Sleepless Nights in Seattle

Not even a 24-hour bus ride could ensure I could catch up on my sleep the night before my lecture for the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC). After congratulating myself for getting to my hotel destination--all the way from San Francisco--without resorting to an Uber, once I got to my hotel, I tossed and turned all night in an unfamiliar bed and missed the purrs of my furry children. And, wouldn't you know it, I also woke up early. I think it was the first time I sincerely worried about falling asleep half way through my own lecture.

But jet lag, being as it is, meant I was totally ravenous at 8 am local time (4pm BST) and needed to get myself registered at the conference and grab some breakfast or dinner (or whatever meal we're going to call it). That's not to say there weren't a few lucky distractions. It's always wonderful to meet up with old friend at conferences but also to (finally) meet people you have only heard about on social media.

Step forward the lovely Steven Forrest. I was just heading out of the hotel to enjoy the sunshine when I heard Steven say (to someone else): "Oh this is Alex? No, you're not Alex."

I piped up from behind and said (I told you I get a little silly when I'm overly tired): "No, I'M Alex,"

Steven turned to me and said: "Ah yes, you're Alex!" Steven and his assistant Tony Howard have always been so wonderfully supportive of my work and I was so happy to be able to meet them in person. We celebrated (along with the lovely other Alex--who came to my lecture!) with sushi and good conversation. NORWAC was off with a bang.

Perfect post-lecture company

Fortunately, I managed to remain conscious (if one can call it that) and delivered my first lecture to a full room at NORWAC. Lecturing at the same time as me was my astro brother Sam Reynolds, astro papa Rob Hand so I was particularly delighted that I wasn't lecturing to an empty room. And I sold all the books I had brought with me! In fact, I've never had so many compliments, offers of support, queries about my next book and just general, all round gratitude for coming to an astrology conference. I was totally bowled over by the sheer number of people who knew about my work even though they didn't come to my lecture.

After the lecture, of course, I just wanted to peel myself off of the ceiling and chill. As I was again headed out the door to make a sneaky getaway, I was stopped by a large entourage around Sam who enveloped me in their fold and dragged me off to The Cheesecake Factory with them. I'm pretty out of the loop when it comes to American cuisine (although I will go so far as to say it's a vast improvement on the British fare) but somehow when you're surrounded by contagious energy, the food just doesn't matter. What a meal, what company and how wonderful to be with my astro brother again. Special shout-out to my Facebook friend Jeanette Ponder and new friends Mecca, Monique, Chartreuse, and Janelle.

On our way to the Banquet

Cosmic Intelligence Agents from around the world

The tag line of NORWAC is "where you won't get lost in the crowd" and I have to concur that the NORWAC crowd is super friendly and eager to engage. Everywhere I turned, there were other astrologers who wanted to talk to me (or I wanted to talk to them) and it just seemed everyone treasured their time together.

On Saturday, after spending a relaxing day catching up with friends, it was time to head to the banquet. Now a banquet--or indeed a conference--shouldn't be about the food. It should be about the company, right? And as someone who eats school dinners on a regular basis, I'm hardly a qualified food critic but if I'm going to pay 50-100 times more for a banquet dinner than a school dinner then dammit, I want something that doesn't look or taste like one (fortunately this is a rare occurrence). So I always give conference bonus points when hotels get the food right. A round of applause to the Doubletree Suites of Tukwila Washington!

One of the people I couldn't wait to catch up with was my Australian buddy Julia Simas, Control Agent 12 of the Cosmic Intelligence Agency whom I've haven't seen since ISAR back in October. There was a lot of laughter, a bit of naughtiness but generally, it was a time of giggling, scheming and catching up. I am in awe of Julia's networking skills, her shrewd judgement of character (she does't just let anyone become an agent. And boy, do I pay attention now when she calls someone out--a true rarity but nonetheless a proven accuracy as far as I'm concerned) and business acumen as well as her ability to get everything done. I consider it a great honour to be a part of CIA and I credit Julija for inspiring me to do important secret agent work.

Me and Melanie. Note to self: LOSE the imp face!!

