SunnyCat Astrology

To my soul’s delight, I was richly exposed to a wide range of metaphysical subjects and astrology at an early age, which reignited my deep spiritual inclinations. My mother delved into the books of Carl Jung, Edgar Cayce, Manly P. Hall, the Theosopist’s writings of Helen Blavatsky and Charles Leadbeater, and the “blue” books of Alice Bailey (the scribe for the Master D.K.—also known as the “Tibetan”), to name a few. My self-taught mom began astrological consultations with individuals and teaching astrology classes while she was in her 40’s.

My love of nature and animals determined the choice of a major when I attended the University of Nevada in the early 1970’s. Actually, during my first two semesters I majored in accounting, which was a fit for the highly detailed and careful side of my nature, but not a match for that part of me drawn toward healing and spiritual work. I graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology.

In retrospect, this degree turned out to be the lovely avenue that enabled me to meet my husband, Chris, a well-known ecologist and natural historian. I worked as a research assistant at Oregon State University investigating the hypogeous fungal (truffles) diet of a number of small mammals, resulting in the publication of several research papers, as well as a spore key that today assists other researchers worldwide.

In the mid-1980’s, I received a M.S. in Counseling at Oregon State University, with a minor in religious studies. One of my primary interests at that time was hospice and grief counseling. I facilitated a grief support group at Nathan Adelson Hospice, while we lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, and then worked at two hospices when we moved back to Oregon.

During this era, I came across a White Eagle book on the subjects of health, healing, yoga, and astrology (a book written by Joan Hodgson, founder of The White Eagle School of Astrology). This book changed my life, because I felt a deep inner resonance with White Eagle’s gentle, heart-centered teachings. I became involved with the spiritual healing work (and later with the Brotherhood work) of the White Eagle Lodge that had originated in England in the 1930’s. For a number of years, I assisted with the animal healing correspondence for The White Eagle Lodge in the Americas, located in Texas. In that capacity, I was doubly blessed to indulge both my love of animals and healing.

In the early 1990’s, my timing finally clicked into place to actively pursue my life-long interest in astrology. I enrolled in the Beginner’s Course of The White Eagle School of Astrology. It only took me a decade to receive my diploma, but I graduated “with distinction.” I obtained a diploma in Advanced Studies of Astrology from the same school in 2003.

As I began to practice astrology professionally, I discovered I had an intense interest in and love for the branch of astrology known as Horary. It is the ancient art of obtaining precise answers to clearly conceived important questions. Horary works because it is direct, accurate, and explicit. It is no wonder that the practice of horary astrology has been the most prevalent form of astrology for centuries. Moreover, it is the root or foundation of our modern astrology.

In 2006, I enrolled in the Qualifying Horary Practitioner course in the UK. Olivia Barclay, the author of “Horary Astrology Rediscovered,” created this course in 1984. Hers is the original, modern-day course that teaches the traditional methods practiced by the famous 17th-century astrologer, William Lilly, considered today to be the greatest master of horary technique and practice. In April of 2007, I received my diploma as a Qualified Horary Practitioner—Q.H.P.

In March 2011, I began the Apprenticeship Program of astrological training with Steven Forrest, eminent evolutionary astrologer and writer. Evolutionary Astrology, according to Steven, “embraces paradigms and methodologies, which specifically measure the growth of the soul from life to life. These methods invariably focus on the planet Pluto and its relationship to the Nodal Axis.”

I have written a number of articles on astrology and personal growth that have been published in the various Journals of the White Eagle Lodge: Stella Polaris (The Journal of the White Eagle Lodge, New Lands, England), The Drumbeat (The White Eagle Lodge, Canada), and Altair (The Journal of the White Eagle School of Astrology).

Since December 2009, I have also written 450 articles and poems, as well as many spiritual Haiku poems, posted on my SunnyCat Astrology site. The impetus to write small pieces for an Internet blog began when Zoe, the last of our five beloved cat children, passed into the real of spirit on Christmas day, 2009. My original intent arose from the desire to reach out to others who were also grieving due to any significant loss, such as the physical death of a cherished animal or person, or the loss of a job or home. Some of the many topics I’ve written about include death, grief and loss, the continuity of life after death, consciousness, the power of thought, psychology, introversion, astrology, the Ancient Wisdom, mysticism, spiritual growth, self-acceptance, introversion, trust, surrender, acceptance, forgiveness, resilience, birds, mammals, the garden, and nature, to name a few.

©