Group practice of EA

[Rad]

Hi All,

Given the events of the past days, and the reasons for those events, I have decided that it is inappropriate to continue with this thread. I trust you will all understand. However, I do feel it is a good thing to have some vehicle available through which members can actually practice EA. Our old thread on doing the charts of famous people served that end for example. If any of you have any suggestions or thoughts about this please let me know.

God Bless, Rad

[ari moshe]

Hi Rad, one thing I would be interested in is continue practicing interpreting the charts of active ea members here - like we did with Wendy. I feel that is safe and appropriate and a great learning experience.

I am also open to working on the charts of famous people. However I need to sit with how I feel about working with the chart of famous people who are still alive. Just in general, even for charts of souls who are dead, I feel the need to look within and understand these things for myself more clearly. I'll be gone for the weekend.
With love and gratitude for this journey we are all on here together.
am

[Rad]

All,

We will not be doing the charts of any members unless there is some sort of critical or urgent need by a member who asks on of the moderators first. It must be this way because to so allow would create a situation where there is no limits at all.

I would like to do the charts of famous people again because it did seem to be a very useful and constructive way to help learn EA. For those who have ethical or morale problems with this simply do not participate.

So for those who are interested in resuming the EA practice of famous people's chart let me know.

God Bless, Rad

[Elen]

Hi Rad,

I really appreciate your decision and reasoning. 

Thank you for the energy, time, thought, guidance, etc, you put into this thread.

I know that in the field of psychotherapy, there are internships, etc that allow people to be guided during their first experiences through the actual counseling process.  I also know that for many, those experiences aren't possible due to the financial realities associated with them.  But I do like the idea of that.  I don't have any suggestions, solutions, ideas, etc with regard to it, but I felt I wanted to express it.

Peace,
Elen

[cat777]

Hi Rad,

I have not been able to actively participate in anything lately, but have been reading the many posts on the board.  Although doing charts of everyday people did seem like a good idea at first, I think you made a very wise decision in putting an end to it.  It just brings up so many issues that can bring regret later on on various levels.

I always enjoyed working on the charts of famous people.  At this time I can't devote my time and energy to much more than reading what others post, but will be very happy to join back in again in the future. I found it to be an enriching experience.  

cat

[Gray]

Hi Rad and all,

I had been reading through some of these posts and wholly understand your reasoning for taking them down as well as the various levels of awareness various members are going through. I can completely relate.  I have had difficulty and misgivings working on the charts of famous people, especially famous people still alive (best example: Yoko Ono) and making declarative statements about souls i am not personally in contact with. However, at the same time I found it to be a very interesting learning experience while I had some ethical arguments running in my head at the same time. It at times limited my ability to actively participate, as well as what I was willing to write about, but I can also say I would not have come to the same level of understanding that I currently possess about EA without the experience of being able to constructively learn about the EA paradigm through active writing about charts.  It has been fascinating to see what other insights fellow astrologers pick up about the same charts through that method.  I often feel when we do these whether or not I feel the resonance to follow through with it and then I do, and I don't really understand why exactly, but I felt the most comfortable for some reason writing about John Lennon and Mother Theresa and so those were the ones I was most active with. I really enjoyed reading about Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana and may have been more involved if i had had the time there.  There is a good chance I will participate if you start up another thread, I'll just have to see it how it goes with my time and such. I think that reflecting about these sorts of things can lead to some healthy learning for all of us- I realize many of us may be in different places regarding our attitudes about this subject.

blessings to all of you,
Gray

[Elen]

Hi Rad,

I am just realizing that I didn't address your question about charts of famous people. Though it helped me tremendously, and I agree it is a truly great way to learn EA, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity, and despite my tremendous desire to learn, I do not think that I would actively participate again due to the realities of the public nature of the board.  In terms of the ones I did work on, I am going to go through and delete my posts.  I hope you understand.  And again, I am very grateful to have benefitted from the opportunity.

