BE A BETTER ASTROLOGER

• Tuesday, 21 July 2009
• Marion Williamson
• 0 Comments

An affordable, inspiring astrology course… in Greece? If you think you can’t afford it, Prediction editor, Marion Williamson might change your mind

WHAT? - Astrology course
WHERE? - Lefkada, Greece
WHEN? - May - October
HOW LONG? - 1 week
COSTS - £245
Getting there - packages including flights and accommodation vary between Ł200-300 depending on season. Talk to Jo about the best deals and how to avoid single supplement charges.

CONTACT -
Email: joannaw@otenet.gr
www.joannawatters.co.uk
Tel (00 30) 26450 93291
Text (00 30) 6976 296085

• AMENDMENT – Joanna’s email is: joannaw@otenet.gr (not onetel as published in August issue)

You want to go on holiday but you’d also like to take an astrology course, but you can’t afford to do both. Astrology courses can cost anywhere up to £1,000 for a week-long residential stay. But we’ve found one that combines the knowledge of a brilliant teacher in a stunning location - and it won’t break the bank.
Joanna Watters, a Company Of Astrologers tutor, has been running affordable Astrology courses from her home on Lefkada in Greece since 2002. I attended, an Intermediate Traditional Astrology week.

Getting there
Getting to Lefkada was straightforward. It’s three hours from Gatwick and a 40 min coach ride to Niddri on Lefkada. I was met off the bus by a smiley Jo and her adorable pooch, Coco, and led to where all six people doing the course were enjoying a Getting To Know You cocktail. Jo then took us to one of the local tavernas where we had the first of many delicious meals. Jo knows all the locals and can get some amazing group discounts on food! After exchanging Sun signs, Ascendant and Moon positions we chatted excitedly about our love of astrology.

Revelations
On Monday morning we all met at Jo’s lovely home, a minute’s walk away from our pleasant accommodation in Niddri. The group was an idea size; small enough for Jo to be able to help us with individual issues and questions.
Most of us wanted to explore issues in our lives that we found difficult to resolve; relationship problems, money issues, family worries. To begin with Jo gave a refresher on astrological basics: the meanings of the planets, Elements and Modes. I smugly sailed through this part but when it came to assessing the ‘condition’ of each planet (Dignity, Detriment, Exalted and Fall) it was obvious I’d forgotten more than I’d realised!
If you’ve been staring blankly at a birthchart not knowing where to start, working out the condition of the ruling planet is the way to go!
In Traditional astrology you only use the planets you can see with the naked eye, the ones used when astrology was first discovered thousands of years ago. If you’re used to Modern Astrology, I recommend you try Traditional, if only to get your mind working on interpretation in a different way.

Meatier stuff
By Tuesday we were getting into the meaty stuff; aspect patterns, dissociate aspects (when planets fall in early or late degrees) and we all drew up a birthchart by hand. When’s the last time you did that? If like me you’re on automatic pilot, instantly looking at your computer for the data, you’ve probably not drawn up a chart by hand for years. Yes it’s more time consuming but there are so many things you’ll miss when you don’t calculate the aspects yourself.
This course reminded me to make sure the foundations were solid – to look at the main themes in the chart before spending time on the curious, finer points.

Group therapy
Wednesday was a free day. Most of the group wandered around the beautiful town of Niddri, took day trips to the tiny unspoiled island of Meganissi or, like me, wandered around Niddri speaking astrology to anyone that would listen!
On Thursday we drafted up the charts for everyone in the group. One of the most therapeutic aspects of the whole week was when others look at your horoscope and point out things you’ve never noticed before. Or at least offer a new interpretation on something you’ve become ‘blind’ to. Maybe you’ve been reading your 6th House (details, tidiness) Venus (your love nature) as someone who ‘can’t make love unless the ashtrays are cleaned’ but someone else will interpret as ‘someone who has a passion for health and fitness’. You get the idea…
That day while eating lunch, three of my course mates gave me some real insight into an ongoing issue I’d been exploring. I was quite stunned by their intuitive understanding – this one of the most healing aspects of the whole week - others’ wisdom, time and genuine interest in helping course-mates reach workable solutions.

What lies ahead…
Everyone was looking forward to Friday as we were going to concentrate on transits… how planets affect your life today.
The night before, Jo asked us to pick a couple of meaningful dates from our past so we could all have a look at them and work out how the transiting planets might have affected us.
I gave the group my date – a death in the family - which was so perfectly indicated that it left me feeling quite shocked. I know astrology works but the astonishing accuracy can still be a little unsettling.
We worked on the others’ dates, which caused similar looks of awe, disbelief and quiet knowing. To end our extraordinary week’s lessons we looked to the future… what’s happening in our charts now? What lies ahead? We each made a prediction based on our own charts, which for me cemented the week’s knowledge and learning in one exercise.

All fired up
Saturday was a free day where most of the group still met for lunch and dinner. We were so keen to use our newfound skills that we couldn’t wait to put them into practice. Locals passed by as we sat drinking coffee. They all knew Jo and would ask about our course with curious faces.
Sunday morning came too soon. Time to say goodbye to people who had already become quite close. It was a privilege to spend time with Jo, one of the few people in the world keeping the arcane craft of Traditional Astrology alive.
During the week I heard people say that Niddri was a ‘healing place’. I think it’s a peaceful, beautiful place but I’m sure the healing came from the hearts of that little of group of people working hard to try and understand themselves and the world they live in a little better.

Joanna Watters is an accredited tutor with the Company of Astrologers, founded in 1983, one of Britain’s leading teaching bodies in practical astrology.

NEXT COURSES
Discovering Astrology 28th Sept – 2nd Oct
Practising Astrology 5th - 9th October
Talking Tarot 7-11th September
Working with Tarot – 21st – 25th Sept

WHY YOU SHOULD GO

• Combine your holiday with your passion for astrology
• One-to-one time with tutor
• Befriend like-minded people
• Good for singles - always
• Someone to eat with
• You’ll learn more when you’re relaxed in the sun
• Group therapy!