Dorothy Oja

Interview with Dorothy Oja

Breaking Down the Borders

Compatibility and Conflict – Synastry

Friday, November 19, 2010 – 8:00 p.m. EST

Linda Furiate- You are ISAR Certified and began working as a full time professional astrologer in 1981, how has your business evolved through the years? And what is Mindworks?

Dorothy Oja – Good Question! Mindworks is the name of my client practice. Since my start as a full-time professional (after 10 years of study and teaching astrological fundamentals), I began attending conferences and meeting the people whose books I had read! Then I became intrigued with the astrological organizations that presented themselves. I realized this was my community and wanted to be a part of it. Before that I had been working pretty much in isolated self-study and annoying my friends with my exuberance! In the mid-eighties, I began writing various articles on whatever interested me in the world of astrology and continued reading, studying and building my clientele. To date, I have written dozens of articles and two book-length computer reports on Compatibility and Conflict for Romantic and either Business or Friendship Relationships. Teaching and lecturing has become a source of great satisfaction and I’ve been blessed to have opportunities to lecture all over the world. A book is next and now to find the time to put all those thoughts and ideas together! Argh!

My community service work began with AFAN, where I moved from networker to Chair of AFAN’s Legal Information Committee. During my term as Chair of Legal, we won a case for astrology that went to the California Supreme Court. It was quite a victory. In 2001, I began working actively with ISAR and its Ethics Initiative, which had been of interest to me for many years as I sought professional standards for my own practice. Currently, I am Chair of ISAR’s Ethics Committee.

My clientele is international and I am grateful for all those who put their trust in me, and who have allowed me to do the work that I love and believe in. Life is not boring! LOL!

LF – What do you enjoy most about astrology and how would you define yourself as an astrologer?

DO – My greatest satisfaction comes from widening the perspective of a client, elucidating other ways to express energies in their chart or transiting cycles affecting them. I enjoy supporting clients to maximize their chart potential to the limits of their capacity, and strive diligently to show the client what is possible with the configurations they have. I am a humanistic astrologer and believe in the ability to change destiny, if one is willing to know themselves well enough and have the motive to do what is necessary. I also realize the presence of fate and weave an understanding of fateful happenings into my dialogue and interpretation with clients. My best skills are those of interpretation and synthesis, relationship analysis, and I also excel in researching dates for surgery, in particular, but also other dates to begin an important life event.

LF –  Your talk for the BDTB conference is called “Compatibility and Conflict – Synastry” Give us a little insight as to what you will be lecturing about and give us an example of how this may play out in the chart.

DO – My lecture for BDTB is Compatibility and Conflict – Synastry, which describes some of the most powerful astrological connections between charts and how to work with one of the most requested areas of astrology – relationship compatibility. I utilize synastry techniques, as well as a combined chart, called the Davison Relationship chart. But first and foremost is the capacity for relationship in the natal chart – always!

LF –  How may someone sign up for your bi-monthly newsletter?

DO – Simply contact me at DOja96@aol.com and I will gladly add you to the subscription list. I am reworking my web and FB presence, after which signing up for my newsletter and other offerings will be easier.

LF – What is the benefit of attending your lecture for the BDTB conference?

DO – We can all use more insight into how relationships work and how they can function even more effectively. Every lecture can deliver a nugget of added wisdom to your repertoire of knowledge and I believe mine will too! Hope to see you there!

http://www.astrologyconference.org/cgi-bin/speakers.cgi?STAFF=1068

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Roy Gillett

Image via CrunchBase

Interview with Roy Gillett

Breaking Down the Borders

Zodiac Meanings as a Source of Liberation

Friday, November 19, 2010 – 12:30 p.m. EST

Linda Furiate – How would you define your love of astrology and how were you first introduced this science?

Roy Gillett – My YouTube interview [see link below] answers it pretty well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRhA0mSmFgo. Also my book Astrology and Compassion the Convenient Truth will provide more detail.

LF – Tell us more about the numerous books you have written. And how may we purchase a copy?

RG – Astrological Diaries, containing day-by-day interpretations of the upcoming astro-events 1979-1990. A Model of Health looks at the similarity of the fundamental healing process at the cellular, psychological (motivational) and social levels. Zen for Modern Living illustrated hard cover book. The Essence of Buddhism beautifully illustrated hard cover book, introduces the basis of Tibetan Buddhism.

Astrology and Compassion the Convenient Truth aims toward any thinking reader, even if having no previous knowledge, and also full of ideas that astrology colleagues may wish to use, this book questions modern assumptions about the absolute truth of science, answers criticisms of astrology, explains its basic nature and how it might work, looks especially at mundane and karmic astrology, as well as counseling. Then astrology’s relationship with religion, philosophy, science, mathematic, psychology and sociology is studied in depth. The last part explores the potential value of astrology in economic planning and business organisation, the criminal and civil legal processes, social policy and education.

Economy, Ecology and Kindness, is an in-depth study of the World Economy and Astro-cycles (1984-2024) and the real causes and lasting solutions to our current crisis.” Books are available from any normal book-selling outlet, although preferable and cheaper to buy direct from my web site http://www.crucialastrotools.co.uk/ .

LF – Your lecture for the BDTB conference is entitled “Zodiac Meanings as a Source of Liberation” and you talk about the Tibetan Wheel of Life. Give us a brief overview as to how this may bring us Liberation in this lifetime or another.

