In the 1980s two lost twenty-somethings walked into a mysterious compound at the top of a hill and stayed for seven years.

Ronnie Pontiac and Tamra Lucid spent their formative years under the tutelage of a man many consider one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. It’s a story Tamra would go on to recall in her 2021 book, Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: My Seven Years in Occult Los Angeles with Manly Palmer Hall, a memoir documenting the time she and Ronnie spent at the .

It’s an experience that would mark both of their lives, with Ronnie and Tamra going on to shape the culture in their own ways, as musicians, filmmakers, and scholars.

Who Is Manly P. Hall?

Born in 1901 and standing well over six feet, Hall was a larger-than-life character who believed that philosophy, religion, science, and art weren’t separate things, and that wisdom doesn’t belong to one culture or one tradition. To that end, while still in his twenties, he traveled the world seeking knowledge and collecting books.

In 1928, at the age of 27, he published his findings as The Secret Teachings of All Ages—by far his best-known work, and one you’ll start seeing everywhere once you know to look. Its readers make a strange constellation: novelist Dan Brown cites it as a key source, Elvis Presley was a devoted reader, and Carl Jung drew on Hall’s rare-book collection while writing Psychology and Alchemy.

In 1934 Hall found a home for his collections and teachings when he founded PRS. Its Mayan Revival–style campus went up two years later, at the top of a hill overlooking the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz—this was long before there was much of a surrounding neighborhood to overlook. The neighborhood grew around PRS—just as, we could argue, the culture of Los Angeles grew around Manly P. Hall.

At PRS Hall would grow his library, publish his books and essays, and lecture regularly on a wide array of topics well into his 80s.

My Connection to PRS

I must admit to knowing almost nothing about Hall before moving to Los Angeles, but he has since come to occupy a little piece of my heart. PRS, the campus he built, is home to my in-person monthly event, the Los Angeles Astrology Salon, and in some ways has become the foundation and source of inspiration for my personal astrological practice.

I met Ronnie through a combination of chance, impulsivity, and — I have to assume — forces emanating from beyond the grave of Manly P. Hall.

In May of 2026, decades after stepping away from PRS, Ronnie joined me for a discussion on the Orphic Hymns in the classroom where Manly gave his Sunday lectures — the same classroom where Ronnie would go on to deliver his own Sunday lectures for years.

The interview turned into a solo performance, and while I don’t regret not recording that session — some things are meant to remain private — it was such a moving conversation that I wanted to share the experience with a larger audience.

Listen to the Full Podcast

The following is an excerpt from my podcast with Ronnie. The conversation explores a period when his life overlapped with Hall’s — a window into both their lives.

All quotes below are taken from Ronnie and have been edited and condensed to fit this space.

The Rational Soul of the World

As I opened it up, my mind was blown by reading the dedication to the rational soul of the world. And I just thought, whoa — like the rational soul of the world? Like the world has a soul, and the soul of the world is rational? Like, wow, what an idea.

He Looked Right at Me

During the lecture, he looks right at me and he says, “People who have an irrational fear of natural disasters because of their guilt about how they’ve been living their lives.” And I was just, “What the hell just happened?” And he looks at Tamra a few minutes later and he says people who are born in harsh circumstances, but like a weed that grows through a crack in the concrete, a beautiful flower comes up. I would find out later, when I worked for him, that he couldn’t really see us. His vision was very bad at that time, and we were just basically colorful blurs.

No One Knows

There was much discussion at PRS about what that was. Was he an adept who had secret knowledge of our inner souls? Was he just naturally psychic? Was he really a medium? Was he somebody that was so deeply in the Tao that the synchronicities just gathered around him and spilled from his lips? No one knows, but he definitely did that quite often.

The Last Resort

The people who wanted to meet with him were people who had had experiences that derailed their lives and they did not know what to do. They went to psychologists, they went to priests, they went everywhere they could to try to get help to undo what had been done, and they would always end up at Manly Hall’s office.

Come In and Make Yourself Miserable

He was sitting behind this beautifully carved Chinese desk, and he had these four elderly women who ran the place — the librarian, his secretary, the office manager, and the vice president of the society — all standing there around him looking at me like I was a criminal, and they were right. And he said, in this hilarious kind of W.C. Fields accent, “Come on in and make yourself miserable.”

Let My Enemies Write My Story

He told me not to write a biography of him. He said, “Let my enemies write my story.”

About Ronnie

Ronnie Pontiac was Manly Palmer Hall’s research assistant for seven years. Author of the books American Metaphysical Religion and The Rosicrucian Counterculture, he co-authored The Magic of the Orphic Hymns and The Unobstructed Way. He writes the weekly Star Weather Astrology Forecast on Substack as . He’s also produced award-winning documentaries and was guitarist for the riot grrrl band Lucid Nation.

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

Speaking to Dolphins

Once upon a time, there was a scientist who dreamed of speaking to animals. His passion grew so big that NASA gave him money to buy a house in the Virgin Islands and study three dolphins: Peter, Pam, and Sissy.

In this house, he built a room that opened directly into the ocean and hired a woman named Margaret who had a natural talent for communicating with animals—and a special bond with young Peter, whom she described as “sexually coming of age and a bit naughty.”

Margaret was charged with teaching Peter to speak a language she could understand, giving herself to the task around the clock for ten weeks.

A desk hung from the ceiling of the watery room so she could transcribe her observations; at night, she slept on a mattress in a dry corner. The two grew so close that Hustler magazine eventually ran a sensationalist piece on their relationship.

Meanwhile, the scientist spent his days dropping government-sanctioned acid, floating in his invention—the sensory deprivation tank—and convening with the Earth Coincidence Control Office.

While Margaret tried to coax vowels out of Peter by questionable means, the man in charge was bobbing in Epsom salts and taking orders from extraterrestrial beings.

(Yes, if you’ve ever been to a float spa, you have our man to thank.)

Lest you think this is completely bonkers, let me point out that Carl Sagan, beloved host of the PBS show Cosmos, not only paid this man a visit, but the two were founding members of the Order of the Dolphin, a secret society of scientists investigating extraterrestrial intelligence.

In the mid-twentieth century, the future looked bright for talking to animals and befriending aliens.

It Never Ends Well

The problem with getting too excited about the future is that it always seems to end badly.

We do this a lot in astrology. This transit, this configuration, we say: this is the one that’s going to change EVERYTHING. Whether it’s a major alignment or a big outer-planet return, the future, we cry, is upon us. All we have to do is step into it.

For John C. Lilly and many of the brilliant thinkers of his time, that future meant connecting with life beyond our comprehension. Not a lot has changed in the sixty-some years since Lilly started his dolphin house experiments.

Lilly’s focus was on connecting with dolphins and a council of aliens. Today’s mad scientists have Claude and ChatGPT.

In the end, Lilly lost his funding and moved his dolphins into labs, where Peter famously took his own life.

The casualty of his vision was the very life form he aimed to connect with.

This isn’t so different from tech billionaires telling us AI is going to revolutionize humanity while recklessly designed data centers gobble up the Earth’s resources and threaten life for humans and animals alike.

A Nodal Connection

The lunar nodes have just returned to the Leo/Aquarius axis — the signs they inhabited at John C. Lilly’s birth.

The lunar nodes mark the places in the sky where eclipses occur, which, in turn, translate to pivotal shifts for the inhabitants of Earth.

To borrow from Vedic mythology, we can imagine these nodes as two severed parts of a dragon:

• Rahu (The North Node): The head—forever ravenous.

• Ketu (The South Node): The tail—forever letting go.

Right now, the head of the dragon sits in the Saturn-ruled air sign of Aquarius, while the tail of the dragon rests in the Sun-ruled fire sign of Leo.

To save you a full lecture on astrology, I’ll share a simple delineation: There is a hunger for the collective future so ravenous, so out of reach, that it threatens the life of the individual.

As the nodes navigate this territory of the sky, let us remember the story of the mad scientist and his dolphins.

May this be a message for each of us to claim our power to dream and build the future we actually want to inhabit—lest we inherit the blueprints handed down by out-of-body tech billionaires.

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m so thankful for doomsday predictions and Barbault’s Basket nonsense for showing me who my people are! By some magical act of fate and algorithm, I stumbled upon the work of Catie McQ, and we quickly bonded over a shared enthusiasm for calling out bullshit.

Her work is what I aspire to.

Moving past the machine of time, Catie takes astrology into the messy act of living — equal parts intellectual rigor and compassion.

This recording started as a way to say hello, morphed into a Substack Live, and then, when Mercury had bigger plans for us, became a bonus podcast episode where we take on doomsday predictions, the trouble with manifesting, and why we should be talking about SJ’s Basket.

May this please be the first of many conversations!

Yours,

Vivi

About Catie

Catie McQ is a neoclassical professional astrologer and fluent translator of Time and the stars. The first diploma graduate of the 3 year Oraculos School of Astrology proficient in Hellenistic, medieval/Renaissance, predictive, horary, electional and Uranian /cosmobiology. Catie is also a performer and loves public speaking and spreading this beautiful and elegant language uplifting astrology to it’s rightful place in the world.

About Vivi

Vivi Henriette is an LA-based astrologer and tarot reader whose practice centers on storytelling, mythology, and collaborative divination. She creates a space for clients to reclaim their personal narratives through the lens of ancient archetypes. Vivi produces LA Astro Fest, hosts the Los Angeles Astro Salon, and is the creator of the podcast TALKTALKTALK. You can find her weekly writing on ritual and meaning at her Substack, ART of the ZODIAC.

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

Catherine’s Substack

It's not a Basket. Its a Vessel. And the Vessel sings for the next 2 years.

We have been wrong about the Barbault basket — a…

Read more

a month ago · 25 likes · 3 comments · The World Point

While many astrologers dream of being on television, Edward O stumbled into the spotlight while trying to get his brother — a doctor, newly arrived in the US — airtime on local TV stations.

