013 | Matt Trease: Poetic Inspiration, Star Work, & Paying Attention

Astrologer and poet Matt Trease joins host Jenn Zahrt from Seattle, lyrically encouraging us to take note of the world around us and test astrology against our lived experience! Matt and Jenn dive into a variety of astro topics, from open mic nights, to Chandra symbols, to Saturn-Pluto times, to engaging with ancient texts, to omen-divination in early Babylon. All that, plus: hatching escape plans during a twelfth-house year, divination and getting oriented on our own personal maps, and… remember the TV show LOST??

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Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.

 

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Episode timestamps (conversation recorded July 2023):

 

00:31 – Matt kicks us off with one of his bibliomantically-composed poems! Thanks, Matt!

 

05:37 – The first astro book that Matt ever read was Inside Degrees: Developing Your Soul Biography Using the Chandra Symbols by Ellias Lonsdale.

 

08:52 – The first book that Matt would bring to a desert island would be Carmen Astrologicum by Dorotheus of Sidon, translated by Benjamin Dykes. The mystery of the elements and having a set of mitigating factors is what draws Matt to this one.

 

10:48 – Next, Matt would bring Persian Nativities III: Abu Ma'shar on Solar Revolutions by Abu Ma'shar, also translated by Benjamin Dykes. There is a richness to this book, and explanations of the symbolic repetitions of time make this green text a winner!

 

13:27 – Finally, Matt would pack An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases by Dane Rudhyar. This hard-to-find classic is all about the Sabian symbols, and a great resource.

 

15:17 – Visit our sponsor: Rod Suskin School of Astrology!

 

16:06 – Which books for beginners would Matt recommend? First, he suggests getting a journal of some kind (via Chani Nicholas or the Honeycomb Collective, for example), and tracking how astrology works in your own life.  He also suggests picking up Bruce Scofield’s The Nature of Astrology: History, Philosophy, and the Science of Self-Organizing Systems. This recent book gives a good framework for how astrology is both art and science, and how we need to come back to our own lived experience. The bibliography is great, too! Finally, Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas – especially the non-jargon intro, which offers a philosophical framework for astrology.

 

24:10 – Any final books to share? For traditional techniques, Matt mentions Demetra George’s most recent tome, Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice.

 

28:41 – Find Matt at https://www.intransitastrology.com. Learn about poetry readings on offer at https://www.marginshift.org/. And to find his poetry, he suggests searching “Matt Trease poet.”

 

23:42 – Thanks for listening to Within Orb! If you love the show, please help support it at no cost to you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review! And if you’d like to become a CAELi member or support our work with a contribution of any amount, we’d be delighted – thanks!

 

Show notes by Jen Braun, JJ Boots Productions LLC.