Within Orb
WITHIN ORB: A podcast featuring interviews with astrologers about the books that changed their lives and practice. Join host Dr Jenn Zahrt every Monday for a new conversation. Each (roughly) thirty minute episode takes you on a journey across the textual territories of astrological publishing, both historical and future. Along the way, you’ll gather insights into the shifting sands of astrological trends, techniques, and the proliferation of practices and praxis. Each episode ends with the guest’s recommendations of books for beginners. Be careful, your tsundoku pile is about to double, or even quadruple!
Episodes
Monday Mar 18, 2024
037 | Gabriel Rosas: Astrology, Digestion, & Decipherment
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Astrologer Gabriel Rosas sits down with host Jenn Zahrt to chat books and more! Laugh and learn with these two friends as they cover: Project Hindsight; hermetic lots; the concept of time as nonstationary; breaking the modern spell of how the world exists; the lost delineation of the meaning behind each arc minute; how circumstances and conditions can force action; knowing our charts well; finding the teacher within; profections; and being under the beams of the Sun. Plus: true crime astrology, walking versus hiking, and… drink your water, people!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Feb. 2024):
00:31 – Gabe Rosas has been studying traditional astrologies for over 20 years. He started with Robert Zoller’s medieval astrology course, and later became a pupil of Robert Schmidt at Project Hindsight. Gabe’s practice of Hellenistic astrology seeks to bring the wisdom and worldview of antiquity to people living in the modern world. Gabe spoke at the Northwest Astrology Conference (NORWAC) in 2023; if you see him at the upcoming NORWAC 2024, get within orb and say hi!
01:05 – Gabe’s first astrology book was Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs, which he found in the library as a kid. Later, after taking astrology more seriously, he read Horoscope Symbols by Robert Hand, which he found to be a considered, logical book on a complicated topic! (And a high five to Robert Zoller, one of Gabe’s teachers, and specifically the title The Lost Key to Prediction: The Arabic Parts in Astrology
that Jenn mentioned!)
09:50 – If Gabe were trapped in an escape room, which books would he bring? First, Vettius Valens’s The Anthology is a must! Gabe finds much value in the way that Valens teaches through this text.
11:50 – Interlude: Join CAELi as a trial member and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
12:36 – Gabe’s second title would be Mathesis by Julius Firmicus Maternus, which has been translated into English by James Herschel Holden (AFA) and also Ben Dykes (Cazimi Press). Gabe finds that Firmicus includes pieces that are missing from Valens’s tome; they work well together!
21:55 – Gabe’s third book is Robert Schmidt’s out-of-print Definitions and Foundations, which is Schmidt’s reconstruction of fragments of Antiochus’s works scattered throughout other Hellenistic sources. This was Robert Schmidt’s last book, and the collation includes helpful comments related to his reconstruction of the original text.
28:05– Start at the beginning! Gabe’s recommendation is that beginners start with traditional astrology, and therefore points to Demetra George’s two-volume set Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques. Other titles for folks new to astrology include On the Heavenly Spheres by Helena Avelar and Luis Ribeiro, as well as the previously mentioned works of Valens and Firmicus (but start with Valens). Want to read Schmidt’s Antiochus? Come to CAELi, where this hard-to-find text is waiting just for you!!
29:29 – Find Gabe at: https://www.gabrielrosasastrology.com/, and @gimelresh on social (Threads and X).
30:06 – 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.
Monday Mar 11, 2024
036 | Erica Jones: Plan(e)ting Archetypal Seeds
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Astrologer and teacher Erica Jones joins host Jenn Zahrt from Vashon Island, Washington for a conversation about books and more! Take the elevator to meet this duo, and hear about: archetypal astrology; how philosophy and astrology hold hands; the parable of two suitors; responding, not reacting; the thrill of discovery; Moon planting; delicate empiricism; Neptune as a place that’s not literal; how memory is a creative act; starting where what astrologers agree; and Mars-Pluto suggestions. Plus: the numinous, a mic drop moment, and… no mechanical metaphors allowed!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Feb. 2024):
00:31 – Erica Jones is an astrologer, a teacher, and an intuitive engaged with metaphysics and consciousness studies since 2006, with a special emphasis on ecopsychology, astrology, and psycho-spiritual growth. The archetypal astrology of Richard Tarnas is her foundational astrological influence, and she enjoys frolicking among the many varieties of astrologies. Her latest work involves using the heart as an organ of perception to gather astrological knowledge from the anima mundi, moving beyond a two-dimensional contemplation of abstract star maps and into a multi-dimensional experience of the cosmos as a wild, living being brimming with intelligence and sentient beauty.
