美國占星師專訪:Chris Brennan (克里斯‧布里南)

克里斯‧布里南將於2017美國NCGR占星研討會中演講「詮釋宮主星以及預測其觸動的時間(Interpreting the Rulers of the Houses and Timing Their Activation)」,以下為主辦單位針對克里斯‧布里南的個人專訪

Q:你是如何得知占星學的呢?

A: 當我15歲的時候、偶然發現一本諾斯特拉達姆士(Nostradamus)的書,它包含一些關於占星學的討論以及本命星盤的概念,自此我開始著迷於本命占星學,並且很快地發現那是需要一生的時間去達到熟練,因此從那個點、我開始投入學習。

Q: 你如何開始你的修業?對於想要開始修業的學生,你有沒有什麼建議呢?

我最初開始修業是透過撰寫一個名為「天宮圖占星學(The Horoscopic Astrology Blog)的博客,並且參與不同的線上論壇,從定期撰寫開始慢慢開發讀者、並在廣大社群裡建立我自己的名字,而當我真正準備好去做諮詢與教學時,那最終讓我開始拉到客戶與學生。

有段時間,我白天還在做咖啡館服務生的工作以支應生活費,直到最近一次從NCGR研討會回家後的隔天、我都還在工作,然後我想著:我如果沒有被其他的事情卡住,是否就能夠做更多的占星研究呢?那一天,我提出兩週後離職的辭呈,並決心做一位專職的占星師,而我再也沒回頭過。

更近幾年,我已經專注在製作名為「占星學播客 (The Astrology Podcast)」的線上播客,我大部分的客戶以及學生都是從那來的。

給正在思考轉職並且開始修業的人,我會建議他們盡可能早點開始寫部落格,無論你還是占星學生、或是已經開始在為客戶諮詢,你需要開始寫作、並且產生一個工作的主體,即使、你在通往占星學的路上仍在開發或是轉型的階段,且無論你目前對於該主題的想法如何,你都應該要把它寫出來並且記錄下來,因為那能在不同方面給你幫助,最重要的是,你會開發出閱讀你文章並且知道你是誰的讀者群,建立讀者通常是獲得客戶與學生的第一步;接著,當你寫越多、你的寫作會更加熟練,而這是非常重要的,因為也許有一天你會想要寫一本關於占星學的書、或是在期刊發表你的論文,但如果你不知道如何寫作、那麼你就不會被認真看待,所以、最好現在馬上就開始練習;最後,透過開始一個部落格,那會迫使你開始去學習一些你需要知道的、以便開啟、管理以及宣傳你的網站,即使你不是一個科技天才,但當你開始一個部落格,那會強迫你開始去學習一些技巧,而那些最終對你都會是很有用處的。所以,開始一個部落格、並且馬上開始在那上面寫一些文章。

Q:你有沒有什麼關於學習占星學的建議呢?

我最主要的建議就是:在你鎖定專攻的領域之前、可以盡早在你職業生涯的初期去學習不同形式與不同傳統的占星學,這是非常重要的,因為大多數的人都只停留在他們最初學習的那個學科,然而這會是一種限制,而且當你越久不讓自己接觸其他形式的占星學,之後就會越難在你的職業生涯去接納新的或外來的概念到你現行的做法。

Q: 你會如何形容你在占星學的專攻或研究的領域?

我主要專攻羅馬時期、較古老形式的占星學,因為多數西方的占星學都是從那個時期演化而來,那有大量的學說與技巧最近才從古希臘及拉丁文典籍裡被翻譯出來,而我認為那是目前最令人興奮與新鮮的領域。

然而更廣泛地說,我試著去學習許多不同傳統與方法的占星學,然後將他們所有最好的部分整合成一個可行的系統。我最主要的專攻是在本命與擇日占星學。

Q: 有哪些書籍影響你學習與修練占星學?你能告訴我們一些關於他們如何影響你嗎?

  1. 由德梅特拉‧喬治(Demetra George)所著的「占星學與真實的自我(Astrology and the Authentic Self),因為我視它是第一個成功嘗試融合現代與傳統占星學的著作。
  2. 杰弗里·科尼利厄斯(Geoffrey Cornelius)所著的占星學的片刻(The Moment of Astrology),因為即使我不確定、但我認同他所有的結論,我想這顯見在前一世紀哲理占星學中是最重要的一本著作,他的論點-西方占星學有很大一部分取決於行星以及星辰作為徵象的模式而非起因-是正確卻經常被忽略的觀點。
  3. 「維替‧瓦倫斯文集(The Anthology of Vettius Valens)」。瓦倫斯是西元二世紀住在埃及的一位占星師,他用希臘文寫了一系列關於占星學入門教材給他學院的學生,閱讀他的書籍你可以學到很多關於他的生平以及他所生活的世界,偶而他也有一些相當有趣、個人的題外話,最有趣的莫過於閱讀一些他客戶的案例星盤,透過那些你會發現生活的一些基本面向與今日依舊相同,彷彿他們回來了,即使今日我們的科技與文化在各方面都已經有了變化,但仍有一些事依舊是一樣的,從這角度去閱讀一位生活在久遠以前的占星家真是非常的有趣,而且我非常欽佩他對占星學的奉獻,而這也同樣令人感動的是他的書能夠存留近2000年、並且持續影響著今日新一代的占星師們,想像你今天寫了一本有關你生活與占星實踐的書,然後持續影響2000年後的人,那是西元4000年,那不是很瘋狂嗎?