A lecturer I try never to miss is Melanie Reinhart, who I am very fortunate to count as a personal friend. She is compassionate, wise and I never fail to learn something when I attend her classes. And I wasn't disappointed at NORWAC. Melanie's topic was Nessus and couldn't resist the temptation to look at Nessus in my own chart: Nessus was in Gemini when I was born, conjunct my ascendant along with the recent New Moon with transiting Nessus in the 10th house. That's a lot of Nessus!! I couldn't wait to tell Melanie this, secretly wondering how she'd interpret something like this. Without hesitation, she said "Well that's all your work in revolutionising education!"

There are times when I'm just bowled over--and this was one of them. Melanie knows about my work? She doesn't even use social media. It was all a bit much for me to take in.

Me, Julija and Nicholas

My super secret prize for Psychopomp (the Jungian one) skills go to Nicholas Polimenakos. I met him at ISAR but fell in love with him at NORWAC! So helpful with a great sense of humour and just a manner I really enjoy. He clearly knew and loved both astrology and the area he lived in and he wanted everyone to know he knew where everything was and had connections everywhere. I love smiley men (even if there's a mischievous twinkle) and he makes far better imp faces than me. Oh and he reads my blogs so I love him even more. All 'round great guy. Definitely a keeper. I might have to add him as my astro brother too but most of all I just want him to know how much I appreciate him. The only real damper on this conference was learning Nick's car was broken into on the last night and he lost valuable tech items such as his phone, laptop and camera.

Here's hoping the insurance settlement is quick and that the person/s responsible experience the bitch that is karma sooner rather than later.

About the Astrologer

Alex Trenoweth was voted Best International Astrologer, 2015 for her dynamic presentation on her innovative and original research into Astrology and Education. Her book, "Growing Pains" is an exciting development in astrology as it combines classroom teaching experience, sound investigation and the potential to have a positive impact on struggling adolescents, parents, teachers and those who have been labelled "at risk". She writes the weekly and monthly horoscopes and other articles for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, one of the largest astrological social media groups on the web and was also a speaker for the AstroSummit, a guest lecturer for the London School of Astrology and has spoken at several UK local astrology groups. Past international events include ISAR, State of the Art Astrology conference, the Kepler Conference, Congresso Internacional de Astrologia (Portugal), Kepler College, the Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology, Astrology Restored in Cape Town,  the International Academy of Astrology and NORWAC.  Upcoming events include San Diego, Las Vegas, the San Francisco Astrology Society and the Scottish Astrological Association.  Alex is also Vice Principal and Secretary General of International Affairs for the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology and will will be taking up her residential post in India 2017. For queries, consultations or syndications, please contact Alex via www.alextrenoweth.com or leave a message in the comment section.

"Growing Pains" can be purchased in paperback or kindle format on Amazon or can be signed and posted directly to you by Alex.

About the New Book

There are two wolves fighting inside of me, the old story goes, one wolf is good and the other is evil. “But Grandfather,” asked the child, “Which one wins?” The Grandfather answered, “The wolf I feed.”

We might like to think that being good is a natural instinct. In fact, doing the right thing takes a conscious decision. Every day, we are met with temptation to get ahead at the expense of someone else, to get away with something we know is wrong or to cut corners if we think no one is watching.

Following on from her powerful book on astrology and Education, “Growing Pains”, Alex Trenoweth explores the benefits of using “the bad guy” of the solar system: Saturn. Often avoided and seldom understood, if we understand our own Saturn then we can help others to understand theirs. Using case studies of  highly successful people contrasted with convicted serial killers, Trenoweth deftly demonstrates the dire consequences of feeding the wrong wolf.

The Road Less Travelled

Whether it's getting on a plane in the middle of a hurricane, drinking a noxious liquid otherwise known as "port" to be polite (actually it was delicious--they just don't know how to transport it to the UK so it doesn't taste like antifreeze) or teaching adolescents for 12 years before realising the life of a supply teacher was where it's at, I've just never been known to take the easy route.

My watch says "2am" but my body knows it's not break time yet!!

Today I am on a 24-hour odyssey on a Greyhound bus to get to Seattle from San Francisco. I'm halfway through, my butt is numb but I have enough Combos and iced tea (it's OK, I can cope!) to see me through the apocalypse so I'm pretty happy. Oh and I have wifi!! I could do this for a few days ;)

I also watched Venus rise as the morning star followed by a spectacular sunrise. At the moment I'm travelling through Salinas County, the very area my former GCSE English pupils used to think was a place John Steinbeck made up. The highway cuts through huge areas of conifers, mountains and rivers. I can almost see George and Lenny hiding in a brook or hear the clink of horseshoes near the bunkhouse.

