15.5.08

UAC: pre-conference

UAC does not formally open until tonight but already there are about 2200 attendees and the buzz is constant. literally every big, new or rising star from all branches of astrology are in attendance. the 15 tracks cover medieval, evolutionary, vedic, financial, esoteric and uranian/cosmobiology astrology, to name a few. there is a track on community issues, and one on astrology basics. the best news is that I got my dream track – mythology and archetypal astrology. it’s heaven!

today we had the preconference workshops; 5 half-day sessions given by the cream-of-the-crop astrologers on topics both timely and timeless. More on this below.

I spent my first day as a “room monitor” trying not to be too terribly officious while asking for proof of payment for the workshop, counting heads and distributing handouts. my ”monitor buddy” (there are two room monitors for every workshop and talk) was responsible for doing the digital taping. the good news is that I didn’t have to deal with the high-tech digital recording aspect of the job – not my forte, to say the least. the better news is that everything I wished I could attend but conflicts with my monitor duties can be purchased (at very reasonable prices) in CD or MP3 format practically within minutes after its presentation!

I "worked" Nick Campion’s presentation on national charts. it was fantastic and fascinating. he spoke about “the theory and use of the national horoscope, looking at some practical examples including the USA and Iraq. …what moment a chart should be cast for, and does a country have one chart or many? what information does a national chart reveal?” he correlates different charts from historic moments in a country’s history to find repeating patterns that expose fundamental issues that a country may have to address. (e.g., for the US, the chart of the declaration of the 13 colonies’ independence and the chart from the 9/11 terrorist attack). he also shared with us his Rules of Astrology:

Rule # 2: Thought is more important than technique.
Rule # 3: Astrology doesn’t work, astrologers do!

He couldn’t remember Rule #1 (or if there was one ;-) he’s a great speaker.

More tomorrow…

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