Julia Gillentine - "Galactic Astrology - Tarot and the Stars"
By:  Ivan Halvorson

Leave the sun, moon, and planets behind. Venture into deep space and discover the Quasars, Pulsars, Super Novas, black holes, and galactic centers. Learn how these massive objects influence life on earth. This is the stuff of galactic astrology.

So vast is the scope of Galactic Astrology that it takes years of study to synthesize the information into a meaningful whole. Thanks to Julia Gillentine we don't have to spend that amount of time to get a glimpse into the science. Here is sample of the material she covered at the ASA lecture:

"I've always had a passion for the sky and looked at the stars from the time I was very young," Julia began.

She then went on to say that we would have a completely different view of the universe if we ventured out of our solar system, with its sun and planets, past our galaxy, with it's billions if suns and planets, and on into deep space where millions of galaxies live in harmony. From this perspective, according to astronomers and astrophysicist, the universe is ordered.

In Julia's words, "Galaxies are woven together into vast and eminent strings and they are connected, almost like fibers. Then there are huge amounts of space, which appear to be empty, that are filled with what is now calling, dark matter. You can't see it. It doesn't shine. But something is there." This dark matter may constitute as much as 95 percent of the mass of the universe.

Julia then gave us a different perspective of the night sky. "The cosmos is not this giant machine. The cosmos is alive. It is conscious. And perhaps, if we could understand the vastness of all that is, then we could touch the mind of God." In the East it is understood that everything is alive in some sense. So when you look into the night sky you have engaged a conscious entity that interacts with you. "And the more you approach this encounter, the more powerful the interaction will be," Julia said.

In the East, the moon is the most important planet in your chart. "The moon moves against the backdrop of the stars. It's at night that we can see the stars. In the West we are obsessed with the Sun, the point of individuality, the point were we differ. But the sun can blind us.... to deeper and subtle energies in our own chart and in the universe as a whole."

Julie continued, "The sun only appears to be in a sign as a result of the movement of the earth around it." From our position on earth, we view the sun and the planets only against the backdrop of the distant stars near the ecliptic. But it is important to know there is more out there. The sky, as viewed from earth, is spherical. Every where you look in the night sky there are stars. Many of these stars are as important as those found in the twelve signs of the Zodiac. And the good news is they can all be charted. As we have latitude and longitude on earth, we have their equivalents on the celestial sphere which are called right ascension and parallel declination. Right ascension is expressed in terms of hours while parallel declination is measured in degrees above and below the celestial equator.

Julia explained how the projected axis of the earth draws a giant circle in the sky as the earth wobbles in space. This projected axis gives us the ages. "Any time now," Julia said, "when the sun rises in the east on the spring equinox, it will do so against the back drop of constellation of Aquarius." For the last two thousand years it rose against the constellation of Pisces, and before that it was Aries. Julia said, "And for any of you who have visited Egypt, you know the temples build during that time have rams everywhere. The Egyptians honored the ages and they knew where they stood." Humanity has been using the same time scale for at least 6 thousand years.

Saturday's Workshop

The Tarot Keys and Astrology has been linked for thousands of years.  Uncovering the connection, expressing it in elegant words, and putting it into practice, is the passion of Julia Gillentine.  Julia began the workshop with a meditation on the first card of Tarot deck and its associated Hebrew letter Alfa. "Close out the outside world.  Give yourselves a gift of the next four hours. Enter into a space of openness, of silence, and of receptivity."  Then she read form from the Book of Tokens by Paul Foster Case. "I am without beginning, without end, older than night or day, younger than babe new born, brighter than light, darker than darkness, beyond all things and creatures yet fixed in the heart of everyone. From me the shining worlds flow forth and to me at last all return. Yet to me neither men nor angles may draw nigh, for I am known only onto myself. Ever the same is my in most being, absolutely one, complete, whole, perfect, always itself, eternal, infinite, ultimate, formless, individual, and changeless."

What is Astrology? Julia said, "I believe the study of Astrology is the study of cycles, wheels within wheels, seasons and rhythms." Then she read Dave Rigar's definition, "Astrology can be defined as a technique for the study of life cycles. Its main purpose is to establish the existence of regular patterns in the sequence of events that constitute an individuals inner and outer experience. Then, to use the order of these patterns in order to control the genesis, development, and recurrence of old experiences and thereby achieve mastery."

The Tarot Keys, on the other hand, can be described as a pictorial book of ancient wisdom that is overlaid on the vastly ancient system that we now call the Kabala. It is a visual representation of archetypes and tools with which we can safely engage and internalize those archetypal energies. "Ultimately the Tarot is a tool for transformation," Julia said.

Regardless of the path you choose to focus on, Tarot or Astrology, the journey should be experienced. In Julie's words, "A path implies that we walk it, that we live it, that we do it, not that we just sit back in our chairs or at our computers, and have it be a purely intellectual exercise, or something that we observe. Unless we are involved, impaled upon it almost, we ourselves do not change."  When integrating the Tarot and Astrology you need crossover information.

Here is a list to guide --- to forge the link. The number, name, astrological entity, and human faculty are listed below.

0 _ Fool _ Uranus _ Super consciousness / Higher mind
1 _ Magician _ Mercury _ Attention / Self-consciousness/Life and Death
2 _ High Priestess _ Moon _ Memory / Sub-consciousness / Peace and Strife
3 _ Empress _ Venus _ Imagination / Love / Wisdom and Folly
4 _ Emperor _ Aries _ Reason / Sight
5 _ Hierophant _ Taurus _ Intuition / Hearing
6 _ Lovers _ Gemini _ Smell / Discrimination
7 _ Chariot _ _ Cancer _ Speech / Receptivity
8 _ Strength _ Leo _ Suggestion / Digestion
9 _ Hermit _ Virgo _ Response / touch / Union of Opposites
10 _ Wheel of Fortune _ Jupiter _ Rotation / Wealth and Poverty
11 _ Justice _ Libra _ Equilibration / Work
12 _ Hanged Man _ Neptune _ Reversal / Suspended mind
13 _ Death _ Scorpio _ Transformation / Motion
14 _ Temperance _ Sagittarius _ Verification / Wrath
15 _ Devil _ Capricorn _ Bondage / Mirth
16 _ Tower _ Mars _ Awakening / Grace and Sin
17 _ Star _ Aquarius _ Revelation / Meditation
18 _ Moon _ Pisces _ Organization / Sleep
19 _ Sun _ Sun _ Regeneration / Fertility and Sterility
20 _ Judgment _ Pluto _ Realization
21 _ World _ Saturn _ Cosmic Consciousness / Domination and Slavery

The Astrological signs and symbols, when used in conjunct with the Tarot Keys, have different levels of meaning and function. They can be used to liven up an afternoon tea party, to discover ancient wisdom, to attain personal fulfillment, to attain enlightenment, to heal the body and mind, and to explore the deepest levels of your spiritual being. The choice is yours.