There are two ways to study medical astrology
with me. Both programs have the same teaching materials: approximately
1000 pages of text and 100 hours of audio
instruction. There are 36 lessons in all. Though students can, to some extent, set the pace of the studies, the lessons are expected to span four years or more. Accelerated programs are not encouraged.
Diploma
Program
Extensive homework is required. It
is marked and returned to students with comments. Those who wish
can write a thesis after the second year and/or a dissertation
after the third or fourth year.
Effective July 1, 2008,
there will be prerequisites for the diploma program. Applicants
must have the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from an accredited
university or training in some healing discipline such as Ayurveda,
acupuncture, naturopathy, medicine, chiropractic work, or herbal
medicine. Mail order degrees, short certification courses,
and home study will not qualify.
The course has been completely
reorganized. It is now a four-year program. Diploma
candidates will be required to attend seminars, at least one
seminar for the first level work, and another for each additional
level.
Auditor
Status
No homework
is required. Private tutoring can sometimes be arranged for an
additional fee of $60 per hour. Effective July 1, 2008, the
auditor status will be closed to everyone who was not previously enrolled as an auditor.
Each lesson consists of pdf file equivalent to approximately 20-30 pages if printed on
8½ x11 paper. In addition, there is streaming audio, 1.5-4.5 hours per lesson. This is the basic course but there is supplemental material in the form of commentary on lessons based on content in submitted in homework. There is also a bulletin board. Material from 2000 to mid-2008 has been archived.
There
is a substantial amount of homework with each lesson. Most
students require 20-40 hours to complete each assignment. Much
of the homework is based on the student's chart so that the material
presented is immediately put into practical use. Many students do a lot of emotional processing, some painful, some cathartic, some liberating.
Since diploma candidates submit homework, suggestions
and insights are attached to the homework before returning the homework
to the student. The purpose is to sharpen insight, learn to
apply the material, and deepen appreciation for the
relevance of the system presented in the course. Over time, most
students not only increase their astrological skills but expand
their insights into life experiences and processes.
It is hoped
that each lesson not only increases self-awareness but also encourages compassion for others.
The costs are U.S. $50 per lesson for auditors
and $150 for diploma students. Thesis and dissertation supervision
involve extra charges of $600 and $1000, respectively.
Diploma Candidates
Candidates must complete all 36 homework assignments
and demonstrate proficiency and the capacity to use medical astrology
professionally with a high level of skill and integrity. Honors students must
complete an original research program and write a thesis after the second year and a dissertation at the end of the studies.
Homework
Each lesson has a fairly substantial amount of homework. Most of the questions
involve use of one's own chart as well as that of another person,
someone who is interviewed in an effort to apply the material to
that person's horoscope and life experience. The homework is done
in a word processing application. After saving the homework to the hard drive, it is uploaded to my server. The generates a notification to me that there is homework awaiting review. Once I have read the homework and inserted comments, I save the document with whatever corrections or special notes I find appropriate and then I upload the revised document to the server and a notification goes to the student that the homework has been reviewed. At this point, the student can order the next lesson.
The comments on the homework are inserted using a different color
font so the student can easily see where my notes have been added. Though I do actually score each lesson, I do not necessarily share this information with students during the first year because each student commences with totally different background so the learning curves also differ for each. In the first year, I am assessing aptitude, progress, integration of ideas, ability to think astrologically, and maturity as a counselor for others. If someone falls short of the mark, discussions will be scheduled to see if the course is suitable.
Anyway who shares login information with friends or colleagues, who plagiarizes my material, or who is abusive towards me or other students will be immediately expelled.
Bulletin Board
Auditors and Diploma Candidates as well as students
who have taken previous master's classes and/or certificate courses
are welcome to participate on the moderated bulletin board where
students can pose questions and discuss the application of the
material in the course. The bulletin board is intended to be a
place for serious interactive discussions in which many people
can participate.
For those familiar with previous boards, there are some changes. The most important change is that each student will only be permitted to participate in topics corresponding with the level of study.
