The Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto Conjunction in Capricorn, January 2020

At AFOA’s January 2020 meeting, Liv Woodford discussed 2020’s major astrological event– the Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn conjunction in Capricorn and what it may mean for us in our lives, personally and as a collective.  This combination of planets traveling together marks the signature astrological dynamic of 2020, promising to be powerfully transformative as it reflects some level of breakdown, breakthrough, restructuring and accountability for what we have created. 

The first quarter of the evening, Liv Woodford talked about the dynamics of the Pluto/Saturn/Jupiter conjunction and how these energies may play out on the world stage. The focus then shifted to how this conjunction will show up in our personal lives.  Liv displayed the natal charts of those attending (who had volunteered their charts) and Liv facilitated a discussion on how the Pluto/Saturn/Jupiter conjunction activates potentials, challenges and opportunities for the person whose chart was being discussed.  

2020 Forecast: NOV ’19

Our next meeting of Asheville Friends of Astrology will be Friday, November 15, at 7 pm in the community room at Earth Fare, Westgate. Noted Asheville astrology, Benjamin Bernstein, will give his eagerly awaited annual forecast presentation. Benjamin will discuss 20120s upcoming transits and what they might mean for us. This is always a well-attended event, so come early for good seating.
Benjamin is a shamanic healer as well as an astrologer and blends both in his work. He has been voted Best Astrologer in Asheville 3 years in a row. He hosts a weekly podcast, This Week in Astrology, which is iTune’s #1 astrology podcast. He has served on the Board of the Organization of Professional Astrologers (OPA) and has been a speaker at two of OPA’s national astrology retreats, as well as conferences of the National Council for Geocosmic Research, the Blast Astrological Conference in 2008, and the United Astrology Conference.

To learn more about Benjamin and his work in astrology, shamanic healing and spiritual awakening, visit his website, http://www.astroshaman.com.

Transits as Spiritual Process: OCT ’19

Asheville Friends of Astrology will meet Friday, October 18 at 7pm in the community room at Earth Fare Westgate to hear Mela Carreira speak on transits as spiritual process. One of the beneficial functions of astrology is as a tool for understanding our personal life cycles and spiritual development. At any given time the current planetary wheel is interacting with our own natal chart, inspiring phases of growth, stability or great change in our lived experience. In this presentation, astrologer Mela Carreira will be exploring the internal processes that accompany the transits of outer planets through our natal chart.
The movement of the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune & Pluto) is slow, with planets staying in relationship with a particular natal sign, house, or planet for 1-3 years, giving us much to digest during their visitations. Mela will discuss each of the outer planets, their expressions in transit, and how we can learn to engage with the energies more deeply and directly as they encounter us and we encounter them.
Mela is an intuitive astrologer and internal martial arts practitioner and has been practicing astrology professionally since 2013. Her training in Taoist Alchemy at the Tao Institute with Sifu Frank Paolillo as well as work with the Akashic Records under Deborah Hellman & Nancy Ring has informed her process, perspective, and research. Mela’s emphasis as an Astrologer is on soul work, soul evolution and self knowledge. Mela offers readings, cosmic weather reports and classes online & off – for more information, please check out her website: http://www.melaluna.net

Spiritual Journey Through Zodiac: SEPT ’19

Asheville Friends of Astrology will next meet on September 20, 2019 at 7 pm in the community room at Earth Fare Westgate. Shellie Enteen will be our speaker. She will guide us on “A Spiritual Journey through the Zodiac.” The natural cycle of the Spiritual Path is an ancient but lesser known meaning of the astrological signs and their order in the band of the zodiac. We’ll discover this deeper meaning of each sign; examine its hieroglyphic symbol, and discuss how the sun sign indicates where an individual is focused on growing spiritually in this life.

Rev. Shellie has been practicing astrology for over 40 years. She posts daily forecasts on her Astralessence Facebook page. Weekly podcasts about upcoming planetary energies, articles on Full and New Moon forecasts and other astrological events can be found on the Blog page of her website, shellieenteen.com, where you can contact her for information about getting a reading or enroll in a mentorship program for further study.

Astrology of the Conditioned Self: August 2019

Asheville Friends of Astrology will meet on Friday, August 16 at 7pm in the community room at Earth Fare Westgate to hear Ted Figura discuss the Astrology of the Conditioned Self. Ted will look at how we are all conditioned mentally, socially and emotionally by exploring the role that each psychological function symbolized by the astrological planets and points plays in the conditioning process. Pathways to break through and rise above our conditioning will also be explored–again through the astrological symbol set. The goal is a deeper understanding of ourselves and how astrology can further that understanding.

Ted’s interest in astrology began more than 45 years ago with his discovery of the works of Dane Rudhyar and Alan Leo. In the 1980s, his knowledge of astrology was further informed by the writings of Donna Cunningham, Stephen Arroyo and Liz Greene. Ted has always appreciated astrology as a tool for self-knowledge and personal growth. He believes, while transits may be valuable for understanding the “astrol weather” one is experiencing, it is the natal chart that holds the key to interpreting the drives and motivations, qualities, internal conflicts and challenges, and potential of the personality resident in this lifetime.

While Ted is not a professional astrologer, his interest has led him to write about astrology, gathering an international audience. Ted writes under the pseudonym, Gargatholil. He has published the four-volume Depth Astrology: an Astrological Handbook: Introduction, Planets in Signs, Planets in Houses, Planets in Aspect and updates his website monthly with a series exploring sign-to-sign dynamics and other articles. He has also published a book of poetry, The Trembling Tear: Songs of the Inner Voice. Ted Figura serves as the Facilitator for Asheville Friends of Astrology.