01:29 – Erica’s first astrology book was Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View by Richard Tarnas. This tome was an awakening for Erica; she was supposed to read the first 50 pages for a college class, but wound up reading the whole thing!
10:45 – If Erica were stuck in an elevator at UAC 2012 (hah!), what three texts would she bring with her? First up: the previously mentioned Cosmos and Psyche, which is a dense gift that keeps on giving.
08:39 – Erica’s second title would be Astrological Gardening: The Ancient Wisdom of Successful Planting & Harvesting by the Stars by Louise Riotte (with a hat tip to Louise’s Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening). A well-deserved thanks to CAELi: Erica was a recent visitor and found a treasure trove of books on astrological gardening, which helped her write a professional column on the topic! (Other books mentioned: What Is Biodynamics?: A Way to Heal and Revitalize the Earth by Rudolf Steiner, Planetary Influences upon Plants: Cosmological Botany by Ernst M. Kranich, and The Metamorphosis of Plants by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.)
19:11 – Interlude: Join CAELi as a trial member and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
19:57 – Erica’s third text is The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption by Liz Greene; she finds it to be a thoughtful compilation of a visionary, and a text you can push back on when trying to pin down what Neptune means.
30:29 – Erica recommends several books for beginners: Aspects in Astrology: A Guide to Understanding Planetary Relationships in the Horoscope by Sue Tompkins; The Combination of Stellar Influences by Reinhold Ebertin (translated by Alfred G. Roosedale); and Astrology, Karma & Transformation by Stephen Arroyo.
39:25 – Find Erica at: https://www.realimaginal.com, or @realimaginalastrology on Instagram and Facebook.
40:44 – 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.
Monday Mar 04, 2024
035 | Nick Campion: Pockets Full of Starlight
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Join Professor Dr. Nick Campion from the breathtaking port city of Bristol as he shares his favorite books and more with our host Jenn Zahrt! Tune in to hear all about: the origin of Nick’s love of the stars; “living texts”; the importance of cross-citation and astrological lineages; history and mythology; the history of the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London; retrospective chart examples; the implications of time, space, and freedom; whether astrology always works; the idea of assemblages; and the importance of astrology for self-knowledge and personal change. Plus: the astro road show, Perry Como, and… is everything connected? We’re releasing this episode on his birthday, so Happy Birthday, Nick!!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Feb. 2024):
00:31 – Dr. Nicholas Campion is one of the world’s leading historians of astrology. He teaches and writes about the history and culture of astronomy, astrology, cosmology, and utopian and millennial beliefs. He is the director of the Sophia Centre’s distance learning master’s program in cultural astronomy and astrology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Nick has been decorated with countless awards, including the 1994 Marc Edmund Jones Award, the 1994 Prix Georges Antares Award, the 1999 Spica Award, the 2002 Charles Harvey Prize, and two Regulus Awards (2002 and 2012). He’s written multiple books, including the esteemed A History of Western Astrology, Volumes I & II, and our favorite astrological cookbook, Cosmic Cuisine (together with Tom Jaine in 1988).
02:32 – Hear Nick’s astrological beginnings, as he shares the first astrology book he ever read, The Origin of the Zodiac by Rupert Gleadow. Nick was 17 years old in 1970 when he found this title at a second-hand shop in Cambridge, England!
10:45 – If Nick were stuck in the dark sky park of Sark, the first book he’d pack would be Christian Astrology by William Lilly, because he’s been consulting this one a lot lately! Lilly’s work offers foundational points for modern astrology. It’s also helpful to be able to read it in the original language (English), as opposed to a translation. (Shout out to Sark in the Dark: Wellbeing and Community on the Dark Sky Island of Sark by Ada Blair, and Sky and Purpose in Prehistoric Malta: Sun, Moon, and Stars at the Temples of Mnajdra by Tore Lomsdalen, both “classics” according to Nick!)