Over the next few years he’d take on one TV astrology role after another, working a series of day jobs and spending his nights poring over astrology books at the famed ⁠Bodhi Tree Bookstore⁠ in West Hollywood.

In 2005 all that reading found an international audience: he was hired as cohost and astrologer for ⁠12 Corazones⁠, Telemundo’s astrological dating show. For a decade he was on a mission to show the world astrology is about more than sun signs — pulling, by his own estimate, some 41,000 charts along the way and creating a signature style of reading that expanded beyond astrology to include palmistry and graphology.

All of this rich, astrological history would be lost to me if Edward O hadn’t reached out after the ⁠LA Astro Fest⁠ Kick-Off party—and I’m so glad he did.

Fate works in mysterious ways indeed.

Listen the the Full Podcast

The following bonus interview features some of Edward O’s favorite dating tips, drawn from years of astrological matchmaking.

The Chart Signatures

Vivi Henriette: Tell us some of your favorite, tried and true dating tips.

Edward O: I would say a Venus-Mars trine and conjunction. The Sun-Moon conjunction or trine. And also the ascendant and the 7th house — if the Sun is falling or some important planets are falling in the partner’s 7th house.

Additionally, I would say three things:

Test One: The Kiss

How was the kiss? Did the saliva match? Sometimes you’re with a person and it just doesn’t flow. And then there is the one that you don’t feel the difference [with].

Test Two: The Eyes

When you look into each other’s eyes, was there a momentary eternity moment where you just connected and you knew that you knew each other?

Test Three: The Hands

How did it feel when you touched your hands? Was there electricity, or was it neutral?

The Nodes

I would also look at the North Node-South Node conjunctions, because the South Node is a past life, and North Node’s where we’re going. I met a lot of people from my South Node in the past. Now I say, “You know what? No thank you. Bye-bye.” We’ve done that already.

Timing It: Progressed Sun-Venus

When I do the progressed chart and there is a conjunction of Sun and Venus — whether it’s by transit or by natal or just simply because it is — that’s a moment when twin souls or soulmates are more likely to come into your life.

Vh: So if I have a progressed Sun in Taurus and Venus moves by transit into Taurus and touches my progressed Sun, that would be a good moment?

EO: Exactly. This is the moment where you don’t even have to open your eyes. Love is all around. Love is all there is. Love is all we need.

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

For a time, we thought we could outshine the moon — and we did.

In her 2013 essay for The Atlantic, “Tower of Light: When Electricity Was New, People Used It to Mimic the Moon,” Megan Garber begins: “First they tried to make moons.”

It’s a story that’s haunted me ever since I read it.

In the late 19th century, when electricity was new and expensive, cities across the US erected moonlight towers. These monstrosities acted as supercharged full moons, flooding the land with light.

For the first time, humanity had conquered darkness to experience full brightness on any given night.

Garber writes:

“And so, for a brief and literally shining moment early in the days of human-harnessed electricity, the future of municipal lighting was glowing orbs suspended high above cities — towers, resembling oil derricks, capped with 4 to 6 arc lamps with a candlepower of 2,000 to 6,000 each. These manmade moons made the ultimate promise to the people below them: that they would never again be in the dark.”

The problems, of which there were many, soon surfaced.

Such a powerful, singular source of light creates shadows that are equally powerful and disorienting. These shadows became a great place for crime. The bigger issue, however, was that neither human nor animal was designed for nonstop light. As crime rates rose, people went mad under the brightness. Animals, denied the blanket of night, started dying off from sleep deprivation.

Eventually these moon-towers were replaced with the arguably more efficient and more pervasive lighting we have today. The only surviving towers now stand in Austin, Texas — monuments to the moment we thought we could outshine the moon without repercussion.

The Arc of the Ejaculate

As it goes in my world, I was thinking about the implications of these electric moons when I received a voice message from my mentor.

I’ll share the most relevant fragment here:

“When you’re in theater school or learning how to dramaturgically create good theater and performance, the rising action becomes really important. There’s this arc that gets repeated over and over and over again — one to two to three to four to five to six to seven to, whoa, climax!

And then it comes down. It’s this unilateral thrust of release…”

They go on to compare this thrust of release to false narratives of linear process, A-to-B thinking, concluding that “this kind of patriarchal ejaculation myth of Western modernity has corrupted all of our imaginations.”

Bringing Down the Moon

It’s easy to hear a story of electric moons and think we would never be so foolish, but this modern impulse for climax is pervasive in the way most of us think about our lives.

At the level of astrology, we talk about zodiacal release periods as centered around a peak, or we put so much emphasis on the progressed full moon or that really good transit that’s about to hit our charts.

In reality, our lives are not ever-expanding. Nor do we experience them in periods of boom or bust. We’re so much messier than that.

I may feel stifled in my career, but I have a life I enjoy living: full of people who love me and things I enjoy complaining about.

Have I peaked? Am I declining? Yes? Maybe? I don’t know. It’s complicated.

Like the moon, none of us were made to go full blast all the time.

Astrology, however, shows us that our lives are about so much more than the moon. Traditionally, there were five planets and two luminaries. These bodies are in an ever-shifting dance, creating multiple timelines for each of us.

So, the peak is real. It’s just not singular. And it’s definitely not meant to be sustained.

Work With Me

Looking to explore the messy terrain of your personal storylines? I have a few consultation spots open for July.

Book A Reading

Club Astro

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join Club Astro

Further Reading

A while back I sat down for a conversation with astrologer and author Catherine Urban to discuss the idea of prediction in astrology. Not whether to predict, but what it means to predict in a world where one cannot escape prediction — think everything from intrusive algorithms to the pervasiveness of prediction markets.

It’s a question I’d been chewing on for some time when I approached her, and one I’d continue to mull over in the wake of our talk, until finally clearing it from my system after a clarifying interview with Dr. Ali A. Olomi.

Conversation is where I work things out, and I’m grateful for Catherine’s patience with me as I stumbled along searching for my thoughts. Along the way, she steers the talk beyond the ethics of prediction to deliver a mini lesson on the history of astrology.

When I approached Catherine, I had no idea she would be giving the keynote lecture at NORWAC a few weeks later on the very same topic! If you missed it, Prediction: Life or Death is now available for purchase on her website.

The following notes contain extracts of our conversation. I encourage you to listen to the podcast for the full experience.

LISTEN NOW

When Kings Kept Astrologers

The kings, the caliphs, the shahs — they employed astrologers. And so astrology was a political tool to try to understand: how do I maintain my power? How do I accrue more power? Astrology was used in battle strategies — when we attack, when we depart. Astrology was used to determine heirs, looking at the children’s charts. It was used for marriages, religious ceremonies… Those of us who are looking at it to gather some sense of control, some sense of being able to anticipate what’s around the corner — it’s always been used that way.

From the King’s Chart to Yours

Astrology was always used in a collective way. Looking at the king’s natal chart or the emperor’s natal chart, it had an impact on the collective. You had to be a very privileged person to have your birth recorded.

Coming into the modern context, astrology has become a tool of personal awareness, and more people are using natal astrology than ever.

Out of a Job by Morning

Those highbrow astrologers of the 9th century — they were employed by the kings, the caliphs, the emperors, and if they got something wrong, they’d be stripped of honors, out of a job… Imagine you have a client who comes to you for an hour reading. You tell them a lot. They come in the next day, book another hour: “Tell me more.” Imagine after day seven. No wonder they’re pulling dodecatemoria. No wonder they’re looking at the decans. You’re gonna run out of stuff to say to people.

Passed Down, Hand to Hand

Astrology has historically always been a student-teacher dynamic, and we see that in a lot of lineages. We see that in a yoga lineage… that’s how professions were mostly passed down over the years, parent-child, teacher-apprentice. If you’re serious about practicing astrology, and especially if you wanna teach it, you should definitely study with someone at least once. There’s just certain ways your brain is gonna take in and process information in a group setting versus reading a book.

Waiting for Magic to Be Real

I lived in New York, and to be fair, I was going through a crazy spiritual crisis at the time, but this lady stopped me, and she’s like, “Honey, come here. I see that you’re suffering.” And I was like, “Yes, I am.” And I was waiting for that magical experience… yearning for magic to be real, and someone to stop me and be like, “This is what you need, child.” And then she just kept asking for money. And I don’t think I gave her any, to be clear.

About Catherine

Catherine Urban (NCGR-PAA IV, ISAR-CAP) With over 17 years of astrological immersion, Catherine’s practice is steeped in classical, medieval, natal and horary technique, centering compassion for human experience. Specializing in forecasting, Catherine empowers her clients to become alchemists of their own charts while gaining confidence and clarity on their path. Catherine is an astrology teacher, a mama of two, and the author of Your Astrological Cookbook: The Perfect Recipe for Every Sign. Tune into her weekly forecasts on IG + YouTube @astrocatherine or book your year-ahead reading at www.CatherineUrban.com

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join Club Astro

Further Reading

Traditionally, the water signs were considered mute, so Mercury in one of these signs was seen as prone to quietness — or even periods of not speaking at all.

For the latter, astrologers love to cite the example of Maya Angelou, who was born while Mercury in Pisces was traveling through the eighth house of the sky. In the aftermath of a severe trauma, she didn’t speak for five years.

I was born with this same Pisces placement, and while I experienced neither a trauma as severe nor a muteness as prolonged, I was known for not talking as a child. In fact, all the way through high school, many of my classmates and teachers considered me mute.

For someone who hosts a podcast called TalkTalkTalk, this is an admittedly surprising confession.

Anyway, here's the thing: I'm tired. All I want to do is take in my surroundings and spend time with my internal choir of voices, arguing over why this Barbault guy and his big basket talk bother us so much.

