What is Ancient Astrology and Why It’s So Amazing: A Conversation with Nightlight Students

Hey, everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology, and today, I'm really excited to be joined by a number of students and alumni from some of my astrology programs. They are here today to talk about ancient astrology, why it's amazing how they've enjoyed the programs that they've been a part of through the Nightlight school, and to hear from them about how their professional development is going, and hopefully offer some insight for all of you into the topic of ancient astrology. What is it? What is Hellenistic or ancient Greek astrology? Where does it fall in comparison to all the other schools of astrology that are out there?

Maybe it will help you get to know a little bit about the theoretical background that I'm coming from as one of your YouTube astrologers and also answer any questions that you might have before joining one of my courses. So that is our agenda for today.

As always, before we get into it, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your comments and reflections if there are some questions that you have about the programs or about ancient astrology that we didn't answer today. Please do drop us a comment. You can also email us at info@nightlightastrology.com, and as we go, I will be giving you more information along the way about how you can sign up for one of our programs if you hear about this that excites you and you want to come study with us.

So I'll make sure that that's put in, but it'll also be in the what is the description of the video. So you'll find the information there as well. If you want a transcript of today's talk, you can find it on the website nightlightastrology.com. Okay, well, on that note, before I invite our students on, I want to offer a little bit of context.

First, we want to talk about what ancient astrology is. When we say ancient astrology, when you hear people say that nowadays, say for the past, I don't know, ten years, you may have seen that or heard that you know, sort of on social media or whatever you are, well what is that?

So, broadly speaking, ancient astrology refers to the earliest era of horoscopic astrology; by horoscopic astrology, we mean astrology that features 12 signs, 12 houses, and the traditional seven planets. Of course, in modern astrology, we add in the outer, maybe asteroids, and so forth.

But it is that astrology that features a chart cast from at the moment of birth with a rising sign that determines the order of signs, again, 12 houses 12 signs, the planets are thrown in, we get things like aspects and essential dignities, and we use that chart to understand something about the fate or destiny, the souls journey through this lifetime.

So, horoscopic astrology is the name given to that broad field of astrology that includes those basic features. We have different cultures that have carried the tradition of horoscopic astrology, most notably in the Greek Hellenistic Roman Empire part of the world and also in India, but also at times carried by Persian, Arabian, Islamic, Jewish astrologers, Christian astrologers, spreading out through Europe.

Moving at times, east and west, there are different periods, like the medieval period, that come a little bit later in the tradition where a lot of the same ancient doctrines are at play, but there are new developments happening, and a lot of that also takes place in Indian astrology, which comes from the same horoscopic roots. Ancient astrology, when you hear me talking about it, or people talking about it, is usually referring to what is sometimes also called Hellenistic or ancient Greek astrology, which is the astrology that was practiced in the Greek-speaking not necessarily ethnically Greek but Greek-speaking Hellenistic world.

In that space for, say, the last 500 years BCE, all the way through the fall of the Roman Empire, I think it was around the sixth century, in the Common Era CE. Through that period of time, you have, broadly speaking, a set of teachings and doctrines that constitute the earliest era of astrology, and there are innovations, and there are debates, and it's not like there's just some uniform set of rules or theories. I mean, it's a living tradition and always has been, but that earliest era of astrology was not largely not understood and not available to modern astrologers until very recently.

The reason for that is that most of the surviving manuscripts of this era, this earliest era of astrology, were not available in the English language until astrologers very gradually, and not just one but a group of astrologers, including people like James Holden, and another translation project that was called Project hindsight, started getting a hold of the what is called the critical editions of these ancient Greek texts, which were put together by scholars of ancient and manuscripts and collected.

Then, these texts were gradually translated into English for the first time, anywhere from the 70s all the way up to the 90s when there was a big explosion of translations that took place through what is now called Project Hindsight, a group of astrologers that came together, including Robert Hand, Robert Zoeller, Robert Schmidt, and a lot of astrologers, who came out of that translation effort, deeply impacted by the discovery of these ancient texts and the revival of this earliest period of astrology people like Chris Brennan, Dimitra George, Austin Copic, I mean, there's a huge list of astrologers that were profoundly inspired by the translation efforts that took place during this period a couple of decades ago.

So what we're getting in touch with over the past, say, 30 to 40 years, especially, is all of the earliest doctrines and teachings that we've ever known of in the modern era that ancient astrologers were utilizing. So broadly, the study of those ancient methods and sort of the philosophical and theoretical roots of our tradition have only been available to us for several decades and, I would say, more popularity in the past, maybe 10-15 years, something like that, were books that were written by Chris Brennan, his astrology podcast, Dimitra George and some of the fantastic textbooks that she's written and myself and the Nightlight Astrology school, and other schools and practitioners that have popped up, who have devoted themselves to integrating these methods and then presenting them teaching them and helping waves of students understand these teachings, and then integrate them alongside various modern developments like archetypal psychology or evolutionary astrology or whatever else.

