The 2007 PHASE Conclave: The Astrology of the Mysteries
July 27th through August 2nd - Cumberland , Maryland
This year's PHASE Conclave features Michael Erlewine and Robert Schmidt. PHASE Conclaves have always offered something different from the ordinary conference fare. For one thing, they always break new ground, and this year's special two-part conference will be no exception.
Last year we studied the tradition “in hindsight,” and traced the continuities and discontinuities in the transmission of astrological concepts from the Hellenistic period forward. This year's event marks our first serious attempt to explore whether ancient and modern astrology at their best are simply two different expressions of the same central truth.
This is most easily done by focusing directly on the spiritual dimension of ancient and modern astrology, where we need not be so distracted by the details and niceties of technique, and can concentrate instead on what the techniques ultimately mean. Yes, Hellenistic astrology had such a dimension as well, a mystery tradition hidden in plain sight for centuries.
This is not to say that we won't be presenting new techniques during the course of the week. They will play a pivotal role in the second part of the Conclave, where Robert will be showing how the techniques themselves provide our primary access to the metaphysics underlying Hellenistic astrology.
The first portion of the conclave, Friday through Sunday, will be an extended dialogue between Michael Erlewine, who in our view represents the best modern astrology has to offer, and Robert Schmidt, the restorer of Hellenistic astrology.
The approach is that Michael and Robert will point out ideas central to the mystery traditions from the twin perspectives of modern and Hellenistic astrology. They will make every effort to press through to the heart of these mysteries, where astrology is alive with meaning, and bring these ideas to life - and to your own life.
Attendees will have the unique experience of watching these two approaches converge to the same point. This “triangulation technique” will demonstrate how both approaches are complementary and at the same time insure that Michael and Robert are pointing out some fundamental astrological truth.
Michael and Robert are both committed teachers and will want to know that attendees are taking in what they are offering in this orientation to the astrological mysteries, so we will also allow ample time for direct interaction between attendees and the speakers.
To give you a feel for the dynamic dialogue we have in mind, let us mention just a few topics that will be covered:
How the different modern astronomical coordinate systems - horizontal, geocentric, and heliocentric - afford us a three-dimensional view of life. What the Hellenistic astrologers were showing by using three distinct reference frames within a geocentric framework.
“The straighter the line, the finer the curve,” or how concepts that astrologers generally take to be linear are in fact curvilinear, then finally cyclical. What the several sets of planetary period used by Hellenistic astrologers contribute to the notion of cyclicity in our lives.
The deeper meaning of the order of the heliocentric order of the planets, and how the inner planet is the key to the issues presented by the outer. The seven-zoned sphere of the Hellenistic astrologer Nechepso, and the seven “worlds” of Hellenistic astrology.
That after the first Saturn return, “there is no more time,” and how the outer planets relate to the initiations of baptism, marriage, and having children. That since Hellenistic astrology did not have the outer planets, what astrological factors served the same purpose for them.
That before we start talking about re-incarnation in the chart, shouldn't we understand what incarnation means astrologically? What the Hellenistic astrologers were getting at with their characterization of certain houses as “between the worlds,” others as “portals,” and how these relate to major intra-life and inter-life changes.
As an added bonus in this conference, Michael will draw on his 40 years of experience as a counseling astrologer and share practices given to him by his esoteric teachers, both Western and Eastern, not as abstractions, but as hands-on counseling techniques that can be used in the standard astrological consultation. He will also be showing attendees how to experience these dynamic techniques in day-today life, both within and outside of the counseling situation, and how to put them into practice. You can read more about Michael on www.startypes.com.
The second portion of the conclave, Monday through Thursday, might be entitled “Translating Hellenistic Astrology into a Modern Idiom.” In this segment, Robert will continue the theme of the astrology of the mysteries by drawing out the broader implications of some techniques that are special to Hellenistic astrology, ably assisted by other Project Hindsight associates. These were lost to the tradition until now, and Robert will be providing the keys to their interpretation. The intent here is to show that Hellenistic astrology has much to offer modern humanity.
This segment will consist of three parts: 1) an exposition of the paradigm structure of Hellenistic astrology; 2) how the Hellenistic astrologers thought that astrology actually worked; 3) how the subtle network of fate concepts implemented in Hellenistic astrology can make human life intelligible.