關於 CHRIS BRENNAN

克里斯是一位從科羅拉多州‧丹佛(Denver, CO)來的專業占星師,在開普勒占星學院(Kepler College)接受教育,在那裏他專注於異文化占星學的比較,他是前任青年占星家協會的會長、前任美國NCGR占星研究協會的研究理事,他專長於希臘化時期的占星學,他即將出版的著作名為《希臘占星學:命定與吉凶的研究》(Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune)。

原文出處:2017美國NCGR國際占星研討會 活動網站

譯者:瑪碁斯(Maki.S)

原文請見第2頁

Q: How did you get introduced to astrology?

I came across a book on Nostradamus when I was about 15, and it contained some discussions about astrology and the concept of natal charts. I became fascinated with some of the implications of natal astrology, and realized very quickly that it was something that would take a lifetime to master, so I devoted myself to studying it from that point forward.

Q: How did you start your practice? And do you have any advice for the student who wants to begin to practice?

I initially started my practice by writing a blog called The Horoscopic Astrology Blog, and also participating in different online forums. I slowly started to develop an audience just from writing regularly and making a name for myself in the broader community, and that allowed me to start drawing in clients and students eventually when I was ready to start consulting and teaching.

For a while I was still working a day job as a barista on the side in order to pay bills. I was at work one day after I recently returned home from a big NCGR conference, and I was thinking about how much more astrological research I could be doing if I wasn’t stuck doing something else much of the time. I put in my two-weeks notice at work that day, resolved to make it as a full-time astrologer, and I’ve never looked back.

More recently, I’ve been focused on producing a podcast over the past few years, called The Astrology Podcast, and most of my clients and students come from that.

For people who are thinking about making the transition and beginning a practice at some point, I’d recommend that they start a blog as soon as possible, and start writing. It doesn’t matter whether you are still a student or you are already seeing clients, you need to start writing and generating a body of work. Even if your approach to astrology is still in development or is in transition, you should write out and document whatever your current thoughts on the subject are. This will benefit you in multiple ways. The most important way is that you will start to develop an audience of people who read and follow your writings and know who you are. Building an audience is the first step in eventually getting clients or students. Additionally, as you write more and more you will get better at writing. This is important because someday you may want to write a book on astrology or an article in a journal, but you won’t be taken very seriously if you don’t know how to write. So it is good to start practicing now. Finally, by starting a blog this will force you to start learning some of the things you will need to know in order to start, manage, and promote a website. So, even if you aren’t a technical genius right now, by starting a blog it will force you to start learning some skills that will become very useful for you down the line. So, start a blog, and get to work writing some articles on it now.

Q: Do you have any advice on how to study astrology?

My main piece of advice is just to study as many different forms and traditions of astrology as you can early on in your career, before you get locked in to a particular approach. This is important because most of the time people just end up sticking with whatever approach to astrology they learned when they first started studying the subject. This can be kind of limiting though, and the longer you go without exposing yourself to other forms of astrology, the harder it will be later on in your career to incorporate new or foreign concepts into your existing practice.

Q: How would you describe your astrological focus or area of study?

I primarily focus on studying older forms of astrology from the Roman era, since most of western astrology is derived from that period. There are a lot of doctrines and techniques that are recently being recovered from translations of ancient Greek and Latin texts, and I think that this is one of the most exciting and fresh areas of astrological study today.

More broadly though, I try to study many different traditions and approaches to astrology, and then synthesize the best pieces of all of them together into a workable system. My primary focus is on natal and electional astrology.

Q: What are some books that influenced you in your study and practice of astrology? Can you tell us a little about how they were influential?

  1. Astrology and the Authentic Self by Demetra George, because I view it as one of the first successful attempts to synthesize modern and traditional astrology.
  2. The Moment of Astrology by Geoffrey Cornelius, because even though I’m not sure that I agree with all of his conclusions, I think that it is easily the most important book on the philosophy of astrology written in the past century. His point that western astrology is largely predicated on a model of the planets and stars acting as signs rather than causes is an accurate but often overlooked one.
  3. The Anthology of Vettius Valens. Valens was an astrologer who lived in Egypt in the 2nd century. He wrote a series of introductory textbooks on astrology in Greek for students of his school. You can learn a lot about his life and the world he lived in by reading the books, and occasionally he has some really interesting personal digressions. The most interesting thing though is reading some of the example charts he uses from his client files, and through that you realize that the fundamental aspects of life are still very much the same today as they were back then. Even if our technology or our culture has changed in many ways, there are some things that always stay the same. From that perspective it is really interesting to read the personal account of an astrologer who lived that long ago, and I admire his dedication to astrology. It is also impressive that his books survived for nearly 2,000 years, and that he is still influencing new generations of astrologers to this day. Imagine if a book that you wrote about your life and astrological practice today still survived and influenced people 2,000 years from now, in the year 4000 CE. Wouldn’t that be wild?

ABOUT CHRIS BRENNAN

Chris is a professional astrologer from Denver, CO.  He was educated at Kepler College, where he focused on cross-cultural comparisons between the astrological traditions.  He is the former President of the Association for Young Astrologers and the former Research Director of the National Council for Geocosmic Research.  He specializes in Hellenistic astrology, and his forthcoming book on the subject is titled Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune.