CONVERSATIONS WITH ASTROLOGY

with
Bernadette Brady, Nick Campion, Liz Greene and Rob Hand

June 13 ~ 20, 2010

Arriving from all corners of the world, we will meet in the charming town of Church Stretton, set amongst the beautiful Stretton Hills of Shropshire, England, close to the border of Wales. We have chosen this spectacular setting because of its convenient location, natural beauty, walking trails and the many places of historical interest close by. This is rural England in its glory.

Six days of cutting edge morning lectures, and afternoon conversations between four of our greatest innovative and pioneering minds in the field of astrology today.

Imagine sitting around with Bernadette Brady, Nick Campion , Liz Greene and Rob Hand "eavesdropping" as they share ideas and discuss new and old astrological concepts? This is the stuff of history; such forthright "meetings of great minds" often provide the most fertile ground for the seeding of fresh revelations and deepening understanding.

You can be privy to such an experience. This may be a once in a lifetime gathering of four of our most beloved and esteemed astrologers, in a relaxed and leisurely setting for such a period of time.

Each speaker will make a morning presentation on a subject of their choice, followed in the afternoon by our 4 presenters sharing a conversation on an astrological subject of pertinence to the times we are in, and/or close to their hearts.

The opening morning and closing afternoon will be conversations between the four of them.

Nobody can predict what will emerge from these conversations...

Join us and experience astrological history in the making.

We ask most respectfully on behalf of other attendees and the speakers themselves, that participants save their own opinions and comments until/unless the speakers specifically ask for audience participation. Everyone is traveling a long way to hear our featured astrologers, and the time we have is inevitably never enough! We will be allowing 15 minutes at the end of each afternoon session for sharing and feedback. We thank you in advance for your patience and consideration.

This workshop is suitable for those with a firm grasp of the astrological language, symbolism, and the meaning of the planets, signs and houses. Beginners are certainly welcome, but time will not be given to explanation of the fundamantals, so it is recommended that you read some of the speakers' work before attendance.

Schedule

Morning Sessions ~ 9:00 am ~ 12:00 pm

2 hour Lunch Break

Afternoon Sessions ~ 2:00 pm ~ 5:15 pm

There will a morning and afternoon tea/coffee break.

Arrival day ~ Saturday June 12th, 2010

Sunday, June 13th, Morning 9:00 am ~ 12:00 pm ~ Group introduction and discussion with everyone.

General Introduction and “What is Astrology”.

All four talking for 20 minutes each, with time for debate and questions and discussion after and during each talk.

Sunday Afternoon ~ 2:00 pm ~ 5:15 pm ~ Rob & Nick, Liz and Bernadette.

 The Soul -  its changing nature and the question of its ability to be located in a horoscope.

 Reading list: Myth of Er, Dream of Scipio

Monday, June 14th, Morning ~ Rob Hand

The Polymorphic Nature of Astrological Symbolism, or the Many Ways in Which Things Can Work Out.

Every combination of symbols in astrology, signs, planets, houses etc. have a wide variety of possible manifestations. In this session Rob will discuss the implications of this for both freedom of choice and self-realization. If time allows charts of delegates will be used to demonstrate the principles.

Monday Afternoon ~ Rob, Nick, Liz and Bernadette

Fate and Destiny its nature and its role in astrology.  

Reading list:  This will be all four of them but the suggested material for the delegates to read are:

Liz Greene, The Horoscope in Manifestation (CPA Press, 2001), Part One.

Bernadette Brady, Predictive Astrology, the Eagle and the Lark – The  Introduction, pp xi – xviii.

Bernadette Brady, Astrology a place in chaos. – Chapter 5, Living inside a Fractal.

Tuesday, June 15th, Morning ~ Bernadette Brady

The Horoscope and ‘the Other’.

Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Medieval philosophical themes provided three seemingly different approaches to the sky story at a given time or for birth, offering us an understanding of their relationship to the divine or the ‘other’.

Within Egyptian cosmology the phases of the stars provided the theme of the birth and death of gods with their ascent to the heavens and their descent to the earth through the star phases. Mesopotamian cosmology offered planetary phases the gods who descended through seven gates in order to enter the Underworld, and then remerged and ascended through the seven gates to rejoin the heavens.  Guido Bonatti, in the 13th century, discussed the image of God in a horoscope, and one’s personal view of the divine, and he also discussed the spiritual purpose of one’s life and whether or not you would fulfill this.  

As astrologers we can weave these Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Medieval philosophical themes together in order to suggest the nature of our personal relationship to the divine or the ‘other’.

Tuesday Afternoon ~ Rob, Nick, Liz and Bernadette

Inner and Outer, Psyche and World.

Our speakers will address the issue of ‘inner’ and ‘outer’, events and psychological states, worldly and interior changes, and the idea of the imagination as the liminal zone and the soul’s ‘organ of perception’ in relation not only to astrological symbols but also what the study and practice of astrology do to people – and finally, what changes in consciousness through the use of the imagination might do to the understanding and expression of an ‘event’ on inner and outer levels.

Suggested reading:
Elliot Wolfson, Through a Speculum That Shines (Princeton University Press, 1994), pp. 52-73
C. G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Collected Works Vol. 9i (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975), pp. 3-41
Peter T. Struck, The Birth of the  Symbol (Princeton University Press, 2004), Introduction and Chapter One, pp. 1-76

*****

Wednesday, June 16th ~ Free Day. Rest, walk, or visit Shrewsbury and/or Ludlow, 2 magnificent medieval towns within easy distance.

*****

Thursday, June 17th, Morning ~ Nick Campion

Astrology, the New, the Old and the Modern.

Astrology was refocused and reformed by Alan Leo and Dane Rudhyar. They both believed that their astrology was new but that they were thereby tuning into ancient truths more effectively than traditional astrology could do. Nick will examine Leo and Rudhyar, and relate them to their antecedents – Plato, Aristotle, Zeno of Citium, Plotinus, Hermes Trismegistus and Johannes Kepler. Debate, discussion and disagreement will be encouraged!

If you wish to prepare for this section, read the Introduction to Rudhyar’s Astrology of Personality, if you have a copy, or access his article on ‘The Spiritual Value of Astrology from The Aquarian Agent, May 1970.

http://www.khaldea.com/rudhyar/astroarticles/spiritualastrology.shtml

Thursday Afternoon ~ Rob, Nick, Liz and Bernadette

Origins of Astrology - Egyptian and Babylonian contribution to Western astrology (with Sky Maps of charts).

Reading List: Nicolas Campion History of Astrology Volume 1. Chapter 4 Mesopotamian Cosmos,  Chapter 6, Egypt: The Kingdom and the Sun.

Bernadette Brady: Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars, pp 1 – 9 (Stellar theology)

Bernadette Brady: Star and Planet Combinations, pp 1- 10 (Star phases and the concepts of Salvation, the Nativity and the Resurrection).

Bernadette Brady : Delegates can book mark this web site which is working with some of the translation from the Assyrian period of astrology and applying them to current sky maps. http://www.zyntara.com/starlight_newsletters.htm

Friday, June 18th, Morning ~ Liz Greene

Myth, Magic, and Transformation

This talk will include discussions of the relationship of myth to astrology, the idea of astral magic and its role in the use of astrology and the development of astrological symbolism, and the idea of the transformation of the individual, from ancient ideas of the divinisation of the magus to contemporary ideas of psychological wholeness, healing, integration, and full expression of the birth chart.

Friday Afternoon ~ Rob, Nick, Liz and Bernadette

Horoscope reading from different mindsets.

As examples: classical horoscopes, modern, psychological,  humanistic, and so on. Our thinking here is not to read any charts but to talk about the different approaches to charts in the past as well as contemporary. 

Saturday Morning, June 19th ~ Group Discussion

Open Space

A time for discussing issues that emerge during the week that need a voice. As a group we will discuss beforehand the best use of this final session - and it can serve as time to fill in any gaps that have emerged during our time together. 

Saturday Afternoon ~ Closing

For those who need to make early departure arrangements, we expect to be finished by 5:30 pm on June 19th.