In lieu of another unhinged essay, I’m offering something that brings me much joy to consume in silence: photos from the Planets, Planets, Planets performance at this year’s LA Astro Fest by one of my favorite photographers, Victor Curtis.

Planets, Planets, Planets!!!

For the uninitiated, Planets, Planets, Planets is an alt-comedy troupe who performs the chart of the moment. Directed by astrologer and clown Blair Bogin, their shows are both wildly entertaining and uncomfortably personal, the way mushrooms start as a good time and end in existential tears.

Think Orphic mystery rite. But less mysterious. And less Orphic.

The Chart

The Performance

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

join the club

Further Reading

My podcast recording with Cameron Allen was supposed to come out before his Astro Fest workshop on planetary days, but that wasn’t happening.

The good news is that I convinced him to answer a few more questions after the fest—and, thus, this bonus print interview.

If this is your first encounter with Cameron, he’s an herbalist and astrologer who sits at the crossroads of medical, traditional, and evolutionary astrology.

That last part’s lifted from his bio. To me, Cameron’s the astrologer you visit when you want to make astrology a living, embodied practice.

In the following interview, we learn a little about his practice and the discipline of medical astrology. It’s a companion piece to the podcast we recorded—where we go deeper into all of that.

Listen to the Podcast

If you missed his LA Astro Fest appearance, I’ll be adding recordings to the Club Astro library in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, enjoy the TalkTalkTalk…

Vivi Henriette: After your talk at LA Astro Fest, I realized the idea of medical astrology was new to some attendees. While I don’t expect a comprehensive historical breakdown, can you share your working definition of medical astrology?

Cameron Allen: Answer: Medical astrology is the science and art of understanding how celestial influences illuminate predispositions and influence one’s health throughout their lifetime. This is a very broad definition but I would invite people to go to my Substack as I am laying out the introduction to medical astrology there.

Vh: What attracted you to this area of study?

CA: I studied health and sports science in college as well as psychology. This has been my field of interest since then. I became an herbalist and a psychological astrologer and medical astrology aligned with my practice and pursuit of understanding the mind-body connection.

Vh: I’ve shared with you my fears about working with medical astrologers who lack medical training. Your perspective offered a counterpoint: that too often we give away authority over our bodies to medical professionals.

I say receive because I recognize that what we hear isn’t always what the other person said....

Could you speak to these thoughts?

CA: Yes. I think the emphasis for me is on HOW to think not what to think. Which is to say that we often are not taught a coherent system of understanding how to take care of ourselves on a basic level. Medical astrologers who work with integrity will be able to at minimum provide perspective on lifestyle choices that are very simple and practical in order for someone to have a clearer understanding on how to care for themselves on a unique level.

With that being said, I would invite people to continue to be discerning about going to a medical astrologer. But we also must be discerning when listening to “certified” practitioners as they often hold biases that do not have to be explored because they are made de facto experts on topics that they do not always fully understand from the perspective of being well.

Our contemporary medicine is very much what my teachers would call, “sick care.” They are revolutionary at emergency care and with life threatening illnesses but often fall short on understanding what traditional medicine systems have long understood.

My general advice would be to find a medical astrologer who has also been educated in a traditional or so called “alternative medicine system such as but not limited to; Ayurveda, TCM, Greco-Arabic medicine (Unani Tibb), naturopath, homeopathy, etc. Also would include branches of medicine that includes nutrition, herbalism, personal training, massage, and other healing modalities as they can offer complementary perspectives and techniques to aid in someone’s understanding and experience of wellness. Working with a medical astrologer is not usually isolated from working with contemporary medicine. Think of the medical astrologer as being a part of your team.

I would strongly advise people to reach out directly if they have concerns about health and want to explore it from a medical astrology lens. I will let them know immediately how confident I am in being able to support them. Also wanting people to know that I serve many people WITHOUT using astrology at all. So it’s just an added way of serving which is very valuable. This might have to be an article I write about in the future.

Vh: Can you share some simple astrological techniques people can use to get in touch with their bodies — or help their clients understand theirs?

CA: Yes. Learn each location of the body that is ruled by the signs. When the Moon travels through that sign, educate yourself or take care of the part of the body. If you do this for a year or 25 (lol) you will have a vast knowledge base that is simple and will allow you to care for yourself in a more robust manner.

Vh: You’re currently studying Unani-Tibb. Can you tell us more about this lineage?

CA: Unani Tibb is also called Greek medicine, Hippocratic medicine, Galenic medicine, Greco-Arabic medicine, Islamic medicine, and Humour medicine. It is a complete medicine system that compliments medical astrology. To most in the so called west, it is not familiar, but it addresses the human body from a holistic lens.

Unlike Ayurveda which is associated with India and TCM which is associated with China, it is a shared tradition. It was cultivated among countries in North Africa, southwest Asia, and Southern Europe. It might be better called, “mediterranean medicine,” as it was developed in many places.

In astrology people pull out the idea of temperament from a full and robust system of medicine which leaves the concept deeply impoverished and oftentimes difficult to implement beyond a historical context. This is why I have gone to school for it so that it can be restored to its rightful place. There’s so much more I can say but I will leave this overview here.

Vh: Are you taking new clients, and what can someone expect from a session with you?

CA: I am!!

It is not the easiest to say exactly what people should expect because I work with movement, herbs, diet, psychologically, and spiritually. I also help people in prevention and remediation so these all will create a context that will take the work in different directions. What I can say people should expect is a deeper understanding that breeds peace, practical and actionable solutions that move the needle, a new perspective that liberates one from the conditioned and captured way of thinking about what it means to be well. In that, people learn to work towards self understanding and self leadership in the process. Again, not so easy to say as working with someone who has a chronic illness vs someone who is simply wanting to understand and upgrade their wellness routine looks very different.

My areas that I thoroughly excel in and I would dare say in the most humble manner I am exceptional at is helping people with ailments that the general population tends to struggle with, hip, low back, knee issues as well as people who experience imbalances of melancholy (depression that is not necessarily clinic), and revealing the emotional and psychological connections to ailments.

Vh: What’s the best way for people to keep in touch?

CA: IG: @cadream6

Website: www.cadreamplanet.com

Substack:

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Join us every Thursday for office hours at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

This morning I woke up and did the thing no one should ever do upon waking: I looked at my phone.

Two messages. One conclusion.

Message One

In a hurried IG message, my friend Liz shared a medical GoFundMe for a fellow astrologer, “for our community to be aware of!”

I don’t know this person very well, but they’re a regular at our gatherings, so I made a small donation. That’s not a brag. That’s what you do. This person supports my events, so I support them to the best of my ability.

Message Two

Still sleepy and squinting from navigating my phone without glasses, I reluctantly opened message number two: a singular YouTube link from an astro acquaintance. No context. Just a sketchy looking link that I probably shouldn’t have opened.

And I kind of wish I hadn’t.

This was the last thing I want to look at in the morning, or ever: some know-it-all astrologer I hate, with his sidekick, telling me what every self-proclaimed town crier is shouting down the streets of social media: that this July 4th week is going to be big because the Uranus/Mars conjunction in Gemini, the American Revolution, blah, blah, blah.

He then proceeded to share that if I live in Los Angeles this is going to be extra big because something about the city’s Saturn Return return and geodetic lines.

The takeaway? Download their app.

Are you fucking serious?

They’re Not Wrong

Every astrologer I know has been bracing for July. But here’s the thing: if you’re getting on a mic to scare the masses with your doom predictions, you’re an asshole. But at least have the courtesy of sharing an app that’s useful.

If the revolution or natural disaster or whatever life changing question mark event you’re predicting is landing this weekend I want apps that tell me where to find food and water, the ones that tell me where the fires are and what roads to avoid.

More than that I want an emergency plan and an actual secure way to keep in touch with all my people. Paper notes anyone?

The last thing I want during any emergency is an astrology app.

Ok. But What Am I Doing?

At the beginning of Trump’s second term, I asked one of my best friends and lifelong journalist, Louis Aguilar, what I should be doing. His answer surprised me: “Keep gathering people in person.”

“Right now,” he continued, “people need each other more than ever.”

The Actual Takeaway

My mission this morning, before I got sidetracked by my phone-induced rage, was to write about LA Astro Fest. The essay I had in my mind was about how astrology happens in community, when people gather to discuss and debate ideas.

Turns out this is that essay.

This past week I had the privilege of gathering in rooms with a variety of astrologers, some like Gemini Brett and Cameron Allen who journeyed across state lines to be with us, and Rachel Lang, who drove out for the day because she had to get back to give a speech at Ojai Pride, because as vice mayor she has commitments to her community.

Over four days of programming, we heard from eleven speakers and eleven clowns, and while each of their workshops and performances are worthy of their own recap, in a way, none of that matters.

Last week a group of us gathered to learn astrology, but more than that, to share our knowledge and take care of each other.

Astrology In Action

Dr. Olomi opened the weekend with a reminder that cuts to the heart of why any of us do this: we predict the future so we can prepare for it. That idea carried through every room we shared over the days that followed.

At Friday night’s opening performance, we literally broke bread with donated loaves served by Reshma of Planets, Planets, Planets, one of the night’s performers. The bread went along with a pot of vegan corn chowder made earlier in the day by my friend Ryan, who came to my flat to chop, roast, and sweat peppers for a soup for no other reason than he’s my friend, and I needed help.

He then stepped up to serve the soup at the party even though he had bought a ticket because, again, that’s what friends do.

To repeat a phrase I drop in every other essay these days: you don’t need to be an astrologer to know that we’re at a turning point in history.

And you don’t need an astrologer to tell you the way forward.

As to what happens next, I have no idea.

What I know for sure is that the people I practice astrology with are people I know I can count on in an emergency, and that’s more valuable than any prediction.

Stay safe, but more importantly, stay close.

