Photo by Holly Alexander
“Spiritual birth, like biological birth, requires a union of opposites, from which the sacred child is born”
—Marion Woodman
A passionate pursuit for self-knowledge and understanding.
An expansive and continual quest for the meaning of life.
Enthusiastic inquiry.
Persistent psychological and spiritual investigation.
Who Am I?
Who Are You?
Who am I in relationship to you? To the world?
What am I, what are we doing here?
What did I come here to be and do?
I’ve been on a search and asking these questions for the last 30 years of my life. I feel the constant tug of my soul and spirit, together with my mind and body, moving me toward wholeness, toward integration of the many different aspects and pieces of myself.
A student, a lover, an artist, a caregiver, a visionary, a transformer, a teacher…a woman who feels indescribable, heartbreaking-open love for Gaia and her beings. I’ve sobbed, ached, fought, grieved, educated, joyed, danced, played, sung, wandered, lived and laughed out loud…very out loud. Ultimately, in my center, inside the deepest core of me, I feel the sacredness of all of It…of you, of me, of the animals and the land…in Divine Communion with the stars, the planets, the heavens, the universe. We are Great Mystery and It is Us!!!
On a nuts and bolts level, I’ve been a student of astrology (and other occult mysteries) for thirty-something years. In 2002, I was introduced to a whole new way of understanding the planets and signs, and the study of astrology came to life for me with this powerful perspective and paradigm. It led me to my connection with Shamanic Astrology in Spring of 2004.
Prior to my discovery, I had been working as a child therapist, and the theoretical model I put into practice was Jungian Play Therapy. Jungian theory spoke deeply to me, long before I started graduate school for my masters in counseling. My passion for utilizing symbols, metaphors, images, mythology and archetypes as a way of understanding myself, others and the world, blossomed in a big way using Carl Jung’s framework.
When I discovered Shamanic Astrology, I immediately knew the power of this astrological model, and its usefulness as a tool for personal knowledge, empowerment and transformation. It was also because of my studies in SA, that I understood others more clearly than I ever had before. It has been the single most powerful spiritual tool for me, with regards to deepening compassion and non-judgment for myself and others.
I left my work as a child therapist in 2003, my marriage in 2004, and have spent my mid-life years re-membering, re-discovering myself, breaking down old belief systems that were running my personal and professional life. I’ve been intensely focused on my inner work. In 2004, I began offering my counseling services using astrology as a way to awaken individuals to their unique expression, offer insight into their challenges and suggestions about ways to consciously participate with their life’s unfolding. It is my personal experience of Shamanic Astrology as a practical and empowering tool, that has led me to my commitment to share my knowledge with others.
This astrological paradigm incorporates a psychological, spiritual and mythological framework, rooted in an experiential relationship between the land and the sky, the “As Above, So Below, As Within, So Without” mysteries. One of the features that distinguishes Shamanic Astrology and the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School training, is the inclusion of studying the night sky. We work with the cycles and transits from an experiential perspective, like the ancient people did, tracking the visible planets and their cycles, and utilizing ritual and ceremony to actively participate in the communion of heaven and earth, and the co-creation with Great Mystery.
We are at The Turning of the Ages, a 26,000 year cycle. We are here to co-create and birth our New World. We are here, as Jung said, “To Dream the Dream Onward.” My dream is one of Heaven on Earth. Of Beauty. Of deep respect and reverence for all Life. Of Joy. Laughter. Union.
So Mote It Be!
Holly