RG – The birth chart is a diagramatic representation of birth karma and the transits and progressions opportunities to address and transform our karmic challenges. How we deal with attachment is the key to liberation from suffering. Astrological understanding of the difficulties as well as the opportunities shown by our chart helps us to see things as they really are beyond delusion.  Such seeing makes attachment irrelevant and our lives clear. Knowing things as they really are, we feel free.

LF – If someone wants to learn more about your astrology work, how can they find out more?

RG – Reading my books, visit our website at http://www.crucialasterotools.co.uk join Astrological Association of Great Britain, of which I am President. Come to our annual conferences. Also you receive the bi-monthly Journal, where I write a ‘Working with the Planets’ column. Go to the News section on http://www.astrologicalassociation.com.  I am also speaking at NORWAC in Seattle May 2011 and UAC in New Orleans May 2011.

LF – What are you looking forward to most about sharing your knowledge and expertise in an online astrology conference?

RG – Having the chance to share and be in the company of people who care about each other and the true nature of the world we live in.

http://www.astrologyconference.org/cgi-bin/speakers.cgi?STAFF=1013

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Christeen Skinner

Christeen Skinner interview

Breaking Down the Borders

Neptune: Bringer of Wealth and Prosperity in Financial and Business Astrology

Sunday, November 21, 2010 – 11:30 a.m. EST

Linda Furiate – How does one go from a career in music to becoming a full time professional astrologer specializing in financial astrology? What was going on in your own chart when you made that leap of faith?

Christeen Skinner – I drew my first chart when I was at school – so, in a sense, astrology preceded music. Then I went off to study at the Royal Manchester College of Music before entering the music profession. Time moved on, I played with various orchestras and married – with astrology never that far from the horizon and running parallel to my music career.

The mothers of many of my son’s friends came to the point where they were returning to careers and developing new ones. I read some charts (horoscopes) for them but found I hadn’t a clue as to how to advise about business matters. There were very few books written on astrology and business at that time (mid 80s).

So, I spent time in the London Business library and researched the charts of companies forming our FTSE index (similar to the Dow Jones in the US) and eventually found what I believed to be correspondence between business success and planetary aspects.

I must stress that at this point, it was all about business and astrology – not purely the financial aspects. I was interested in marketing, business relationships, product development etc. Around this same time, and whilst playing in the West End in London, I began to compare one performance with another and became intrigued by how the changing Ascendant and Midheaven seemed to have impact on the show.

Eventually, as I worked more with two rapidly-growing small businesses it became clear that I needed to know more about actual trading – especially currency exchange.

I was also then treasurer of the Faculty of Astrological Studies whose wide-spread reach meant I needed to understand the differences between sterling, the US dollar and Spanish currency of the time, the peseta, not to mention the vagaries of the tax system here.

Coincidentally I was meeting regularly with city businessmen and traders who had terrific understanding of the solar system (and who taught me a thing or two about cycles and harmonics). With their encouragement I took faltering steps into the world of finance.

All this took place as Pluto moved through Scorpio and my 7^th house. By the time it reached the Placidean cusp of that house – and my Sagittarian Moon – I had more or less left behind my social career and moved from business to financial astrologer.

Music is still a huge part of my life. I no longer play but am involved in various music events. My husband is a professor of percussion here in London and together we attend many events around the world (he is a Sagittarius.)

LF – Tell us more about your recent book “The Financial Universe”. It is written for those who have little understanding of astrology. What can the average person expect to gain from a personal financial perspective after reading your book?

CS – Great question! I wanted to write a book that was for my clients – not astrologers. The publisher wanted me to focus on advice for personal investors. This wasn’t really practical as the book was to have global reach and couldn’t possibly cover all markets or even a fraction of the companies readers might be interested in. I chose to concentrate on developing a different line of thought for the investor – introducing them to long term trends on which they might capitalise e.g. anyone reading the book when it first came out in 2004 would have been aware that the banking industry might suffer and might then have reduced their stake in this sector. Similarly I suggested which sectors – and areas of the world – might thrive in the coming years.

LF – Your lecture for the Breaking Down the Borders conference is Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. EST where you will be talking about Neptune, the Bringer of Wealth. Without giving too much of your lecture away give us a brief explanation as to why Neptune considered a money planet in Financial and Business astrology.

CS – In my initial studies, I found Neptune to be well integrated in business chart patterns and in the charts of those with great wealth. My first business clients began their enterprises under Neptune transits – and thrived. Though initially I thought that this was down to good marketing, I soon realised that Neptune’s presence brought the expected imaginative thinking and also a positive attitude to numbers that required thinking out of the normal comfort zone.

LF – How can we learn more about your work in financial astrology?

You can visit my new website www.financialuniverse.co.uk where you can sign up for the free newsletter (which is in chat format) or subscribe to a financial newsletter and access an astro-blog. Four times a year I host seminars – geared for the business community more than astrologers – but of interest to both groups. Web-seminars will begin in December.

LF – Why was in important for you to participate in the first ever online astrology conference of this magnitude hosted by the International Academy of Astrology?

This is perhaps the easiest question! Natally I have Uranus on the IC, and am enchanted by those who work at the front line of technology. I was a fan of Ena Stanley from the time when she first began her Internet courses and have applauded the Academy through its development. The conference is another step on the way. I am thrilled and delighted to be asked to play a part.

http://www.astrologyconference.org/cgi-bin/speakers.cgi?STAFF=1030

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