So anyway, that's the like, condensed version of what ancient astrology is, how it's appeared on the scene somewhat recently, and why it is so popular. It's so popular because it's giving us insight into the roots of our tradition, and it's brand new; it's weird that something so ancient for us would feel so brand new, and that's pretty exciting.

So anyway, the Nightlight school is dedicated to helping students understand ancient astrology while also making meaningful connections to modern psychological practices and other modern developments like the outer planets and so forth. At any rate, so that's your backdrop.

Today, I am so glad to be welcoming a group of Nightlight alumni, students, and staff to come and talk to you about their experience with ancient astrology, studying it, learning it, the course, what they've liked or enjoyed about the course, and other questions that we've developed for the sake of like a little interview here and I hope you'll enjoy it both so that you can understand more about ancient astrology and how it's impacted the students in their astrological journey and also so you can learn more about the school in case you want to come study with us because our next program starts on November 18 and I'll tell you more at the end of today's talk about how you can join if you want to.

Alright, so on that note, I'm going to call in our panel today. I'm really excited to have everyone here. Anne Marie. Welcome Pippa Meg, all Nightlight alumni, and Delia and Michelle, who are Nightlight staff. Thank you guys so much for being here.

Delia
Thanks for having us. Yep, yeah.

Adam Elenbaas
Yeah, I have a bunch of questions for you guys, and I can be able to get through all of them. But let's start with a big one. Maybe you could each say one thing about why you have enjoyed studying ancient astrology, what makes it unique for you, or why you like it. That's just a broad question. But I think a really good starting point, and we can go, you know, you can just whoever wants to go can go. I don't want to call on people.

Michelle
Well, yeah, maybe. For me, it's very important to know the hows and the whys and when this revival happened, with ancient astrology becoming more accessible and the source text being translated and more accessible to everyone. I just, in a very natural way, got very interested in digging deep, and it has opened the door, I feel, to understand the philosophy of the ancient astrologers, which I find really interesting, and their worldview and how they thought of it so differently than in our time, maybe of all of the things that are around them, as well as the stars, and I'm just very curious to know what Yeah, where do the significations come from?

Something that I find really intriguing is the significations of the signs and the planets and how they understood the planets and knew the gods so well, I find that endlessly intriguing, and this is something that I feel traditional astrology or ancient astrology does offer and that's just for me personally, I find that so fascinating and we've got a lot of material now. A lot of material is offered in the course, and I think there's so much for everybody to cherry-pick, and for me, the philosophy was a big deal.

Adam Elenbaas
Yeah, for sure.

Meg
Hi, by the way, something that I really enjoyed that came through was that the astrology is not like the planets are compelling us. But it's just like, it's like it's God's ink, it's just a way to chat, or to hear or listen if we open up rather than the planets are making us do something and we kind of stuck in that whilst there is a deterministic element, which I actually enjoy coming from many decades of modern astrology, I enjoyed there was something quite concrete about it, whilst not saying that there is no free will, there is something like that we are being talked to if we choose to look at it, I love that and that came through very strongly and I really enjoyed that.

Delia
Something I really appreciate about Hellenistic astrology is that it can be a tool for philosophical meditation and understanding; as Michelle mentioned, it can also teach tools for personal insight and understanding. So, really getting into that psychological, emotional element of development. But then, at the same time, it can also be very concrete and predictive, which I like because I feel like it invites me to not always be in such a self-centered perspective but to look at the chart as things representing things outside of myself in ways that can speak extremely clearly.

Adam Elenbaas
A planet can show up, and it can in a particular context, you know, you can understand, you know, a planet is your boss at work, or you can understand that a planet is someone that you're thinking about getting into a relationship with, and suddenly its position, its sign, its house are not necessarily speaking to aspects of your own character or psychology, though they could be you know, they're actually describing a person that's in your world right now.

Ancient astrologers had this very mercurial way of moving between a reflection of the planets as interstates and as external circumstances of fate or destiny. It's remarkable, and to Michelle's point, you can't really study ancient astrology without being confronted by the world that they lived in and the philosophy that they had, which is not one that you necessarily have to adopt. But you have to all of a sudden you realize that what you've known about astrology has come as constituting its own philosophy that you didn't even know you had. Because you have to look at it from the lens of how ancient astrologers were philosophizing and what they were saying about astrology, and they aren't the same, and I don't think that means that you have to choose a team to play on, but it makes you work through things.