Previous posts to the bulletin board have been archived so the new board will start over again from scratch.
Commentaries
In addition to the bulletin board, students can
ask questions. When the question is related to a specific lesson,
it can be sent via e-mail using the contact form on the site. Sometimes, a response will
be posted online in which case it can be considered as a supplement to the
lesson. E-mail notifications are sent when there are additions
to the commentaries. As with the forum, students only have access to material at or below their own level. No one can jump ahead.
Changes
When the course first started in 1995, excellent examples of completed homework were
attached to subsequent lessons. This was possible because everyone
started at the same time. However, as the years have passed, this ceased to remain practical. Starting now, such examples will be posted online in an honors gallery but only if the student who authored the material has granted permission.
The student is 100% at liberty
to refuse to have the homework published, and it is always permissible
to consent to anonymous publication (still never without prior
agreement.) There will never be any publication of anything without
mutual agreement.
Scholarships
There are a limited number of scholarships available
to qualified students in third world countries. The reason for
offering the course for free or at a subsidized rate is to make
the course affordable to persons in countries where the disparity
in costs of living is significant. These scholarships are
always based on merit as well as the economics of the region; they
are never awarded on the basis of personal financial issues such
as unemployment or illness.
E-list
There are two astrological e-lists associated with my work.
There is a general astrological list intended for mainly avid lay persons but sometimes of interest to professionals and there is another exclusively for registered students. You can subscribe to either or both and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of the email.
Many of the posts sent
to this list are informal. Some are political, spiritual, or sometimes
just humorous. In short, being on the list means receiving a fairly wide variety of emails, often several a week, that address a wide variety of subjects.
Curriculum
The material in the course is based 100% on my own system of medical astrology. I make no effort whatsoever to teach other systems of medical astrology so you are studying The Astrology of Healing with me, not majoring in medical astrology at a place such as Kepler College.
My system can be broadly
described as consisting of four parts:
Circumstances that contribute to illness
The energetics of illness
The role of the subconscious in illness
Esoteric aspects of healing
Each of these parts is covered in considerable
depth. Students are expected to improve their astrological insights and skills
as well as to become counselors and healers.
Prerequisites
Most of the students have a prior background
in astrology and/or some healing modality. Many of the students
in England, Australia, and Switzerland are graduates of recognized astrology
schools. Others have studied astrology on their own, often for many
years. For those without any prior acquaintance with astrology,
the course will be very challenging for at least the first year
or two. Persons who are motivated will usually find that some study
of the basics of tropical astrology will be necessary in order
to deal with the techniques and terminology that are unique to
astrology.
No prior training in any healing profession is
a prerequisite for the course. However, there are students who
are licensed medical doctors, chiropractors, and acupuncturists.
Others have had a long interest in esoteric healing, nutrition,
herbology, or psychology. As noted, no background in health or
healing is a prerequisite for the course, but most people taking
the course are either professional astrologers or health care practitioners.
In the course, students will be exposed to a
profound amount of astropsychology as well as a mountain of material
on the energetics—meaning fire, earth, air, and water—of
healing, this from the perspective of the temperament as well as
physiological make-up. Methods for harmonizing imbalances include
counseling, diet and herbs, and fairly sophisticated esoteric systems
involving music and chakra balancing. Those who are already working
in the health care world will be adding to their repertoires whereas
those who are entirely new to healing will forge the skills needed
to build practices of their own.
Internships
Many students are interested in "onsite" training.
At present, there are no openings of this type, but
it is hoped that this will not always be the case.
Second-year students who wish to exchange some services
for private tutoring are top of the list of candidates for interning.
Research
Research in medical astrology is quite meager.
I have dedicated a lifetime to raising the standards
for astrological research, especially in the areas of psychology
and health. Persons wishing to conduct astrological research may
find my advice and guidance helpful. There are also case histories
and databases that could facilitate research for enterprising individuals.
More
Information on the Course