Vivi

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Our next gathering is Thursday, July 1st, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

I can’t believe that LA Astro Fest kicks off TONIGHT! has made the journey all the way from Memphis to be with us this weekend. Before he left town he was gracious enough to take time in the middle of his AstroMagia presentation to record a podcast with me.

Over the past week I’ve been in a thousand places and none of them at my desk long enough to edit our conversation, so I’m releasing a teaser of Cameron talking about the moment he found astrology.

Make sure you’re subscribed to this list to get the full pod when it drops.

If you’re in Los Angeles and still on the fence about joining us this weekend in Highland Park, may this be the recording that throws you over the edge!

About Cameron

is an herbalist & astrologer that sits at the crossroads of Medical, Traditional, and Evolutionary astrology. He synthesizes wisdom from his training in Ayurveda, Kundalini yoga, holds degrees in health & sports science and psychology with a focus on sports & exercise psychology, and is currently in school for Unani Tibb. Cameron has trained with teachers of lineages that have not been named here, but honors them nonetheless. All of these systems of healing and ways of knowing combine with a focus on being centered in how to be of service in any given moment.

Four days. A constellation of astrologers and storytellers.

Come see some of the most exciting voices in astrology this day in age. The 2nd Annual LA Astro Fest is a full festival experience spanning conversation, movement, performance, and the kind of connection you only find when astro people gather IRL.

Featuring Ali A. Olomi, Blair Bogin, Cameron Allen, Evan Nathaniel Grim, Gemini Brett, Marval Rex, Michelle Tea, Naha Armády, Rachel Lang, Sri Sita Dass, Vivi Henriette, Planets, Planets, Planets & more!

Congrats for reading this far! Use code VIVIAOTZ for 10% off all weekend events. Still can’t swing it? Reach out to me at vivi@vivihenriette.com to explore sliding scale and payment plans

Join us in Los Angeles!

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Our next gathering is Thursday, July 1st, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

As Jupiter prepares to leave Cancer, the whole sky—except Venus, lazing in her poster filled room listening to Cyndi Lauper records and organizing her party dresses—seems to be feeling this goodbye. Mars and Saturn look on uncomfortably while kid brother Mercury retreats to their bedroom in a house that will never feel like home, presumably to listen to sad songs and cry. A lot.

No matter that this is summer in the Northern hemisphere—a time, if you ask Venus, for beach volleyball and endless nights. Mercury will be taking all meals inside and alone for the next four retrograde weeks. Their soul is going through something we “just can’t understand.”

The sky feels like someone’s getting divorced.

This Is No Time To Throw A Festival (But Here We Are)

Tomorrow night, LA Astro Fest kicks off at the Philosophical Research Society with Dr. Ali A Olomi’s lecture, "Once and Future Stars: The Astrology of Today and Tomorrow.”

If I haven’t made it abundantly clear, streaming tickets are available for his talk — meaning you can join us from anywhere in the world.

Join Us

I recently interviewed Dr. Olomi on the state of astrology—an act that was a purely selfish attempt to get some clarity on topics that’ve been haunting me for some time.

Are You In LA?

Four days. A constellation of astrologers. Blah, blah. Even I’m tired of my event copy.

Let’s try something new: this weekend I have the rare pleasure and delight to gather irl with a handful of astrologers and thinkers whose work has shaped my worldview:

• , one of my first mentors, whose work opened the sky to me in Mexico City

• , whose four-week workshop pushed me to grow as a writer

• , whose practice and outlook gives me confidence to use astrology as a way to connect to my body

• , whose work taught me the magic of using planetary hours

I’ll save you the complete list———

This weekend, we’re gathering in one room in Highland Park, Los Angeles to connect over, share stories, and, hopefully, have some fruitful arguments over our shared love of astrology.

I really, truly, want you to be there and understand that the ticket price may be a lot for some of you to swing right now.

This is why I’ve released a limited number of discounted tickets for those who want to join us but may not be able to afford the expense.

If you’re interested in securing one, please reach out to me, and I’ll send you the secret link.

In the meantime…

Gemini Brett Shares His Thoughts on LA Astro Fest

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Our next gathering is Thursday, July 1st, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

For the uninitiated, Dr. Ali A. Olomi is a historian, astrologer, and translator. His Patreon, where he shares history and translations, among breakdowns of astrological and magic techniques, has attracted a near cult-like following.

And for good reason: he possesses a rare talent for making the obscure approachable. His unparalleled ability to bring World Astrology into the world as a lens to understand the current moment makes his work accessible to a variety of audiences.

This is why I asked him to give the LA Astro Fest Pre-Talk at the on Tuesday, June 23rd. It’s also why we’re offering streaming tickets for this event. From experienced Astrologers to those simply trying to make sense of the world, Dr. Olomi’s upcoming talk, “Once and Future Stars: The Astrology of Today and Tomorrow,” promises something for everyone.

get your tickets

In the following interview with Dr. Olomi, we delve into not only World Astrology—but also some of the bigger issues facing astrologers practicing today.

Vivi Henriette: In our last interview at PRS, you stated that ‘World astrology is the most effective lens for explaining the present,’ going on to say it ‘allows you to center the ordinary person in a way that doesn’t erase them,’ and citing ‘Mars in Taurus’ as an example of “harm to laborers.”

First, I loved that interview and have spent a lot of time thinking about it.

Do you think we’ll ever reach a point in the US when astrologers are taken as seriously as economists or political scientists? And do you think that’s even necessary?

Dr Ali A Olomi: I also loved that interview. It was such an enjoyable chat thanks to yourself and the wonderful panelists.

I think more and more people are finding insight, wisdom, and guidance outside of the traditional institutions which have failed to live up to this moment, or even contributed to it. I don’t think astrologers will replace economists any day soon, but I do think people are opening up to the idea that expertise can be found in other traditions, in other ways of knowing, and astrology is among them. There will always be those who discard it, but I can attest to a genuine tonal shift among the professionals I interact with.

Vh: I’ve reached a point in my astrological studies where I feel I need to step back from technique and immerse myself in the history of the world – (a move that I believe would greatly serve both me and a lot of my colleagues). Knowing I’m asking a history professor, and perhaps sacrificing some objectivity, how important is studying history to being a good astrologer?

AAO: I’m definitely biased, but I do think history is one of, if not, the most important academic discipline currently. Not just for studying the past, but how the past is constructed in the present, how evidence is gathered, and interpreted is an essential skill especially for astrologers. Both historians and astrologers are interpreters of time. The historian interprets the past to understand the present. The astrologer interprets the past (either in a nativity or at the world level) to understand the present *and* to predict the future. The two studies are deeply related. The more you study history, the better your astrology.

Vh: There seems to be this pervasive idea in Astro Land that if we go back far enough, we’ll find the source texts that get us closer to some astrological Truth.

As someone who is neither a translator nor a scholar, my first thought is that something sounds off here. History, it seems to me, is a record of people being in conversation with each other — processing and building on ideas. Not one group of people simply being the custodians of another group’s ideas.

Am I onto something? How do you see your role as a translator?

AAO: Right on the money! Astrology is a collaboration between people and cultures across regions and across time. One of the things that stood out to me when reading the primary sources is how much astrologers were in conversation not only with their contemporaries, but with their colleagues of centuries past. When you read Abu Ma’shar’s Greater Introduction he’s speaking to the astrologers of his day, addressing their debates and providing his opinion, but he’s also in conversation with the Greeks, Egyptians, Indians, and Babylonians before him. Astrology is a collaboration. It is less a singular truth and more a collective wisdom.

Vh: In an era of ubiquitous prediction markets like Kalshi—”the prediction market for trading the future”—where anyone can bet on anything from a basketball game to a potential war, astrologers publicly gloating about their predictions feels particularly icky.

As someone who spends a lot of time making astrological predictions – and I truly appreciate that you mostly do it behind the closed doors of your Patreon, where it always feels in service to astrology – I have to ask: Do you think, in this age of prediction, we as astrologers must approach our craft with a new set of decorum?

AAO: 100%! Prediction is an important part of astrology, but its commodification for profit and spectacle cheapens the legacy, tradition, and wisdom. I find it rather gross when astrologers rush to “astrologize” a tragedy like a murder. It offers no insight--they didn’t even predict anything! It also offers no comfort. It becomes a type of capitalistic vampirism. As a person who applies world astrology to things like war, genocide, climate collapse etc, I try to center insight, compassion, and humanity in what I do. I see prediction as a way to bring us closer together, to identify how our struggles are shared, and what we can do as a community to face the future. Accuracy matters, but so does accountability. I always strive to go back and emphasize what I missed, how I could do better, and always recenter the conversation about the impact on real people and how we can build solidarity. My approach may not be for everyone, but I hope collectively we can build real ethical standards around prediction at the world level.

Vh: So much online astrological discourse mimics sensationalist journalism—symbols disconnected from the sky and earth in service of feelings and opinions. Following astrology feels like The New York Times sending me ‘breaking news’ emails five times a day. At some point nothing feels real.

Is this relatable?

AAO: So much so. I’ve been doing historical astrology for a long time, but am still a relative newbie to the online astrology community precisely for this reason. I think the structures are built around the attention economy--a struggle for headlines, to be the first, to be sensationalist, to even scandalize. This leaves us disconnected from the natural world and its signs. We are living in strange times when bringing things back to the local--just like Astro Salon does--is exactly what the doctor ordered. We don’t need hot takes, we need thoughtful takes! We don’t need influencers, we need community leaders. I think astrology has a bright future ahead if it can avoid the pitfall of modern techno-capitalism.

Vh: How do you see the role of the astrologer in society? Historically? Currently? Ideally?

AAO: I see the role of astrologers as unchanged from centuries past: as counselors who interpret the stars to provide guidance, wisdom, and a sense of bearing in an unsteady world.

