OPA Retreats - Maurice Fernandez

OPA Retreats:
A Human Dimension to
the Study of Astrology
by Maurice Fernandez
I came back from the seventh
Organization for Professional Astrology (OPA) retreat in Asilomar, California with a hopeful outlook. One reason
for my optimism was that I experienced
the community of astrologers in a different light. Professionals and amateurs
alike were truly interacting in meaningful ways; it was not solely about delivering a presentation and then going back
to one’s own personal business. Rather,
it was a very creative mode of learning,
where astrological knowledge was presented through multiple media. Workshops included creative writing, spiritual
development, and counseling training.
But more than anything, the retreat —
despite the large number of attendees
— felt like being with family: warm and
intimate.
I first met Bob Mulligan, the founder
of OPA, in 2003, when I was very much
a newbie to the American astrology
community. During our occasional brief
exchanges, I gathered that he was leading the organization, and though I was
really appreciative of the person himself,
his generous character, and his beautiful vision, the last thing on my mind was
the thought of belonging to any group.
My Aries Midheaven was perfectly
happy going solo and enjoying its creative freedom. So, when Bob asked me
to lead a group during one of the OPA
retreats, my response was to politely
decline.
Among other activities, leading a
group at OPA retreats means that the
astrologer participates in an additional
retreat with group leaders only, where
interactive work is conducted. In these
preliminary retreats, professionals meet
to discuss the profession of astrology,
and in this context, they also explore
each other’s approaches and methods
of work, to provide feedback. To me,
the idea of having someone comment
on my work felt like an intellectual
intrusion — generally, I was wary of
other people’s judgments and having
to justify my odd points of view, so my
instinctive inclination was to shy away
from being “analyzed.” Bob must have
a well-polished Mars, because he continued to ask me to join the retreat … or
was it that I was too polite in my refusal?
It took a few years, but he caught me
at the right moment, and I agreed to do
it. Since I have recently become more
focused on strengthening community
consciousness, it seemed that my defensive approach was losing relevance, and
I felt that it would be a good challenge
to confront my fear of having “critical
eyes” analyze my work.
The group exchange
explicitly reinforced
that we were there
to support each other
and to promote
astrology as
a profession.
Martha’s Vineyard
The retreat among group leaders
took place in June 2010 in the spacious
house of another OPA group leader,
Arlan Wise, located in the beautiful setting of Martha’s Vineyard. Other participants knew each other well from
previous gatherings, and I was the only
newcomer. Ten of us were to spend
about five days together and explore
the intimate reality of our personal
“behind the scenes” life as professional
astrologers.
After everyone arrived, we were
introduced and welcomed at the first
meeting. We shared our impressions
about the current reality of astrology
and our experiences as working astrologers. Clearly, we all came from different
worlds and had distinct experiences;
nevertheless, the group exchange
explicitly reinforced that we were there
to support each other and to promote
astrology as a profession. Bob spoke of
the vision of OPA as an organization; he
mentioned that he had started out on his
professional path feeling a tremendous
lack of support, and had established this
organization to address that. OPA was
created to help astrologers enhance their
practice and raise the overall quality of
their work, with a focus on improving
the counselor-to-client interaction.
During the course of this retreat,
we split into groups of three and four
for peer supervision work. Each participant was to analyze the chart of another
group member, and then each was
invited to share an episode where they
had experienced a challenge of some
sort with a client. The purpose of having
a smaller group size was to strengthen
the intimacy and confidentiality of the
exchange. I suddenly realized that I had
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OPA Retreat
not had my chart read by another professional for years. It was both a treat
and a revelation: seeing how someone
else reads the symbols and configurations that were so familiar to me in a
quite different and yet absolutely pertinent way.
The reading that I provided was well
received and drew compliments — the
exercise was obviously not meant for us
to criticize each other’s approach, but to
learn about our work, about astrology, in
an experiential way. Another step in that
direction was taken when we delved into
the challenges of our personal practice
by sharing difficulties we had encountered with clients. We closed the retreat
with a discussion of our future goals
and business plans. The space created
allowed us to share our vision in a spirit
of brotherhood, encouraged in our individual path.
I returned to my daily life after a
boat, car, and plane ride and reflected
on the main impact of the retreat:
Group association was not that dangerous. It emphasized what I was increasingly recognizing in my own reality
— that community is vital, particularly
in a world where support systems are
an endangered species. Individual initiatives such as Bob’s vision of creating
OPA counterbalance growing cynicism
and isolation. At the risk of sounding
overly romantic, I was inspired!
