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
![047 | Hawk Grubb: A Web of Harmony & Attunement](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday May 27, 2024
047 | Hawk Grubb: A Web of Harmony & Attunement
Monday May 27, 2024
Monday May 27, 2024
Astrologer and magician Hawk Grubb joins host Jenn Zahrt from Portland, Oregon in a unique not-books book chat! Set your books aside (mostly), and tune in for the punk episode, including: astrology as a harmonizing framework; divination and how music helps absorb star stuff; getting the thinking brain out of the way; learning about others via your own natal chat; being a patron versus being a participant; books as ossified conversations; the friendship lineage; learning together, not top-down; plant alchemy; stories of Apollo and Asclepius; fixed stars; and the Orphic Hymns. Plus: beautiful dandelions, the Myth of Er, and… remember MySpace??
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 May 2024):
00:31 – Hawk Grubb is a magician, diarist, and professional astrologer/magical mentor living in the Pacific Northwest. In another life you’d have found them delivering prophecy, bent over the cracks in the cave floor at Pytho. In this life, you can find them doing the same thing, but like, on the computer.
01:07 – How did Hawk get into astrology? Magic, music, and tarot helped on that front; they found astrology a great framework for understanding reality. But also, Hawk lived near Adam Elenbaas and his future wife Ashley’s yoga studio and wound up studying with Adam! (Listen to Adam in Episode 25, Adam Elenbaas: On Daily Practice, Devotion, Divination, & Donation.)
10:26 – Hawk shares how to get into astrology as a newbie and Chris Brennan’s advice to them back in the day. Oh, and if you have a 9th house Leo Moon, you’re in good company!
15:04 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
15:51 – Hawk explains “the friendship lineage,” and the beauty of teaching and learning while communing with others. Less like a ladder and more like a web – woot!
20:40 – Book alert! Yep, the duo snuck a few titles into this no-book book talk: both The Symposium and The Republic by Plato get a mention, as does Utopia by Sir Thomas More.
22:41 – Tune in to hear about plant alchemy! (And check out Jenn’s dandelion article, Controversy and Conversion: Astrological Considerations for Potent Herbal Workings.)
25:49 – Hawk’s shares a story of Apollo!
29:05 – Bernadette Brady’s fixed star tip, and a brief trip to the Orphic Hymns.
36:16 – Find Hawk at their website: hawkstrology.com. On Instagram you can find them: @hawkstrology.
34:49 – 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.
![046 | Issachar Bey: Busting Through the Stars!](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday May 20, 2024
046 | Issachar Bey: Busting Through the Stars!
Monday May 20, 2024
Monday May 20, 2024
Astrologer, author, and podcaster Issachar Bey joins host Jenn Zahrt from San Antonio, Texas to chat books and more! This wide-ranging conversation brings you within orb of oodles of star stuff, including: Uranian astrology; how the glyphs have meaning; the Trans-Neptunian “planets”; geodetic astrology, relocated charts, and making your Jupiter line come to you; significators and dispositorship; the cheat code to life; blending Sabian symbols with various levels of progression; holographic transits and pattern returns; the idea of mapping out the degree-symbol systems; astro-theology; and using the Capricorn ingress. All that, plus: coming out of the star closet, using astrology to win, and… can we bring a Kindle and a charger to the deserted island??
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 May 2024):
00:31 – Issachar Bey is the founder and spiritual director of the Temple of Enlightenment International Spiritual Center. The author of four books, Issachar is also a minister, life strategist, and radio and podcast host. Issachar has spent over 20 years advising people around the world with consultations personally designed to assist them in creating their own reality using his Manifestation Methodology. The Temple of Enlightenment International Spiritual Center is a global community dedicated to teaching New Thought Ageless Wisdom – recognizing, honoring, and nurturing the dignity and uniqueness of all people.
06:12 – Issachar’s first astrology book was recommended by his teacher: Alan Oken's Complete Astrology: The Classic Guide to Modern Astrology. This one is like a Bible to Issachar; he loves the way Oken breaks everything down from A to Z. And amazingly, both Jenn and Issachar took parallel tracks and were studying the same book in the late 1990s! (To hear Jenn’s episode, check out Episode 39, Jenn Zahrt: For the Love of Astrology (Books)!) The duo also takes a quick side trip to a great beginner book: The Only Way to Learn Astrology by Joan McEvers and Marion March.
