Eric was interviewed for the International Academy of Astrology’s, Breaking Down the Borders Conference. Below is a question and answer describing Eric’s approach to astrology, new book, and other topics.
1) You work as a therapist, coach and an astrologer while holding an M.A. How did your own evolution as a person lead you to toward focusing most of your work as a full time astrologer?
Well, we teach what we learn. The counseling program I went through at Naropa focused on our own personal growth. I’ve always made it a priority. Doing inner work, meditation, workshops, and lately even shamanism, have been instrumental for me to walk my talk. I do believe that those in the position of counselor should have an excellent sense of self-awareness and have attended to the accompanying soul work, to speak from a position of wisdom, rather than theory. It’s not necessary to be credentialed, but to be conscious.
2) Along with being an astrologer you are also a published author, what inspires you to write? And tell us more about your new book Elements & Evolution: The Spiritual Landscape of Astrology.
I began writing at my Saturn return (Gemini in the 3rd House) simply because my chart told me to. I really never had too much of an interest before. Once I gave it momentum, it hasn’t stopped. I see it as spiritual practice, and I’m getter better with each book. Now I see it’s the optimal way for me to develop as an astrologer. Writing is as much learning, as it is sharing. It gets you to think deeply about the subject matter, and work on it. Elements & Evolution is to help bring a philosophical structure to soul evolution, which I believe has been under-developed in the field of astrology. I saw many ways in which astrology can connect with spirituality in a very broad, and non-denominational, fashion. Our great wisdom traditions can be a part of it, as well as science. The charged (water, fire), neutral (earth, air) division is analogous to left and right brain functioning. I’m very interested in seeing astrology connect with other disciplines, and ways to understand nature.
3) At the conference your lecture will focus on A Spiritual View of the Moon and Sun, looking at past and present. Can you provide us with a brief example of your exploration of the Sun-Moon relationship within the chart?
This is the centerpiece of my work. Though I wrote Between Past & Presence in 2005-06, it has significantly developed since then. The philosophy discussed in Elements largely centers around our connection to the luminaries from this understanding of spiritual evolution. The basic idea is that we can see the Moon and Sun from another angle, not to replace the familiar (largely gender identified) view, but to complement it. The Moon resides in the realm of time, and dualities (good/bad, male/female, past/future) typify the egoic self as it yearns to survive and protect itself. The Sun points to broader awareness in the eternal now, being fully present, alive, engaged with all of life (not just our ego preferences). I see the Sun as a transpersonal energy, though it is greatly influenced by the egoic separate self (Moon) which tends to claim it as itself. To me, the Sun is how we connect with source energy. Just as a seed (Moon) expands and grows into a flower (Sun), we are awakening out of the ego dream, and into soul realization. I look at the Moon in charts as indicative of what has been concretized in the spiritual journey, how we have been impacted by life, what has been absorbed and is familiar. By developing the Sun, we are able to resolve the past to be here now. Our awareness becomes brighter, all the way to enlightenment (Sun). I will go through many chart examples during the lecture, and Past & Presence is filled with dozens of examples too.
4) How do you want to chart your course (your words) within the astrology community, i.e. what is your brand or what is your label that you aspire to as an astrologer?
I resist labeling, though I guess I’m an evolutionary astrologer (using the broader definition of bringing in reincarnation). My focus is increasingly on the process of spiritual awakening, the liberation of solely identifying as separate, to expand into a broader field of awareness. I believe my contribution centers around the shift from a purely psychological approach, to incorporating the transpersonal. Psychological astrology is wonderful and relevant, but tends to stay confined within the separate self, a dualistic focus, and may unwittingly keep us contracted. Just how transpersonal psychology builds upon conventional psychology, I would like to help astrology become more transpersonal, relevant to our soul evolution, instead of focusing primarily on our personality.
5) Is there anything else you would like to share with us as to why someone should attend your BDTB lecture on Sunday, November 21, 2010 @ 6:30 p.m. EST?
With Jupiter and Uranus moving to Aries, we are in a time of a new (Aries) philosophical understanding (Jupiter) to astrology (Uranus). The early returns to the Elements book inform me that these ideas are resonating, and really capture where the next wave of astrology is breaking. I’m thrilled to be a part of that. My work is for those who want to renew astrology in a way that is most relevant for our modern understanding of the evolution of consciousness.
Thankfully some bloggers can write. Thank you for this piece
Probably the greatest article I have seen..