Tag: Archetypal Astrology

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Astrology and Psychedelics: A Symbiotic Relationship

If any of you have been curious what I’ve been up to since I closed down my astrological counseling practice in 2022, come to the (R)Evolution Rising Astrology Summit on August 8–10 to find out!

For the last few years, I’ve been researching and writing the biography of Dr. Stanislav Grof, one of the world’s foremost pioneering researchers into the healing and heuristic potentials of LSD psychotherapy.

As the (R)Evolution Rising Astrology Summit, I will be bringing together two of my primary areas of research into one keynote lecture: astrology and psychedelics.

Here is a description of my keynote presentation:
Is there a connection between astrology and psychedelics? At Esalen Institute in the mid-1970s, Stanislav Grof and his doctoral student Richard Tarnas were trying to solve the mystery of the inter- and intra-individual variability of LSD sessions. The radical suggestion that astrology might be the answer opened up a vast new domain of research. As the biographer of Grof, archetypal astrologer Becca Tarnas is uniquely positioned to present on this topic of the mutually illuminating relationship between psychedelics and astrology.

There will be numerous other extraordinary astrology presentations at this summit, offered by my fellow astrologers and even two of my former students! Attendance is free, with the option to purchase recordings and bonus materials offered by each presenter. It would be wonderful to see many of you there!

Learn More & Register for the Summit!

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(R)Evolution Rising: Astrology for the Zeitgeist

A Free 3-Day Online Astrology Summit

August 8–10, 2025

It is my joy to announce that I’ll be offering a keynote presentation for the online summit (R)Evolution Rising: Astrology for the Zeitgeist, taking place this August 8–10! The summit’s host and creator, Christina Caudill, has crafted this free online event to give participants the astrological insight to help navigate the transformative and challenging era in which we find ourselves with greater awareness and purpose.

I am honored to be part of the group of gifted astrologers speaking at this conference, and am truly delighted that two of my archetypal astrology students from the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness graduate program at the California Institute of Integral Studies will also be speaking: Somya Desai and Kate Kettelkamp. Both of these women are extraordinary astrologers whose work and research I highly recommend. Please come to the summit to hear their brilliant ideas and to learn from the rest of the panelists!

Learn More & Register for the Summit!

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Ambassadors of the Galaxy: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

Register for the Event!

The three “classical” modern planets—Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, discovered by telescope in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, respectively—are each associated with archetypal principles and powers of fundamental importance for understanding human life. They are especially essential for understanding both the underlying dynamics of the collective psyche, as visible in cultural and historical events and trends, and the deeper psychological and spiritual dimensions of our individual lives. Join father and daughter archetypal astrologers, Richard and Becca Tarnas, as they share their insights into these great cosmic energies and consider the outlook for 2025 within the context of recent history.

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Archetypal Astrology for Jungians

On Saturday, November 9, I will be offering an online workshop entitled “Archetypal Astrology for Jungians” for the C. G. Jung Society of Atlanta!

Since my son was born earlier this year, I have cut significantly back on offering public lectures and events, so this will be my only workshop this year—and I’m eagerly looking forward to facilitating it! The workshop provides an introduction to the basic framework and techniques of archetypal astrology, particularly adapted to suit the needs and perspective of Jungian therapists and scholars, or anyone with an interest in depth psychology. The workshop will be recorded, and I hope to see many of you there!

Register for the Workshop!

Workshop Description

In recent years, new scholarship has been emerging demonstrating the essential role the discipline of astrology played in the development and practice of C. G. Jung’s analytical psychology. In 1911, Jung wrote a letter to Freud in which he said that his nights were occupied with the study of astrology, to which Freud responded that Jung would be “accused of mysticism.” Jung kept his practice of astrology relatively concealed, but based upon evidence in his own writings, as well as statements he made late in his life, Jung was drawing on astrological wisdom regularly for both personal use and with his patients.

This workshop will demonstrate the role astrology played in Jung’s analytic practice, as well as the significant ways in which he drew on astrological symbolism in the transformative process of creating The Red Book. By understanding how astrology influenced the development of Jungian psychology—and how depth psychology has subsequently shaped modern astrology—we can see how the astrological discipline can complement, enhance, and deepen the psychotherapy practiced today.