I love road trips but living in London really does mean it is too expensive to have a car--even if I could get a place to park one. So between naps, I'm putting the finishing touches on my lecture for NORWAC, answering emails (great goddess where do they all come from?) and just enjoying scenery I don't get to enjoy in London: an upside down big dipper, tiny farmhouses in the middle of nowhere, a sunrise so vivid it looked like someone dabbed bright red lipstick on the top of the mountain ranges and of course, there's nothing like meeting real Americans in the middle of nowhere.

Oh I had Taco Bell's egg quesadillas with diablo sauce for breakfast!

I could have taken a plane to Seattle but that wouldn't have been as interesting! So when I arrive looking a little bleary-eyed, you'll know it's because I didn't want to miss a thing on my way to the conference.

Last shout out for my lecture tomorrow (I think tomorrow is Friday):

About the Astrologer

Alex Trenoweth was voted Best International Astrologer, 2015 for her dynamic presentation on her innovative and original research into Astrology and Education. Her book, "Growing Pains" is an exciting development in astrology as it combines classroom teaching experience, sound investigation and the potential to have a positive impact on struggling adolescents, parents, teachers and those who have been labelled "at risk". She writes the weekly and monthly horoscopes and other articles for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, one of the largest astrological social media groups on the web and was also a speaker for the AstroSummit, a guest lecturer for the London School of Astrology and has spoken at several UK local astrology groups. Past international events include ISAR, State of the Art Astrology conference, the Kepler Conference, Congresso Internacional de Astrologia (Portugal), Kepler College, the Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology, Astrology Restored in Cape Town,  the International Academy of Astrology and NORWAC.  Upcoming events include San Diego, Las Vegas, the San Francisco Astrology Society and the Scottish Astrological Association.  Alex is also Vice Principal and Secretary General of International Affairs for the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology and will will be taking up her residential post in India 2017. For queries, consultations or syndications, please contact Alex via www.alextrenoweth.com or leave a message in the comment section.

"Growing Pains" can be purchased in paperback or kindle format on Amazon or can be signed and posted directly to you by Alex.

About the New Book

There are two wolves fighting inside of me, the old story goes, one wolf is good and the other is evil. “But Grandfather,” asked the child, “Which one wins?” The Grandfather answered, “The wolf I feed.”

We might like to think that being good is a natural instinct. In fact, doing the right thing takes a conscious decision. Every day, we are met with temptation to get ahead at the expense of someone else, to get away with something we know is wrong or to cut corners if we think no one is watching.

Following on from her powerful book on astrology and Education, “Growing Pains”, Alex Trenoweth explores the benefits of using “the bad guy” of the solar system: Saturn. Often avoided and seldom understood, if we understand our own Saturn then we can help others to understand theirs. Using case studies of  highly successful people contrasted with convicted serial killers, Trenoweth deftly demonstrates the dire consequences of feeding the wrong wolf.

Blowing It Up

It has long been noted that astrology lacks true integration. It isn't that people are working against each other, it's just that the northern hemisphere seems to keep to itself and the southern hemisphere seems to keep to itself too. And certainly there has been very little interface between East and West. Distance can be a problem. And the older astrologers' lack of engagement with social media means the gap between older and younger astrologers is widening with every technological advance.

But the Institute of Vedic Culture (IVC) astrology conference, organised by the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology (KIA) and founded by Gopal Bhattacharjee, has been working towards bridging those gaps and in the past few years has been offering simply magical opportunities for astrologers to learn more about the very different approaches of Western (tropical zodiac) and Vedic (sidereal zodiac) astrology. As a research astrologer, I passionately believe we need to stand shoulder to shoulder to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous scepticism and to be in a position to offer a tactical offence (and if you don't believe the sceptics are ganging up on astrologers, then you need to read Robert Currey's brilliant account on the "guerrilla skeptics"). We can't do that if we don't understand each other or if we pretend our factions are more important than the bigger picture. So I am way more than a little excited to be a part of KIA's endeavour to bring together astrologers from 6 continents (we are searching for astrologers from Antarctica, lol), over 20 countries, together at a conference to be held 31st January - 4th February 2017 in beautiful, historical yet modern Kolkata India. So far we have over 70 international speakers plus many speakers from India, making it one of the biggest and certainly the most diverse astrology conference ever held.