Meg
Yeah, um, I think for me, I agree with everything that everyone said; something that I'd like to add is, I think, you know, regardless of what type of astrology you're drawn to or that you ultimately want to practice, you know, I came into this class was definitely with definitely more of a background in modern evolutionary archetypal astrology. I feel like learning the foundations of ancient astrology is just such a valuable tool. You know, it's just such a good foundational education that you can then, like, build on; however, you want from there, but just kind of getting that like solid basis that you can then, you know, like, at, like accessorize however you want.

But it's just been invaluable for me like, I just I feel like I, you know, I just have such a more just like thorough solid, like integrated understanding of the planets. Like where did astrology come from in the first place? And, you know, why is this something that we're drawn to, you know, century after century? So, I'm grateful for having this foundational astrological education.

Anne Marie
For me I come from a background in academia, and so I think ancient astrology has been really helpful for me because it's given me the tools to answer a lot of the kind of logical questions like, Where did this come from? How are these things connected? Right? That, you know, I think will then allow me to do all kinds of astrology, and I think it can do that for anybody, and I've been really amazed at what an intricate and interconnected system of needles that the ancients developed. I mean, it's such a complex philosophy, and I think that it is really important for all of us, kind of in the contemporary moment, to really go back and understand our roots and be able to develop those further.

Adam Elenbaas
Yeah, for sure. I love that one of the things that you appreciate most, Anna Marie and Meg said, is sort of one that regardless of what form of astrology you practice, and you go back to the roots, and you understand some of the why and, you know, the interconnect, how different parts of the theory were connected and why they were originally connected, like, what is the house? What is the sign, for example, and what's the difference? I was five years into a professional practice when I started studying ancient astrology, and I couldn't have answered that question. In fact, in modern astrology, I had really been taught that signs and houses were kind of interchangeable, and I, you know, I didn't understand.

So you study ancient astrology, and you learned that there's a completely different philosophical rationale behind what a house is, and what a sign is, and where they get their meanings from, and that Aries equals Mars equals the first house is not the way they were thinking about it. That alone completely blew my mind.

I don't blame anyone for, you know, like, I'm not trying to pick on anyone; that's all I knew, and that's all most people knew. Because we were trying to piece the system together before we had these ancient texts, and we were doing the best we could. But I also like, you know, what Meg was saying about regardless of what form of astrology you practice, studying ancient astrology is sort of like just understanding where the whole like, it's like understanding the trajectory of the whole tradition, and when you have that.

Even if you're like, you know, I'm not gonna be a purely Hellenistic astrologer, I really like evolutionary, or I really lean in the direction of psychological astrology, you'll you will have a much richer understanding of all of the parts you're working with, regardless of what style you in which you work with them and I think that's, that's why it would be well, you know, I've had a lot of evolutionary astrologers come through the program and they'll they continue to practice evolutionary, they'll never look at their houses the same even though they're still applying to evolutionary theory to the way they talk about houses, you know. So, stuff like that. It's really cool. Do you guys want to add anything else?

Michelle
Yeah, I just want to say that the system is so elegant in a way that everything is interconnected, and it allows us to actually think about astrology independently. Think about the relationships between the planets, become good friends with the planets, get to know them really well, and see how they interact and all of that and what was a relief to me is that we don't need to look up aspect So between this and that planet in the book, but that you can actually just think about yourself, and the chart starts speaking to you, in, in because there is such an elegant interconnection between all of the elements of Hellenistic astrology. So it allows for autonomy and as well as a personal relationship with, you know, what you're doing there with the Divinity part that I feel is there for, for astrology. So, yeah.

Meg
Yeah, I just I wanted to mention because Adam was talking about the house like, like, kind of divorcing the houses from the signs, and that was something that like, was really specifically, like, just a really powerful part of the class for me was learning that the houses are different from the signs, and which is something that I had just, taken for granted before that, you know, is always hearing the, you know, each house has an association with a certain sign, and I think like, I'd never really understood houses before, and they felt a little superfluous to me and then learning them independent from like any association with a sign, I, really started to see them differently and, I mean, now they're just like a huge, I mean, houses are a huge part of my practice, and they feel so rich and alive in a way that they never had before, and so I think that's just like one specific example of the way that ancient astrology is worth learning.

Adam Elenbaas
There was a phrase that I heard; I think it was Robert Schmidt, who was one of the chief translators of some of these ancient texts and largely responsible for helping popularize ancient astrology in the modern era. So many people have taken up his project and run with it in their own directions, but one thing he said was that in translating these texts, he's someone who had a background in ancient Greek philosophy, that the texts and the astrological theory and philosophy itself, which was attributed to Hermes frequently was like, a hermetic mandala that whether you're studying the Thema Mundi, which was this ancient teaching chart, or you're understanding the rationale of houses, or the logic behind aspects dignities that there was at work that of course, there's a background of Pythagoras in and Egyptian philosophy, probably Indian philosophy, there's a melting pot of philosophies at that time in the world, but that they're like, these interconnected interlocking theoretical areas, like houses, aspects, signs, and they all seem like they're there.

