Class With Claire Martin - 6 June 2010

Today we had a seminar with Claire Martin. Because the Centre for Psychological Astrology is changing its format to a more interactive, Platonic institution, Claire decides that after a bit of introduction, this will be a workshop style seminar.  She encouraged us to participate, ask questions, make comments, etc. Perfect style for me.

Before Class Starts, Israel and Marguerite Chat

We began by talking about why we use Astrology and why we don’t just use Psychology when talking to clients.  We all had different, but very similar reasons for taking up Astrology. Mine is because the model that Psychology alone (and here I’m talking primarily Jungian/archetypal Psychology) didn’t seem to be a comprehensive enough model of the world, or of peoples’ psyches. Neither is traditional Western Astrology. But the fusion of them both seems to work for me.  Many people in the class agreed. Another main reason given was that Astrology provides a meta-language to speak about the human psyche.

We spoke a lot about the role of the Astrologer in society, and with our clients. Claire is of the opinion that we are oracles only. We are not here to fix the clients’ problems, nor protect them from their futures, etc. We are here only to communicate, to bring information to light.

We spoke about channeling the planets, bringing messages in from above.  In Astrology, Mercury is the messenger god, so we talked quite a bit about Mercury. We discussed the many facets of Mercury’s personality—messenger, trickster, detail collector, etc.

We also spoke a lot about how we are all products of our own times, cultures, and beliefs, and we must be aware of our prejudices, ways of looking at the world and points of view.

After we talked about these topics, we all computed a chart by hand. Now this scared me. I’m not good with numbers. Charts are based on the positions of the planets within a 360º circle, which is divided into twelve signs of 30º each. And then there’s the part about having to draw straight lines, which, for some reason, I’ve never been able to do by hand. Not even with a ruler. So dividing the circle into 4 quadrants is also going to be difficult for me. But, I left my computer sitting  unused, and did my best to draw the chart by hand. I was a bit behind everyone else, but I managed.

Just drawing the circle was an invocation of the sacred space of spirit. The lines dividing the circle are the cross of matter, symbolizing the incarnation on Earth of the divine spark we all carry. As hard as it was for me to do this by hand, and to keep up with everyone else's knowledge and abilities, I still appreciated this reminder of what the chart actually is. It’s true that pulling it up on the computer saves so much time and energy, but it does also get in the way of remembering the deeper meaning of the chart itself. I’m glad for this reminder.

At this point I began to falter. Most astrologers I know have no trouble with numbers, and they can draw straight lines. They can also remember the placements of planets in charts. Most of them seem to have photographic memories of nearly every chart they’ve ever seen. I have none of these talents. I could not be an astrologer without my computer. I cannot even remember the planetary placements in my own chart, much less in Winston Churchill’s or Mother Theresa’s. It could be that I don’t have as much experience as most of my classmates, but they not only remember individual charts, they also recognize patterns of charts they’ve seen. One student tells us of all the Mercury in Virgo charts she’s known. Another can see patterns in people who have planets in the 8^th house squaring the Moon. I can’t do any of this stuff. I feel completely inadequate and wonder how it is that I think I’m an astrologer. Maybe I’m just a counselor of sorts, one who uses a little bit of astrological knowledge to help with bringing issues to light. There’s not a lot of point in dwelling on them right now, but many doubts are assailing me. It’s humbling, to say the least.

We put the planets in the chart by hand, one by one.  We talk about what we know of the “client,” and decide which planets to put in as we go. It’s a very interesting exercise. The whole time Claire asks us for input, and we work on building the chart together. I thoroughly appreciate her style, and the seminar itself. I participate, as is my wont, but I feel somewhat subdued by my lack of abilities. I learned the basics of Astrology fairly quickly. It’s a language, and I’m good at learning languages. But the working with the details—with the numbers and the planetary placements, with remembering what’s where and which chart has which aspects, putting together patterns from all the data I’ve seen, etc, etc—this I have not mastered. And I doubt I ever will.

This was a wonderful class but has left me somewhat shaken. Still, afterwards a number of us head to a pub. There we talk Astrology and other things. I appreciate the social energy, as I did with the class. I’ve been alone all week and it’s good to be having conversations and hanging with people I know. Here are some pix of my classmates:

Some of Us at the Pub on Baker Street Near the Tube Station

This has been an excellent, but draining day. After an hour or so at the pub, I head home. I try not to obsess over my doubts and fears of inadequacy, but instead focus on the fact that I am at a point in my training/career that has some benefit to my clients. If it’s not as much as those of my classmates, all I can do is have faith that my clients’ paths and mine cross/have crossed for a reason, and that they need(ed) someone of my level. All I can do is continue my training and hope to get better. I do very much hope to be able to return each term somehow, even if it’s just for a month’s worth of classes.