As my friend and IVC speaker Sam Sadasiva Geppi says: "We are going to blow it up this year!!"

Oh yes we are. Yes WE are.

Personally, I am terrifically moved by the spirit of this conference.  I am moved by Gopal's vision and I will always be inspired by Richard Alwin Filder who was one of the first international speakers back in 2014. He had NO idea of what to expect but he must have liked it because he returned the next year in 2015 with a few more of us (Naomi Bennett, Michelle Gould, Sanjay Pandya, Agent 63 Ehsan Khazeni, myself and a few others). We all became very close friends and met in South Africa for the Astrology Restored Conference in Cape Town later that year where quite a few of us formed a veritable tribe of antipodean astrologers and then descended on KIA in early 2016 where we were joined by even more international astrologers such as Agent Dakini Laura Boomer Trent, who wanted to discover what they were missing out on.

So when Gopal made me Secretary General of KIA after the conference in 2016, I didn't reveal that I had a very secret weapon: I was Secret Agent 144 for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, the largest social media group of astrologers on the internet. A brain child of Julija Simas (Agent 12), the CIA has over 1.4 million members on its Facebook page but the two groups, with integration being a bit iffy in the astrology world, had yet to meet.

I had met Julija earlier at ISAR 2014 and we got on like a proverbial house on fire. After the conference in India 2016, I went to Melbourne to hang out with other CIA secret agents, most notably Olga Morales. Here we are looking all secretive-like:

From l-r: Olga, me and Julija in Melbourne Australia

It was during this time that I began to hatch my secret plan to get more antipodean friends to the KIA conference (having also experienced the thriving astrological community in Cape Town): Julija and Olga were thrilled with the idea of coming to India. A CIA briefing was in the making.

But I still didn't reveal all of my plans.

At ISAR 2016, after a few miserable months in London (I had been travelling around the world for 5 months and found being back at home very difficult to get used to), I met up again with Julija and Ana Carrapichano (who organised the Astrology Restored Conference in South Africa along with Richard Fidler). 

l-r Agents Ana, 144 and 12

It was the perfect opportunity for us to put our heads together and with South American Agent 55 Vanessa Guazzelli Paim on board, we very nicely had 6 continents covered:

Agent 12: South America?
Agent 55: check
Agent 12: North America?
Agent 144: check
Agent 12: Europe?
Agent 144: check (in true Gemini rising style, Agent 144 keeps her two big feet in two separate continents)
Agent 12: South Africa? 
Agent Ana: check

Agent 12: Persia?

Agent 63: check

Agent 12: I got Australia covered

Agent 144: And Super Secret Honorary Agent Gopal has India covered (we're working on China and the Far East)

Agent 144 getting her brief from Agents 55 and 12

Agent 12: 144, we got a plan of action. You do the infiltrating. You got the connections.
Agent 144: Boss, I haven't even had me cup of tea yet

"I can't cope without me tea" --Agent 144

But there were thrills and attempts at papping us before we could hatch our plan fully! And quickly Agent 144 realised there were more important things in life than tea (a miracle in itself!).

Agent 144: OK, I got it. It's on like Donkey Kong. We assemble the finest astrologers for IVC. We get KIA and CIA to work together on IVC before I go MIA at the Kepler Conference!

Agent 12: You got it 144! You got any other conferences you're going to?
Agent 144: Why yes indeed: there's Portugal in February 17
Agent 12: Anything else?
Agent 144: NORWAC
Agent 12: Anything else?
Agent 144: Well there's my tour of the US West Coast where I'll be visiting various branches of NCGR and the San Francisco Astrology Society. . .
Agent 12: Anything else?
Agent 144: Um, I'm at the Scottish Astrology Association in the autumn
Agent 12: Anything else?
Agent 144: Sheesh boss, ya trying to kill me?
Agent 12: It's a tough life as an agent. Where's your next article?
Agent 144: (stunned into silence)
Agent 12: Right, you know what to do

So at the Kepler Conference, the finest research astrologers had gathered and what a terrific opportunity to do some recruiting. Ditto for Portugal.

