August 11th ~ 20th, 2008

" Celestial Roots"
with
Steven Forrest and Melanie Reinhart

"Look to behold this night earth-treading stars
that make dark heaven light."
~ 'Romeo and Juliet' Act 1 Sc. 2

Life changes us. The realities we actually experience cannot
be captured by static astrological definitions. The Universe
is dynamic and participatory. So it is in astrology, and also
within the soul which astrology mirrors. A lively, soul-centered
approach to astrology breathes and grows. It allows the unexpected, the whimsical, the poetic. The heart is touched.

Used wisely, astrology is a way of helping us become more present to who we really are, and to honour our place in the unfolding Universe. The birth chart describes countless worlds we might inhabit or manifest, inner and outer, painful or pleasurable. Many are creative, vibrant, erotic, alive. Some are found by paths of fire and light, some through airy flight; others take us through stormy waters, or dark narrow passageways. Still others are accessed through stillness and introspection.
All contain jewels of awareness in our imagination and experience, when approached with sincerity and compassion.

It is our own attitudes and beliefs which pre-condition the experiences we have, not our horoscopes.

Come explore this kind of living astrology in mystical Bali with Melanie Reinhart and Steven Forrest. They share a commitment to a spiritual approach to astrology that is also psychologically grounded, and both enjoy exploring soul work through the medium of creativity and art. They are astrologers of long experience in consulting and teaching within the modern tradition. Both are commited, not only to honoring the metaphysical traditions that are astrology's roots, but also to integrating the new, emerging reality of the solar system - asteroids, Centaurs, Kuiper belt objects.

In fact, one of the themes of the seminar will be a joint investigation by the whole group of the significance of five specific "new" solar system objects: Pholus, Nessus, Orcus, Eris and Sedna. Toward the beginning of the program, Melanie and Steven will get us going with the current theory, experience, and mythology of these objects, and we will attempt to integrate them practically into our work over the course of the seminar.

The workshop itself will be a creative experience. We'll have nine days in the realms of magic. Our map is a sketch on a napkin. We expect treasure everywhere.


WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Dates: August 11th through August 20th, 2008
Everyone is required to arrive on August 11th so there will be time for acclimating and recovering from jet-lag,(that night's accommodation being part of the Melati package).

Once everyone has arrived on the 11th we will have a welcoming orientation meeting in the Meditation Hall, this will be held early evening or early in the day on the 12th if there are late evening arrivals.

The workshop proper will officially begin on August 12th. At 10.30 am we will come together in the Main Meditation Hall, starting at our official opening time of 11am . We have chosen our starting time astrologically, and you can view our" opening" chart here.

 

Daily Schedule

6:30am - 8:00am ~ Optional Daily Yoga
7:00am - 8:45am ~ Buffet Breakfast for Melati Cottages residents.
9:00am -12:00pm ~ Morning Session
12:00pm - 3:00pm ~ Lunch/Relaxation Break ~ Buffet Lunch for Melati residents.
3:00pm-6:00pm ~ Afternoon Session
Evenings Free

Steve and Melanie will alternate teaching morning and afternoon sessions, and on occasion will work together. At some point during the program they may each take a (if needed) day off, and the other will teach a full day. There is a term in Indonesian 'jam karet'.. it means 'rubber time', and it would be wonderful if participants would stay flexible to the schedule changing or morphing into something that suits this particular group. Any group of people has its own life-force and the work we will be doing(and the place where we are doing it!), will be particularly potent in this regard.

Because many participants are restricted as to their time in Bali, we will be having a half day one day(to be decided upon later). Steve and Melanie will teach a joint session that morning that will end around 1 pm. This will leave a half day and evening to explore the island, go to the beach, go shopping or to spend an ecstatically hedonistic time in one of the spas.

We are fortunate enough to be in Bali for a Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse, and these are time of great spiritual significance for the Balinese. At 6am in the morning we will head for an ancient Balinese temple in a town called Tampak Siring, where we will join the local people in a ritual bathing/purification ceremony followed by a temple blessing. This is of course an optional event, and women during their cycle do not participate.

That evening there will be another optional group trip to watch a
Kecak(fire) Trance dance. This will be paid for individually(approx $10US). That day(either August 16th/17th.. the Balinese sometimes celebrate lunations the day before), we will have a teaching session between the time we return from the temple, around 10.30am, until 1pm, and then a shorter
session from 2~4pm. There will then be a break before we all go to the dance performance.

Our Program will end after the afternoon session on August 20th. We will be having a farewell dinner that evening (paid for individually) at a beautiful restaurant close by, and we hope all participants will join us for this.

Requirements
This workshop will be of great value to astrology
students/practitioners at any level. Basic astrology will not be taught, however basic understanding of the planets, signs, house and aspects is all that is required for participation.

We will also be working with personal astrology charts and we invite people to bring theirs with them to Bali for this purpose. We do have the use of an LCD projector.

Readings
Melanie will be doing some private readings while in Bali, please contact her directly if you wish to schedule one. Steven's time in Bali is more limited, so he will not be doing readings.

Recording
We are planning a professional quality recording of the whole workshop, and this will be available to workshop participants through Andrew Sylte's website, so if you miss any part of the program you will have an opportunity to hear it later. Participants are welcome to record the program themselves, but only from where they are seated, it is too distracting to everyone if people constantly get up and down and place things in front of the speakers. We thank you for understanding.

Contacts:

Steven Forrest
stevenforrest@mindspring.com

Melanie Reinhart
enquiries@melaniereinhart.com

Evelyn Roberts
evelynroberts@earthlink.net

Optional 2-day tour of the
Buddhist temples of Borobudur on the island of Java
August 21st ~ 22nd
Borobudur Tour