My astrological hero? That would be Noel Tyl, and that came with great thought and care to each one I know. Marion March and Lois Rodden came in second.

Noel Tyl: I came to know him when I was 16 years old and he is the reason I am where I am today in everything I do now. I bought one book of his, Horoscope construction part 1 of 12. Then I bought the other 11 book education series as well as the remainder of his books.

He is the reason for the books that I have written, and the Astrology tutorial charts I have made. His dedication to his work and concern for others always impressed me. His knowledge on the subject of Astrology and ability to teach others has led me to attempt to teach with his style. To me he is the MASTER of Astrology by far.

[My hero is] Ivy [Goldstein-Jacobson].
How does one write about the great one? What possible human language could do her grace and credit? How does one describe the beautiful, unforgettable, brilliant, funny lady who knew more about astrology than any other person I have ever met/read/heard about? And how can I even begin to say anything of value in two paragraphs. This is an impossible task. Beauty. Look at Ivy's photo in her Horary book; truly beautiful inside out and outside in. Courage? This lady created it – in 1985 Ivy fell and dislocated in her own words: most of my right side equipage – shoulder, arm, elbow, some ribs and innards and landed in the hospital for 4 plus months – home now 10 days with my daughter Doris here and if I get really well again it will of a surety be her fault.

Humour? She laughingly wrote me once that her humorous remarks referred to her adventures in Italy several thousand years ago when I was 16 and the Crown Prince was 3 by 16 and my office boss. He always started the day off by chasing me around our desks but I was always the winner. (Well, he was 3 by 16 after all! - Kt's footnote)

Professional? She wrote that she worked with the police on the Hollywood/Glendale strangling cases and accurately forecast that two more would be found and pinpointed the murderer for the sheriff. I could go on and on but I fear that I am breaking the rules with two short paragraphs and one long (and incomplete). But as I said in the beginning; what language could sufficiently describe the great one – the one and only Ivy?

Ivy Jacobson changed my life. Read about her at: http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/ivy.html. Ivy wrote of the planets in human terms one could relate to. There were never obscure meanings nor self-aggrandizing rhetoric. When you finished a paragraph you understood! AstroAmerica has rereleases of her wonderful books which were shot from her own typing so there could never be errors or typos. Every beginning astrologer could benefit from her Here and There in Astrology, The Way of Astrology, and others. Her methods of horary work and work quickly and surely. I was a correspondence student of hers 30 years ago.

The astrologer who has had the greatest impact upon me in terms of astrological studies and understanding is Liz Greene, who has taken astrology to new depths. Even though I had studied astrology since 1969, my studies went much further and deeper when Pluto conjuncted my natal 12th Neptune at 29 Lib 11 and moved over to my Ascendant at 2 Sco 56. One of the books I purchased was Greene's Astrology for Lovers – her first book, I believe – because her approach to sun sign astrology was utterly unorthodox in that she delineated the positive, negative and factual sides of each signs. As I recall, each segment was titled The Good, The Bad and The True.

Greene approaches astrology from a Jungian perspective: I realized from her writings that our birth charts are more than ten planets which happen to be in certain signs and houses. They could, and did, describe our psychological essences to the point that I gained a far better understanding of my psychological make-up from Greene's books than I did with two therapists in the early 1980s. My copies of Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil and Jupiter-Saturn Conferences (with Steve Arroyo) are held together by rubber bands, and her superb book on Neptune will reach that rubber-band status in a few years, being of far sturdier construction. I can only hope that Greene will write about Chiron, Uranus and Pluto in the years to come (because Saturn and the outers are angular in my chart!) with the same approach she has shown toward Neptune.

Liz Greene puts me in mind of The Hermit, the ninth card in Tarot's major arcana, and that is precisely the illustration on the cover of her Saturn book. She has illuminated the way for me and for others.

A close second would be Lois Rodden for her monumental achievement in making every one of us stick to accurate sources and data, but I'm betting she'll be nominated elsewhere.

I have two astrological heroes (Isabel Hickey and Dr. Oskar Adler), but to comply with your limit, I cast my vote for one of the best astrologers and brightest lights to ever walk this planet – Isabel Hickey (Astrology: A Cosmic Science) – with whom I was privileged to have studied intensely for five highly formative years between 1966 and 1971.

Isabel – Issie – applied astrology's principles as a tool for self-awareness and healing, and taught her students to develop their intuitions through meditation, and compassion through understanding the roles of karma, grace and reincarnation, thus to see beyond the chart and into the soul of the person whose chart you are reading. I witnessed many profound transformations in her classes as, under her guidance, students grasped how their charts reflect their current stage of evolutionary advancement in their spiritual journeys.

LOL, you want me to keep it short and sweet? Here goes:
Lois Rodden is my heroine because of her unrelenting commitment to accuracy in birth data and her dissemination of such data to those who need it. Many times I've worked with information which had been presented to me as accurate, but when the information is 'Roddenized' it turns out to be significantly different, not to mention inaccurate. [Now I check carefully before accepting data. It has saved me a lot of trouble!]

Grant Lewi
He got me started and I still like his transits best.

[Dear] Lois [Rodden], I wrote: (Speaking of heroes – You the best! Thanks for all you've done & continue to do!)

A lot of people will give Clarke or the ACT list their favorite teacher, or author. But, remembering my distinction of definitions, those are contributors, mostly not actual 'heroes.'