08:03 – If Issachar were stranded on a deserted island, which texts would he bring? His first pick is The Language of Uranian Astrology by Roger A. Jacobson. This one keeps him sharp, and new readings always bring new insights!
11:05 – The second title that Issachar would bring is Geodetic Astrology for Relocating and World Affairs by Chris McRae. He finds this one phenomenal, and loves the world maps. (Nick Campion’s The Book of World Horoscopes also gets a mention!)
15:51 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)
16:37 – Issachar’s third selection is volume 21 in Jean-Baptiste Morin’s series, Astrologia Gallica: The Morinus System of Horoscope Interpretation, which has been translated many times. The way that Morin breaks down a chart and how to interpret it is incredibly helpful. (The Rules of Chart Interpretation by Rod Suskin also gets a nod by Jenn here, as it’s based on Morin’s work.)
20:50 – Issachar has many runners-up, including: Christian Astrology by William Lilly, Vocations: The New Midheaven Extension Process by Noel Tyl, the Dial Detective by Maria Kay Simms, and Abu Ma'shar Al-Balkhi’s Persian Nativities IV: On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities (translated by Benjamin Dykes). Issachar also likes anything by Alphee Lavoie, Anthony Louis, Stephen Arroyo, or Robert Blaschke. And the casino story highlighting Winning!! Zodiacal Timing by Joyce Wehrman was a winner!
30:40 – Find Issachar on Instagram @IssacharBey, or on YouTube @AstroCommission2024. And check out The Astrological Commission Podcast wherever you listen!
34:49 – 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.
![045 | Ko Hashiguchi: The Four Pillars in Chinese Astrology](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday May 13, 2024
045 | Ko Hashiguchi: The Four Pillars in Chinese Astrology
Monday May 13, 2024
Monday May 13, 2024
Astrologer and author Ko Hashiguchi joins host Jenn Zahrt from Tacoma, Washington, sharing his expertise in Chinese astrology along with a mini lesson on the Four Pillars! Ko also offers a unique perspective on desert island books, as the two cover lots of ground: Taoism philosophy; Plato’s concept of same and other; the work of Robert Schmidt and Eudoxus of Cnidus; which planets represent a transcendental Sun, Moon, and Mercury; 518,400 ways to combine a solar year, month, day, and hour; why Western zodiac signs and Chinese animals should be regarded as the same; the five Chinese elements; the time lord system in Jyotish astrology; Ptolemy’s Ages of Man; why physical books will never be obsolete; and the spoken word as the living word. Plus: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a second childhood, and the beauty of turning 60!
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 April 2024):
00:31 – Ko Hashiguchi has been studying Chinese astrology since 1986, and Western astrology since 1992. Ko programs his own research software, runs the YouTube channel Radical Skies, and has animation credits in the Disney features “Hercules” and “Tarzan.” Ko has lectured at the 2002 UAC and the 2003 NORWAC conferences. Ko has two gender identities: Ko is he/him, and Francine Gee is she/her.
03:19 – Ko’s first astrology book was The Way to Chinese Astrology: The Four Pillars of Destiny by Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec and translated by Derek Poulsen. At first, Ko thought astrology was nonsense! But then he entered the world of Chinese astrology and began shifting his view.
05:11 – If Ko were stranded on Obstruction Island (in San Juan County, Washington), he’d bring a stack of spiral notebooks and write his own texts! The first one he’d tackle would be an extension of Schmidt’s interpretation of Eudoxus.
10:17 – For Ko’s second writing assignment, he’d examine the Four Pillars in Chinese astrology. Specifically, this book would be full of examples of famous people and how the Four Pillars explain why people behave the way they do.
12:16 – Tune in for a mini-lesson on the Four Pillars!
15:07 – Next, Ko would put pen to paper and turn the Ptolemaic Ages of Man into a four-level timelord system!
16:48 – Join the CAELi Institute to attend the next Significant Sources Salon hosted by Dr. James Dotson! Last week we had a blast discussing Ficino’s Three books on Life. Next month we get into medical astrology with Joseph Blagrave’s Astrological Practice of Physick.