Depth psychology and archetypal astrology are complementary disciplines. This workshop offers a basic foundation in astrological techniques which can be applied to psychological practice, whether as a clinician or for personal inquiry. A brief history archetypes, the symbolism of the planets, and planetary aspects will all be taught, along with examples from art, culture, and history. This workshop may be a gateway to astrology for some, while it can also be a deepening of the archetypal perspective for those already with an astrological practice.

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Your Astrological Initiation

With Richard Tarnas & Becca Tarnas

Practical Guidance for Using Astrology to Best Serve Yourself, Others, and the World

“It is in the realm of the soul that we find the heavens that govern the skies.”
–  Rumi

“Astrology represents the sum of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity.”
– C. G. Jung

The Astrology Hub has created a beautiful opportunity for me and my father, Richard Tarnas, to offer a workshop together focusing on the skills it takes to be an excellent astrologer. “Your Astrological Initiation” offers insight on how to be an astrological ambassador to your community, whether you are a student new to astrology or a seasoned professional astrologer.

Purchase a Recording of the Workshop!

In the workshop, we will be speaking about the relationship between astrology and psychology, techniques for how to deepen your practice, how to frame an astrology reading or research project, the ethics of a compassionate consultation, the best ways to respond to skepticism, and a celebration of the profound astrological mystery into which the astrologer is initiated.

The 4-hour workshop takes place on Wednesday, September 21 at 2:00–6:00 pm Pacific time, with a follow-up 2-hour live Q&A on Tuesday, September 27 at 2:00 pm Pacific time. Both events will be recorded and participants will have lifetime access to the recordings, plus there will be an opportunity to submit questions before the Q&A.

We’ve never before offered a workshop together of this kind and I think it will be a rich opportunity for everyone who participates!

To read a full description of the workshop, and view all the bonus offerings, please visit: astrologyhub.com/yourinitiation.

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Archetypal Astrology: A Glimpse of 2022

To welcome in the New Year, I will be offering a presentation for the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy, the same organization involved in publishing the book Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States, to which I contributed a chapter last year.

The presentation is titled Archetypal Astrology: A Glimpse of 2022, and will provide an overview of the planetary transits for the coming year. I would be delighted to see many of you there!

Register for the Event!

Archetypal astrology is the practice of studying correlations between the movements of the planets and the unfolding of human events on Earth, a celestial synchronization that intimates the deeply ensouled nature of the cosmos. This keynote presentation will explore the foundational principles of archetypal astrology, before taking a look ahead at the transits for 2022 to get a picture of what archetypal potentials may transpire. Such knowledge can help one navigate the collective zeitgeist with grace, integrating the challenges that may arise, the opportunities that may unfold, and the areas for growth that may be awakened.

This spectacular image of the Orion Nebula star-formation region was obtained from multiple exposures using the HAWK-I infrared camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile. This is the deepest view ever of this region and reveals more very faint planetary-mass objects than expected.
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Encountering the Archetypes in Astrology

This upcoming Saturday, October 30 I will be offering a presentation for Acyuta-bhava Das’s Nightlight Astrology School entitled “Encountering the Archetypes in Astrology“! The talk introduces the concept of archetypes from a philosophical, psychological, and spiritual perspective, demonstrating how a perception of archetypal principles can be applied to one’s astrological practice. The presentation will be hosted online, at 9:00–11:30 am Pacific time, 12:00–2:30 pm Eastern. Please visit the Events page of the Nightlight Astrology School for details on how to register for the event!

About the Workshop

What is an archetype, and how does it relate to astrology? This presentation will introduce the theory of archetypes from a philosophical and psychological perspective, exploring a lineage that extends from Plato in ancient Greece through C.G. Jung in 20th century Switzerland, to the contemporary disciplines of transpersonal psychology, participatory spirituality, and archetypal astrology. Learning to perceive the archetypal principles in the particulars of everyday life can deepen any astrological practice, and be applied methodologically to any branch of astrology.

Register for the Workshop!

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Astro Magia

A Symposium of Art, Academy, Philosophy, & Practice

September 17 – 19, 2021

It is my joy and honor to be offering a keynote presentation at the conference Astro Magia: A Symposium of Art, Academy, Philosophy, & Practice. This online symposium draws together an inspiring pantheon of voices on the subject of astrological magic, exploring the praxis of participatory engagement with a living, symbolic sky.

My keynote will take place on Saturday, September 18 at 4:00–5:30 pm Pacific time. The presentation is titled “The Sacral Hour: Archetypes, Synchronicity, and Magic,” and offers a contemporary philosophical and psychological perspective on astrological magic.

The Sacral Hour: Archetypes, Synchronicity, and Magic

Synchronicity is the meaningful coincidence of an inner experience with an outer event, in which there is no direct causal connection and yet there is a core archetypal symbolism informing the interconnected events. Astrology is the ancient practice of reading the archetypal story playing out across the heavens night after night. While by definition synchronicities are rare events, astrology can be understood as a continuously ongoing, collectively verifiable synchronicity: the meaningful coincidence of the positions of the planets relative to the archetypal unfolding of human events on Earth.

In the modern world view, synchronicities are seen as mere anomalies, chance events despite their extreme improbability. But synchronicity points towards a deeper meaning, one inherently familiar to ancient, medieval, and traditional paradigms: the cosmos is saturated with purpose, meaning, consciousness, and intelligence, an archetypally patterned web eternally woven by the co-arising divine soul of the world. To align ourselves with these archetypal threads is to participate in a magic that is thrumming every moment from the hidden heart of the cosmos.

While astrological magic has ancient roots, practicing it in the contemporary world requires a synthesis and integration with modern philosophy, psychology, religion, and spirituality in order to bring forward language and concepts that can speak to our place in an evolving cosmos. Archetypal theory, synchronicity, and participatory spirituality are all foundational concepts that can support the praxis of astrological magic in a paradigm reawakening to cosmic enchantment.

Learn More & Register for the Symposium!

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Awakening to Archetypal Astrology Course

This year has already been full of several major projects for me, and one that I am especially eager to share with you has just been launched: my first online introductory course to the practice of archetypal astrology. The course is offered through the Academy of Oracle Arts, a Nevada City-based center for higher and deeper learning. In many ways this course is a culmination of more than a decade of astrological learning and practice, and it is my joy and honor to be able to present it to you.

As I was writing the lectures, I came to recognize how much the course itself is an homage to my father Richard Tarnas, who has been my greatest teacher in this work. I chose to build the course around his foundational text Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, giving a new generation of students the opportunity to explore deeply the book that was being written throughout my entire childhood.

The course launches on May 1, and each of the six modules of the course will be released weekly over the next month and a half, and will be available in perpetuity. This is an evergreen course, meaning it will be available for students to enroll in at any time, and to study the material at one’s own pace. You will be able to return to the lectures again and again so they can support you in developing your own engaged astrological practice.

Register for Awakening to Archetypal Astrology!

Course Description
Archetypal astrology is a discipline that emerges from the interweaving of the astrological tradition with depth psychology and transpersonal spirituality. This introductory course lays the foundations for an astrological practice, beginning with an examination of world views and the history of the archetypal perspective, followed by a study of the basic principles and techniques of archetypal astrology: the meanings of the planets, aspects, and zodiacal signs, how to read a natal chart and explore the world transits, and how to calculate personal transits and keep a transit journal. Participants in the course will be given the tools for their own ethical astrological practice, cultivating the capacity for deep inner reflection, relational understanding and growth, and an archetypal perception of the cosmos in which we are all embedded.

Course Outline

Class 1 – Introduction to course material
• A brief history of astrology in the West
• World views and synchronicity

Class 2 – Planets and aspects
• Archetypes in philosophy, psychology, and astrology
• Saturn and Uranus cycles

Class 3 – Signs of the zodiac
• World transits
• Uranus-Pluto cycles

Class 4 – Natal charts
• House systems and angles
• Saturn-Pluto cycles

Class 5 – Personal transits
• Reading an ephemeris and using software
• Jupiter-Uranus cycles

Class 6 – Ethics of astrology
• Uranus-Neptune cycles
• Living in an astrological world view

Register for the course Awakening to Archetypal Astrology: https://academyoforaclearts.mykajabi.com/Awakening%20to%20Archetypal%20Astrology

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Archetypal Vision 2020

The Rosetta Stone of the Numinous

I am delighted to be participating in a free public webinar this coming Tuesday, December 8 at 5:00 pm Pacific time, 8:00 pm Eastern. Join us as we explore the powerful events of 2020, their astrological influences, and those coming to the fore in 2021.

For those unable to attend live, the recording is now available!

Many people are going through a time of great suffering, fear, and doubt. Others are facing a dramatic emotional death-rebirth struggle. There are also many exciting and promising breakthroughs underway.

We will look at the archetypal roots of these feelings and events and how the great world transit of Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto square Uranus is manifesting in both people’s personal lives and more broadly across the world.