18:31 – Interlude: Join CAELi as a trial member and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
19:18 – Nick’s second text he’d bring to the island of Sark is The Modern Text-Book of Astrology by Margaret Hone – one of the main teaching books in the English-speaking world from 1951 to the early 1970s, and the book that Nick learned astrology from! Hone’s text is focused on personality and establishes a psychologically oriented character description as important. (Enjoy the side trip to Teach Yourself Astrology by Jeff Mayo!)
25:23 – Nick’s third choice is Liz Greene’s seminal work Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil, because Greene helped to develop the ideas of the planets and zodiac signs as processes. (Greene followed up on Dane Rudhyar’s work, so brush up on your dose of Rudhyar to better understand modern astrology!) Protip: CAELi members can meet with Dr James Dotson (Episode 6) to discuss Rudhyar’s work at CAELi’s new Significant Sources Salon; Rudhyar will be highlighted on November 13, 2024!
28:58 – For beginners, Nick recommends The Compleat Astrologer by Derek and Julia Parker (republished as The New Compleat Astrologer). The Parkers were heavily influenced by Hone, and this well-written work is based on a personality approach to natal astrology.
30:46 – 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.
Monday Feb 26, 2024
034 | Michael J Morris: Emergent Astrologies & Feminist Studies
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Astrologer, tarot reader, writer, and educator Michael J Morris joins host Jenn Zahrt from Columbus, Ohio to dive into books, astrology, feminist science studies, and more! Join the PhD duo for a chat that includes: feminist theories; exploring connections not always apparent; the concept of meaning-making; scientific objectivity; the interrelationship between epistemology, ontology, ethics, and politics; quantum physics; how the only lasting truth is change; and emergent strategy. Plus: getting out of our head and into our body, the God trick, and… small is good!!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Feb. 2024):
00:31 – Michael is an astrologer, witch, tarot reader, dance artist, writer, and teacher. Michael has a consultation practice, is a teaching assistant for Kelly Surtees’s online courses, and is a guide in AFAN’s mentorship program (Association for Astrological Networking). They also write for the CHANI app, are a contributing artist and facilitator with Livable Futures, and teach in the Foundations in Embodied Ancestral Inquiry course. Michael holds a PhD in Dance Studies from The Ohio State University. Their astrology is rooted in Hellenistic traditions but is also shaped by feminist methods of thought.
03:09 – Michael’s first astrology book was Astrology: A Cosmic Science by Isabel M. Hickey. This text helped them begin to understand the complexity of the astrological tradition beyond Sun sign horoscopes in the newspaper!
06:24 – If Michael were stuck on a desert island, what books would they bring? Using two schools of thought, Michael’s astrology texts would include triple doses of Demetra George! But aside from Demetra’s Astrology and the Authentic Self: Integrating Traditional and Modern Astrology to Uncover the Essence of the Birth Chart and Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques, Volumes I & II), Michael would expand the framework to look at feminist science studies. And in that view, they would first select an essay entitled, “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective” by Donna Haraway (from the text Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature).
17:14 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
18:02 – Michael’s second text is Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning by Karen Barad. This one offers thoughtful questions – for example, exploring the idea that what something is (ontology) depends upon how we attempt to know it (epistemology).
27:05 – Michael’s third choice is Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown. Exploring our relationship to change through a study of the more-than-human world, brown’s work is inspired by Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents.
32:06 – For beginners, Michael suggests Chani Nicholas’s vibrant You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance. Their next rec is the previously mentioned Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques, Volumes I & II by Demetra George. You can build an astrological practice from the ground up, simply using these three texts!
34:56 – Find Michael at their website: https://www.michaeljmorris.co/. And on social, their Instagram handle is @cowitchcraftofferings.
37:00 – 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.
Monday Feb 19, 2024
033 | George Coutts: Coming Out of the Stacks!
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Astrologer and researcher George Coutts joins host Jenn Zahrt from Toronto to discuss books and more! Join the hilariously self-named George Quincunx and Jenn Inconjunct for: the Bible and astrology; Sabian astrologers; the five enemies of the scholar; the history of gender and sexuality in astrology; Ficino’s personal life; how astrological writings are married to time and place; and a great tip on how to find the perfect beginner book. Plus: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, rubbing wine on your temples, and the Reagan administration!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Feb. 2024):
00:31 – George is an astrological researcher, writer, and occasional playwright from Toronto. He is a grad of UWTSD's MA program in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology where he wrote on the use of gendered language through astrological history. He’s currently en route to his PhD, studying the history of gender and sexuality in astrology! He spends his days delving into astrological, religious, and sociological texts whose myths describe —and create— our sense of what it means to be humans living together on a small planet.