92 www.mountainastrologer.com
Asilomar
The second leg of the retreat took
place in October 2010 in Asilomar,
on the central coast of California —
another beautiful setting bordering a different ocean this time and surrounded
by the most amazing cypress trees. At
Asilomar, the group leaders actually
worked with their groups for the first
time. Participants had pre-registered
for a specific workshop among the ten
offered. The themes of the workshops
varied widely, from practical chart delineation to creative expression, including,
for example: “Forecasting,” with Sandra
Leigh Serio; “How to Develop a Successful Practice,” with Bob Mulligan;
“Creative Writing,” with Arlan Wise;
and “Mundane Astrology,” with Chris
McRae. Among the ten groups, a beginner’s workshop was also presented by
Ani Bettati, who had the significant task
of introducing newcomers to the rich
world of astrology.
Fate
The Asilomar retreat differed in
format from the preliminary retreat for
group leaders; following introductions
and welcoming messages by OPA’s
president, Alexandra Karacostas, a
panel of five astrologers, led by Monica
Dimino, discussed the concept, “Fate,
the Elephant in the Room,” in the context of astrology and beyond. Myself,
Monica, Glenn Perry, Sandra Leigh
Serio, and Bob Mulligan interacted (as
civilly as possible) with each other and
We delved into
the challenges
of our personal
practice by sharing
difficulties we
had encountered
with clients.
with the audience, which reflected and
responded to the emerging perspectives.
“Is a Scorpio fated to act as a Scorpio?” asked Monica. Truly, I had never
looked at it that way; usually we think
of fate as predestined events directing
us in a particular way in life. But this
question (or rather insight, since, yes,
I can confirm that a Scorpio is fated to
act as a Scorpio!) added another layer
to the experience of fate: We are fated
to live by our chart. Astrologers with a
more growth-oriented approach, myself
included, were quick to insert the polarity of free will into the equation. For this
purpose, I put up onscreen the chart of
a famous figure without revealing his
identity and asked people to analyze the
chart configurations: The person had a
Mars–Venus conjunction in Scorpio in
the 1st house opposing Pluto and Jupiter in Taurus in the 7th. Among other
signatures, this angular configuration
clearly indicated a fiercely defensive
attitude, someone consumed by existential insecurities, and therefore well
inclined to power struggles in relationships and beyond — the chart described
a person with potential rage who was
prone to reactive outbursts, ruptures, or
even violence. I later revealed that this
was Mohandas Gandhi’s chart (October 2, 1869, 7:11 a.m. in Porbander,
India). The obvious point of this exercise was to demonstrate that, despite
our chart’s fated influence on our existence, it seems that we have the choice,
or free will, to manifest the potential of
the chart on higher or lower levels of
expression. In the abovementioned
example, Gandhi’s higher evolutionary
consciousness allowed him to use
the rage and confrontational qualities
reflected in his chart toward the noble
cause of activism, change, and revolution, rather than manifest a negative
potential. Another argument to counterbalance fate was made by displaying the
January 18, 2010 Time magazine cover
titled: “Why Your DNA Isn’t Your Destiny.” This article described how DNA
can be altered after birth, thus showing
that our fate (DNA coding) is not set in
stone.
The conversation and exchange
were fascinating; the subject was discussed in intelligent ways, and though
“fate enthusiasts” argued with “free-will
enthusiasts,” we were able to go deep
and come up with new realizations. One
that remains with me is: “When it all
comes down to truth, fate is joy!”
Short Talks and
Workshop Tracks
During the following three days, the
mornings began with everyone meeting
in the main conference room and hearing three consecutive short presentations
about different astrology-related topics. In “Technology and Astrology,” Ron
Archer discussed the benefits of Internet use to promote astrological services.
Ron was concise and provided accessible tools for setting up a Web site. Glenn
Perry discussed the limitations intrinsic to dignities and debilities in astrology, offering a more growth-oriented
approach to planetary placements and
reminding us of the problematic effects
of determinism when associating configurations with systematic “dignity” or
“detriment” attributes. Arlan Wise spoke
of Internet dating; this was unexpected
and fun — astrology on the lighter side.
Immersed by then into astrological consciousness, participants were subsequently invited
to join their chosen group and
begin the more intensive learning process. Group sizes varied
from two to ten students. These
different tracks allowed for more
in-depth learning in a more intimate setting. Five hours of study
per day for three days guaranteed that each participant would
come out with more than just tidbits. The underlying motivation
of each track was not only to
share knowledge and train students, but also to support aspiring
astrologers in raising their standards
of practice and gaining tools to eventually establish and/or expand their
practice. Besides the material covered,
time was also dedicated to chart analysis and counselor–client dynamics.
Some groups also got into the intricacies of the business of astrology, what it
requires, and how to solidify it.