Northern Hemisphere Agent 144 and Southern Hemisphere Agent 55 showing da love

But wait, there's more!

Cosmic Intelligence Agency is delighted to report that at the NORWAC Conference in Seattle, Agent 12 (Julija) and Agent 144 (Me) will be re-united and both of us will be happy to answer any questions our North American friends might have about the conference in India. We'll have leaflets and, of course, our big mouths to help you decide if being a part of the biggest astrology conference on the planet is something you might like to invest in. After NORWAC, I'll be on a tour of the West Coast meeting various NCGR chapters and the San Francisco Astrology Society and again, will be very happy to share the vision of truly uniting astrologers together. We ask our astrologer friends, in particular those who are speaking at IVC, to engage with our various social media campaigns on Facebook and other platforms.

And with two of the biggest online astrology organisations (CIA, Southern Hemisphere and Western Astrology and KIA, Northern Hemisphere and Vedic) working together, you won't want to miss this opportunity: it's cutting edge stuff and what dreams are made of! 

So readers might be wondering how long Agent 144 has been deep, deep, deep undercover...

Agent 144 in saree, Kolkata India, 2015

Agent 144 with Agent 63, Cape Town 2015

Agents Dakini, Ana and 144 in sarees, Kolkata India 2016

Top secret CIA board meeting, ISAR 2016

Dr Dennis Harness with Agents 63 and 144 before the good doctor knew he would be headline speaker at IVC

Me and IVC Speaker Lynn Bell in Portugal

Hakan Kirkoglu Agent 40 at ISAR: totally oblivious!

Armand Diaz (Agent 17) with Agent 144 at ISAR: oblivious. Note 144's halo

Dr Glenn Perry, oblivious at The Kepler Conference (and promoting my book!!) and just look at 144's halo!

Kepler panel: Four confirmed speakers (and me)! Note the fertility of Dennis Harness' imagination and our star Will Morris!

Dr Will Morris and Kenneth Miller, speakers at IVC 2018, totally oblivious at The Kepler Conference!
 (square halos for 144 and Kenneth!)

Agent 144 photobombing the ISAR board looking like disaster girl but actually going for the "uh-huh, I'll be seeing you at IVC" look. Seven of them have confirmed as speakers at IVC ;)

So there, it's all out!

In all seriousness, it has been remarkable how so many unique and diverse astrologers are so thrilled to put energy in the IVC conference. If you'd like to be a part of this but aren't too sure what things will be like, you can read my account here. We now have the tour packages ready!

And if you do have to miss the spectacular event, the Nakshatra Barta, KIA's publication, will be available for purchase. Packed full of our researchers' finest articles, it will be distributed to 20,000 readers around the world. Never heard of Nakshatra Barta? We'll be putting that right. It's time for astrologers to find out what it's like to be treated like rock stars--and it could only happen in India. At least for now.

We're hoping to change that at IVC.

So put it in your calendar: IVC 31 January- 4 February 2018, Kolkata India!

About the Astrologer

Alex Trenoweth was voted Best International Astrologer, 2015 for her dynamic presentation on her innovative and original research into Astrology and Education. Her book, "Growing Pains" is an exciting development in astrology as it combines classroom teaching experience, sound investigation and the potential to have a positive impact on struggling adolescents, parents, teachers and those who have been labelled "at risk". She writes the weekly and monthly horoscopes and other articles for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, one of the largest astrological social media groups on the web and was also a speaker for the AstroSummit, a guest lecturer for the London School of Astrology and has spoken at several UK local astrology groups. Upcoming international events include Breaking Down the Borders, the Kepler Conference, Congresso Internacional de Astrologia (Portugal), Kepler College, the Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology, NORWAC and the San Francisco Astrology Society.  Alex is also Vice Principal and Secretary General of International Affairs for the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology and will will be taking up her residential post in India 2017. For queries, consultations or syndications, please contact Alex via www.alextrenoweth.com or leave a message in the comment section.

"Growing Pains" can be purchased in paperback or kindle format on Amazon or can be signed and posted directly to you by Alex.

About the New Book

There are two wolves fighting inside of me, the old story goes, one wolf is good and the other is evil. “But Grandfather,” asked the child, “Which one wins?” The Grandfather answered, “The wolf I feed.”

