the mirror is ruled by Gemini. It is the first time on the wheel that we look beyond ourselves and see things in others that we like or dislike. It is all the reflection of who we are, not who they are.

Only 2 signs of the Zodiac express a single Ray: Gemini and Libra. All other signs express 2 or 3 Rays. The singularity of these 2 signs expressing only 1 Ray makes that Ray shine through loud and clear of course. Gemini is 2nd Ray. The 2nd Ray of Love-Wisdom is actually the dominant Ray of this current Solar System, meaning that everything in our world is “colored” by 2nd Ray first, then whatever other Rays and subjects we are discussing. The first 3 Rays of Aspect are the 3 which emanate as the Trinity from the Source, the first Word. The next 4 Rays of Attribute all derive as parts of the first 3. Thus the 2nd Ray is a very important Ray for this solar system and for us as human beings. Its color is Indigo, the predominant color of the very painting by Brenda Heim which forms my own website header. I chose it with Purpose!

Featured Sign – Taurus; Featured Rays – 1 & 4

Posted on April 25, 2016 by skydancewp

Now that I have been doing this blog for a year, I am changing my format a bit . If you have been following my blogs at all, you know that I have tried to incorporate colors, artwork, poetry or powerful writings, etc. All of this is part of the numenistic energy of esoteric astrology. I will continue to do this, but adding a heavier emphasis on the Rays.

Esoteric Astrology is just one key to the Ancient Wisdom Traditions. Another major key and perhaps the one which works most closely with esoteric astrology, is Esoteric Psychology, which is the science of the Rays. In the Ancient Wisdom Traditions, we believe that we start with the Word – 1 – then go to the Trinity – 3 – and the 3 break down into the 7 which then disperse among the 12. We have a very clear picture of this: 1 – 3 – 7 – 12.

As this year continues on, both a new year for my blog and a new year for the Zodiac, I will talk more about this relationship. But for now, let’s move on into some Taurean ideas.

Taurus is the Romantic of the Zodiac. Other signs rule love, passion, marriage, but Taurus is the one who loves to bring the flowers and chocolates, sleep in late, and thoroughly enjoys life.

Think of the toddler, just past baby stage and into exploration, exploration of toes and fingers and other such accoutrement, exploration of this physical world we live in. Taurus is the appreciation of fine things, or, just things. This is the sign which connects us to our material world, sometimes too much. Of all the signs, Taurus can be the most materialistic. But the purpose of this stage of evolution is to learn appreciation without attachment. To do this requires both Will and Harmony. The first Ray of Will & Power (SCARLET) is just what it sounds like. It is the Will to Be. A bull striding through a field is certainly a good example of that concept. But that’s not all he is.

The 4th Ray of Art and Harmony through Conflict – YELLOW – expresses through Taurus mostly through the art and harmony part of this Ray. Taurus loves art and when well evolved is a fine expression of the Art of Living. Some of you may wonder why I focus on Brenda Heim’s artwork. Simple. I love it! It expresses so much, is so full of Life and Soul and it doesn’t impose upon whatever YOU might see and feel about the painting. At the risk of doing exactly that, I like the scarlet and yellow of the Rays as well as the fact that it looks like a great splash of flowers in a field, just like Ferdinand the Bull might choose to lie down in. 🙂

Featured Sign Aries – The Beginning of a new Zodiacal Year

Posted on March 28, 2016 by

Happy New Year! Zodiacally speaking. Aries marks the beginning of a new year on the Zodiac Calendar. The Spring equinox has always been when we reach the end of the last wheel and begin anew. In most indigenous cultures – and beyond – the vernal equinox was considered the beginning of the new year. It has always been an important day to those who work the land because it signifies the beginning of the season of regeneration and growth. After long winters trapped inside their caves or longhouses or lodges, or modern day houses, this would be a time of major celebration. It makes sense to me!

The egg is often associated with the vernal equinox, as in, this and the fall equinox are (supposedly) the only 2 times during the year when you can stand an egg on its end. Equinox of course means equal; night and day are equal lengths. While it may be debatable about standing on its end, the egg is certainly an appropriate symbol for this time of year. I love Brenda Heim’s painting, both because it is the “beginning” of a circle – could be an egg standing on end – but also because it incorporates the Aries’ Ray colors. The 1st Ray of Will and Power is Red and the 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order & Ritual is violet. Perfect!

Aries is the new-born babe, the first separation from divine source when memory of that earlier existence has not yet vanished. Aries is often aware of her own immortality, his own radiance, that they are the first consciousness made manifest on earth. This is the sign of “I Am!” But when we shift into esoteric astrology it becomes, “I Am! You Are! He and She is and . . . We are all One.”

What a great time to launch a new phase of SkyDance Astrology. Our first weekend class of Esoteric Astrology for beginners was a great success. 10 new, budding astrologers learned the basics of how astrology works as well as the differences between traditional and esoteric astrology. The world is a better place! Please go to my Events page for more details on this great event.