The theme of my track was “The
Spiritual Dimension of a Chart,” looking for the spiritual principles behind
astrological configurations — in other
words, how the mundane, casual
expression of our chart actually relies
on deeper truth and timeless concepts.
For example, if we refer to Virgo as the
sign representing “work,” we would
explore the spiritual meaning of work
and how, beyond the mundane application of having a job, work actually
means that all beings must actively
participate in the process of life and
work on themselves. Divine Providence
is not to be taken for granted, and
nothing in existence is truly free from
labor.
What was very unique to OPA was
that group leaders would meet after sessions to discuss the unfolding of the
workshops together. Each leader shared
experiences, needs, and concerns, and
everyone made suggestions. For example, a discussion arose around the fact
that a participant wanted to leave a
group and change tracks. This brought
up thoughts about the established
notion that, given the intimate atmosphere created by each group, it was not
encouraged to have people join another
group in the middle of the course.
Could compromises and exceptions be
made? Group leaders felt included in
the still ongoing decision-making process, rendering OPA’s leadership more
democratic and the overall experience
more communal and inclusive.
Over the following days, the morning short talks covered Astrology and
Yoga, Psychology and Astrology, Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology, the
Transiting Nodes, and a highly inspiring
presentation, “Astrology’s Vision of the
Future,” by none other than Aquarian
Chris McRae.
Once charged with new insight,
connections, and the confidence to take
astrology forward, everyone gathered in
the main conference room where each
group in turn took to the stage to share
their personal retreat experiences. The
festive atmosphere was heartwarming; it seems that the retreat provided
a space for everyone to go through a
process and emerge renewed — for the
vast majority, clearly richer than before.
The 2010 OPA retreat was a definite
success.
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OPA Retreat
The Astrology Community
Perhaps the need for stronger
peer work and community exchange
is not exclusive to the field of astrology, but my previous experience is that
the astrology world in particular lacks
these support systems. Delving into the
mysteries of the stars and cosmic patterns inevitably draws individuals who
are seekers by nature — astrologers
do not settle for the material dimension only; they usually have a spiritual edge of some kind. Yet, the field of
astrology is vast and often abstract, and
its complexity is not always well handled. Creative thinking engenders individuality, giving birth to a wide variety
of approaches and interpretations. In
short, astrologers can easily be divided.
Of course, division exists in practically
every field of practice, but perhaps
because we are exploring a higherconsciousness dimension with astrology,
we also have the opportunity to act in
more enlightened ways. We can make a
greater effort to see beyond the immediacy of our cherished points of view
— without losing our individuality or
giving in to fanciful and ungrounded
methods of practice. In other words, we
as astrologers have the potential to create a more cooperative and supportive
community.
These new conference
formats reflect where we
should all go as humans: a
place of support, creativity,
and multidimensionality.
I was inspired because OPA moved
in that direction and invited cooperation among professionals and amateurs.
Its format inevitably broke through our
defenses and did so in ways that were safe
and respectful. I saw a similar effort in the
2007 Blast conference organized by Moses
Siregar in Sedona, Arizona, where a very
focused effort was made to bring every
astrology orientation together — practically all disciplines were represented. What
made this unique was that it was a onetrack presentation format, so everyone was
exposed to what others had to say. At first,
every group kept to themselves, forming
little clusters of “traditionals,” “Vedics,” or
“evolutionists,” just like stars grouping to
form constellations, but dialogue ensued
and the division was reduced.
Another OPA retreat virtue is the
varying format of learning, moving from a
larger gathering to more intimate groups,
short sessions versus intensive group
immersion, panel discussions versus lectures. I personally see the combination of
approaches as essential to the learning
process, and when I myself organized
an astrology conference, The River of
Stars, in January 2011, I emphasized
the multidimensional learning process: from academic presentations to
movement-based experiential learning, including direct experience of stargazing. It is inspiring to see astrology
growing to new heights, not only in
content and new discoveries, but also
on a human level. These new conference formats reflect where we should
all go as humans: a place of support, creativity, and multidimensionality, without compromising on rigor
and quality. Looking forward to the
November 2011 OPA retreat in South
Carolina, I reiterate: I am hopeful!
© 2011 Maurice Fernandez –
all rights reserved
Maurice Fernandez is author of the books,
Neptune, the 12th House and Pisces and
Astrology and the Evolution of Consciousness. He is a leading evolutionary astrologer
and the creator of The River of Stars astrology conference in Hawaii. His educational
programs and reading practice have forged
a worldwide reputation of depth and excellence. Maurice has been practicing Kundalini
Yoga for more than 15 years and teaches it
along with astrology, offering workshops that
provide a complete experience for the body,
mind, and spirit. Visit his Web site: www.
mauricefernandez.com; contact him through
e-mail: [email protected]; and find him
on Facebook.
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