ASTROLOGY WORKSHOP
ASTROLOGY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
With Dwayne Edward Rourke
In one form or another, astrology has contributed vastly to the spiritual heritage of mankind for thousands of years. Far from being a useless, archaic, intellectual artifact from the past, however, astrology is a potent symbolic language very much alive and well in the modern era.
Essentially, astrology is the study of cycles. The Sun, Moon, and planets move in their own time and in their own space according to individual cycles and our terrestrial lives are mysteriously woven into those cycles. By mapping them, we gain insight and understanding about how to bring the natural harmony of the heavens into our everyday lives.
Lightning Path Astrology
Lightning Path Astrology is devoted to the emergence of a new, universal human, a human guided by a quest for resplendent harmony and balance with the Earth. It is an approach which goes beyond conventional Sun-sign astrology by bringing the Moon and all things feminine, back into prominence.
Building on fundamental and easily understandable astrological principles, this introductory workshop is designed to engage participants in an exploration of their own unique astrological birthright within the context of a newly-emergent planetary civilization. Our exploration will proceed through both personal and group work.
WEEK ONE : The lunation cycle. Almost everyone knows his or her astrological Sun sign, yet they are seldom familiar with their Moon sign, nor are they likely familiar with the intimate relationship between the two. This is because conventional astrology has been dominated by a masculine (Solar) force for centuries, much to the detriment of its feminine (Lunar) counterpart. The lunation cycle, the changing cyclic relationship between the Sun and Moon as viewed from Earth, brings these two forces together in an endlessly harmonious and balanced way and we can learn to follow this graphic example from Nature if we so choose. In this session we will explore the lunation cycle and its universal message of harmony. Audio-visual presentation included.
WEEK TWO: The lunation birthday. Each of us was born at a particular phase of the Moon known as our lunation birthday. It is a birthday which reoccurs every month and it can be a powerful symbolic and experiential ally in any quest for inner wholeness and harmony. In this session, you will learn how to calculate lunation birthdays and about what characteristics are associated with them. You will also receive a complimentary lunation journal to help you engage experientially with the current lunation. Audio-visual presentation included.
WEEK THREE: Lunation council. In this session we will use group work to explore our lunation birthdays by meeting in a form of council where our place at the table is determined by that birthday, and where we will use the naturally harmonious structure of the lunation cycle to foster a novel form of respectful, social interaction.
WEEK FOUR: The Lightning Path
In this session, we will explore my 1986 discovery of a previously hidden dimension of the Mayan Sacred Calendar (tzolkin) I call The Lightning Path, a form of integral yoga that integrates the lunation cycle into a synthesis of symbolic systems gifting its practitioners with an astrologically-determined, spiritual birthright. That birthright unites ancient and revered wisdom teachings from a diversity of traditions. Audio-visual presentation included.
Dwayne Edward Rourke
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR: Dwayne Rourke has been an avid student of astrology since 1972 when he first encountered the visionary writings of Dane Rudhyar, one of the foremost pioneers of modern astrology. Dwayne has since gone on to build on Rudhyar’s astrological and philosophical legacy by pioneering a global synthesis of symbolic systems including the Chinese Book of Changes (I Ching), the Vedic chakra system, and the Mayan Sacred Calendar (tzolkin). A graduate of the University of Calgary (B.A. in art history), Dwayne is also self-taught in a variety of digital media and brings an artistic and visual touch to his presentations.
The workshop will take place over the course of one month and will involve four, weekly, two hour teaching sessions beginning on any New Moon.