We might like to think that being good is a natural instinct. In fact, doing the right thing takes a conscious decision. Every day, we are met with temptation to get ahead at the expense of someone else, to get away with something we know is wrong or to cut corners if we think no one is watching.

Following on from her powerful book on astrology and Education, “Growing Pains”, Alex Trenoweth explores the benefits of using “the bad guy” of the solar system: Saturn. Often avoided and seldom understood, if we understand our own Saturn then we can help others to understand theirs. Using case studies of  highly successful people contrasted with convicted serial killers, Trenoweth deftly demonstrates the dire consequences of feeding the wrong wolf.

Knee Deep in the Hoopla

OK, the tag for my blog is "Because I sometimes forget where on earth I'm supposed to be. . ." but lately, I've just been getting on with life and work in London.

But that doesn't mean I'm not busy!

Whew. . .what a few weeks.

I'm happy to say all the speakers have been now been selected for the Institute of Vedic Culture's (Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology) conference. You can view the speakers' list here. There's still a lot of work to be done with sorting out topics and descriptions and papers, finalising touring packages and all the other things associated with being on the organizing committee of such a large organisation. But it really has been a great privilege to work with a man who shares my vision in truly uniting the two zodiacs under one roof. Gopal Bhattacharjee and I joke that we must really be long lost twins--we seem to anticipate what the other is about to do and we even seem to share the same sense of humour. But I think we are both very happy so many astrologers from across the globe (from TWENTY countries) also share in our vision of setting aside our factions and taking on the skeptics, critics and the indifferents of astrology.

And in the flurry of everything, Robert Currey honours me with a place on his hard-nosed academic research site! To be on the same webpage as Michel Gauquelin and Suibert Ertel  is beyond mind blowing.

And speaking of mind blowing, I just have to boast that Dr Glenn Perry bought a copy of "Growing Pains"!  here's the proof:

And just because I'm grounded for the moment in London, doesn't mean I'm not getting out and about. . .I have a lot of webinars coming up.

9th April 10am BST: "How to Get Children to Reach For the Stars" for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency. If you didn't already know it, I write the yearly, monthly and weekly horoscopes for the CIA and it is just such a thrill to write for a magazine people actually read! More articles coming out for the CIA soon.

15th April 9pm-10:30pm BST: "Astrology and Education" for Kepler College. One of the great things about attending the ISAR conference back in October was the great connection I made with the prestigious Kepler College! Astrology research at its finest! I did my first webinar on International Astrology Day last weekend and I'm offering this free one for beginners.

29th April 5pm-8pm BST: "Growing Pains" for Kepler College. This webinar is based on my research on astrology and education. $49 for three hours.

7th May: Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology. Further details coming very soon. I'm chuffed to bits to be working with John Green, Clare Martin, Lynn Bell, Darby Costello and Faye Blake-Cossar!

And that leads us nicely on to. . .MY TOUR OF THE WEST COAST, USA!!

So I'm starting off with NORWAC 25-29th May near Seattle where I'll be re-united with lots of astro buddies including Rob Hand and Mark Jones. Then I'll be doing a webinar as part of a series on relationships with the delightful Dorothy Oja, Samuel Reynolds, Margaret Gray and Armand Diaz on 5th June.Then I'm so excited to be speaking at NCGR San Diego on 17 June, NCGR Las Vegas 25 June and San Francisco Astrological Society on the 29th June.

Hopefully "The Wolf You Feed" will be ready to be officially announced by the time I get home from the tour so I can start planning the book launch (I do have a few secrets I'm keeping to myself).

But the fun goes on into September with an appearance at the Woking Astrology Group followed by a jaunt up north to the Scottish Astrological Association. The autumn and winter of 2017/18 will be completely occupied by preparations for the KIA conference. I'll be at UAC (Chicago) spring 2018 to mooch about and crash Ray Merriman's party again. BUT I just got an invitation to speak in Italy in the summer of 2018!

FRENZY!! But in the best possible way.

After all that planning, sometimes a girl just needs to chill out with a good friend after a long day of teaching eager minds. What a great evening I had with my astro sister Laura Boomer-Trent. Spaghetti and conversation. Sigh.

