going through the abcs

I'm willing to go by what you want - Your idea sounds fine and it makes some real sense to do it on a monthly basis with the change in signs.

Scorpio would be a good starting point, - It doesn't actually start for another couple of weeks, and it does raise the issue of traditional versus modern rulerships. I think tying into Tarot and other systems is a very good idea and I certainly look forward to learning myself from that angle. Perhaps if I started with the basic overview and then others could come in with questions, comments, etc.

Libra is the current sign but there are actually a number of posts already about Libra that are current and we would be restricting ourselves to less than a two weeks to talk about it.

Generally this process would give us a month roughly to develop our discussions on each area - so we would be able to take our time and reflect on the various issues raised.

Minderwiz

Is the group open?

Is it possible to join this discussion?

I have been reading Astrology for Beginners by Hewitt and Choice Centred Astrology by Gail Fairfield, and following this forum as well

I am a real beginner but am becoming familiar with some of the basic concepts. I've also downloaded the beginners' papers from www.astro.com and am using the freeware Astrowin to do charts.

The links between tarot and astrology have become very evident and I'd like to explore them further.

My partner is a Scorpio. I am Saggitarian, Capricorn rising, Moon in Pisces. 12th House as well. Discovering just this much has been enlightening. I work in the field of mental health and addiction LOL.

Moongold

*laughs* that's right - we're not in Scorpio just yet! I just associate the sign w/the whole month of Oct what w/Halloween and all - hmm, possible connection to explore there. Oh yes, another aspect to explore:
5) the relationship b/w the signs and agricultural cycles, equinoxes and solstices. It's only been roughly 100 yrs since the industrial revolution - before that, most ppl's lives, heck whole religions were closely intertwined w/agricultural patterns.

Alright, so starting Oct 23 we can begin a study of Scorpio, the 8th house and Pluto/Mars. I'll post an intro to the *Study Group forum* and we can go from there. If it turns out that this is too much to cover in a month, we can change the structure to something less intense (but the intensity might be very fitting for Scorpio )

Let's see... I'll go dig up whatever I can on Mithras (big connection here), alchemy (also, very major) and Tarot. Also, I can try to detail the relationship b/w the water signs, the Jungian feeling function and the cups suit.

So thanks to everyone for your interest - I look forward to reading our future discussions!

moongold

You can definetely join as we haven't started yet ^_^ I'm very new to astrology myself, so this is like an in-depth basics group.

Isthmus,

I'm not sure that we need to move to the Study Group forum - Having a chat with some of the other moderators, there was a feeling that the Astrology forum was the right place for our study group threads.

It may also help to have the threads in the Astrology forum for another reason - new people who visit the forum will be able to easily access the abc's threads without having to search other areas. and I can also make the monthly thread 'sticky' so that it doesn't sink down the list and can be more easily accessed and read.

Your right about the 'natural' year of equinoxes and solstices - without a knowledge of 'nature' the signs don't come easily. As we have two weeks before Scorpio starts, I'll post a thread about the zodiac as a whole and the natural cycle. The relevance of this to modern life is certainly something we should explore.

As it was your idea for the Study Group Isthmus - I think you should do the first introductory posts each month and set the scene for the discussions.


Minderwiz

Minderwiz> yes, I agree about keeping the group to this forum, and that would be excellent if we could keep the thread *stuck* so to speak for the duration of the study. Oh yes, and a thread about astrology's tie to agriculture, natural cycles etc would be very interesting, as well as more relavant than some would realize!

Alright, so starting w/Scorpio, I'll begin w/a generic description for those who are just beginning ie keywords, dates, glyphs etc. If you could then lend us your expertise, esp in history, that could set the basis for brainstorming and exploring different tangents. As these are brought up, we can start narrowing down on specific issues.

p.s. I went to the library this weekend and found a whole book on Pluto! I was very pleased.

Ok Isthmus, that seems to be set up

Look forward to the Pluto extracts - which book is it? there are several out there, such as Bill Tierney, Steven Forrest, Donna Cunningham and a two parter by someone whose name escapes me.

Minderwiz

The book is called Pluto; planet of magic & power, written by Ginger Chalford. I think it's a fairly publication, perhaps 80s b/c the language she uses is reminiscent of the self help pop psych stuff that was really popular that decade.

Personally, now that I've read it, I don't find it a particularly useful resource b/c of its focus on 'reprogramming behavioural patterns' and suchlike, but there are some interesting tid bits that have pointed me towards very rich mythological amplifications... I'll have a thing or two to say about Pluto and its relationship to its father, Saturn/Chronos in the wake of our last Saturn-Pluto opposition.

i for one will be keeping an eye out for posts here. i know hardly a thing about astrology and would love an easy to grasp introduction course.

OK, just to let y'all know, I've got a major paper due on the 23rd T_T so I'm going to try to have the intro post up by the evening. Before then, I'll probably be a little scarce (or I should be!!! If you see me posting tell me to get back to work!)