They each have like their own department, you know, and you go in, and like an English department or in a university. But what you find when you study enough of houses is that it's the only way that you can start unlocking something about the planets that you weren't able to understand, and then, weirdly, the more you study planets, at some point, it'll unlock something about houses, and so over time, you start to realize that what you're looking at is this mandala.

For that reason, Schmidt said that he believed that things like this theoretical and theoretical apparatus are so beautiful and eloquent is more like the person who, you know, like Einstein, who downloads a sort of scientific revolution, a picture in his mind that comes, you know, from some kind of genius, like a daimon, or whoever it is, that comes, you know, sort of a team of people that suddenly come up with the idea of string theory or something, you know, this beautiful picture of a theoretical language, a divinatory language that he believed must have been downloaded and when the when you read these ancient astrology texts, they say that that's where that it came from. A god, you know, and through sages that were in touch with this God.

I don't think I ever, I mean, not that I don't believe in divine inspiration or, you know, mystical experiences at ten years of psychedelic experiences with Ayahuasca, which is very powerful, so I'm open-minded. But I don't think until I really deeply studied Hellenistic astrology that I would have believed that the system of astrology was downloaded somehow, as you know, but the more you study ancient astrology, the more you're left with that feeling, you know, that's, that's my impression. Anyways, it's like this was some kind of divinely, almost like the way that someone, people, at some point received an entire modality of music or something that's pretty breathtaking.

Delia
I think it might not immediately be obvious. So, I want to state really clearly that because Hellenistic astrology is the original form of Western horoscopic astrology, I think part a great part of the value of learning it is that you don't just learn what the symbols of astrology mean or how to apply them in technique. But actually, you learn how and why those elements got their symbolism in the first place. So we know, Oh, a square is difficult, but why? There's, there's an explanation and the reason behind that, that you can access.

Why do Saturn's transits tend to be more challenging than Jupiter's transits? Why is this house associated with this topic, and so it's not just you don't just learn what the symbols mean. But you learn why in a way that you can really deeply integrate, and if you get those first principles into you, you'll can get more depth out of them over the course of your astrological studies and practice and become more flexible with what you can use them to express as well.

Adam Elenbaas
I remember John Mayer in an interview he did; I saw him play the summer with debt and companies. My wife's been getting me to the Grateful Dead, and there was an interview with him, and he said far more important for musicians than learning the song you love is learning the thing behind the song you love that made it the song you love.

So, let's just say that there's a blues song that you just really love. It's probably, at least in great part, the reason you love that song in addition to the lyrics, or who played it, or saying it or whatever, is that you liked the chord progression, or you like the style or the key that it's in, or there's something about, you know, whatever it is.

So he was saying like, because then what you have as a musician, in addition to learning the actual song, which is cool, is you have knowledge about something that you love that you can work with because you understand how it works and that was the advice that he had for musicians.

This was called the music of the spheres. You know, the ability for ancient astrologers to sit down and do a meaningful reading was not very different from the ability to sit down and play music in an improvisational way. You can't play music in an improvisational way meaningfully that acts as medicine for the soul for another human being unless you also know how to play music. However, the improvisational pieces are highly misunderstood when it comes to astrology.

The people think that it's all about learning rules and that it's a science. It has elements because it's a language; there are elements that are logical and sort of scientific. There's a really coherent, logical system that creates the grammar and the sort of syntax and diction of the language. But your ability to take that language and apply it to a unique client in a unique situation, with a unique set of concerns that a unique period of time in their life is always improvisational.

Ancient astrologers were also much more aware of that sort of divinity aspect of astrology than we are now, even though, in a way, it's weird because you would think that in modernity, we'd be way more open-minded. Right? But I think that the problem is that one of the hallmarks of modern astrology is that early modern astrologers really were trying to make astrology a legitimate science taken seriously by scientific, rational, empirical academics.

The problem with that is that academia, there are certainly people in the arts, I think, in academia that are open to this, but we have to understand that the empirical nature of something like music and how it has truth-telling or truth-speaking power is not deeply understood by the sciences, you know, it's just it's a different way of knowing it's a different way of experiencing, and just in astrology participates in that lineage of being very musical, but we don't. Yet, we don't really have space in our heads for how Astrology can be predictive and descriptive, and also not a science. Ancient astrology just dips you in the water and says, this is actually sort of what it is, and you go holy crap. Yeah, this is like, like a four-day trip to an Oracle in the ancient world, you know?