00:48 – George’s first astrology book was The Secret Language of Birthdays: Your Complete Personology Guide for Each Day of the Year by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers. Or was it?? George credits growing up in a secular family and learning about a magical, mystical world through Bible stories (hello, Joseph with his flamboyant dreamcoat)! Also mentioned: The Messianic Star: New Light on the Star of Bethlehem (Studies in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology) by Martin Wells.
04:01 – If George were stuck in Antarctica, what books would he bring? The first in his satchel is De Vita Libri Tres (Three Books on Life) by Marsilio Ficino, because it would offer important tidbits as a practical manual. (And be sure to check out My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters Through the Centuries, edited by Rictor Norton.)
11:34 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
12:21 – George’s second text is Relating: An Astrological Guide to Living with Others on a Small Planet by Liz Greene. This one lit a fire in George that got him onto his current research path! And become a CAELi member to receive a copy of The CAELi Review and enjoy SJ Anderson’s article!
21:21 – Presidential intrigue? Check! Saving the world with astrology? Check! Bringing about world peace? Check! Celebrity drama? Check! George’s third selection is What Does Joan Say?: My Seven Years As White House Astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan by Joan Quigley. Run, don’t walk, for this one, you Real Housewives fans!
26:09 – For beginners, George recommends first deciding what you’ll be using astrology for and going from there! History is important, though, so you can’t go wrong with A History of Western Astrology, Volumes I & II by Nicholas Campion. George also offers this advice: Don’t limit yourself to titles with the word “astrology” in them, but rather, investigate general histories of what interests you – which is how he found A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft!
30:08 – Connect with George via email: grgcoutts (at) gmail (dot) com.
30:39 – 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.
Monday Feb 12, 2024
032 | Daniel Norman: Boundless Awareness for the Future
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Astrologer and podcaster Daniel Norman slides up the West Coast from LA to join host Jenn Zahrt for a vibrant and fast-paced conversation about books and more! Join them as they discuss: intercepted signs; the lord of the orb; dwar and Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions; the bound ruler of a degree; the hierarchical weighting of essential dignities (or are they equal?); the fantasteroid way; jumping in the deep end of the astrological pool; and thinking about culturally determined significations. All that, plus: Bruce Springsteen, the juicy astrological house debate, and book genies!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Jan. 2024):
00:31 – Daniel is an astrologer, magical practitioner, artist, and lifelong spiritual seeker. They previously pursued careers in music and film while working for 15 years as a bartender in Los Angeles, where they currently reside with their wife and three children. These experiences are an indelible part of Daniel’s approach to divination which seeks to align the inherent mystery of the cosmos with the practical reality of day-to-day life. Check out Daniel’s new podcast, What Time Is It?
02:52 – Daniel’s first astrology book was The Inner Sky by Steven Forrest. They read it years before getting into astrology because they were dating an astrologer at the time! (A bonus book worth noting is Understanding Interceptions: A Key to Unlocking the Door by Chris McRae.)
08:30 – If Daniel were stuck on a desert island, which books would they bring? First up: the green book, which has all the stuff you might need in your toolkit, aka Abu Ma'shar Al-Balkhi’s Persian Nativities IV: On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities, translated by Benjamin Dykes. But they’d also take the helpful notes of Dr. Ali Olomi to provide context! (And to hear more on the lord of the orb, visit Episode 5, Camm Cassidy & the Lord of the Orb!)
16:17 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
17:04 – Daniel’s second selection is the useful and magical Inside Degrees: Developing Your Soul Biography Using the Chandra Symbols by Ellias Lonsdale. It’s been fun to ask friends about their Ascendant degree and amaze them with the book’s accuracy! (And learn about fantasteroids here!)
25:10 – Daniel’s third choice is Austin Coppock’s 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans, because this hard-to-find text highlights the inherently narrative nature of the significations.
28:15 – Daniel’s recommendations for beginners are: Temperament: Astrology's Forgotten Key by Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum; Astrology and the Authentic Self: Integrating Traditional and Modern Astrology to Uncover the Essence of the Birth Chart by Demetra George (also, a bonus rec is Demetra’s Mysteries of the Dark Moon: The Healing Power of the Dark Goddess which you can find at CAELi AND hear more about on Episode 7 with Aerin Fogel!); and last but not least, Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the Planets through Capital, Power, and Labor by Alice Sparkly Kat.
