Birth Chart as Kaleidoscope: Astrology Fundamentals
With Natalie Labriola
2 hours (part presentation / part Q&A and discussion), via Zoom
Four Saturdays in April: 8, 15, 22, 29
2 PM EST/ 11 AM PST
Total Cost: $111 Early-bird pricing until April 1st
Reading one’s birth chart is akin to peering into a kaleidoscope: the more it’s turned from different perspectives, the more it reveals about the changing pattern inside. The word kaleidoscope comes from a mash-up of three different ancient Greek words (kalos, eidos, and skopeo), together meaning “the observation of beautiful forms” — a phrase that could equally be used to describe the practice of astrology, which is based on the observation of the movements of the planets and the corresponding events on Earth. Astrology is a geocentric art, meaning that celestial events are described from the point of view of life of Earth — as such, astrology doesn’t endeavor to describe Ultimate Reality but rather our subjective experiences from our relative position in the Universe. As a picture of the sky at the moment of birth, the birth chart is a symbolic map of one’s life, which describes the archetypal fields of both inner and outer experience. We decode its meanings by analyzing the position of the planets relative to the zodiac, their house location, and the aspects or angular relationships between each other: in effect, producing a poetic and symbolic narrative synthesized from the raw elements of astronomical and mathematical data. The astrological tradition dates back to ancient Babylonian star gazers, and in this class I will draw on the histories, concepts and techniques of both our ancient predecessors and modern practitioners. To read your own birth chart is to intimately understand the quality of time encoded in a single moment — the moment of your first breath — which paradoxically takes an entire lifetime to reveal itself fully. The birth chart can be a lifelong companion, and an invaluable tool for self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and a deeper understanding of one’s challenges and gifts.
Natalie Labriola is a visual artist, astrologer and tarot reader in Los Angeles, CA. She created Talis in 2017 as a clothing line for psychic protection inspired by her study of the occult, apotropaic magic, and astrology. In addition to clothing for psychic protection, Talis is now a hub for all her offerings, including tarot and astrology readings, artworks created as spells to accompany readings, and talismanic clothing. She received her MFA in Sculpture from Bard College in 2015.