Hudson Valley Astrologer

“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

~ Anonymous

A project that consumes me, and makes me feel perhaps a little like Noah must have felt building his ark, is the development of a learning guide for astrology students. I am in the process of building a tool, for myself really, to help master and manage the massive amounts of information necessary to for internalizing and understanding the basic principles of astrology.

I won’t leave behind a body of work related to my basketball skills, no loss to the New York Knicks fandom, who suffered an epic meltdown last night in the Garden. Why? Because my athletic prowess has really always been more of a middle-of-the-pack kind-a-play, even though I was one of those three letter kids in high school — football, baseball, and basketball. I mean in my head I had outstanding potential, and even a glorious minute here or there, but any delusions of going pro I would later learn was a horse of a different color.

Back in the day, in my early thirties, when my percentage of body fat was under 10% I was smitten with the idea of competing professionally in triathlons. A couple of guys from San Diego came up with the idea of the “triathlon” as a way to help them train and prepare themselves for running road races. Their idea was that the cross-training would be beneficial. They were not exceptional or elite athletes themselves, but more middle-of-the-pack athletes feeding into the trend that was beginning to emerge in the 1970s. Running became epidemic, epitomized by the scene in the movie Forrest Gump, where Tom Hanks runs out from a long driveway, onto the road, and never looks back. People join him, one by one, and for no apparent reason. There is something humorous about how people pick up queues from one another. Chauncey Gardener, for example, from the book Being There, becomes the leader of choice elected by what Jerzy Kozinski called “videots.” (A remarkable synchronicity to our political reality today) So, the triathlon trend was born and gave life to “The Weekend Warrior” of amateur sports where members became zealous and passionate about their recreational outlet — some might suggest they became addicted.

My passion for triathlons grew with every achievement and new PR I logged. The excitement peaked however at my first Pro-Am sponsored by Bud-Lite at a nearby lake in the Hudson Valley. I was good! A consistent top-5 finisher among the locals, but on this day, coming out of the cold spring fed waters of Lake Taghkanic, and having had one of my best split times for the swim, I suddenly realized what it actually takes to go pro, and that I didn’t have it. The pros were already on their bikes and miles away by the time I reached my mounting station. I had the best race of my life that day, but I still finished near the middle of the pack.

The 1970s not only gave us gifted amateur athletes, but also brought us gifted astrologers. I had the good fortune to study with two of them. Noel Tyl who became an astrologer’s astrologer and penned over 49 books on various topics germane to the subject. He was the equivalent of an elite athlete as far as his astrological chops and knowledge go. If astrology were a sport, like basketball, he’d be an all-star center, which in fact he was when he played basketball for Harvard. My other teacher, Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet wrote numerous books as well and was in my experience one of the best writers I’ve ever had the privilege to read. Her work and legacy, shows us where astrology is going, not where it has been. When the time is right, students, will stumble into her writing, as I did, and discover her spiritual philosophy, like an elite athlete, is a horse of a different color. In the beginning I found her writing confounding. Now when I read her work, my sense is that she wrote with such clarity and insight, that her extraordinary wording and illuminated eloquence suggests the Sun itself put the harmony of the cosmos into her words. Maybe this is what Pat MacDonald meant when he sang with Timbuk 3 that “the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.”

My astrological work, as I’ve shared elsewhere, has been like a love affair with a mistress. Other responsibilities and prior commitments have kept me from going all-in. But when we’re together? Phew! (Not that I speaking from experience but who hasn’t seen Fatal Attraction or The English Patient?)

My legacy, if I end up having a legacy, will be my four remarkable children — and this “little project” which is about 75% finished. The intention behind my project is to create An Indispensable Tool for middling astrology students and practitioners, who already have a full-life between their day jobs, family responsibilities and hobbies, but for one reason or another love astrology. They want to go deeper and find the memes and Sun Sign approach to be lacking. If that’s you, then maybe we’ll be speaking together in the not too distant future.

HVA

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