19:51 – Ko has a fourth book idea, too! Referencing his previously mentioned idea about philosophically extending the planets, Ko’s next text would add a twist, exploring how science doesn’t override history, morality/religion, philosophy, or astrology. (And check out Ko’s two books coming out through Revelore Press – Jenn’s publishing company – in July 2024!)
23:12 – For beginners, Ko recommends: listening to the lectures of Robert Schmidt; diving into the Jyotish astrological tome Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (the Girish Chand Sharma edition); and – for learning Chinese astrology – reading Ko’s own upcoming instructional textbook on the Four Pillars.
24:49 – Find Ko on his YouTube channel: Radical Skies. And Francine (Ko’s feminine alter ego) will also be at NORWAC in May 2024, so say hello!
26:07 – 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.
![044 | Sarah L’Hrar: Karma, Kabbalistics, and Learning Astrology in Yr Sleep](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday May 06, 2024
044 | Sarah L’Hrar: Karma, Kabbalistics, and Learning Astrology in Yr Sleep
Monday May 06, 2024
Monday May 06, 2024
Astrologer and teacher Sarah L’Hrar joins host Jenn Zahrt from Montreal, Québec in Canada to cover books, imaginary BFF authors, and more! Tune in to hear all about: astral themes and evolutionary possibility; the roots of karmic astrology; Mars-ing all over someone (oops!); “minor” aspects; humanistic astrology; astrological osmosis and receiving authors’ personality in textual form; words as beautiful access points to something more; the perfect birth chart aspect for an astrologer; Kabbalistic astrology; the coolest Middle Ages rock-and-roll astro dude; the beans and rice of books!; and the Yod formation. Plus: know thyself (then duck!), the Nixon administration, and falling in friendship!
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 April 2024):
00:31 – Sarah L’Hrar is a consulting astrologer, teacher, and counselor who specializes in modern humanistic and psychological astrology. She is a master mentor at Debra Silverman’s Applied Astrology School, as well as the Global Director for ISAR (the International Society for Astrological Research) in Canada. Her nickname “Astro Auntie” was coined by her students and clients as a nod to her supportive, compassionate, and straightforward relating style.
00:52 – Sarah began learning astrology by reading the horoscopes in the back of Elle magazine! But the first astrology book she ever purchased was a French title, Les Trois Dimensions de Votre Thème Astral by Patrick Giani. This was a great intro to star stuff, where Giani covers three levels of expression and health. (Sarah and Jenn also chat about Karmic Astrology, Vol. I & II by Martin Schulman!)
09:39 – If Sarah were stranded on a desert island, which books would she bring? First up: Michael Meyer’s A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer. This text takes the theoretical ideas of Dane Rudhyar and offers them through a practical lens. (Cool that Jenn had selected this title, too, in Episode 39, Jenn Zahrt: For the Love of Astrology (Books)!)
13:48 – The author-related Venn diagram between Sarah and Jenn continues: Sarah’s second choice is Alan Oken’s Soul-Centered Astrology: A Key to Your Expanding Self. Sarah likes how this one takes her places she wouldn’t go by herself, flips the script, and keeps her flexible!
18:16 – Join the Significant Sources Salon hosted by Dr. James Dotson starting THIS WEEK at the CAELi Institute! Prepare to discuss Ficino’s Three books on Life!
19:58 – Sarah’s third book choice is The Beginning of Wisdom by Abraham Ibn Ezra, edited by Robert Hand and translated by Meira Epstein. A lot of Sarah’s personal introduction to the cosmos was via Kabbalistic astrology, and therefore this text makes the list! (She also piles on The Book of Nativities and Revolutions by the same three folks.)
26:48 – Pasta, anyone? Sarah’s recommendations for beginners include: Planets in Transit: Life Cycles for Living by Robert Hand; Planetary Symbolism in the Horoscope by Karen Hamaker-Zondag; Chart Interpretation Handbook: Guidelines for Understanding the Essentials of the Birth Chart by Stephen Arroyo (and Astrology Karma & Transformation, also by Arroyo); and last but not least (and adding to the Sarah/Jenn crossover), Alan Oken's Complete Astrology: The Classic Guide to Modern Astrology.