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

Excerpt from “In Memoriam”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Featured Sign – Pisces

Posted on February 23, 2016 by

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Pisces is one of our most nebulous of signs. Think of deep, deep water, dark and cold yet teeming with life which we can barely even imagine. That is Pisces. Hard to grasp – like a fish – and often hidden, even to themselves, yet so full of potential.

Pisces is the last Sign of the Zodiac, it is a completion, but not in the sense of coming back to where you started, rather, you have absorbed all the lessons of the first 11 signs and this is the culmination, where we go into the dark cave to let it germinate, ferment, to ponder and wonder, and to prepare for the birth into a whole new cycle. Like Brenda Heim and Doug Hays’ bronze Enso sculpture, the end doesn’t meet at the beginning because in fact it is about launching into the new spiral, the new spin of the Wheel.

This sign is also dichotomous, because it rules the fine line between saints and sinners, angels and demons, criminals and police, the leap of faith . . . or the deep darkness of despair. When one can truly manifest all that Pisces is, you will perceive a human being of deepest compassion and kindness, one who can even help people die because they understand that Death too is but a fine line between here and there, now and then.

Last night I saw the angels knocking at the tavern door,
Modelling the clay of man, becoming drunk with the original wine.
The inhabitants of the sacred enclosure and of the divine malakut
Drank from one cup with me, the pilgrim.

From: “The Green Sea of Heaven” by Diwan of Hafiz

Featured Sign – Aquarius

Posted on January 21, 2016 by

Aquarius_Esoteric_Astrology_SkyDance_Astrology

When we move into Aquarius, we are moving further and further away from self and into the whole idea of Brotherhood and Sisterhood. It is a time when we recognize that it will take all of us to get where we need to go. This is the Age of Aquarius, the Age of Groups, Friendships and assisting one another in our Spiritual Evolution. For it is now that we realize we can’t really rise higher if we don’t assure that everyone is coming along with us, for we all are part of the same Source.

The Aquarian glyph , so beautifully depicted in Peter Chinni’s sculpture above (if not consciously!) is indicative of the multiplicity of this Age, of what is now needed, of the fact that we are not just I, Me, but We. We walk hand in hand on the Path together.

It also shows the flow, not necessarily of water since Aquarius is an Air sign. But both Air and Water flow and so it all works together. It is the pouring forth, the sharing which is so nurturing. This reflection of a painting by Brenda Heim is actually on a pane of glass through which the sun was setting. It SOOO reminds me of Water and Air at the same time, that I could not resist! And how timely that I snapped this just yesterday. I believe I was supposed to use it today. 🙂

Forming a Group, joining a Group, coming together in Friendship is all so appropriate for this time. When we know we have support, when we lend a helping hand to one another whatever the need, we can remember with Joy – another meaning of Aquarius – that we are all in this together.

“When the Sign of Man shall come, he will enlighten you in all things.” – Jesus the Christ

Featured Sign – Capricorn

Posted on December 27, 2015 by

Capricorn_Esoteric_Astrology_SkyDanceAstrology_Blog

black-and-white-abstract-ink-painting-bHeim-55.3[1]

We end the year with the Sign of Initiation. How appropriate that Jesus, who underwent one of the greatest and most public of Initiations, as well as some not so well known, should be assigned this time of the year for his coming to Earth.

Capricorn is an Earth Sign, solid, stolid, and able to climb to the very peak of the mountains which it rules. Brenda Heim’s painting makes me think of the mountain we all climb and that there are many paths to the peak. As there are many paths, so we each also suffer our unique challenges, obstacles and distractions on our way to the top, to the Gate of Initiation. But oh, when we get there, the View we have!

The mountain is symbolic of your climb through karma, which Capricorn also rules. Your incentive changes from the base (early lives), when one is gluttonous and selfish, to halfway up (after many lives on earth) when you climb not just for yourself, but also for friends and family; until, by the time you have the peak in sight, you are climbing for the whole family of mankind. This 3-phase “climb” can also represent your immediate life and your evolution through it.

As we end 2015 and begin a brand new year, one promising to be full of challenges and the long-promised Changing Times, it is good to be aware of every step we take in Consciousness, even as the goat watches the rock-strewn path carefully. And it is equally good to know that when it is time to leap a chasm, our long practice has provided us with the muscle, the stamina and the discipline to know we can do it.

My teacher, Dr. Douglas Baker was a Capricorn, born on New Year’s Eve. He too chose to usher in a New Age. We have chosen to participate at this time for many strong and necessary reasons. Thank you for being part of the Human Family as we step forward into the New Year, the New Age, the New way of Living.

“Initiation is not something given lightly, nor is it bestowed on those who are not ready for it. It is a tremendous inner experience of a sudden thrust of life and consciousness into the personality, so that for ever after, consciousness is heightened and there is the capacity to take in and express more life-force.” Dr. Douglas Baker.

May the Force Be With You. Happy New Year!