You are a genuine hero, or heroine if you prefer. You've changed the practice of astrology. You've protected it from it's practitioners & prevented an avenue of attack by its detractors. You've figuratively or literally, saved lives, reputations, careers & the practice/profession of astrology. Dirty Data means Damaging Delineation. While you haven't totally accomplished you mission, you're still a genuine hero to all of us keen enough to notice.

As recent ACT posts show, you've still got work to do. But a fireman doesn't have to stop every fire, rescue everyone in the building, (or prevent all future fires), to be worthy of a well deserved commendation.

Aloha,

My name is Karen Pierson and I have been lurking on the ACT list for some time. I saw your post for Heroes and I wanted to place a bid in for my first Astrology teacher Rocky Berlier a.k.a. Rocadero

I had always been interested in astrology since teenage-dom but I had lost the bug somewhere in between trying to grow up and getting older. I became interested again when I was living in a non-ideal situation and needed an outlet for my frustrations. So I enrolled in the Beginning Astrology class at the Vision Quest Bookstore. My teacher Rocky, described himself as a nuts and bolts astrologer. One who appreciates the use of Arabic Parts, Progressions, Phases of the Moon, etc. but believes that in order for new astrologers to deal with those aspects they truly need to know the basics.

Rocky in a fun and entertaining way broke those basics down for the class and put them in a context that not only made sense but also showed a clear and concise link to our everyday world. His techniques could be applied to any situation and work like a charm. He also encouraged us to stretch our imaginations to apply a multitude of key words to all the signs, planets and houses. Most of all he taught us the importance of no absolutes in astrology as well as the fact that as long as one can see the energy then one can work with it.

Rocky not only taught me the basics but encouraged me to use those skills. One class he teaches is called Applied Astrology where the students take turns in giving a 10 minute consultation and a 30-minute consultation. I did not want to participate in this particular class but his assistant Debbie encouraged me to try it. Not only were my consultations excellent but I learned the nuances in giving a consultation. Rocky also introduced me to the Arizona Society of Astrologers and the ACT news group, which have proven to be wonderful resources in which to further develop my astrological skill and knowledge. I truly appreciate all the encouragement and knowledge that Rocky has shared not only with me, but with all the classes that he has taught and still teaches to this day.

Thank you for the opportunity to share!

An Unsung Wonder

Owen Rachleff is my hero, although more than a quarter of a century passed before I knew this, long after I'd forgotten his book.. which I'd thrown in the garbage after scanning. He had it all wrong, I thought, by making his zodiac sidereal and the constellations horribly unequal, but his notion of expanding them polewards to become huge diamonds in the sky – with every star included, along with its myth and lore – must have stuck, because this is how I think now when I scry the celestial sphere. Whichever system I use, tropical or constellational, equally divided or not (according to a more 'natural' and visible plan), using twelve of the ecliptic's best or however many I fancy, the influence of zodiacal zones stretches to encompass the whole, while Cepheus and Pavo rule as much as well.

Rachleff was a rogue, a panderer probably too – if jacket-blurbs and portraits provide useful clues; but his Sky Diamonds, published in 1973, will go down in astrological history as a diver's bubbles rising, bursting at the surface of a slowly falling sea.

Hi Acters:

I'd like to offer Joanne Wickenburg as my candidate for my current 'most influencial' Astrological contributor to our field. Her two books Journey Through The Birth Chart, and most recent release, Your Hidden Powers. are the finest/most pertinent concepts I have found in my own 60-year search of the Philosophy of the Stars.

The following post will demonstrate my findings. (Clarke, take notice) ENUS013 Sunday, March 25, 2001, EST 5:26:35 PM:

Hi Folks:
I just reviewed my post of March 8, 2001....8:21:55 PM EST....even took a peek at the Horary of THAT event with its 7th house Venus Rx., placement for Me here in sunny Florida and found amusement in its confirmation of the very posting itself, for Me in that placement, as well as the Libra 14 degrees ascendant, which is really the WHERE I was intending to go in the first place as THE place to go – first, rather than the typical Taurus house (8th) & First! These type exercises usually guide me to my next intentions. In this case, the significance of how to function during this particular retrogradation of our mundane Venus, and advice for everyone!

That advice.....do as I do, just let it (Astrology) prove itself!

Joanne Wickenburg offers us all an excellent description of the retrogradation dynamics in her recent release Your Hidden Powers, page 126, VENUS rules both Taurus and Libra, operating first through Taurus to acquire experiences and substances that validate our personal worth (note my horary's 8th house Taurus... even the Sabian Degree of the cusp addressed my consciousness of my actions). Then Venus brings its energies to the Libra experiences (my Horary's Ascendant) where relationships are formed, we learn to interact with others and find the values of Objectivity!

When Venus is retrograde, this process is reversed.....she says that with Venus retrograde we are unable to fully appreciate our own worth until we evaluate our lives in relationship to others. Self love comes as a result of comparison. We must interact with others (Libra-Objectivity-feedback) in order to define our own worth (Taurus).

That same page addresses the retrogradations of our upcoming Mars during its current activity, slowly demonstrating (Stage 2 – Pre-Retrograde to Retrograde Station, due May 11, GMT 16:09') reversing our typical Mars type (Aries/Scorpio) functions that will require similar attentions. I'll address the particulars of 'it' later in a separate post.

In just a few days we will ALL enjoy the inferior Solar/Venus NEW Cycle of Relationship, the March 30, 2001, GMT 4:18', conjunction @ Aries 9:31'. The Celestial 'Message' is very, very pertinent for us all. Take heed!

Later,.........Trines,.........Cos