Peace,
Elen

[cat777]

Hi Everyone,

I was thinking about this issue and discussing it with a friend.  What I would suggest, in order to keep the practices comfortable for all, is to continue with practice charts but stick to uncovering the archetypes involved and then giving examples of possiblities rather than graphic discriptions of what may have occurred in someone's past.  For example, instead of saying "You were hit by a car," say it is possible that you may have been involved in a serious accident in your past."  If we stay clear of specifics, and simply give examples of how an archeype may manifest, we can still learn without feeling uncomfortable in the process.  Just leave the specifics up to one's imagination.  They do not have to be spelled out.

When working with a client, I would suggest starting with the archetypes and giving general examples and then based on the clients reactions determine whether or not you should go deeper and get more specific or not.  This is not something we can do in an on-line discussion as we can't sense how "the client" is reacting to what we say.  So, with that thought in mind, we should dig deep but yet keep it simple.  I believe there is alot we can learn simply by practicing how to uncover the archetypes and discussing general examples of what may have happened in one's past without getting down to specific situations. That would be best left for an off-line study group or a class (something private that can't be Googled) .

cat

[jasonholley]

Hi Rad and all,

This makes sense to me as well.  In any case, I appreciate the learning opportunity this thread has been.  Also, thanks to all who had offered feedback on the chart I posted and my process around it, I felt the support and it was really wonderful for me to receive the benefit of your love and insights.  

I would also offer relative to the famous people thread, that for me working on the charts of those no longer living is preferable.  It's part of why I chose Michael Jackson for the sexuality thread.  This is both from the point of view already discussed of not exposing an individual's Soul dynamics and karmic history to others without their permission and/or even to the individuals themselves (who may encounter it) if we are not confident they can integrate it -- and also from a learning point of view in that we are able to view the individual's lifetime in its entirety.    

I will not be online for the next couple of weeks but look forward to continuing to learn together in the future in the various ways we do here.

God bless,
Jason

[Linda]

Hi Rad,

Thanks for asking for our suggestions.  I think going very deeply into EA dynamics is very valuable, and I'm sure that many of us would wish to learn how to do it.  For me, I wish to learn much more, especially how to ascertain what actual events took place in past lives, the past and current choices and lessons of the Soul, and how that karma has impacted the current life, etc.  Also, how aware is the Soul of these dynamics?

Speaking the truth is important - but we need to curb excessive "hoof in mouth" as well!

The suggestion I'd like to offer is that we have a "closed" group that can discuss all types of charts for people, both living and passed, by going very deeply into the EA dynamics.  

Another idea that I think would be incredibly valuable, and still within a "closed" group, is to examine charts of members (like we did with Wendy) so that immediate feedback is received, questions can be asked...........this would be great!  

Because of your concern that "then everybody would want their charts done" - we could limit this type of chart practice (again within a "closed" group) to only those who have actively contributed to this MB, strictly for the purpose of LEARNING, and this thread would be closed to "readers" and the general public.  It could be a place where we could be more casual, more open, without worrying about exposure to the general public.

Can the messageboard software do this?

Thanks,

Linda

[Lucius]

Returning to analysis of the charts of famous people sounds like a good idea. Perhaps the caveat would be that the person would no longer be living. Famous people, for better & worse, are in the public domain & I'm sure are all too aware of much nonsense put forth about them - they can take it or leave it. (of course, I'm not referencing EA as 'nonsense' - the contrary - but, your average media coverage) However, I'm sure EA community does not want to be seen as a vehicle of misinformation or be open to attack. I do wonder what legal recourse a famous person might have - ? Say, Yoko Ono discovers there is this idea she's made a contract with evil (not so sure that has not been put forth before though!) - anyway, could she sue? Just something I was wondering about. Everyone though is free to take or leave the information here.