Well, I can get on a real rant about this stuff, as you guys know, because you've had to sit through my classes. I have questions for you guys about the program. Some practical questions that will help people who are interested in maybe becoming a student. You know, questions that I'll just throw in, you can answer any of these. What were you looking for in a program? What made you decide to give the Nightlight first-year program a try? In the first year and second year, we have a third-year program. We have horary.

But what got your foot in the door? I'm going to try this, and a second one would be, you know, what was your experience? Like going through the program? What was really special for you about it? Or what did you really like about it?

Adam Elenbaas
Don't all talk at once.

Meg
So yeah, I guess, you know, I had so why I was, you know, what I was looking for in a course, I had gotten to a point in my astrological self-study where I kept coming up against concepts that I couldn't understand. I didn't even know enough to know where to find information to solve these things for me or educate myself.

So, I was starting to think it might be nice to take a class from the beginning, going over all the things, and I had been listening to Adam; I've been listening to your podcast for about a year before I decided to enroll, and I think I just I really appreciate it, Adam, you're like the sense of humor and the humility and also just like the, like the divine wonder that you brought, or that you bring to astrology that really appealed to me. Yeah, there's just a down-to-earth quality with your content that I thought just felt more accessible to me, and so that's why I decided to sign up for the nightlight class.

I think also because I also have an MFA in creative writing, and so it felt sort of like, maybe just a little nod from the universe being like the right direction to go in. I appreciated the course so much. I was not expecting it to be just as profound for my life as it ended up being. I was thinking, Oh, I'm like, gonna scratch this astrology itch that I have, but it was just really transformational for me. I didn't start the course thinking that I would be that, that I would be like, I didn't start the course thinking I'm going to become a professional astrologer. But that's something that, like, you know, happened during the course of the class.

It just had such a profound impact on my spiritual life as well, which has been just, just like, such a wonderful gift. I think just kind of practically I think the class is really, really well run. It's so well organized. You can tell there's so much thought put into just all the materials but also like the sequencing of the materials, you know, how they're doled out and, and I guess, yeah, this, the study sessions, just a shout out to Michelle and Delia.

They're not throwaway sessions at all; the study sessions are, which is just such a beautiful part of the class. Michelle and Delia are fantastic instructors. You know, it really feels, you know, Adam is the instructor of the course, but it really feels like you feel so supported and held by so many people, and, gosh, I let someone else talk. There are so many other things that I can say about the course.

Adam Elenbaas
Thanks, Meg; we're gonna make sure that we tell you more about Meg's work. We're so proud of her and all the students who come through the program and either intentionally or surprisingly, you know, start reading for clients. It's, it's not easy to do; you're never really ready for it. But we love it when we see our students being like, you know what, I'm going to try to help people with this because, you know, there are the right kind of clients will come to each person, and so yeah, it's really great to see you doing that.

Michelle
Yeah, that's great, and it's exactly what happened to me, Meg, I, yeah, I took this course like four years ago, I can't believe it's four years ago. But, I was interested in philosophy, and I ended up being a professional astrologer. While I was still doing the second year, the advanced class, and just because I had so much love for astrology, it was kindled in me through this course that I had to just give it back somehow. I had to, and Yeah, be immersed in it. So I really recognize it, and I'm so glad Meg that, yeah, that this also happens to you.

Pippa
I really appreciated actually; at the beginning, I think Adam said, I mean, I've been listening, and I love the are you the spiritual side of it and mixing it in with really grounded concrete stuff. I love that combination. But I had been for a long time a practicing astrologer. But I knew that I had been kind of all this self-taught piecemeal, a bit here, a bit there, and I, for years, wanted to find an astrology course that would hold me keep my interest and not be so basic that I would kind of drift off. But also that would keep me grounded, and this course absolutely did that, and in fact, I think Adam said, Well, to me, Look, if you don't like it, if it's too simple. We'll give you your money back.

Well, I haven't asked for money back. It was so challenging. It really, you know, not just the astronomy and I completely agree with Meg; shout out to Michelle and Delia; they pick up every single thread. You know, if there's any question, if there's anything, they, they, they hold you completely, and it is fantastic, and it is such a valuable part of the course, and I'm dyslexic, so I find Delia's graphics fantastic. It's just another way that is always something that can help you access the material, and sometimes you've just got to go off and sit with it. There's no help. You just have to figure it out. Because it is deep, is steep and I absolutely loved it.

Adam Elenbaas
Thanks when Delia came on as my assistant, she had such a task in front of her because she had to help me work. My programs are getting bigger, and we needed like a million just organizational things done in terms of customer service and scheduling and all sorts of stuff. But then she was looking at my PowerPoints, and she was like, oh, Adam, you're a great teacher; your PowerPoints need some help.