Laura and I: post spaghetti dinner

About the Astrologer

Alex Trenoweth was voted Best International Astrologer, 2015 for her dynamic presentation on her innovative and original research into Astrology and Education. Her book, "Growing Pains" is an exciting development in astrology as it combines classroom teaching experience, sound investigation and the potential to have a positive impact on struggling adolescents, parents, teachers and those who have been labelled "at risk". She writes the weekly and monthly horoscopes and other articles for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, one of the largest astrological social media groups on the web and was also a speaker for the AstroSummit, a guest lecturer for the London School of Astrology and has spoken at several UK local astrology groups. Upcoming international events include Breaking Down the Borders, the Kepler Conference, Congresso Internacional de Astrologia (Portugal), Kepler College, the Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology, NORWAC and the San Francisco Astrology Society.  Alex is also Vice Principal and Secretary General of International Affairs for the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology and will will be taking up her residential post in India 2017. For queries, consultations or syndications, please contact Alex via www.alextrenoweth.com or leave a message in the comment section.

"Growing Pains" can be purchased in paperback or kindle format on Amazon or can be signed and posted directly to you by Alex.

About the New Book

There are two wolves fighting inside of me, the old story goes, one wolf is good and the other is evil. “But Grandfather,” asked the child, “Which one wins?” The Grandfather answered, “The wolf I feed.”

We might like to think that being good is a natural instinct. In fact, doing the right thing takes a conscious decision. Every day, we are met with temptation to get ahead at the expense of someone else, to get away with something we know is wrong or to cut corners if we think no one is watching.

Following on from her powerful book on astrology and Education, “Growing Pains”, Alex Trenoweth explores the benefits of using “the bad guy” of the solar system: Saturn. Often avoided and seldom understood, if we understand our own Saturn then we can help others to understand theirs. Using case studies of  highly successful people contrasted with convicted serial killers, Trenoweth deftly demonstrates the dire consequences of feeding the wrong wolf.

Portugal!! Parte três

We had another fabulous dinner in Maia on the waterfront. Again, just really nice to be with other astrologers.

I arrived at the auditorium raring to watch other speakers. First up was my buddy Glenn Perry who was so calm, so informative and just so experienced that I really learned an awful lot from him on presentation skills. I loved the content of his lecture too on “Present Centered, Purpose Focused Prediction” and a lot of the psychology I studied at university began to return. Luiza Azancat (an amazing polyglot) spoke on “The Astrology of Twin Siblings” which demonstrated how one twin acts out one half of the chart and the other twin acts out the other. Absolutely fascinating research. Next was my good friend Christian Konig who did an incredible presentation on the different types of stars (“Between Heaven and Earth—Helical Rising and Setting Stars”) that was visually appealing thanks to his wicked skills on powerpoint (yeah guess who’s getting a phone call when it’s time to prepare the next lecture?). Like Glenn, Christian was incredibly calm even though I knew he was very nervous.

After all that sitting and listening, I had worked up a bit of an appetite so we found a local restaurant and indulged ourselves in some Portuguese cuisine. Fab company with Rod, Christian, Carla and Monica and a few others. Oh I had codfish which is the local speciality. Yummy.

I watched Glenn again for his workshop and again was just blown away by his calmness, experience and professionalism. His topic was “Venus-Pluto Dynamics: Transforming Fears of Intimacy”. I just loved the way he took a few case studies and made quite complex points very simple. Then I went to watch Roy who did a good job of making key mundane points easy for beginners (I’m not a beginner but it was still good to learn from an experienced speaker). Roy certainly taught me about how to plug my own material in the future (one can’t be shy about it!).

The talks at this conference went on quite late—almost as late as in India (and you KNOW how much I love India). But what made it all so enjoyable was that there was so much to do outside of the auditorium and if anything was needed, one could just wander out to get it. So the last workshop I went to was Margaret Gray’s astro-drama which was a lot of fun and I think we made a pretty good tag team. By the end of this, both of us were knackered.

Sunday morning and it was time to catch Mark Jones in action. “The Destiny Line: the Nodal Axis of the Moon as the Key to Personal Evolution” was the title of his workshop. Now Mark is a very popular speaker so I really wanted to see what I could learn from him. And I think the key to his success is that he makes one point and keeps reinforcing it. He also has an incredible, measured voice (he’s also a hypnotherapist) that was very pleasant to listen to.