35:28 – Find Sarah at: https://www.astroauntie.com/. On social, her handle is @AstroAuntie. She also teaches over at Debra Silverman’s Applied Astrology School!
36:03 – 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.
![043 | Jean Eon: In the (Virtual) Stars!](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday Apr 29, 2024
043 | Jean Eon: In the (Virtual) Stars!
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Astrologer, musician, artist, and filmmaker Jean Eon beams in from North Carolina to connect with host Jenn Zahrt about the upcoming astrological virtual reality event at the Astrohut on May 12th! The two also chat about books and more, including: getting outside the box; when descriptions of the signs line up accurately; how there is more to reality than we know; nonstandard experiences with spiritual overtones; creating calm out of chaos; contradictions in astrology; intuition versus rationality; footnotes as a map to mini library encounters; Vedic astrology; and vehicles for connection and conversation in 3D. Plus: The Lawnmower Man, falling into the twelfth house, and… what do Ben Franklin and Mary Poppins have in common?
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 April 2024):
00:31 – Jean Eon is an astrologer, musician, artist, and filmmaker with a history of startup endeavors. His new project is the Astrohut, a virtual reality space for meeting people while exploring astrology. Jean is also fond of architecture – from David Adjaye and Zaha Hadid to Santiago Calatrava and MAD architects – as well as drawing and digitally simulating cities from a “nation” he created as a teen, which landed him a role as a contributor to Harvard’s Graduate School of Design publication New Geographies. Jean enjoys marathon raves, travel, languages (both real and made-up), and experimentation across different mediums.
00:50 – Learn about the upcoming virtual reality event at the Astrohut (and join Jenn and CAELi in the virtual courtyard)! Learn more on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X: @TheAstrohut.
04:16 – Jean’s first astrology book – Sexstrology: The Astrology of Sex and the Sexes by Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox – arrived while WWOOFing” (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) outside of San Francisco. Fittingly, he was beginning a first house profection year!
06:58 – If Jean were stranded in an isolated place, which three books would he bring? Noting that two of them would be astrology-adjacent, his first selection is The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, because this one showed him there is much more to reality than we know!
11:46 – Jean’s second choice is quasi-spiritual; on the surface it’s practical, but really it’s a metaphor for sitting with the self. The title? Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.
17:06 – Join the Significant Sources Salon hosted by Dr. James Dotson at the CAELi Institute!
17:54 – Let’s go fly a kite! Jean’s third text is The Astrology Book: The Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences by James R. Lewis. This tome is one he hasn’t read yet, but thinking ahead, he wonders if perhaps it could help him escape the island!
20:41 – Jean recommendations for beginners include two that would help orient newbies to understand history and its significance: Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune by Chris Brennan and both volumes of Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques by Demetra George. Also, he’s very curious to read Freedom Cole’s An Introduction to Vedic Astrology; Jenn concurs that this is an accessible textbook worth exploring. (Listen to Freedom in episode 22, Freedom Cole: Learning & Synthesizing!)
30:37 – Jean can be found on social media: on Instagram @NowIsTheEon and @TheAstrohut; on Twitter/X @_JeanEon_ and @TheAstrohut; and on TikTok @TheAstrohut.
31:10 – 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.
![042 | Gray Crawford: A Fiery Altar of Zodiacal Releasing](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday Apr 22, 2024
042 | Gray Crawford: A Fiery Altar of Zodiacal Releasing
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Astrologer and teacher Gray Crawford is partile to host Jenn Zahrt this week! Join the Olympia, Washington almost-neighbors, as they chat about books and more, including: Kairos time and Chronos time; the Lots of Daimon and Fortune; theurgy and astrological magic; zodiacal releasing; layers of determinism versus cosmic creation as participatory; the idea of astrological transformation; the birth chart as an altar; secondary progressed-to-progressed combinations; archetypal timing structures; how to talk to clients; eclipse families, the Saros cycle, and midpoint theory; and parans and projected degrees. Plus: gateway books, astrological piano scarves, and … which ephemeris would you bring?