So she's she is she has developed all of the presentations visually and aesthetically and, in many cases, also helped me revise and sharpen the curriculum along with Michelle, and we do that all the time, too; like right now, Michelle and I are going over every single lesson in the year one course and tightening screws, and you know, trying to make things better we constantly do that. So it's a team effort.

Delia and Michelle are the tutors that lead our breakout study sessions between major units of study, so you can jump in a class if you're like, man, you know that series on dignities was a lot. You can jump in on the optional study group or watch the replay and get your questions answered, or you can go into the discussion forum and ask questions. Michelle is like Chief of Staff in there along with a couple of other tutors, and you'll get your questions answered, you know, in written form, if not through the study groups. But thank you, Pippa, that was such a nice testimonial. I really appreciate you.

Anne Marie
I thought the course was incredibly well designed and thorough. We spent a really long time understanding how all the signs are related to the seasons. We also took the outer planets out of the equation for the year, and I thought that was one of the most helpful things for me.

Because in my kind of scattered astrological self-study before then, I tended to rely on them, I think a little bit too much, and what has been so cool is to see how great they are, but also how, with the traditional seven planets, we can find very similar dynamics in any given chart.

Probably my favorite part of the course came in the last half, when we would get to watch Adam, do live readings for clients, and then give some feedback and ask him questions afterward, and that, to me, was really what motivated me to want to be an astrologer, I saw how therapeutic it was how people felt seen and witness in this really transformative and deep way.

That moved me. I think it moved a lot of us in the class, and it was also very instructive to see, out of all this kind of complex material that we've been learning, how it really boiled down to these very incisive and simple, clear themes in any given chart that ended up being the focus of the reading. You know, whereas I think, before, many of us may have been kind of overwhelmed with how many different aspects and dynamics we might point to, and I think getting to see Adam just kind of drill down in this beautiful and kind of poetic way, with the individual clients and work with them was very powerful and certainly, that has made me want to help people in a similar way and do astrology for you know, with a more counseling kind of therapeutic aim.

Adam Elenbaas
You know, it's funny because what a lot of people as they'll go through the theoretical portion of the course, and their mind will just be turning, you know, it's like the rotation of the heavens but sped up in your head and then, what I love, my favorite part of the program is that if you make it that far, and you just go, there's something about this that I love, and I love what I love more than I'm letting my confusion or overwhelm, you know, get in my head.

Because it's like a choice with ancient astrology, you either have moments of insight and epiphany, and things are coming together; those moments either carry you through the overwhelm, or you let the overwhelm take over, and you forget how magical the ride has been and if people make it to, you know, the end of the program, the last third where we see live clients, and we do a lot of chart practice and then they see how simple and eloquent the actual application of all of this complex stuff can be, and how it can work with your intuition, your individual experience, and artfulness that comes from yourself, not a method or a technique but yourself.

I mean, remember Firmicus Maternus, I read this letter at the end of every program Firmicus Maternus said, at the end of the day, it will be the way in which studying this material has transformed your heart, your consciousness, that you will do good astrology and not by means of all the techniques and methods that I'm about to teach you and it's like at the end of the day, if the process of learning all of this stuff has excited your heart inspired your mind. Then, when you see the readings and the chart practice, you see how simple it can be and how it invites your own creativity and your own divinity story abilities.

People get really excited, and we see a lot of people who had no idea that they would come; they thought it was this is my hobby, and they end up reading part-time or even full-time for other people. So yeah, and Pippa, I'll ask you, since you're a practicing astrologer, have you started incorporating elements of Hellenistic into your practice?

Pippa
Absolutely, and, in fact, I would say predominantly do, but it has completely changed the way I do it, and I feel that there's a method from your teaching that I employ, and then I let the message go and then just allow that The Oracle the chance to speak and that combination works really, really well.

So it's not just in my head, all the techniques, as you say, that kind of melts, and then allows the Oracle to speak, and it's fantastic and yeah, I mean, the using the houses as temples, and the whole sign system. Oh my goodness, it feels so right. I love it. Awesome.

Adam Elenbaas
That's awesome. You guys thank you all so much for being here today. I don't want to keep this going for too long. We're already at 45 minutes. So it feels like it's probably a good space for us to wrap things up. Michelle and Delia, as you know, you guys are like my main wing women, whatever the right phrase is, who teach with me and lead every single class.

Michelle and Delia are present in every single class with me, answering questions and helping with the Q&A because we have a Q&A box that streams; you don't see it; it's not a distraction. But Michelle and Delia will be there answering live questions as I'm teaching and then will be present helping me field questions during the Q&A session and then leading the breakout study sessions. So they are very integral to the success of the programs.

But let you guys have the last word. Anything you want to say about the program? What do you think people will get from it? Or just any wise words you want to end on today?