**Please note, there may be slight schedule adjustments as we go through the process of organising this event.

RECOMMENDED READING AND STUDY LIST

Besides the suggested readings listed under individual talks, we suggest the following:

Books

History of Western Astrology- Volume I Nick Campion

History of Western Astrology- Volume II Nick Campion

Articles and Printable Info

Plato's Timaeus

Scipio's Dream and Macrobius' Comment

All prices are in US Dollars - for Currency Conversion, go to: http://www.xe.com/ucc/

$1,500 ~ per person

contact info

registration

There are no scholarship places left for this workshop

Readings

This will be an intensive time for the speakers, and none of them will be doing readings during the workshop itself. Should you wish to get a reading with any of them after the event, may I suggest you contact them through their websites or email and schedule a phone reading for a time that is convenient for them.

Recording

We will be professionally recording the workshop, which will be available for purchase on the following website at a later date.

www.solarlogos.net

We respectfully ask that participants not use any form of recording device during this workshop.

Venue

The workshop is being held in a meeting hall called "Silvester Horne" in the centre of Church Stretton itself. It is a comfortable, older building that belongs to the County Council, with all the facilities we will need on-site.

The hall is centrally located and within easy walking distance of most accommodations in the village itself. There is parking available.

Coincidentally June 19th will the village's annual Summerfest, with lots of events and attractions on the very last day and evening of our programme. This promises to be an added treat for visitors, with lots of local colour and celebrations (someone must have told them we were coming!).

CHURCH STRETTON SUMMERFEST
19th June 2010

Accommodations

This is a charming rural area, with many kinds of accommodations from charming B&B's to "Manor House " type hotels.

There are several other options, mostly B&B's and since we know the area well we will be able to advise you on your choice. Should you require it, we may be able to find someone you can room-share with. Please note however, in the UK almost all accommodations are charged per person, so there is usually little saving on room sharing.

Please Look Here for a general idea of what is available

We also recommend OakBank Motel , a lovely Motel, with different types/prices of rooms, and only about a 4 minute walk from the workshop venue

And for those on a shoe-string, there are several other options to explore:

Global Freeloaders
A wonderful site for those willing to host someone else in their own home, no charges or fees involved...

Homes for Exchange
Another great site that goes a long way in helping people to keep travelling, and very often in great comfort.

Camping ~ why not?
Yes of course it sometimes rains in England... but June is often a glorious month, and this could be an excellent option for the adventurous who are saving pennies!

Youth Hostel

There is a lovely bunk-house, in a stunning location, that accommodates about 10 people for extremely good rates just about a mile outside of Church Stretton itself.

Travel

Let us know your travel details and we may be able to introduce you to others on similar routes so you can ride-share etc.

Early purchase of air-line tickets as a rule means a better fare. Despite soaring gas prices, good fares can still be found, especially if you book early enough.

We will post info on special fares whenever we find them.

A good time to take advantage of any accumulated miles on the airline of your choice.

Church Stretton is situated on the border of England and Wales, on the A49 between Shrewsbury and Hereford.

By car the route from the north and east is via the M6 and M54 motorways, and from the south and south-east cross country via the A49. The town is marked by the only set of traffic lights between Shrewsbury and Hereford. By train, the town is located on the Manchester to Cardiff route. 

A branch line from Craven Arms (just 7 miles south) links south and west Wales to the town.

The closest international airports are Manchester, Liverpool (each approx. an hour and a half drive away), or Birmingham (an hour and 10 minutes drive), all are fairly simple drives to and from Church Stretton. We will happily send MapQuest directions to you that can be printed out, or they are easy to access from the link below.

Mapquest UK

There are the usual myriad car rental agencies, and on-line reservations are often the better way to go. As England even outdoes the the US on gas/petrol prices, an economy car might be the ticket.

For those who would rather not drive, there is always the option of a train. Also a wonderful way to see the glorious countryside you will be entering.

RAIL SERVICES TO CHURCH STRETTON STATION

registration

The following penalties will apply on all cancellations:
Minimum fee $300 per person
31-75 days prior to workshop - 50% of package price
0-30 days prior to workshop - 100% of package price

Numbers are limited on this workshop, so please register early to avoid disappointment. Once the numbers are filled we will post a notice on this page.

*****

Another Astrological Event in the UK not to be missed is the annual
Faculty of Astrological Studies Summer School in Oxford

Heaven and Earth Workshops facilitator, Evelyn Roberts, holds the Diploma from this esteemed school, and highly recommends it to anyone looking for a first rate astrological learning programme.

Their long established residential Summer School offers a rich and exciting astrological learning experience in one of the world famous halls of residence at beautiful and historic Oxford University.