Part three of a report on the 2007 Midwest Astrology Conference.
Catch up here: Part one.

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Loxx writes:

Sunday morning: The 9 AM choices were

Richard Smoot: Empower Your Clients
Alran Wise: The ABCs of Astrological Writing
Bon Rose Fine: The Scout Planet

I chose the third; there was a crowd of about 18. What Bon calls “the scout planet” is the planet in the radix which rises just ahead of the Sun. Find your Sun, then move *clockwise* (that is, backward in the zodiac) until you come to a planet … not an asteroid or centaur or node, but a planet (Moon through Pluto). That planet is the “scout”. Why? Well, that planet sort of goes out ahead of you to prepare the way … it’s like a herald to announce your arrival … or it’s like an emcee introducing you before you come on stage. Its nature frames people’s expectations of you somewhat, and so it is, in part, a vocational indicator. She also said, “It offers a guide to what motivates an individual to take conscious action.” In about half of nativities the “scout” is either Mercury or Venus, but in the other half it’s one of the other 7 possibilities. She gave numerous examples of famous people for each of the types.

Late morning brought two choices:

Alphee Lavoie: Timing Events in Your Life
Julene Packer: Astronomy for Astrologers

I went to Julene’s talk; she explained the ecliptic, the equator, the tropics, declination, great circles, points like the Vertex, the Equatorial Ascendant, the lunar nodes and how the locations of these things are determined astronomically. She also discussed the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, eclipses of various types, the inferior and superior Sun-Mercury and Sun-Venus conjunctions, and retrograde motion. The objective was to help astrologers see beyond the Earthbound observer’s perspective and understand all these concepts astronomically (which ends up helping us understand them better astrologically, too). It was a very good talk, very well organized and thorough, and she explained it all very nicely.

And finally, after lunch in the last session, we had these talks:

Lynn Koiner: The Twelfth House
Robert Blaschke: Partners who Activate Our Shadow
Renie Brooksieker: Using Phase Ages for Healing

I went to Lynn’s talk; there were about 14 of us, and her focus was on how 12th house planets indicate energies that one or more of the native’s parents found threatening. As a result, the native learns to suppress that energy. But since it needs an outlet, the native usually incorporates it into an occupation. She gave examples from her chart, her parents’ charts, and others.

Finally, we had closing ceremonies. I made a motion that we extend the conference for a couple more days; it was seconded, but it never came to a vote. So I don’t know what went wrong there, but anyway … we said our goodbyes, and I hit the road to drive home.

Now, to the beginning astrologers, I say: In case you wonder if it would be worth your time to attend a conference, because … maybe you worry that you’re not advanced enough yet to get much out of it, well … firstly you should do it just to meet other astrologers, but also … there were many talks at this meeting which would be very accessible to you and help you to learn fundamentals. For example, Pat Geisler’s talk on the 8th house and Lynn Koiner’s talk on the 12th house … certainly getting to know the houses better is good (no matter what your level of advancement). Bon Rose Fine’s talk on the “scout planet” would have been great; it’s a simple chart factor and easy to incorporate into your “toolbox”. Julene Packer’s talk on astronomy basics would have been great. So … I’m sure at every meeting there are many talks like this, accessible to beginners in the field, and even if you couldn’t determine from the abstracts which talks would be best for you, someone would be happy to advise you in that regard.

Well, many kudos and thanks to Misty Kuceris, Sandra-Leigh Serio and Louise McCombs for their excellent organization, for looking out for everyone and making us feel so welcome, and for a great meeting. And btw, I overheard more than one of the invited faculty mention how on-the-ball you were in terms of their needs. Actually, I chatted with many of my fellow attendees and never heard any complaints about anything. So … nice work! Thank you so much for a great time!

Loxx Mason, Pittsburgh Email Loxx

Thank you, Loxx!