In the early 1980s, a tarot card reader told me that I would have three careers. I was well into my astrological studies, and captivated by the world that I had discovered on the other side of the occult threshold. But I was in the promising and exciting early days of what would turn out to be a successful second career (first career: high school French teacher) as a systems manager for a major insurance company. At the time, which was shortly after the painful demise of my first marriage, I was in the midst of reinventing myself not only professionally, but personally, and maternally as the single parent of two pre-adolescent daughters. The last thing my mind had space for was the idea of another career change. What's more, I was totally comfortable with the astrological view that, with five planets in the Eighth House (representing other people's money, big business, and the occult, among other things), I was on track when it came to actualizing
the potential of my birth chart. So I dismissed the idea, figuring that the card reader was at best having a bad day, and at worst was an entertaining charlatan.
What did I know?
Fast forward fifteen years...
The girls are grown and launching their own glorious young adult lives. (Now-husband) Don and I are planning to take the next step in our long-term relationship by getting married. My astrological studies have intensified, and I've been building a part-time consulting practice and playing with the idea of a shift to a full-time commitment. And the Universe bats one right out of the ballpark: my company offers an early-retirement/voluntary-reduction-in-force package.
No one had to tell me about it more than once.
Fast forward another ten years or so...
The girls are married and I'm a grandmother. Don and I are doing great. In addition to my ever-growing consulting practice and private students, I design and teach astrology courses in the community development department of our local two-year college. I've met some amazing people and had amazing experiences that I never would have encountered doing any other work, and I've had the opportunity to study directly with Steven Forrest, one of the true contemporary lights in the field. And, just a few years ago, the Universe tapped me on the shoulder and whispered an idea for a book - for Perfect Together - and invited me to broaden this third career of mine even further. Taking on that assignment has given me the chance to share what I've learned about astrology as a valuable tool that can help us live our lives in the happiest, most meaningful and satisfying way possible. And I've been able to explore and expand my own Gemini Sun communication energies, and reach a much larger audience that I could ever have dreamed of.
Which just goes to show you that a tarot card reader in a not-too-terribly-good Mexican restaurant in central New Jersey can be a wise and knowing guide.
Keep your eyes and ears open: those guides are all around us!
Where's Alice?
Here are some glimpses from the book launch party for Healing the Karmic Wounds.
To listen to Alice’s interview on astrologer Sheri Hasan’s “Karmic Evolution, Astrologically Speaking” radio show, click here.
Q&A
How long you have been studying and practicing astrology? And, can you expand a bit on what that means?
I have been studying the discipline more than 30 years, attending lectures, courses, workshops, and conferences, and reading extensively in general metaphysical topics as well as astrology and tarot. The focus of my work is from the evolutionary or karmic perspective: putting this lifetime’s potentials and challenges, as represented in the natal chart, in the context of a larger cosmic order for the purpose of personal empowerment, transformation, and deep healing. This involves integrating the insight that symbols in the birth chart provide about karmic experience and the spirit’s evolutionary purpose into the energies of this lifetime’s natal birth chart.
What is it about astrology that continues to stimulate you intellectually?
Astrology, dating back to the Babylonian times, is an endlessly ever-growing treasure house of knowledge and insight that can help us live to our fullest potentials, not only individually, but societally and globally as well. Founded on the mathematical, technically verifiable correspondence between the orderly, predictable, eternal movement of the planets, and experience here on Planet Earth reflecting those energetic passages, it challenges the part of my brain that spent 20 years in the Information Technology arena. In fact, the biggest challenge I have found over the years is in managing the volume of that information, being selective and organizing it into meaningful patterns that can be delivered with clarity to my clients and readers.
But astrology is so much more than the data and numbers. It is a doorway to the world beyond those data and numbers: the metaphysical world of Spirit and Universal Consciousness, the world whose wisdom goes far beyond what the left side of the brain can absorb and interpret. And the fascination with that dimension of astrology will never fade.
How does Astrology influence your life?
Frankly, I don’t know how people navigate their lives without the use of this powerful tool. Although I do not, except in special circumstances, track planetary influences in my own chart on a day-by-day basis, knowing the significant opportunities, challenges and cosmic guidance for a given period is key. To this end, I get my own chart read every 18-24 months to get an independent perspective. And, of course, if something important is happening or a major decision must be made, I examine the energetic landscape in that narrow window of time in great detail. I follow a similar approach in my practice. That is, I look at how energetic themes are unfolding over a period of approximately 12-18 months, and encourage the client to contact me for more detailed information if specifics would be beneficial in certain circumstances. Otherwise, I feel that a 9-12 month period is advisable between updates, because a person needs time to make their own choices in response to energetic situations and experience the result of those choices.
My only regret is that I discovered astrology only 30+ years ago, and not at least 20 years before that!
What can readers expect to learn from “Healing the Karmic Wounds?” Is it accessible and relevant to both the person who is new to astrology and the amateur expert or professional?
Wounds carried over into this lifetime from our karmic experience exert a strong, limiting influence on our lives until they are addressed. However, they are buried in unconscious emotional memory, not accessible using conventional left-brained logical approaches. The powerful symbolism of astrology is what holds the key to unlocking the information about the nature of those wounds, how they are affecting us in this lifetime, and how and when they can be healed. Healing the Karmic Wounds shares this information and provides a wealth of specific strategies that can be used to bring about healing. Although it is grounded in extensive research and is rock-solid technically, Wounds is written for the general audience in a conversational, easily accessible style. The reader doesn’t need to know a single thing about astrology to benefit from it, but even professional astrologers could gain new insights from its content.
Any final thoughts?
I am grateful every day for this work and the people I meet in the course of doing it, and for the opportunity to help them make positive changes in their lives.