What brought you to astrology?
I came into Astrology at around the age of 12 years old as a part of a larger spiritual orientation and search in life. I spent my entire childhood exploring the occult and the Western Mystery Tradition. I was fortunate to be taken pretty quicky and pretty deeply into the heart of some very ancient texts and those texts became the foundation of my initial astrological and magical training. Astrology was the container within which I held all of my magical interest – Runes, I Ching, Jewish Mysticism, Numerology, Qabalistic Tarot, Hermeticism/Alchemy, Vedic Philosophy, Reiki, Geomancy, and Dreamwork.
Why do you practice astrology? What makes it juicy for you?
I practice Astrology because I view it as a real and tangible super power in my life. As a child I always had dreams of having the sort of glamorized super powers that we see on television, or being able to wield the sort of magic that J.K. Rowling created in the Harry Potter series. Since I never gained the ability to bend spoons with my mind or shoot fire from my palms, I resolved myself to being content just being able to tell the future, and to studying the things that made that a possibility. What a gift that has been.Beyond that, Astrology is genuinely a magical study. When I teach my students Astrology, I teach them Astrology rooted within the larger philosophical and magical traditions of the world. My teaching is infused with ancient cosmology, Greek Philosophy and Metaphysics, Hermeticism, Kabbalah, and a cross-cultural study of mythology as a means of providing my students an astrological education that becomes a way of life for them. I’m far more interested in Astrology as a living system, and I’m eager to share this concept of “Astrology as Natural Philosophy” with the world. I am a scholar, philosopher, and a spiritual devotee, and those aspects of my life have created an astrological practice for me that yields concrete results and tangible magic.
What is your specialty, or focus?
My dual specialty is Traditional Astrology and Uranian Astrology. On the surface they seem to be antagonistic to each other. However, my interest in life is to always find the ancient roots of things. And that was largely chief amongst the interests of the founder of Uranian Astrology Alfred Witte (VITT-uh). His deep study of ancient Astrology became the launching pad from which he founded his Uranian System. He left behind no guide as to exactly what he studied, but the evidence is clear enough that he studied Ancient Astrology deeply and took concepts like Antiscia/Contra-Antisica, the Arabic Parts (Lots), and very ancient concepts surrounding the fourfold Cross of Matter as being the basis for the “new” Astrology that he created. So I practice both Traditional and Uranian Astrology rigorously, knowing that both are complete systems within themselves and that both represent two ends of the spectrum of Western Tropical Astrology.
Is there a planet, sign, or aspect you’ve been exploring lately that represents an archetype or energy that feels important to you right now?
Mercury is a continuous source of fascination. For me, it is the root and the reason of why we practice everything we practice as Astrologers and Natural Magicians. I haven’t fully figured him out, but one day before I die, I hope to understand at least a fragment of what he represents. Saturn is definitely another keeper of mysteries that I am deeply aware I don’t know enough about.
What is your picture of astrology in the future?
My vision of the Astrology of the Future is that it will be rooted deeply on the Astrology of the past, and from that rootedness it will prepare us to practice Modern Astrology in a more extraordinary way. I dream of a world where Astrologers all had the same basic education that they operated from, and from that base explored modern developments in our craft. As for me and my school, I will continue to teach my students Traditional Astrology that is rooted within a larger ancient Hermetic and magical view of the world, but I will also teach them my version of Modern Astrology in a powerful and embodied way. I will teach them Traditional Astrology powerfully and deeply so that they can learn Uranian Astrology, Cosmobiology, and greater components of Symmetrical Astrology such as the Polar Azimuthal that is based on the work of Arthur Blackwell via my mentor Gary Christen in a richer way.
Are there any additional comments you would like to make about your lecture and workshop?
I’m going to take you into the heart of my actual Astrology practice so that you can see how I apply Traditional and Modern Techniques to get to the heart of the chart. The emphasis of my lecture will be on sharing the outline of my system so that you can walk away feeling confident about a specific method by which to enter the landscape of a chart reading through a Traditional-focused means. Traditional Astrology is a vast field. My lecture will teach you where and how to get started with reading a chart and where to go from there.
The workshop will build on the information that we outline in the lecture, and it will focus on finding concrete and specific details about the physical realities of a person’s life from their charts. I’ll show you how I apply traditional Renaissance techniques to uncover copious amounts of information about their Natal Promise with no previous information from the client beforehand.
If you discovered a new planet, or asteroid, what would you name it and why?
I’d call her Chaos. She deserves our attention and respect, and has gotten allot of bad publicity throughout time.
Mychal Bryan, astrologer, journalist, hypnotherapist …