Which leads me to add that I think the charts of non famous people and those who post here frequently could still be used as a teaching tool - the same strictures but with the added dimension that all souls whose chart will be analyzed will know that it will be public here (with their choice of anonymity)and the nature of EA is very intense. Again, though - if someone ends up 'damaged' or not liking what they hear - what recourse could they have legally, etc.? 
I have been tempted to post several times - but, because of the nature of what I was seeing in the chart felt I should not - that it was too intense, dark issues - and I could be wrong anyway.
Even with the famous charts I have felt this way. Especially with the chart & soul Jason posted - I felt she could not handle the information I was 'seeing' - it might be good practice but not helpful to her or even Jason.

Not sure how a private MB would work? How would people be chosen to participate? How could one know that someone would earn that right & still not end up upset or misusing rules - ?

[Kristin]

Hi Rad,

Yes, the exercises in going deep into chart analysis with famous people has been INVALUABLE..It has been of great learning benefit and would be great to open that back up. I would be on board to participate in that again.

I also feel if there is a way to do a private forum in certain cases for example as we offered Wendy, that would be ideal..

Peace,
Kristin

[BrendaP]

Hi Rad,

I agree this is the best decision, and I have taken yours and Ari's words and concerns to heart.

We all have a responsibility in what we write and express. But this is a public forum--we have no control over how what we express will be interpreted and received, nor do we have any control over how or who would potentially use or misuse information.

This forum, for me is a place of spiritual guidance and community (whether or not I express it)--and one of the ways that works (beyond the individual integrity--and loving hearts of the members) is that safe, respectful, and ethical boundaries are maintained and universally applied.

God Bless all.

[Rad]

Hi All,

I want to thank all those who have shared their views on this subject. After reading all of them and combining them with my own inner contemplation, I am feeling now that we will do EA of famous people who no longer are alive. This way allows for a posting, as before, of the necessary biographical information that is vital to establishing the context for any given Soul and their birth chart.

I am also still actively considering allowing, on a case by case basis, for our contributing members to post their chart and relevant issues / concerns like when Wendy did so, and also the situation that Sunyata was involved in when we were working on the thread about Lucifer. If I feel that the help of our members in helping another member in this way would be beneficial, and that the issues of the member warrant posting to our mb, then I will allow such a post to happen. In these cases it would be necessary for the member who is posting their chart to understand that this is also meant to be a learning experience for all concerned, and that the EA analysis of the members contributing is not meant to be understood as some sort of absolute truth. And if we do this I would ask that those who do contribute make their analysis's specific to the DYNAMICS involved in that analysis versus declarative statement like "so and so stole a gun and killed so and so". And, of course, I will closely monitor everything and interject as need be. When question are directed at me I will also respond.

So let me know your thoughts based on where I am coming out with all this. The famous person I would propose next would be that of Amelia Earhart. This could be a very interesting and intriguing Soul to look into now especially sense there is another effort underway to determine exactly what happened to her in that last flight in which she became lost.

God Bless, Rad

[cat777]

Hi Rad,

I am totally in-line with your decision.  I am very grateful that the practice opportunities will continue as there is no better way of learning how to interprete a chart than by doing so.  In addition, being able to compare and contrast your own work with that of others while being guided by yourself.

I was thinking about Linda's concerns and desire - " For me, I wish to learn much more, especially how to ascertain what actual events took place in past lives, the past and current choices and lessons of the Soul, and how that karma has impacted the current life, etc.  Also, how aware is the Soul of these dynamics? "

What she is asking cannot now be accomplished under the new guideline of sticking to the actual dynamics of the chart and stering clear of specific events.  I may be wrong, but my intuition tells me that learning "how to ascertain what actual events took place in past lives" involves intuition.  I am not sure one can ascertain those things based on the chart alone.  With that in mind, maybe we can have a thread that serves to help us sharpen our intuition by focusing on specific dynamics in a chart ( of a person unknown to us, chosen by you) and just play with it and see how we do?  It could be a very interesting exercise.

Thanks for choosing to continue on with practice charts!

cat