In the first part, Robert will unveil, for the very first time, the complete paradigm structure underlying Hellenistic astrology. Although he has hinted at it from time to time, the Conclave will be his first public presentation of the complete scheme.
What do we mean by the word “paradigm” here? The Hellenistic astrological paradigms are concrete metaphors, couched in human terms, which underlie all Hellenistic concepts and techniques. They deal with ships, temples, the marketplace and commercial transactions, governmental assemblies, law cases, and the like. They have posed the most challenging problem in our restoration of the original Hellenistic system, which we call The System of Hermes.
The employment of these paradigms—which appear to have been mostly lost in the successive transmission of Hellenistic astrology from culture to culture—is the singular excellence of Hellenistic astrology. Such paradigms not only bring the astrological techniques to life and make clear their interrelationships with one another, but they also equip the astrologer with a concrete, readily intelligible language for communicating to a client the findings in a natal chart.
The astrological paradigms provide the first layer of meaning for astrological interpretation. Understanding them is also a necessary starting point for delving deeper into the Hellenistic astrological mysteries; for we are immediately prompted to ask what these anthropomorphic representations are themselves ultimately representative of.
Here is a preview of some of the paradigms that we will be correlating with their respective techniques:
Planetary Divination: the paradigm that represents how the planets use the houses as oracles.
The Virtues & Vices of the Planets: the paradigm underlying the seven Hermetic lots.
The Vessel of Life: the nautical paradigm that ties together all the principal significators and their lords in a natal chart.
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Planetary Politics: the paradigm underlying sect, describing how the planets take sides while conducting business in the grand planetary assembly.
The Guest/Host Relation: the paradigm that characterizes the relationship between a planet in a sign, and the ruler of that sign
Writs of Payment Due: the paradigm that characterizes what is promised in a natal chart.
Planetary Forensics: the paradigm of accusation & acquittal that underlies the time lord procedures.
The second part of this segment will address the question of how astrology works. Here you will find out that the Hellenistic astrologers had a new and capital insight that reconciled the omen-based astrology of the Babylonians and the causal orientation of Pre-Hellenistic Egyptian astrology. Robert calls this central concept of the Hellenistic astrologers the fields of human existence, and it is these fields that mediate between the heavens and the earth. He will also show how this concept is at the basis of the organization and hierarchy of the Hellenistic time-lord procedures. We believe that the recovery of this Hellenistic world-view offers a fresh new starting point for any future discussion of a scientific basis for astrology.
The third part will draw out the network of Hellenistic fate concepts hidden deep within the heart of the Hellenistic astrological system. These fate concepts are intimately connected with the fields of existence mentioned above. It is the fields that make astrology possible, but it is the fate concepts that make human life intelligible.
Although there will be many advanced techniques presented at this year's Conclave for the first time, we encourage anyone who has an interest in Hellenistic astrology to attend, no matter what your level of expertise. If you are a new-comer to this, the original astrology of the West, we will be providing special tutorials in the basics to help you get up to speed.
And even if you are not interested in becoming a practitioner of Hellenistic astrology, we believe that an exposure to the paradigmatic thinking described above will enrich your practice and help deepen your experience with chart reading, no matter what your astrological orientation.
Michael would be the first to tell you that ultimately everything is cyclic, that everything circulates back to its starting point to begin the same process anew. In this conference we want to see whether the most viable seeds produced by the flowering of modern astrology can germinate and again take root in the fertile soil of Hellenistic astrology, to produce an even more glorious flowering. This is what renaissance is all about.
The Conclave will be held in downtown Cumberland, MD starting Friday morning, July 27th through Thursday evening, August 2nd, 2007. There will be a reception the evening before the Conclave, Thursday July 26 th and an open house at The PHASER Foundation the weekend following the Conclave for post-conference discussions in a relaxed party atmosphere. Lodging is available within walking distance of the Conclave venue.
Tuition for the week-long event is $599. For those people unable to attend the entire Conclave, the day rate is $99. For more information or to register, contact 
or call us at 301.724.4463 during east coast business hours.
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