I became interested in astrology and shamanism in the early 2000s when, by chance, I came across a book by Carlos Castaneda called The Active Side of Infinity. This is a “collection of memorable events which are a vehicle for the emotional and energetic adjustment necessary for venturing, in terms of perception, into the unknown.” During the reading of this book I experienced a profound ‘energetic adjustment’ of perception that set me on a quest to ‘discover’ shamanism. I began with training as a shamanic practitioner with the Sacred Trust whilst also following their teachings in the ‘Path of Pollen’ (this particular teaching is no longer available). Meanwhile, my interest in astrology was a slow burn and over the next 20 years my absorption of astrological knowledge developed without much conscious attention. Until more recently when I studied the subject and, rather like the experience of realising a repeated dream or the opening of a flower, it began to flourish in my awareness.
In 2015 another ‘energetic adjustment’ gave me an interest in eco shamanism and I developed a way of working that reflects our soul ‘outside’ of ourselves. This involves looking closely at natural systems, particularly rewilding and instinction. Memorable events include studying Dark Ecology with David Abram, author of Spell of the Sensuous, Erotic Ecology with Andreas Weber, Rewilding the Soul with Manda Scott and working with futurist Hardin Tibbs. Believing that a convergence of shamanism and ecological thinking and perception can help us to change the way we live on our Earth, I am currently pursuing an awakening of perspective which can help us reconnect to our home, our planet and, more recently, our cosmos. Until 2020 I ran an Eco Shamanic Practitioner Training and you can receive shamanic healing from those who have trained with me here.
During the upheaval of the pandemic, together with what astrologers term the second Saturn return, I studied astrology in 2022 with John Wadsworth at the Kairos School of Astrology. In 2023 I completed a course in Horary Astrology with the School of Traditional Astrology and have recently completed a short course on the astronomy of astrology with the same school. I now offer what I loosely call spirit based astrology which includes a range of astrological sessions and also day workshops based on important astrological events, as they happen. I am looking forward to expanding these into the realm of spirit and mysticism. Coming in October 2024 I am offering a course on astrology which is based on a deep investigation of your birth chart with the aim of accessing your spirit outside yourself . . . in the cosmos. It is called The Constant Cosmos and can be viewed here.
I live on the edge of the ancient Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire close to the Wye Valley and the rich farmlands of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Nature, being the visible face of spirit, is my ultimate teacher. Yet it is ‘venturing, in terms of perception, into the unkown’ which calls to a deep knowing of ourselves as natural beings in a wild universe that drives my inspiration.
My past includes teaching classical and jazz piano and singing. In the 1990s I set up and ran a small organic vegetable garden selling the produce through one of the first vegetable box schemes, subsequently writing a book on the subject entitled ‘Valuable Vegetables’. I am still a keen gardener and grow most of my own vegetables and fruit. My garden is also a rich reflection of our cosmos and I spend much time in both, sometimes simultaneously.