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 March 2024):
00:31 – Gray is a natal, horary, and electional astrologer and teacher. He offers a relational approach using techniques drawn from ancient and modern sources, synthesizing influences from Hellenistic, magical, mythic-archetypal, and psychological astrology. Gray has taught at UAC, NORWAC, and ISAR astrology conferences, Kepler College, and various astrology associations around the USA. His astrological writing has been published on Astrology.com, in WellBeing Astrology, and by Ignota Press. Contact Gray at his site and check out his astrology articles, educational offerings, and more!
00:51 – It’s the week of dancers and dreamers! Gray’s first astrology text ever was The Secret Language of Birthdays: Your Complete Personology Guide for Each Day of the Year by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers, which fascinated him at the time. Later, he dug into The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need by Joanna Woolfolk.
04:39 – If Gray were to be stranded on a desert island, which books would he bring? His first choice is On the Mysteries by Iamblichus, because he’d finally have time to read the whole book cover-to-cover!
10:20 – With some natal chart overlap, Gray has always resonated with Dane Rudhyar’s writing. Therefore, his second choice is Rudhyar’s The Astrology of Transformation.
15:34 – Join the Significant Sources Salon hosted by Dr. James Dotson at the CAELi Institute!
16:21 – Gray’s third title would be Vettius Valens’s The Anthology, because there’s so much in it! But this was a difficult pick, so Gray also gives a hat tip to: Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View by Richard Tarnas; Christian Astrology by William Lilly; and Abu Ma’shar’s Persian Nativities IV: On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities, translated by Benjamin Dykes. (And the very cool zodiacal releasing research tool that Jenn references can be found at: https://nataltransits.com/timelord.html.)
21:04 – For beginners, Gray considered which books he’d buy his daughter. With that in mind, enjoy this wonderful and comprehensive list: Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your Everyday Life by Carole Taylor; Aspects in Astrology: A Guide to Understanding Planetary Relationships in the Horoscope by Sue Tompkins; Soul, Symbol, and Imagination: The Artistry of Astrology by Brian Clark; The Classical Seven Planets: Source Texts and Meaning by Charles Obert; Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark by Bernadette Brady; A Tiny Universe: Astrology and the Thema Mundi Chart by Joy Usher; and Temperament: Astrology’s Forgotten Key by Dorian Greenbaum.
27:10 – Find Gray at: https://graycrawford.net/. And check out his Patreon here!
28:48 – 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.
![041 | Tara Aal: Living Planets First](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday Apr 15, 2024
041 | Tara Aal: Living Planets First
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Astrologer, teacher, author, artist, and tarot reader Tara Aal joins host Jenn Zahrt from Los Angeles, California to chat books, and shares an incredible mini-lesson on “planets on the first.” In this ep, the duo also offers food for thought on: letting the story come through; the difference between learning together and teaching; spirit versus soul; the gifts to each sign; the way through and tests on our journey; the signs in the natal chart as an apprenticeship; how the season of birth impacts life; getting lost 360 different ways; and astrological magic and planet remediation. Plus: letting the devil out of the cake, a goosebump moment, and… our first must-have book that’s offered thanks to a previous guest’s recommendation!
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 March 2024):
00:31 – Tara Aal is an evolutionary astrologer, writer, educator, artist, and tarot reader. She’s the co-author of Astrology by Moonlight and Natural Astrology. Tara’s been practicing since 2011 and sees clients, teaches, and speaks (including NORWAC, UAC, Kepler College, and ISAR). She’s passionate about experiential astrology, including the practice called Living Planets 1st. Tara currently serves on the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR) Board as Vice President.
01:51 – Tara’s first astrology book – The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need by Joanna Martine Woolfolk – was gifted to her by her boss during a performance review around the time of her first Saturn Return! About ten years later, she signed up for an astrology program and really dug in.
05:36 – If Tara accidentally got off the plane on the wrong island in the Bahamas, which books would she bring? First up: The Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino by Thomas Moore. Tara enjoyed this one so much that she wound up signing up for Moore’s Soul Psychology courses and is a current student of his! And thanks to Adam Sommer, who mentioned this text on episode 10; how cool to have our first must-have book mention based on a previous episode!!