ABOUT DR OLOMI

Dr. Ali A Olomi is a professor of history of the Middle East and Islam at Loyola Marymount University and an Affiliated Scholar at the Rutgers Center of Security, Race, and Rights. He is host of the Head on History podcast. He works on medieval and modern Muslim thought at the intersection of religion, science, and empire with a focus on the histories of astrology and the occult sciences.

ABOUT VIVI

Vivi Henriette is an LA-based astrologer and tarot reader known for her collaborative approach to divination, weaving storytelling and mythology to help clients explore their personal narratives. She hosts the monthly Los Angeles Astro Salon at the Philosophical Research Society, the podcast TALKTALKTALK, and is organizer of LA Astro Fest.

Four days. A constellation of astrologers and storytellers.

Come see some of the most exciting voices in astrology this day in age. The 2nd Annual LA Astro Fest is a full festival experience spanning conversation, movement, performance, and the kind of connection you only find when astro people gather IRL.

Featuring Ali A. Olomi, Blair Bogin, Cameron Allen, Evan Nathaniel Grim, Gemini Brett, Marval Rex, Michelle Tea, Naha Armády, Rachel Lang, Sri Sita Dass, Vivi Henriette, Planets, Planets, Planets & more!

Congrats for reading this far! Use code VIVIAOTZ for 10% off all weekend events. Still can’t swing it? Reach out to me at vivi@vivihenriette.com to explore sliding scale and payment plans

Join us in Los Angeles!

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Our next gathering is Thursday, July 1st, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

Earlier this week I found myself captured by a clickbaity anti-astrology piece. I won’t bother mentioning it, or go into too many details, because quite frankly it was lazy reporting that suffered from the same cultural insensitivity it accused astrology of, but it did make a point worth sitting with: that astrology is limiting and unjust.

From this person’s perspective, astrology is a system for determining and profiling people’s personalities, moods, and destiny.

Now, while this may not be my working definition of astrology, nor yours, for anyone who’s ever found themselves obsessed with their sun sign horoscope, that’s a pretty accurate summary.

The example this author cited was a coworker tearing down their potential partner because he was a Gemini, a theme so pervasive in pop culture that it’s the title of one of astro’s greatest meme accounts, Not All Geminis.

But, I can hear you screaming into your computer, that’s not real astrology! We all know sun sign astrology is garbage! But do we? Ok. You know what else is garbage? Chani, the educated astrology app, telling me that “June is the luckiest, most abundant month of the year” because of Jupiter and Venus in Cancer.

Try telling that to someone who woke up after that benefic kiss with pink eye (me) or a black eye (my colleague) or is now spending tons of money on costly surgery for their dog’s goopy eye (another colleague). Try telling that to someone who is facing an emotional breakdown or who recently lost a loved one. (Fun fact: when the sky gets pretty, people start dying. My mother died as Venus crossed my ascendant. It can be beautiful, but that’s subjective. Anyway, look around. Take stock.)

You know who got lucky on this transit? Elon Musk. While big astrology was busy telling us which signs are going to find love this year, that fucker was just anointed the world’s first trillionaire. And you know who’s going to suffer because of it. All of us.

Back to the 9th House

It was only days after reading this takedown that I heard Chris Brennan point out a historical pattern: Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in Aries consistently herald new waves of astrology skeptics.

And I was relieved.

Maybe this will be the push that clears out all the garbage astrology, the punch in the gut that awakens people to the damage of compulsively checking their astrology each day, sometimes multiple times a day, refreshing their feeds for the latest cosmic news that promises to deliver the goodies or end their suffering.

Selfishly, the part of me that wrestles with maintaining a public persona as an astrologer was finally given permission to just stop and accept the fact that no matter how popular our profession becomes, it will always be an outsider’s discipline.

Astrology does, after all, inhabit the 9th house of the zodiac, a cadent place, fallen from the angle of popularity and profitability, a part of life where one’s studies and hard work aren’t promised public accolades.

I will audaciously argue that astrology has grown bloated. Not only is the skepticism expected, but, as astrologers, it is our duty to be skeptical of the voices that do more harm than good.

Perhaps we are going into a period of decline. One where we can gestate and hone our craft outside of the public’s glare.

Astrology has always gone in and out of favor, but you can’t erase the study of time. You can’t erase the human desire to struggle with what it means to be human. While I wholeheartedly believe astrology is for everyone, maybe it’s just not for everyone, and that’s ok.

All things come in waves, and as the wave of astrology falls into the shore, maybe that’s our cue to return to the darkness, where we’ll continue to light candles and debate beneath the stars for a few hundred or thousand more years. To take our time with the big issues, so that we can surface every now and then to share a few well-formed thoughts that will, hopefully, provide some wisdom.

Now Come to My Astro Fest. LOL

It’s not lost on me that my sun is at zero degrees Aries, the point of the Saturn/Neptune conjunction, or, as I shall now see it, the mark of the skeptic.

Nor is it lost on me that I’m both welcoming the public downfall of astrology and giving my time, energy, and resources to organize a public astrology festival.

My skepticism, you see, is a form of devotion. I am devoted to creating ninth house spaces for astrologers to share wisdom and struggle and debate over ideas, big and small.

All the ad copy’s below, but I’ll leave you with this: if you’re in Los Angeles and you really truly, deep in your heart, want to attend LA Astro Fest, but can’t swing the ticket price, reach out to me personally. While we’ve priced tickets to sustain the event, I don’t want cost to be a barrier for anyone who could gain from the experience.

And if you can afford a ticket, please do so. Your support is helping someone else struggle in the dark.

About The Fest

Four days. A constellation of astrologers and storytellers.

Come see some of the most exciting voices in astrology this day in age. The 2nd Annual LA Astro Fest is a full festival experience spanning conversation, movement, performance, and the kind of connection you only find when astro people gather IRL.

Featuring Ali A. Olomi, Blair Bogin, Cameron Allen, Evan Nathaniel Grim, Gemini Brett, Marval Rex, Michelle Tea, Naha Armády, Rachel Lang, Sri Sita Dass, Vivi Henriette, Planets, Planets, Planets & more!

Get Your Tickets

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Our next gathering is Thursday, June 18th, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

Further Reading

Before Los Angeles, I was an astrologer in Detroit—a city not exactly known for its astrology scene.

For years, my most meaningful conversations happened over screens or when I left the state for a conference. As a result, I don’t take for granted the opportunity to connect with my people in person. I also recognize this is a real privilege many cannot afford due to geography, health restrictions, or other reasons.

Perhaps this is why, soon after moving to Los Angeles, I started the first LA Astro Fest in 2025—the same year James Jude Tarot launched the Los Angeles Festival of Tarot.

As someone who’s in the middle of organizing my second Astro Fest, I know how much time, energy, and resources go into making these gatherings happen—especially in a trash economy!

Cutting to the chase: I’m incredibly proud of my friend for once again bringing some of the most celebrated tarot readers and thinkers to Los Angeles for the 2nd Los Angeles Festival of Tarot. I’m also thrilled to be reading this Saturday, June 6th, alongside an incredible roster, including the absurdly brilliant Christopher Marmolejo, author of Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy.

Thanks to James’ hard work, we in Los Angeles get to study with occult icon and author, Laetitia Barbier, without having to travel to New York or Paris—among a wildly expansive and exciting lineup of speakers, readers, and panelists.

If you’re in Los Angeles and even vaguely into tarot, don’t sleep on this chance to find your people.

Vivi Henriette: Why do people love tarot? What is it about looking at tiny images on paper that people find so compelling? Is it comfort? Curiosity?

James Jude: People really connect with Tarot because it is a multiverse. You can carry the totality of human experience in your back pocket. It is both a lens through which we can see the scope of possibility and a mirror that reflects back to us the shadow of truth. I think when we consider possibility, we more often embrace hope, and when we encounter shadows, it can be frightening - but multiversal possibility holds despair as well as hope, just as the shadow can give us relief from too much exposure. The Tarot paths are limitless, for all practical purposes, and we all walk some version of these paths throughout our lives. Who doesn’t want to have the ability to lay out a path with purpose, reflection and consideration ... this is one of the most powerful things we can do with the cards.

Vh: Were you one of those kids who grew up around tarot? Do you remember when you encountered your first deck?

JJ: I love hearing people talk about going into a bookshop at 12 or 14 years old and discovering their first yellow box of RWS Tarot cards! That wasn’t me, though. I knew about Tarot at that age and saw advertisements for cards and Tarot books in the backs of comic books - next to ads for sea monkeys and x-ray vision glasses! For me, candle magic is the earliest thing I can remember exploring. I checked a children’s book on candle magic out from my elementary school library when I was in first or second grade. I spent years practicing spellcasting. It wasn’t until I was just out of college that I got my first Tarot deck: the William Blake Tarot.

Vh: You and I both created festivals in Los Angeles in 2025—you, the Festival of Tarot and me, the LA Astro Fest. What do you make of that? Do you think there’s a growing desire for in-person gatherings?

JJ: What do I make of that? We’re both crazy, LOL. I often think if I had pulled cards about it first, I would never have done this. But like The Fool, it was a path embarked on a whim and with a great deal of ignorance about what is involved to pull something like this off. It was Laetitia Barbier who suggested it to me, like a mischievous gothic imp whispering in my ear, “James, you should get some Tarot people together to have a talk at PRS one night and throw a party afterward - Tarot people like to have a good time!” And I was like, “Ok, why not?” I love that you and I both started these dual festival suns, rotating around each other and gathering momentum. You are my festival Gemini twin!

Vh: In addition to hosting the Los Angeles Festival of Tarot, you teach and give readings at TarotArts in South Pasadena. For the initiated, Tarot Arts is a tarot shop with offerings so vast and well curated it feels like an art gallery.