Featured Sign – Scorpio

Posted on October 29, 2015 by

American-abstract-female-painter-abstract-art-Florida-bHeim-2005

Scorpio is the sign of tests and tribulations, to which I can attest even when creating this blog!! But I won’t bore you with the details of how none of this – pictures or text – would line up as desired. I did, however recognize it as the perfect metaphor for Scorpio! Do I give up and go on? Well, eventually I did yes, because I did want to get this post out before it was the season of Sagittarius!!! So what you see is what you get . . . which is not necessarily true of Scorpio!

This is the sign into which we incarnate when we have already proven strength and durability in previous signs. Our Souls of course, do not wish for us to fail even if it does give us many hurdles to overcome and battles – inner or outer – to fight. This is the time when we are given the most delicious of senses and made very aware of them. And just when we most wish to succumb to all of those driving urges and sensuous desires – why else would we be given such experiences? – we realize that they, like the material world, are also part of the Grand Illusion. This is when the Dweller on the Threshold faces the Angel of the Shining Presence to do battle.

Hence the artwork above. Brenda Heim’s abstract work on the left makes me think of a warrior leaping out to do battle with his/her mighty sword. Mars is the planetary ruler of Scorpio and is often thought of as the God of blood and battles. But it is the battle within which the Disciple must fight. And of course it is the Angel, like this beautiful bronze sculpture by Peter Chinni, which we hope will win this battle of the senses, of Evil against Good, of Reality against the Grand Illusion.

The trials of Hercules as depicted in “The Labours of Hercules, An Astrological Interpretation,” by Alice Bailey depicts a particular trial every one of the signs is meant to undergo. But in fact, because Scorpio is all about testing and trials, the whole book could be said to be Scorpion literature. Yet, I choose the tale particularly aimed at Scorpio to quote here:

“Hercules was told to find the nine-headed hydra that lived in a stench-drenched bog.” This is a metaphor for the caverns of the mind. “The burning arrows of flaming aspiration must be discharged before its presence is revealed.” Hercules finds the hydra and attempts to cut off one head at a time, but in each destroyed head’s place grow two more. By chopping at bits of the beast, he only aided in its becoming stronger. “As long as Hercules fought in the bog, amid the mud slime, and quicksand, he was unable to overcome the hydra.”

“Then Hercules remembered that his Teacher had said, ‘We rise by kneeling.’ Casting aside his club, Hercules knelt, grasped the hydra with his bare hands and raised it aloft. Suspended in mid-air, its strength diminished. On his knees then, he held the hydra high above him, that purifying air and light might have their due effect. The monster, strong in darkness and in sloughy mud, soon lost its power when the rays of the sun and the touch of the wind fell on it . . . But only when they lifeless lay did Hercules perceive the mystic head was immortal. Then Hercules cut off the hydra’s one immortal head and buried it . . . ‘The victory is won,’ the Teacher said. ‘The Light that shines at Gate the 8th is now blended with your own.'”

Featured Sign – Libra

Posted on September 23, 2015 by

Libra-Stained Glass-Esoteric Astrology-copyright CRJ

Libra is an extraordinary Sign in that it is a Sign which evolves dramatically when we move from the traditional to the Esoteric Astrology. On the Zodiacal Wheel, it is the first Sign above the horizon line. The first 6 houses are below the line and the 7th house is our first step over the line, into the sky, the Higher Levels of Consciousness as it were. It is the equinox today, and the perfect Balance is between night and day, spring and fall, 1st 6 houses and the last 6 houses . . .

It is the first Sign which looks around and recognizes there are others in the world and that we might want to relate to those others in a new and committed way. Partnerships, such as portrayed in the lovely picture above become possibilities. So is the recognition of the fact that Laws hold not just our planet together, but all of Creation. Libra rules Laws and how we use them. The letter of the Law or the Spirit of the Law, which shall we obey? The Law of Balance and the Law of Attraction are just 2 of the Laws which provide the very foundations upon which our Spiritual lives can be built.

Brenda Heim’s painting, “Wings” is indicative to me of what can happen once we have spiritual foundations and when the Law of Balance is obeyed. A bird – birds are associated with Libra – can’t fly until it has learned how to balance those fingers of feathers thrusting out from the sides of its body, attached to delicate, fragile, hollow bones. It needs a solid foundation on which to perch until it is stable enough to fly. Then, Balance becomes the Joy of Flight, the Attraction of touching the stars, the Moon and the Sun and soaring back to Earth again. Libra is the one Sign which has one leg well planted right on the horizon and the other poised to fly, to run, to join with others in the true joy of Life.

“God is Law. We enter the Divine through the consistency of Law. If you violate the laws of your body, you will die. Everything is law; that’s why God is in everything. I am governed by the nature of the Divine, by law. What is law? It is the Law of Balance. God is always going to try to bring you back to balance.” Carolyn Myss, Lecture on SoulFood

Tag Archives: Esoteric Astrology