Delia
Yes, as I get a lot of enrollment emails asking if this is the right course for me in terms of level of experience, something I really appreciate about the program is that for all that, it is substantive, logical, and ordered. It's also extremely flexible and adaptable.

So, if you're coming at it as a true beginner, which is how when I took the course, I couldn't have listed out the 12 signs for you, I was absolutely zero; the course works because the concepts are presented in a way that builds up your knowledge. So, there's no prior knowledge necessary.

At the same time, the concepts are treated with such depth that even people who have been studying astrology for decades or even have astrological practices can also find something to get out of it. So it's good for beginners, it's good for advanced students.

Some people say, hey, you know, I really need the structure of a live program. Because I know that if I don't have a schedule that I have to attend to that day, I fall off well, then the classes are live, it's not. The live classes are not pre-recorded material.

Some people say hey, I really like to study at my own pace and then you know, you can just follow along with the recordings; you receive lifetime access to the course page, and you have an entire year after the end of the program to take your exam. You know, some people come in with the intention of studying astrology professionally; some people just do it as a hobby.

Some people are visual learners; some people like to read. So, really, you can take the course the way that you want, and it will adapt to you. And if you have any questions at all, then the team is here to provide guidance and support on how to go about your studies.

Adam Elenbaas
The only person that I would say wouldn't be a good candidate for this program would be someone who already has formal training in Hellenistic astrology, if that's you, unless you are looking for, you know, complementary programs to deepen that knowledge, which I've taken multiple classes on the same subjects in astrology, including ancient astrology, so I love doing that. But you know, that would be the only exception.

If you haven't ever studied Hellenistic astrology but you've studied modern astrology for 20 years, I guarantee you 90% of this class will be brand new to you. You'll understand the houses like you have never understood them before. The signs, the planets, et cetera, so that it really is on that level for total beginners or people who are very advanced but have never studied ancient astrology.

Delia, I want you guys to know you can follow her on Instagram stars, and Seoul MX is her Instagram handle. She told me earlier she's not on very often, but we'd be glad to make new friends, so you can reach out to her there. Is there anything else I should add for you?

Delia
I don't do readings, but my Instagram is pretty empty. But there should be stuff going on there. Eventually.

Adam Elenbaas
She doesn't do readings; I will say, because she's teaching or helping me develop curriculum or working with students like 24 Seven. So she's very much an astrologer, though I will tell you that. Michelle.

Michelle
Yeah, well, Delia said all of the good stuff. But there's one thing I'd like to add, and that is community. That is something that I've always found important and lots of people, you know, because just because my environment personally doesn't have an interest in astrology whatsoever, and so what was such a big relief for me is just to find friends in Adams class, and, and just to know that you can discuss astrology, at length with so many other people. It's just fantastic, and in fact, I have built up friendships with people all over the world.

We've been in touch for years now, and it has become such a deep friendship. We've also started, actually, an astrozine, Astrum Opus, on substack; they will be so happy that I mentioned this. But this is really the result of this course as well because all of my sisters from Astrum Opus there have all enrolled in this course, and this is where we met, and so yeah, I think that's something that's a big plus for Nightlight Astrology that we get to know one another, and I would even say, in the second year in the advanced class, we get to know one another, even more, when we go into deep practical stuff.

The last thing I want to say is that this is not just a course that you do and then move on to something else; I think that this is something that is worth revisiting, and I'm not just cheerleading because I'm a teaching assistant here, but honestly, this sticks, and you can just revisit the material over and over again, and find new gems. It's been so enriching to just deepen the knowledge instead of spreading it out and taking this and that. So yeah, that was what I wanted to add.

Adam Elenbaas
Thanks. So you should definitely check out some of the alumni along with Michelle and their Astro content at the link below. Astrumopus.substack.com is the link there; we'll put it in the description of this video as well.

Michelle has some valuable YouTube and makes YouTube videos at Michellesmidheaven. You can find her on Instagram @Michellesmidheaven as well and then on her website, which is there if you want to book a reading. Michelle is the first person that I usually turn to to refer a client to if they need something and they don't want to wait eight months, which is my wait time at the moment, eight or nine months or whatever. I'll say, Michelle, I've got a client you want to take, and I trust Michelle 100% with my own clientele, and Michelle does fantastic readings for people.

So, I can't speak highly enough about her work, and you can find it at Michellesmidheaven.com. If you want to book a reading, I also recommend just following her, and if you're going to take the class, definitely follow her because it'll be very nice for you to stay in touch with the nightlight community as you're in the process. The people who seem to have the best experience are people who talk to us, and we're very willing to talk to people about astrology.