JJ: TarotArts in South Pasadena is a queer-owned, independent, family business. The proprietors, Phillip Gibson and William Toro, are passionate about Tarot and the divinatory arts. They love art and artists, and seekers and writers and creators ... they don’t just stock decks from the big publishers, they support independent deck makers as part of their core mission. They were an online business for 8 years before opening the brick and mortar location 3 years ago ... they’re committed to the cards, for sure. One of the things they wanted to do with a physical shop is to have open display copies of all the decks and big tables on the shop floor so you can browse, surround yourself with stacks of decks and take your time to explore them sincerely before committing to a deck without ever seeing all the cards, touching them, feeling into them. I owe a great deal to both Phillip and William for believing in me and bringing me in house as a reader, teacher and event programmer.

Vh: Additionally, you personally have a massive tarot collection.

JJ: I do have a massive Tarot collection. I didn’t intend it to be that way at first, I was just making up for lost Tarot time, I think - consuming all the information and perspectives I could get my hands on. These days, I’m much more discerning in my acquisitions and I’m far more engaged with exploring and collecting historical decks. But there are also so many incredible artists making decks today, with a constantly refreshed perspective, it’s hard to hold back. But I also just don’t have the space.

Vh: All of that is a set-up to ask, what is your favorite deck right now and why?

JJ: Oh, that was. set up?! LOL. I have a really hard time with favorites, because there’s never just one. But right now, I’d have to say it’s the Thomson-Leng Tarot. I have an affinity for promotional and advertising decks, and it’s a 1935 promotional deck from the UK. Full 78-card RWS clone with many very odd twists. My friend Krys Swordstone wrote about it in the first issue of The Discombobulator last year. It’s a very difficult deck to find an original in good condition. Mine was gifted to me by a very sweet, dear friend just last night!

Vh: From a historical perspective, is there an obscure piece of tarot history you’d like to share?

JJ: Obscure Tarot history ... hm, maybe that T: The New Tarot for the Aquarian Age by John Cooke and Rosalind Sharpe (Sausalito, CA. 1969.) is an entirely channeled deck, delivered through a Ouija board and automatic writing by an entity known as The One. It’s a whole system, perhaps the first Tarot with a twist! Is that obscure?

Vh: Getting back to the Los Angeles Festival of Tarot, what was the initial inspiration for the festival and has that vision evolved between years?

JJ: Yea, the inspiration was that gothic French imp whispering “Tarot party” in my ear, LOL. And yes, it has evolved greatly since last year, expanding to include rituals, tea ceremonies, Tarot games, a Tarot shadow puppet performance that will blow your mind, live music.

We’ve partnered with The Rebis to publish a Festival zine.

We have a greatly expanded esoteric market with Witchy Ways, all in addition to the signature panel conversation, talks, workshops and original Tarot art and rare cards exhibition which is now happening not only at PRS but at TarotArts, too.

Oh yea, and parties!

Vh: What can people expect from the festival? What part are you most excited about?

JJ: I am excited by everything! I can’t pick one thing. It’s all very cool. So, just like when reading the cards, expect the unexpected ... be open to surprises and embrace the unknown ... go to everything you can, there are offerings for everyone. If you just want to have a good time, you can do that - have fun. If you want to be a student and embrace learning, you can do that. If you’re like me and knowledge-seeking IS having fun, then I’d call you an adept, and you’re in the right place.

get your tickets

use code TAROTFEST15 at checkout for a 15% discount

LATER THIS MONTH….

LEARN ASTROLOGY! MAKE FRIENDS!

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Our next gathering is Thursday, June 18th, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.

Join The Club

“Omen is a latin word meaning warning, and so the idea behind omen divination is that one is talking to the gods and goddesses, not to find out what will happen, but to find out what might happen. If you are looking at what might happen, it presupposes that you can change it, a point that is worth emphasizing.”

- Nicholas Campion

from Astrology, History and Apocalypse

When I first discovered these words by Nicolas Campion, I was elated! He was giving voice to something I struggled to articulate: We tell the future, so we can prepare for it.

After a week of riding high on this inspiration, the gloom of current times settled right back in. How does one prepare for the future when everything feels so fated?

I love astrology, and I have been blessed with access to some exceptionally talented astrologers. Yet, when I look out over the vast terrain of Astro Land, there are two types who dominate the landscape.

Let’s call them the daily news guy and the breaking news guy.

Here I’m using the term “guy” in a non-gendered way, as in: My guy, your future takes are bringing me down. To be clear, I have been both of these guys at different times in my astrological career. And that does not make me—nor them—any less annoying.

Daily News Guy

As the name implies, the daily news guy is obsessed with giving a daily breakdown of the astro weather—what one should and shouldn’t do, what many dangers lie ahead. At some point in history, this type of obsessive skytalk wasn’t possible. Now, thanks to myriad technological innovations—astro software, social media—it’s possible, and, I will argue, useless.

As the astrologer Collin Bedell has pointed out across platforms, we are living in an age of prediction. Unless you’re that one guy with a flip phone and a cabin in the woods, most of us are inundated with algorithms telling us what to do, where to shop, what to eat, when to see the doctor, etc. It’s a lot.

The last thing I want is an astrologer bossing me around, threatening me to seize the moment because if I don’t take advantage of this very auspicious window of time I won’t get the chance again for another 287 years. And, at that point, I’ll be dead.

Breaking News Guy

Then there’s the breaking news guy. This guy loves nothing more than to take the mic to brag about his predictive skills. In case you weren’t paying attention, he predicted the war in Iran down to the minute — as well as the following oil crisis, food shortage, the hantavirus, and every other world event that’s responsible for mass death and suffering.

No matter that what he’s discussing is actual breaking news and people’s actual lives are being destroyed, this is what we call astrology good. By the end of the podcast, one is so thoroughly wound up in a weighted blanket of fear that it’s impossible to focus on what to have for lunch — let alone how to change the world.

This guy poses a whole new set of questions, but I’ll start here:

In an age of prediction markets, where anyone can gamble, at any time of day, from anywhere in the world, on anything from oil prices to war to whether or not Trevor Noah will say the word “potato” on live television, is it any different when an astrologer takes the public stage to cast predictions?

The slogan of Kalshi, one of the most popular of these platforms, is: “Predict the future with Kalshi.”

Which brings up new questions: What is the responsibility of fortune tellers? How has it evolved over astrologers’ multi-thousand-year history?

Saved at the Last Minute

The totality of these musings had started to erode my confidence in astrology and my grappling with my role as an astrologer. As I was mining my expansive sources of knowledge for information or clues on this journey, I re-listened to my interview with Dr. Ali A. Olomi at the Philosophical Research Society and found myself transfixed by his words:

“World astrology is the most effective lens for explaining the present, far more than economics, far more than political science. No shade to the political scientists in the room. It’s a crap major, sorry.

Besides history, and I’m obviously biased, astrology is really the only genuine way of explaining why the world looks the way that it does in a genuinely robust way. It allows and accounts for not only political change, but it allows you to center the ordinary person in a way that doesn’t erase them.

Whereas in political science, you enumerate. So you create a study and everyone becomes a number within that study. But when an astrologer looks at Mars in Taurus, and he sees harm to laborers. That’s not a number. He’s able to move in, or he or she or they, are able to move in to the ground level in a way that a lot of lenses of analysis don’t allow you to do.”

My takeaway: There are many ways to tell the future. What astrology offers is the opportunity to see ourselves in that future.

I’m going to sit with this one for a while…

LA Astro Fest Pre-Fest ft Dr Ali A Olomi

Dr. Ali A. Olomi is returning to the on Tuesday, June 23rd, for LA Astro Fest Pre-Fest, where he will be presenting “Once and Future Stars: The Astrology of Today and Tomorrow.”

Tickets for our in-person event are available now. Keep an eye out for the announcement of online tickets!

Secure Your Spot

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Unlock Club Astro. Subscribe for instant access to monthly office hours, member discounts, secret invites, and more.

Join The Club

For anyone in Los Angeles who moves in occult or occult-adjacent circles, the name 22 Teachings is certainly familiar. It’s the School of Hermetic Science and Magical Arts, founded by Naha Armády.

While I have personally only attended a handful of gatherings, the school has been an integral part of my LA experience. One of my very first memories after moving to California is standing in my friend’s kitchen in Tujunga, awkwardly performing the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram into a computer screen. My dear friend, who I’m pretty sure cares very little for magic, thought this would be a fun activity. I didn’t have fun because I never have fun. I did, however, find the experience moving—and the teacher captivating.

After I started organizing the monthly Los Angeles Astro Salon, it seemed that every other person I encountered had a connection to 22 Teachings—they had either taken a class or were actively enrolled in the school. Everyone who studied with Naha spoke about her in the highest regard. These were people I admired, with unique magical practices and voices, all of whom cited Naha as being hugely influential.

When I reached out to her for an interview, I was nervous. This is someone who, by way of her disciples, I had come to admire. To my surprise, she was unreasonably gracious, inviting me into her home for conversation.

Naha is more kind and brilliant than the vast reputation that precedes her.

Listen to the full TALKTALKTALK

Which is why I’m all sorts of excited to share that she is a speaker at the upcoming LA Astro Fest, happening June 23rd-28th in Los Angeles, along with a roster of my favorite astrologers and storytellers including Blair Bogin of Planets, Planets, Planets, Michelle Tea, Gemini Brett & more!

Tickets are now on sale for this intimate gathering, and if you’ve read this far, lucky you! Use code VIVIAOTZ for a 10% discount on all LA Astro Fest tickets – even VIP.

VIP tickets grant you access to the entire festival, plus the pre-fest event at PRS with Dr. Ali A. Olomi, and the kickoff party featuring Planets, Planets, Planets. On top of all that, your VIP ticket includes a year’s membership to my monthly program, Club Astro, giving you weekly office hours with me, a mini-reading, and a host of other perks and discounts!

Below is an excerpt from my podcast recording with Naha. We talk about a lot of things but, mostly, this is a conversation about what it means to be a magician.

(The following interview has been edited and condensed.)

Vivi Henriette: What drew you to Prague, and why do you keep going back?

Naha Armády: There’s an old Jewish cemetery there, and in the Jewish cemetery is the gravestone of Rabbi Loew, or Rabbi Lev in Czech. He was the one who the origin story of the Golem originates from. Creating a figure out of clay, breathing life into it. It’s the origin of the Frankenstein story. But the legend is that Rabbi Loew created the Golem to protect Prague. So the original synagogue is still there. The cemetery with his gravestone is still there. And people have different opinions on the legend — that’s the thing about legends, right? How much of it is historical, how much of it is fictional.

To be able to go there and stand before that gravestone and have that experience took everything that I was learning and made it evocative and made it real and just planted a seed that has had me going back to Prague ever since. The last trip, that was my fourth time there, and that’s when I took my students. So 40 of us went, and we traveled throughout the Czech countryside and we went to some castles, into the forest. Long story long, Prague is the most magical city.

Vh: How did that first experience shape your teaching style?

NA: I really try to convey reverence for the mysteries. A lot of times these trips turn into these kinds of tourist selfie moments. I was like, come on you guys, let’s elevate the opportunity to actually have a spiritual experience here. When you’re reverent, you’re also operating in your own self-respect. It’s not like you’re just bowing before something else. You are showing up as your best self as well. I think that’s one of the biggest things that I try to convey through my teachings.

Vh: When did you first know magic was real?

NA: Finding magic finally gave me the answers to the questions I wasn’t asking. At this point, nothing doesn’t qualify as magic. Nothing is chance. Nothing is luck. Nothing is just accidental coincidence. But I didn’t start seriously studying magic until I was in my Saturn return. That would’ve been when I finally had that word to give it.

Vh: Why does your school have prerequisites?

NA: There’s two reasons why I have prerequisites, and it doesn’t really have to do with the students, funny enough. It has to do with the work, and it has to do with making my life easier as a teacher. If I know that everybody in the class has already done a certain level of training, then I don’t have to hold hands. We can just jump right in. And then the other part of it is reverence for the work itself. I’m working with a particular tradition that is an initiatory tradition, so by having prerequisites it is a way of honoring the mysteries — there are some hoops to jump through before everything is just given to you.

Vh: Do your students have a responsibility to use their wisdom for a greater world purpose?

NA: Focus on your immediate community. Focus on the people that are right around you. Don’t worry so much about the world. Be wary of the “we” because the “we” can actually be very exclusionary. And be wary of anyone who says this is the one true way. The best thing I can do is work upon myself and those people that I’m literally interacting with, like the guy at the coffee shop. Those are the little ways that we make the world more conscientious, more present, more self-aware.

“Wherever you go, the light is the light.”

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Unlock Club Astro. Subscribe for instant access to monthly office hours, member discounts, secret invites, and more.

Join The Club

About Naha

Naha Armády resides in Los Angeles where she has been a reader, healer and teacher for 16 years. She is the founder and head of faculty of 22 Teachings School of Hermetic Science and Magical Arts, where she teaches alongside her mentor of over 20 years, William Kiesel of Ouroboros Press. In addition, she serves as officiant of the Arboretum Mysticum, an occult Lodge in the Western Mystery Tradition since 2017. As both a scholar of Hermetic Qabalah and a practitioner of ceremonial magic, Naha has established an extensive curriculum and teaches students around the world.

About Vivi

Vivi Henriette is an LA-based astrologer and tarot reader whose practice centers on storytelling, mythology, and collaborative divination. She creates a space for clients to reclaim their personal narratives through the lens of ancient archetypes. Vivi produces LA Astro Fest, hosts the Los Angeles Astro Salon, and is the creator of the podcast TalkTalkTalk. You can find her weekly writing on ritual and meaning right here on ART of the ZODIAC.

Further Reading

Hello Loves,

I’m going to tell you the story of how a group of clowns changed my life.

For the uninitiated, Planets, Planets, Planets is an alt-comedy clown troupe led by astrologer Blair Bogin, with a simple concept: to perform the chart of the moment.

Blair Bogin is a dedicated astrologer with a robust personal practice, and her work has become a fertile ground for a new kind of astrology. Among her students, Martha Fearnley and Camirin Farmer stand out—already seasoned performers, they've emerged as formidable astrologers in their own right. While you needn't be an astrologer to enjoy a Planets show, the astrological integrity of their work is never an afterthought; it is the heartbeat of every performance.

Perhaps Planets is better described as a modern-day Orphic rite or a “spectator astrodrama.” For context, Astrodrama is a therapeutic practice where participants act out personal natal placements to process trauma or family dynamics. With Planets, the troupe does the acting, and the audience is transformed in the process.

This, I’m certain, is why theater was created in the first place: as cathartic ritual. Feelings and emotions too big for one person are enacted on stage and collectively processed for a shared release.

The Personal Breakdown

Anyone with Aries or Libra placements will vividly recall the eclipse season of April 2024. That was when I saw Planets, Planets, Planets for the first time at the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), my face still splotchy from stress hives that looked like a sunburn.

I was a mess. Four months earlier, I had relocated from Detroit to LA. Ever since the move, I had been waking in the middle of the night with panic attacks—the kind that jolted me into consciousness, gasping for air as if I’d just been shot. I was doing “all the right things”—therapy, acupuncture, energy medicine, doctor visits, yet I remained weighed down by a volatile mix of depression and anxiety that I just couldn’t shake.

My new life in LA had begun as an attempt to escape an abusive relationship and a last-ditch effort to jumpstart a career that had hit constant dead ends in Detroit. The astrology reflected the chaos: my Sun, Midheaven (MC) and IC were all being eclipsed. If this were a client’s chart, I would have assured them that it was completely normal to feel like everything was crumbling—a necessary breakdown before the breakthrough.

But in my own life, I couldn’t get past the “everything feels terrible” part.

Enter the Clowns

Eight months prior to seeing Planets PRS, I had spent a week at an Astrodrama retreat in the South of France. Alongside Jason Holley and an intimate cohort of astrologers, we co-habited, co-dreamed, and processed our traumas by acting out our charts for eight intense days. It was a profoundly psychedelic experience, for which I was completely sober.

Suffice it to say, the concept of “acting out” the sky wasn’t new to me. Yet, I had no idea what to expect from a Planets performance. I’ll skip the play-by-play, because outside of the story I’m about to share, the only other detail that remains burned into my memory is Camirin Farmer’s portrayal of Saturn. Their monologue was so bone-chillingly convincing, I would have sworn they were channeling the Lord of Discipline himself.

The Moment of Catharsis

The night was April 18th, 2024—ten days after a Solar Eclipse at 19 degrees Aries, the exact point of my Midheaven. In astrological terms, the “roof” of my life was being blown off.

The performance ended with the Sun undergoing a literal ego death on stage. For the first time in months, I had a container for my own experience. I started to cry—the sort of guttural, nonstop tears that come after something inside you has died, and the water follows to wash away the corpse

It was a the turning point.

Looking back at that moment of catharsis, I can divide my life into a distinct before and after. It also marked a change in the way I see and practice astrology. Planets had captured the very thing I had been chasing with ritual for years: an embodied, creative, and deeply personal astrological practice.

Seeing Planets gave me permission to explore all the ways I could make astrology my own.

Five months after that fated night, I hosted the very first Los Angeles Astro Salon at PRS with Martha Fearnley as my guest. One year later, on April 25th, 2025, the Planets joined me to kick off the inaugural LA Astro Fest, the event that has come to define my work and the community I’ve found in this city.

LA ASTRO FEST 2026: THE CLOWNS RETURN

Planets, Planets, Planets are returning to kick off The 2nd Annual LA Astro Fest on Friday, June 26th!

This year’s festival is a three-day immersion into the magic of the sky, featuring world-class astrologers, storytellers, and the return of the clowns.

• When: June 23rd, 26th-28th

• Where: The Philosophical Research Society, The Pacific Opera Project

• Early Bird Pricing until May 11th!

  Secure Your Spot

The Club Astro Experience

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet twice each month to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

• Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

Unlock Club Astro. Subscribe for instant access to monthly office hours, member discounts, secret invites, and more.

Join The Club

Further Reading

I hear a lot of astrologers looking at this new moon and talking of overwhelm, frustration, fatigue—even I have said that this burnout is real.

But what if that’s the point? What if we’re being prodded into action because things have gotten so bad, so out of control, so destructive that our very lives are at stake?

This isn’t an alarm; it’s a warning bell. The calls for help won’t stop sounding, no matter how many times we press snooze.

The Battle for Middle-earth

I just watched the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy for the first time, and it changed the way I will forever conceptualize the sign of Aries.

Before you protest—Do we really need more war analogies?—I hear you.

I hate how tech monsters like Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey have tried to ruin Tolkien for everyone else. They’ve co-opted these beloved fantasies, naming their dystopian businesses—Palantir Technologies, Mithril Capital, and Anduril Industries—and perverting the idea of “fighting for the West.” What they’re doing, essentially, is using Tolkien as an excuse to exploit the world and make a few white men rich.

Do they not get that the Ring is a symbol for unchecked power that turns men into soulless zombies? Clearly, they lack the critical thinking skills needed to understand metaphor.

Anyway, hear me out.

The Aries Journey

The sign of Aries is divided into three ten-degree portions, or decans. While Aries is ruled by Mars, each of these smaller territories has its own ruler.

Today’s new moon is happening in the last decan of Aries. Hold onto that. It will make sense by the end of this.

Aries 1: The Thrust

Approximately 60% of the LOTR movies are people engaging in battle. Each of these struggles starts with a lot of nervousness and commences with one person shooting the first arrow before it’s GAME ON.

This is the Mars decan of Aries. You see the battle ahead, wondering if there’s still time to retreat back to your cutie hobbit hole, but before you have time to think about it, you’re thrust into action.