35:19 – Find Daniel at their website: https://www.everhappening.com/. They are also on most social media @everhappening, except for X, where their handle is @daniel_the_lion!
36:08 – 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.
Monday Feb 05, 2024
031 | Rosanne Finn: Transcended, Transformed & Transported
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Astrologer and teacher Rosanne Finn portals over to host Jenn Zahrt for a packed chat about books and so much more! Join the two from Olympia, Washington for: understanding one’s spiritual purpose through the Ascendant; theosophical astrology; the visionaries of the 1860s; Houck’s Law, tertiary progressions, and the dosha sequence; Vedic astrology and death; extreme declination and high declination; the Kuiper Belt as a toroidal field; and Pluto, Hauema, and Makemake. Plus: infusing flower essences into a text, blowing the dandelions around, and Persephone’s Revolution!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Jan. 2024):
00:31 – Rosanne has been a practicing astrologer since 1999, combining Western, esoteric, and Vedic astrology. Rosanne’s path to astrology is unusual: She went from a job in engineering, to living in an ashram for four years, to a long road trip that landed her in Massachusetts (where she took an astrology class with Joseph Crane), to finally arriving in Olympia, Washington in 1995. Rosanne holds a Jyotish Visharada certification with the Council of Vedic Astrology, has done readings for thousands of clients, and has also taught hundreds of students. Her book Persephone’s Revolution is being published by Revelore Press and will be available soon!
00:54 – Rosanne’s introduction to astrology? When she was living in an ashram, a friend introduced her to The Modern Text-Book of Astrology by Margaret Hone.
01:22 – If Rosanne were stranded on the San Juan Islands (keeping her local!) and could only bring three books, what would they be? Her first choice would be Alice Bailey’s dense but deep Esoteric Astrology. Rosanne feels transcended and transformed when reading this one. (Books that helped her assimilate Bailey’s work were Soul Centered Astrology: A Key to Your Expanding Self by Alan Oken and Esoteric Astrology: A New Astrology for a New Millennium by Douglas Baker.)
06:58 – Rosanne’s second selection is The Secret Doctrine by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. This book is full of wisdom and Rosanne feels transported to another dimension of reality when she reads it.
11:09 – Rosanne’s third choice is the classic Vedic astrology text Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, which is largely attributed to author Maharishi Parasara. This one is a two-fer for Rosanne: She loves the Sanskrit in here, so could continue her Sanskrit studies while deepening her knowledge of Vedic techniques! (And as a bonus: Hear about James Kelleher’s Path of Light Vedic astrology books and the fascinating, out-of-print The Astrology of Death by Richard Houck.)
17:06 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
17:52 – Hear about Rosanne’s fascinating journey to becoming an astrologer, and her upcoming book Persephone’s Revolution, about Pluto’s extreme declination cycle and the rise and fall of world empires!
28:21 – Rosanne’s recommendations for beginners? Buckle up for a wonderful list, including: Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark by Bernadette Brady; the series The Only Way to Learn Astrology by Marion D. March and Joan McEvers; Astrology and the Authentic Self: Integrating Traditional and Modern Astrology to Uncover the Essence of the Birth Chart by Demetra George; Astrology for Yourself: How to Understand And Interpret Your Own Birth Chart by Demetra George and Douglas Bloch; Complete Astrology: The Classic Guide to Modern Astrology by Alan Oken; Dynamics of Aspect Analysis: New Perceptions in Astrology by Bil Tierney; Navigating by the Stars: Astrology and the Art of Decision-Making by Edith Hathaway; and the previously mentioned Richard Houck book, all available to read when you visit CAELi!
31:14 – Find Rosanne at her website: https://www.astrologywithrosiefinn.com/. And stay tuned for an upcoming virtual book talk at CAELi about Persephone’s Revolution!
31:50 – 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.
Monday Jan 29, 2024
030 | Sam Oakwell: Astrological Magic & Surgery on the Soul
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Astrologer Sam Oakwell joins host Jenn Zahrt this week from the heady clime of Ann Arbor, Michigan! Sam and Jenn sit down for a chat about books and more, including: ancient Atlantean astrology; the soul moving through signs; astrological divination; profections, firdaria, and primary directions; a stochastic philosophical approach; astrological magic; planetary rituals; phenomenology; embodiment and lived experience; and a new way to view chart remediation. Plus: hanging with Santa Cruz hippies, a bridge to the future, and… there’s nothing wrong with your chart!
Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!
Learn more about the CAELi Institute.
Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!
Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!
Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.
Follow CAELi on FB, IG, and YouTube.
Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
*****
Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Jan. 2024):
00:31 – Sam Oakwell is an astrologer and independent scholar, whose approach combines Hellenistic, medieval, and modern techniques. They view astrology as a form of divination and engage with it as part of their larger spiritual practice, which draws from a variety of sources including Hellenistic paganism, Zen Buddhism, and contemporary occultism. In a (metaphorical) past life, they studied philosophy at the graduate level, focusing especially on phenomenology and metaphysics. Their website is launching soon, so watch this space for a live link when the magic is unleashed!
01:49 – Sam’s first astrology book was 2012: Crossing the Bridge to the Future by Mark Borax. They came across this one at a used bookstore, and Sam was intrigued by this strange autobiographical text depicting the author’s experiences with astrologer William (Ellias) Lonsdale.
06:40 – If Sam were stranded on a desert island, which books would they take? First up: Abu Ma'shar Al-Balkhi’s Persian Nativities IV: On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities, translated by Benjamin Dykes. This comprehensive text for predictive timing techniques never disappoints.
12:02 – Sam’s second choice is The Celestial Art: Essays on Astrological Magic (Western Esotericism in Context), an out-of-print book edited by Austin Coppock and Daniel A. Schulke. Sam enjoys the wide range of traditions and approaches in this seminal text on situating astrology back into occult and magic discourses. Luminaries such as Demetra George, Austin Coppock himself, John Michael Greer, Jason Miller, Freedom Cole, Benjamin Dykes, Al Cummins, Lee Lehman, and Eric Purdue contributed to the volume. If you can’t find a copy become a CAELi member and read it at the library!
18:30 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
19:17 – Sam’s third selection is Phenomenology of Perception by Maurice Merleau-Ponty. This is a dense but beautifully written tome that emphasizes the role of the living body in philosophy, taking thoughts out of the heady realm of the mind and back into local, lived space. While not an astrology text, the phenomenology presented here will enhance anyone’s astrological practice.
31:07 – Sam’s recommendations for beginners? First, they’d suggest Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune by Chris Brennan. Additionally, Sam mentions that the transcripts from Chris’s The Astrology Podcast are a great way to learn. A Scheme of Heaven: The History of Astrology and the Search for our Destiny in Data by Alexander Boxer also gets a nod because it’s so comprehensive and provides context from the realm of data science. Finally, a philosophy book that’s good for astrologers and magicians is Technic and Magic: The Reconstruction of Reality by Federico Campagna.
37:12 – Find Sam at their website: https://www.oakwellastrology.com/.
37:39 – 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.
Meet your host!
Jenn Zahrt PhD is an author, artist, publisher, poet, translator, and teacher of cultural astronomy and astrology. She researches the many forms of astrology emergent across human cultures past and present, with a special focus on early twentieth century German culture.
In 2012 she completed her doctoral thesis, The Astrological Imaginary in Early Twentieth Century Germany, at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2017–2022 she was appointed as an Honorary Research Fellow at the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, after receiving her MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology (2015).
She has taught and lectured domestically and internationally in places such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. She’s an emerita of the board of trustees for Kepler College, as well as the Association for Young Astrologers. Her volunteer work for the community continues with her 2023 appointment as a Board Director for the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR).
Zahrt is the founder of Revelore Press, the creative director of the Sophia Centre Press, and the deputy editor of the peer-reviewed journal Culture and Cosmos. In 2021 she founded the Celestial Arts Education Library Institute in Olympia, WA, where she currently lives.
Celestial Arts Education Library Institute
CAELi is a global, virtual community with a brick & mortar base of operations and a deep passion for studying astrology, cosmology, and starlore in its many forms.
Located in the ancestral land of the Coast Salish people, the Nisqually and Cowlitz tribes, CAELi was founded as a member-supported, non-circulating research library in 2021. As a cultural institute, your membership supports essential research, critical conversations, and accessible workspaces for the astrological community.
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