After lunch with the astrologers, it was time to watch Margaret in action again. Her topic was “Understanding and Transforming Compulsive and Addictive Relationship patterns with the help of Psychological Astrology” which she delivered in heels! What I found quite striking was the crossover between her talk and Glenn’s. They didn’t work together on their lectures but they made a lot of the same points. Fascinating.

My attention span was dwindling so a few of us gathered to chew the fat. And I learned something else about myself:

I’ve said before I don’t attend conferences with the expectations of making money. I go to conferences for the connections with other astrologers, to learn about what’s going on outside of merry England (LOTS!!) and to pick up opportunities for collaboration. If I do make money, it’s almost exclusively in book sales, private consultations and future engagements outside of the big conferences. There’s a part of me that really dislikes discussing finances and a different part of me who is very reluctant to focus on astrology full time in the hopes of being able to leave teaching (for goodness sake, I just got the teaching/practising astrology balance just right!). I know I would miss teaching if I ever did discover the key to making tons of money in astrology so there’s a real reluctance to talk turkey about money. Having said that, it is nice to have a bit of jingle in the pocket (mainly through book sales) at the end of the conference (even if there were a few misunderstandings around EU taxes).

With the old finances in order, it was time to enjoy the last lecture. “Turning Lead into Gold: Planets in Detriment and Fall” was delivered by Lynn Bell. I’ve seen Lynn lecture a lot and she is one of my astro heroes for her really well considered examples, her knowledge of mythology and her consistent elegance. And she didn’t disappoint.

It really was a great conference and as it was the first one for the Portuguese astrologers, I thought it was absolutely bloody marvellous. The generosity of the hosts, the central location of the event and just the experience of being able to enjoy the setting was nothing short of glorious. Oh and guess who is going to have a few articles translated into Portuguese?

My last dinner in Portugal was spent with the Brits. Lynn (like me, she’s an honourary Brit) gave me some great advice and Carole Taylor (I’ve seen Carole lecture a lot too so I had to make the decision to see speakers I hadn’t seen before) gave me some encouragement about the lecture circuit. It is a great feeling to know that I am now experienced enough as a speaker that I can step back and get a better feel for what I enjoy in a conference, how I can be a better speaker and just to enjoy observing the masters. What a terrible teacher I’d be if I thought there was no room for improvement!

My sincere thanks to Isabel Guimardes and team for a wonderful conference.

For part 1, click here
For part 2, click here

About the Astrologer

Alex Trenoweth was voted Best International Astrologer, 2015 for her dynamic presentation on her innovative and original research into Astrology and Education. Her book, "Growing Pains" is an exciting development in astrology as it combines classroom teaching experience, sound investigation and the potential to have a positive impact on struggling adolescents, parents, teachers and those who have been labelled "at risk". She writes the weekly and monthly horoscopes and other articles for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, one of the largest astrological social media groups on the web and was also a speaker for the AstroSummit, a guest lecturer for the London School of Astrology and has spoken at several UK local astrology groups. Upcoming international events include Breaking Down the Borders, the Kepler Conference, Congresso Internacional de Astrologia (Portugal), Kepler College, the Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology, NORWAC and the San Francisco Astrology Society.  Alex is also Vice Principal and Secretary General of International Affairs for the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology and will will be taking up her residential post in India 2017. For queries, consultations or syndications, please contact Alex via www.alextrenoweth.com or leave a message in the comment section.

"Growing Pains" can be purchased in paperback or kindle format on Amazon or can be signed and posted directly to you by Alex.

About the New Book

There are two wolves fighting inside of me, the old story goes, one wolf is good and the other is evil. “But Grandfather,” asked the child, “Which one wins?” The Grandfather answered, “The wolf I feed.”

We might like to think that being good is a natural instinct. In fact, doing the right thing takes a conscious decision. Every day, we are met with temptation to get ahead at the expense of someone else, to get away with something we know is wrong or to cut corners if we think no one is watching.

Following on from her powerful book on astrology and Education, “Growing Pains”, Alex Trenoweth explores the benefits of using “the bad guy” of the solar system: Saturn. Often avoided and seldom understood, if we understand our own Saturn then we can help others to understand theirs. Using case studies of  highly successful people contrasted with convicted serial killers, Trenoweth deftly demonstrates the dire consequences of feeding the wrong wolf.