So, throughout the program, if you want a little tip for being successful, talk to the staff, talk to us. Talk to us about what you're thinking about your reflections and your questions. The more that you make it personal, the more it seems to be a very personally satisfying experience for people, and Michelle and Delia are a huge reason for that. They are just really good community builders. So anyway, props to you guys. I want to be sure that we give a moment for our alumni here, too.

So, I'm going to tell you a little bit about Pippa, which you can find at yogalantern@hotmail.com. And Pippa, you're comfortable with people emailing you if they'd like a reading?

Pippa
Yes, please. That's fine.

Adam Elenbaas
Pippa has been at it for decades as a professional astrologer and is now incorporating elements of Hellenistic astrology into the way she practices. So if you want to get a reading from Pippa, I mean, the magical lights behind you or for anyone, we're so glad that you came here and had such insightful things to add to the conversation today. Meg? Yeah. Let's see. Meg. You are on Instagram @rabbit.astrology, and you are also can be found at rabbit.astrology@gmail.com; you are just starting your practice, right?

Meg
Yes.

Adam Elenbaas
Are you comfortable with people emailing you for reading? Yes, yeah, can set it up, and also, again, one thing to keep in mind is that Meg has been added as a student of astrology for a long time. So, you know, a lot of it's funny how it'd be like a hobby student of astrology, and then something will click, and we're just really happy that we could participate in your professional development.

Meg
I'm happy you could, too.

Adam Elenbaas
If you want to follow Meg on Instagram, it's @rabbit.astrology, or email her rabbit.astrology@gmail.com and then Anne Marie. Here it is. Annemarieastrology.com. This is a new website that you're launching for your professional practice.

Anne Marie
Yes, yes. I'm going to be posting weekly forecasts and some more in-depth analysis of different transits, and then you can also contact me for a rating using that website.

Adam Elenbaas
Awesome. So check that out. I also want to point you to Anna Marie's YouTube channel, which you can find on YouTube at Anna Marie Astrology. So it's the same as the website Anna Marie astrology.com or YouTube, Anna Marie astrology, and have you already started creating content? Or is this a new page that's going to be coming out soon?

Anne Marie
Yeah, so I'm writing content now, and I'm going to be starting to post things this week.

Adam Elenbaas
Fantastic. Awesome. I'm so I'm so happy to see people coming out of the programs inspired to share astrology. One of the things that we're finding right now is that there is like an increasing interest in demand for astrology, and I always tell people, you know, whether your intention is to practice professionally or not, that, at least, I've always worked with the mindset that my career is not to be viewed through the lens of competition.

We did the same thing when we trained yoga teachers at our studio; we said, rather than going out there and thinking, How do I compete with other astrologers and make myself unique, like, get my foot in and be so important or special? It's rather, where can I serve or find a niche that is true to my spirit? When you focus on that, like how can I offer astrology in a way that feels like it's in alignment with who I really am, it's not pushing, it's not, you know, you will, your practice will grow some people it grows quickly. Some of it takes time.

But if you just stay in the place that feels right to you and keep waving the flag, hey, I'm here, and I do astrology, people will come, and that's because I deeply believe that it's the Oracle or the divine intelligence behind the language of astrology, that is orchestrating both our understanding of the material as well as our ability to deliver it as well as the people who will come to us.

So anyway, it's just an encouragement to you guys. I hope that you will keep doing astrology for a long time and that you will always feel like nightlight is your ally and friend; you can always come here for Michelle, myself, Delia, and anything you need. We're here to help you guys.

Well, thank you guys so much for being here today. We're so thankful. I'm thankful to Delia and Michelle two for coming on and helping me promote the program and talk a little bit about what makes ancient astrology so amazing and unique. We will leave it here for today. If you guys have any questions, you can go to the website, which is nightlightastrology.com.

Go to nightlightastrology.com; when you go there, you can click on the Courses page and click on the first-year program. When you scroll down, you'll see it starts November 18. This video with Q&A with alumni will be replaced by this one, which is pretty cool; you'll find the description of all the course contains, and at the bottom, you'll find enrollment options; the early bird payment saves you $500 off there's a 12-month payment plan if you want to spread tuition out over a year and then there's need-based tuition assistance, which about 60% of our students over the 13 years that I've been doing this have used we really pride ourselves on making sure that astrology is accessible for people who are coming from different financial situations.

People are students, people have big debt loads, people are on a tight family budget, retired single parents, we get it. There are a lot of different situations out there that make it necessary, at least in our mind, that there be not just one price point but some flexibility. So, If you need a little help, check out that need-based tuition option. We'd be glad to work with you, and if you have any questions about the program, the need-based tuition, or anything, email us at info@nightlightastrology.com, where you will get to talk to Delia, me, or one of our staff.

So that's it for now. Thank you so much to everyone again for being here. Michelle and Delia, we love you guys, and we'll see you guys later. Bye, everyone.