Robert Walker Astrological Consultations

The study and practice of buddhadharma and the Shambhala teachings has been a consistent theme in my life since 1979. I had also been a student of astrology and a consulting astrologer since 1973, but my discovery of the Hellenistic approaches brought much more enthusiasm and understanding to that study and practice. Like many modern astrologers who learned astrology before the Hellenistic wave of the 1990s, much of my work as an astrologer had been intuitive, with a paucity of actual astrological techniques, and largely relying on psychological approaches and things I have learned working with people as a meditation instructor and in my psychology training. It is only since 2019 that I have become much more aware of, and have been able to make sense of, what astrology is truly capable of and to communicate that to others.

Questions underlying an astrological consultation may be: what am I about and what am I capable of in the long run? What could be my place in the world, and how might I come to inhabit that place in a sane way? What's on the table for this year, in terms of my path as a human being, and how might I work with those possibilities and obstacles that may arise? Opportunities and challenges may arise from within as well as from the outside world: how can I prepare for and work with these? A consultation could include strategies and approaches to capitalizing on opportunities, meeting challenges, and remediating weaknesses.

Astrology consultations tend to be specific, time-based and predictive, remediative and prescriptive. Meditation instruction is typically concerned more with how to work with particular states of mind and how to practice awareness and proper conduct in everyday life. Questions about how and what to study, how to understand basic Buddhist themes such as karma and how this applies to one's life are relevant. An astrological consultation, on the other hand, has a predictive and action-oriented focus, applying specific astrological techniques to questions that pertain to particular areas of life.

Astrological analyses can include some combination of 3 perspectives:
One perspective is understanding the natural potentials (and obstacles) within the natal chart of the person, which shows the life and world of that person. A second perspective presents how those natural potentials may unfold over time, both personally, psychologically, and with respect to one's life altogether. A third perspective is how worldly conditions brought on by transiting planets support or obstruct these naturally unfolding potentials. Altogether, astrological consultations have to do with appreciating and acting appropriately in response to these situations, maximizing benefits and mitigating harms as much as possible.

The basic reading: first, the analysis of the birth chart
First, the analysis of the birth chart is related to signs, houses, aspects, the lots or "Arabic parts" (which are not strictly Arabic) and the accidental and essential dignity of planets in the birth chart. One first tries to come to some understanding of who that person is, no, actually the world of the person, and who or what they could become in that world. In that sense, interpreting a person's natal chart is not just investigating their psychology but their entire world. The chart itself does provide a picture of one's personality or body, which is one aspect, but also one's finances, neighborhood, family, parents, children, creative work, pets, work for others, intimate relationships, lovers and enemies, debts, inheritance, world view, worldly status, friends and alliances, what feeds various aspects of life and what depletes them, hidden enemies within and without. Understanding the latent and manifest potentials of an individual's natal chart would be step one. Focusing on the particular concerns of the client is part of this.

Second, the unfolding of the natal potential over time: time lord system techniques.
Step two includes determining how those potentials, positive or negative, may unfold and manifest over time, from the point of view of that person's natural development. A typical period of time for a reading might be "the year ahead." Various time lord systems bring focus to particular periods of time, the longer periods of time (e.g. 8 years, 15 years, 30 years) putting the previous and upcoming years in a larger perspective. Depending on the time lord system, the period in question may be weeks, months, years, decades or longer. This is the part of the reading where one may look into where one has been and where one is going. Examples of time lord systems in the Hellenistic approach are annual profections, planetary years, decenniels, zodiacal releasing, and primary directions.

Third: the astrological "weather" brought by the world.
Step three has to do with what the world brings during any period of time in the form of transiting planets, eclipses, and the solar return chart, the "real time" perspective. One's natural development may want to unfold in a certain way, but the world may bring challenges or supports to this unfolding that need to be accounted for. In particular, one may look to understand upcoming opportunities, ways of taking advantage of such opportunities, upcoming challenges, ways of meeting those challenges or mitigating the harm that may come about through them. Steps one and two are like a ship sailing on the sea; this third perspective is about the weather that ship may encounter.

In the context of a consultation, regardless of what may be in store for the next year, questions about particular topics that are of greater concern to the client will also be explored with respect to timing, opportunity, and strategies. Typical topics would be work, relationships, or finances.

Astrological services and rates (basic reading, $150.00)

A basic consultation includes reading of the natal chart and a rough look into the year ahead using the the various Hellenistic techniques mentioned above. Addressing questions of particular interest to you (livelihood? relationships? finances? other?) are included in this. An I Ching consultation may be included with the astrological consultation, as necessary, in order to address specific questions that are more suitable to this approach (for me) than through astrological analysis. The basic fee for an astrological consultation is $150.00, depending upon the number of different types of questions considered and the time frame involved. Rectification of the time of the chart would be an extra expense, if the birth time is uncertain.

Unlike meditation instruction, which is free or by donation, astrological counseling is generally fee-based. Consulting the I Ching may be added to the basic astrology reading depending upon the types of questions being considered or as a stand-alone service.

I Ching consultation (stand alone): basic consultation, $45.00. Consultations using the I Ching alone are also available, and are used to address specific questions. These, of course, like Tarot readings, do not have to rely on having an accurate birth time.

Geographical consultations: I also have some training in geographically based astrological techniques. Please contact me if you have a question related to that. This would be an add-on to the basic astrological consultation.

Astrological techniques: an historical perspective

Many Hellenistic and medieval astrologers were serious meditators, artists, spiritual practitioners, and medical professionals. It seems to me that the world view that comes from these Hellenistic and medieval approaches is closer to the world view of buddhadharma and the Shambhala teachings than most modern philosophical, psychological, or new-age approaches to astrology.

In the Western astrological traditions, there were a few hundred years where many techniques and understandings were lost. However, since the 1990s, mostly beginning with the work of Robert Schmidt and the "Project Hindsight" astrologers, many of these ancient approaches to astrology have been uncovered, rediscovered, translated and seriously practiced. Since this has been going on for decades, many astrologers have developed significant skills, and I see my teacher Austin Coppock as being at the forefront of this.

In the Hellenistic and medieval traditions, most of these practitioners of astrology were not just intellectuals, but yogins in life and in their arts, disciplines, and spiritual traditions. These included medical professionals, priests, and politicians. The texts uncovered by Project Hindsight were not mere theory, but actual textbooks, with many case studies and illustrations of sophisticated techniques based on a thorough understanding of basic astrological concepts which had been lost. It turns out that astrological perspectives play a key role in the history of ideas, going back centuries.

With the dissolution and diaspora of the ancient Roman empire, there was much commerce and exchange between the Hellenistic astrological traditions and Jyotish astrology, with the bulk of the transmission, so to speak, taking place from West to East. Interestingly, the Jyotish, Indian, astrological traditions have a lineage which, unlike the Western traditions, were never broken or forgotten. However, even the views and practice of those Eastern traditions are much closer to the Hellenistic and Western medieval astrological traditions in view and practice than to modern pre-1990 Western astrological and psychological approaches. Austin Coppock is also a student and practitioner of Vedic astrology, and has studied intensively with Freedom Cole, a practitioner and teacher of that tradition.

About Robert Walker

For my bio, mostly concerned with teachings related to meditation and Buddhism, here is a link to that section of my dharma study group website:

DSG Coordinator Bio - Dharma Study Group Kazoo (dsgroupkazoo.com)

and Facebook (I rarely post in my astrology section, but that could change)

(2) Facebook

Best regards,

Robert Walker