Hi Everybody,
Some of you may get this twice because I left some relatively important information out of the first draft of this.
Lots of news, so let’s get to it.
Last Day to Register Online
First of all, on-line reg will close October 10 at 10 pm. Registration for the Opening and Banquet will also close at that time. If you want to be at the Opening or the banquet, register NOW, because if you snooze, you’re gonna lose.
You CAN pay for Full Conference packages, single day admissions, or half-day admissions at the door. However, it will be US cash only. Another good reason to register online….
You can also sign up for luncheons on-site (in other words, at SOTA) as long as you sign up before 10 am that day.
Note, however, that Emmajay Paterson’s lecture on Saturday is now SOLD OUT. In fact, I think I have oversold it by one, so it’s going to be a full house. And obviously no tickets at the door.
John Marani’s lecture is also SOLD OUT as of this morning.
Tamara has about 4 spaces in her luncheon lecture, so if you really really really want to hear her topic, I’d advise you to register on-line. No guarantees of how many spaces will be left at the door.
We DO have room in all four Pre and Post conference lectures, though those too are filling. At this point, however, you can still pay at the door. More about one of those posts in a minute.
Trad Room ~ Discounted Space Available!
Meanwhile, due to some last-minute rearranging in the trade room, it looks like we have some space going begging. What I would REALLY like to see happen with this is for a lot of you creative types who can’t necessarily afford 2 6-foot tables to come in and show off your goods. I can offer you discounted space until it’s gone. The kicker is, it won’t be wall space. That space goes to our committed vendors. So yeah, it will be aisle space, but we’ll make sure you’re seen. This would be a good way to get yourself and your goods known. Contact me if you’re interested and I’ll fill you in!
We may even need a reader. Not sure on that one, but it wouldn’t do you any harm to ask.
Staff Positions and Roommate Wanted
We may also be looking for staff. I have had a number of people say they’re interested, but I don’t have firm commitments from most of them, and I NEED firm commitments. I am not crazy about playing do and undo this late in the process (and actually, not at all).
Also, I DO have one person who is keen to be on staff but needs a roommate, so if you’re looking to cut costs still further, email me and I’ll put the two of you in touch. It will help all of us. And as a community-based conference, that’s what it’s about.
Featured Speaker: Gary P. Caton
…OK, back to our Post-Conference speakers: Both Gary Caton and Adam Gainsburg are popular speakers and this will probably be your last chance to see them for a couple of years, as they will not be back next year. And I stress the “see” — both Gary and Adam are highly visual presenters and if you want to get the most out of these workshops, I would advise being there. I’m focusing on Gary this issue, but I’ll have plenty more to say about Adam next week. And BOTH are worth hearing.
Gary’s presentation will be THE MERCURY ELEMENTAL YEAR. Here’s the description:
The Mercury Elemental Year
This workshop will begin by illuminating the astronomy of Mercury and its yearly dance with the Sun, which traces a 6 pointed star in the heavens. Afterward, I reveal how Mercury’s cycles correspond with the ancient mystical document the Emerald Tablet -source of the famous alchemical aphorism “as above, so below.” Finally, I will teach you to see the underlying patterns behind Mercury’s three retrogrades each year and to harness their transformative power in your birth chart. Mercury spends more time in one element each year than all the other three combined! This means each of us was born with an unconscious preference for communicating via one element more than others, and that there are 3 houses in our chart that are deeply susceptible to the power of symbol making – where our ideas, images, and words matter most.
Note that this is based on Gary’s hot-off-the-press book. You will be able to buy that in the trade room. However, since the trade room is closed Monday, you’ll also be able to buy it at Gary’s lecture, assuming we haven’t sold out…
And just in case you can’t make it Monday, you need to know that Gary also has a 2-hour presentation on Friday. Here it is:
The Centrality of Mercury to the Hermetic Worldview
So much more than mere “personal” planet, Mercury was originally revered as the original creator/inventor of Astrology! Moreover, this original hierophany or sacred revelation of Astrology was understood in the context of three “sister arts,” including alchemy and theurgy or magic. Renaissance era alchemical literature is quite literally littered with arcane figures with Mercury in a central place. An understanding of the deep reverence for Mercury and its central place within the Hermetic world-view can utterly transform our astrological practice and unleash enormous hidden communications potentials for both practitioners and their students and clients.
Mind you, he will not have his books for sale in that one, but they WILL be for sale in the trade room.
If, like me, you think Mercury gets kind of short shrift beyond the whole retrograde thing, these two lectures should help you fill the void. And if you’ve never heard Gary before, you owe it to yourself to do so. He is passionate, he is knowledgeable, and you for sure will not be bored. No, not even you old jaded types.
So there you have it. A couple more good reasons to come to SOTA. And if you can only do a half-day on Friday, you can follow Gary’s lecture up with Christopher Renstrom’s Sizzle or Fizzle, or The Something Old, Something New panel contrasting traditional and modern astrology, or even a lecture on The Viking Runes with Franco.
Lecture Changes
And one good news bad news scenario. Jessica Lanyadoo has had to cancel. The replacement lectures for her slots are as follows:
For Saturday October 21, 9-10 am
Wade Caves
Power and Control: Saturn’s Role in Horary.
Right through the traditional texts we read of the difficulties that are encountered when Saturn is featured too prominently in a horary chart, but aphorism-laden texts can be a bit misleading. This talk explores how to work through the Greater Malefic in a fluent horary interpretation, and how Saturn finds his place with within a constructive horary consultation.
And for Sunday from 9-10 am
Dawn Silver
Midpoints in Healing
Midpoints are points of balance between planets, key points, and asteroids. They can be a profound tool in astrological health diagnostics by pinpointing pathologies. We shall discuss midpoints meanings for the bodily systems including: circulation, heart and kidneys, respiration, injury/accident/joint and degeneration, immune/wasting disorders, fertility, and more.Cosmic Patterns and Solar Fire have wonderful programs with mid-point lists.
We regret the inconvenience but hope you are as excited as we are by these options…
So there we have it. Hope to see some of you there. And yes, more next week.
Best,
Donna