It’s too late. The fight starts as soon as we step into the battlefield of Aries.

Aries 2: Flowstate

This is the endless series of battle montages.

The Sun decan of Aries is where we see past the reality of oliphaunts and orcs coming at us from all directions to remember why we are fighting in the first place.

If the Mars decan is about mustering the courage to step into battle, the Sun’s decan is all about finding the energy to sustain your lifeforce—to make it through one more battle because Frodo and the future of Middle-earth are depending on you.

Aries 3: Bittersweet Victory

This is the bittersweet moment where you’ve won the battle but have to contend with the casualties on the battlefield—the fallen King Théoden of Rohan and the grief of the shield-maiden Éowyn.

In this decan ruled by Venus, one’s heart is simultaneously contending with victory and the loss of everything that’s been sacrificed for the win.

New Moon Moment

Here we are in the third decan of Aries. This new moon finds many of us tired, depleted. If you’re reading this, you’re still standing. Maybe you’ve won the battle, but there’s a whole war ahead.

Now, I realize the dangers of using war metaphors: there are many people in the middle of a literal battlefield right now, and I don’t want to make light of their situation. And again, I don’t want to create more fodder for loser tech bros to fetishize war.

At the same time, we’re all in the middle of a war: for the planet, for our humanity, and in a million other ways that are personal to you and your life.

This new moon isn’t bringing up anything new. The fight’s been happening whether or not we choose to take action.

And this quiet part of the new moon—this is the bittersweet moment where we’re forced to contend with the reality of everything we’re up against, and the losses of everything we’ve sacrificed.

Join The Astro Community

If you’re looking for a container to support this process of reflection and reset, Club Astro is where we do this work together.

We meet twice each month to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective.

If you are craving a rhythm of study, reflection, and conversation during this cycle, I would love to see you there.

Join The Club

Further Reading

“During one meal at Du-par’s, a diner where they had regularly met, Lynch flipped over a place mat and drew a map to help solidify the hazy contours of their magical town: which is, Frost says, what led to the show’s name. ‘As we talked through all the elements, we started to place where they were on a map as he sketched them,’ says Frost. ‘We didn’t have a name for the town, but we had these two mountains, White Tail and Blue Pine, on either side. And I said, ‘Well, why don’t we call it Twin Peaks?’ It hit us on the head like a two-by-four. We said, ‘Yeah, that works.’’ For both writers, the town was becoming real. ‘We knew where everything was, and it helped us decide what mood each place had, and what could happen there,’ said Lynch. ‘Then the characters just introduced themselves to us and walked into the story.’” (Scott Meslow, A Place Both Wonderful and Strange)

Twin Peaks, the unlikely child of TV veteran Mark Frost and film director David Lynch, made its debut on April 8th, 1990. It arrived under a Libra Full Moon, with the dragon’s nodes sprawling across the terrain of Leo and Aquarius.

I’m currently writing under the decimating light of another Libra Full Moon. The nodes will soon make their way back into Leo and Aquarius, having already kicked off the first eclipse in this new cycle’s territory. Astrology has a talent for bringing us back to the stories we need to hear: returning us to the hazy contours of our own maps.

More and more these days, I lean on my craft not to predict the future, but to investigate the past in service of the present. What voices, long silenced, wish to speak again, demanding to be heard.

Return to the Red Room

Less than a year ago, moved by my friend William Holloway’s interview with Mark Frost’s astrologer, Bill Herbst, I was inspired to sit down and watch all three seasons of Twin Peaks—and, of course, the movie, Fire Walk With Me.

I’m not alone in this obsession. In the wake of David Lynch’s death, screenings of Twin Peaks have popped up all over Los Angeles and beyond. According to the sky, this resurgence is right on time. But what lessons do these stories hold for us now?

A New Myth for Americana

A few weeks ago, I invited my dear friend, mentor, and astrologer-magician Micki Pellerano of Time Lord TV back on my podcast to discuss the astrology of Twin Peaks and explore the show’s current resurgence.

Or, perhaps more accurately, why this show has held its place in pop culture’s imagination for well over 30 years.

His response? This is the mythology we need:

“Harry Potter is a new myth, but it conforms to an old model: the orphan child who needs to be redirected to his magical birthright. Same with Game of Thrones: the bastard son, the exiled queen, the dynasty command over dragons. These are all mythological themes with which we’re familiar. But Twin Peaks is new in a way. It put forth into the public conversation a spiritual dimension: a whole new way of looking at alternate dimensions and this pantheon of good and evil beings that inhabit these realms. There are wormholes and enigmas around which these other dimensions weave in and out of mortal reality in our own time and place. There are purgatory waiting rooms, secret codes, the significance of owls, and the mystery of Major Briggs and the Log Lady. It does a masterful job of weaving these bizarre landscapes into mundane, normal Americana—and also indigenous. There’s nothing quite like Twin Peaks as far as a mythological model.”

Listen To The Conversation

Join The Astro Community

If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!

We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.

Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:

• Discounted astrological readings & mentorship

• Secret invites

Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.

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Further Reading

I’m writing this from a hotel room, seventeen floors above the chaos of Midtown Manhattan. I should be finishing edits on my Twin Peaks podcast episode with Micki Pellerano Instead, I’m thinking about an old Joe Rogan interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Before I lose you with two names that may elicit strong feelings, stick with me.

I only heard about the interview by catching a Threads post by an astrologer I admire. He had listened to the podcast and concluded that he wants to debate Mr. Tyson. I hunted down the interview expecting something greatly upsetting. Instead: nothing. Joe Rogan’s personality is naturally offensive to some (including myself), but that’s not the conversation we’re having.

On the contrary, I enjoyed the recording. I thought Mr. Tyson offered insights on a variety of topics. Astrology took up maybe fifteen minutes of a three-hour conversation.

What I can’t stop thinking about is why it bothers me when astrologers want to go head-to-head with scientists. Typically, the conversation starts by attempting to discredit material science (as in, “what do they know?”), and then concludes with the idea that these skeptics “don’t understand astrology.”

It’s the same binary thinking used against us to defend astrology: “you’re wrong, we’re right.”

This essay isn’t a critique of this particular astrologer’s comments. I have no idea what he might argue in his hypothetical debate. His post simply resonated with a growing internal feeling. Similarly, this isn’t a defense of astrology itself. Its lineage is far too ancient and vast to require my protection.

Instead, Mr. Tyson’s critiques, alongside one astrologer’s reaction to them, have prompted me to delve deeper into my personal motivations for studying this art.

Beyond the Binary

In this interview, Mr Tyson begins his critique of astrology in familiar ways. He highlights the shortcomings of horoscopes, the “absurdity” of Mercury retrograde sending people into a tizzy, and the discussion of why our bodies aren’t affected by the moon’s tides.

None of it’s original. But let’s face it: astrology doesn’t have the best PR campaign.

Whatever your take on the state of astrology, none of us can deny that the world has changed drastically since astronomy and astrology diverged. At one point, people consulted astrological charts for questions like, “Am I pregnant?” or “Will there be war?” We now have pregnancy tests and robust predictive models for almost everything.

Similarly, medicine—a branch of science once entwined with astrology—has seen immense advances in the past few hundred years, replacing decumbiture charts with diagnostic tools. While there is plenty of corruption in the industry, it’s a fact that many people live long and healthy lives without ever consulting the sky.

This isn’t to say they should live their lives without looking to the sky.

I’m not arguing that astrology isn’t a useful tool for prediction, or that medical astrologers don’t help their clients. (I personally consult a medical astrologer who’s also a medical practitioner.) What I am saying is this: if your worldview is binary—good/bad, yes/no, pass/fail—I can see why astrology might not make sense to you.

While I may disagree with Mr. Tyson, I acknowledge he’s a smart person who has devoted his life to studying the Universe’s laws. To say he could teach me a thing or two is an understatement. Furthermore, I acknowledge that some of his criticisms are valid: astrology is harmful when used to avoid accountability. The stars did not “make” you do it.

But is it our job to convert people? What if astrology just isn’t for everyone?

The Gift of the “Why”

As an astrophysicist, Mr Tyson comes from a field of science that can tell us a lot about how the universe works. What it cannot tell us is why the Universe works. And that’s where astrology comes in.

In my own life, astrology has proven invaluable for navigating mental and physical health. It has allowed me to foresee challenging periods in my life and those of my clients, helped me understand history through time cycles, and even once assisted in finding a missing necklace!

Yet, these results represent only one part of the story.

Each time we pause to interpret the sky's symbols, we grapple with what it means to be human. From a materialist perspective, the full moon may exert no physical effect on me. Yet, when I gaze skyward, see something of the world reflected in that fattening moon, I am engaging in a search for truth beyond quantification

A Hermetic Perspective

The astrologer has a way of framing this that’s been rattling around in my head. He suggests that astrology isn’t pseudo-scientific; instead, modern science is “pseudo-Hermetic.”

In Hermetic tradition, reality is a trinity. Caton explains, “the source of the physical world is Spiritual and there are three parts of anything physical: the material aspect or body, the animating force or soul, and the spirit or consciousness.” Yet, about four hundred years ago, Gary continues, “Science turned its back on soul and spirit,” insisting that only the material aspect of our world is real.

When we consider the progress of the material world in the last four centuries, science demonstrates immense success. However, in the realms of Soul and Spirit, its insights are profoundly limited. Psychology has attempted to reintroduce the Soul, but Spirit largely remains an unaddressed mystery.

What if our work isn’t about proving science wrong? What if astrology is a study for the initiates who are willing to look at the whole of reality?

Perhaps the most powerful thing we can do is express gratitude for receiving the call. We do that by devoting our lives to the nuances of this powerful art, rather than begging for the approval of those who have spent four hundred years learning how to see only a third of the sky.

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