10:58 – Tara’s second text would be An Astrological Triptych: Gifts of the Spirit, The Way Through, and The Illumined Road by Dane Rudhyar. This is a much-needed reference book for Tara!
17:14 – Join the Significant Sources Salon, hosted by Dr. James Dotson at the CAELi Institute!
18:01 – Tara’s third title would be An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and its 360 Symbolic Phases, also by Rudhyar. Tara keeps this one handy during readings, for those intuitive moments when she feels called to look up a degree symbol. (A high five also goes to The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Marc Edmond Jones.)
20:32 – Tune in for Tara’s teaching on “Living Planets 1st,” complete with examples. (Hi, Mars!)
29:15 – As a big Rudhyar fan, Tara’s recommendations are two more in the collection: The Pulse of Life: New Dynamics in Astrology and The Astrological Houses: The Spectrum of Individual Experience. To find Rudhyar’s (free!) works, the Rudhyar link that Jenn and Tara reference is here.
30:35 – Find Tara at: https://www.taraaal.com/. And her handle on Instagram is @TaraAal.
31:22 – 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.
![040 | Mark Douglas: Surfing the Energy Curve](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16026297/WO-pod-art-2_ve5jrr_300x300.jpg)
Monday Apr 08, 2024
040 | Mark Douglas: Surfing the Energy Curve
Monday Apr 08, 2024
Monday Apr 08, 2024
Astrologer and coach Mark Douglas joins host Jenn Zahrt from Prince Edward Island in Canada to chat books and more! Tune in for this discussion covering: astrological dream osmosis; the Huber method; the life clock method and a mini-lesson on age progression; the energy curve as accidental dignity; golden mean, balance points, and low points; using natal astrology to look at neighbor relationships; when the age point migrates from the fifth house to the sixth house; how the immovable nature of Pluto forces you to face your prototype; the practicality of horary; and derived houses. Plus: transits as an afterthought, how Pluto and Saturn keep us honest, and when the dog eats your astrology book!
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Transcripts available upon request.
Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.
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Episode timestamps (conversation recorded March 2024):
00:31 – Mark is from Prince Edward Island, Canada. He is a student of astrology and obtained his diploma in Huber astrological psychology from the APA in 2018 (Dipl. APA). Additionally, he pursued John Frawley’s horary practitioner course from 2019 to 2023. Mark currently serves on the Association Professional Astrologers International (APAI) council and is an active member of the Atlantic Professional Astrologers Association. A practicing psychosynthesis and grief coach, Mark has been operating the Huber Astrological Psychosynthesis school since 2023, offering a comprehensive diploma program in Huber astrology.
02:00 – Mark’s first astrology book was The Illustrated Guide to Astrology: The Key to Understanding Human Destiny by Wynne Griffon. As a tween, Mark’s parents gifted him this massive text, which sent him on quite an astrological safari!
08:18 – If Mark were stuck on a desert island, which titles would he bring? Mark and Jenn first discuss the upcoming book by Becca Tarnas, The Soul of the Cosmos, because the divinity nature speaks to him. Plus, as a Gemini Mark loves to pick a book he hasn’t read yet!
10:23 – Mark’s second text would be Astrological Psychology: The Huber Method, edited by Barry Hopewell. Mark deeply studied Huber astrology, and folks can get tons of mileage out of this one book. (And to see Mark’s video explaining when the age point migrates from the fifth house to the sixth house, visit his YouTube page.
17:04 – Join the Significant Sources Salon, hosted by Dr. James Dotson at the CAELi Institute!
26:16 – Mark studied under John Frawley, and therefore his third desert island book is Frawley’s The Horary Textbook, because he refers to this one often. It also satisfies his practical, earthy nature!
34:56 – Mark’s recommendations for people just starting their astro journey include: The Cosmic Egg Timer by Joyce Susan Hopewell, Richard Llewellyn, and Barry Hopewell (because it’s a great intro to the Huber method), and Frawley’s previously mentioned The Horary Textbook.
36:36 – Find Mark at: https://www.theseawithinyou.com/. And on Instagram, Mark’s handle is @theseawithinyou.
38:14 – 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.
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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.
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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.
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