ISAR Conference
Report of Gordana Varga on ISAR Conference in
Bloomingdale
ISAR is an international
society of astrologers. The Society gathers the
astrologers from 41 countries. This year, the world
conference on astrology took place on August 17-21 and
it was attended by some 700 astrologers from all over
the world. The Conference was held in
Bloomingdale, Indian
Lakes resort in the state of Illinois.
There were 71 speakers at the Conference.
Four
astrologers from Belgrade attended the Conference.
Branka Stamenkovic gave
a lecture on Horary Astrology.
This
is the second time that ISAR
provides the possibility for 12 astrologers to attend
the Conference free of charge as well as to have their
travel and accommodation costs covered.
To
my great disappointment, only 4
out of 12
invited astrologers attended the Conference –
for several reasons. One of the main reasons was that
Branka Stamenkovic,
our Serbian representative in ISAR, did not inform her
fellow astrologers about this very important
astrological conference. Even those astrologers who had
known and applied for this program were not listed by
Branka to travel to the
USA.
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Gordana Varga,
Christine and Norman Arens
– the oldest Conference participant (93)!
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I take this opportunity to
inform all my colleagues that the same opportunity will
be provided at the next gathering of this international
Society of astrologers. Fellow astrologers interested in
attending the next conference need to be informed in
advance.
To
be present at such a unique gathering of the astrologers
from all over the world and to hear the lectures of
world-renowned astrologers is, by all means, beneficial.
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Susan Miller, Komilla
Sutton,
William Dumber Buchan, Sara Eng
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American astrologers took great interest in an
astrologer who was not present at the Conference -
Nikola Stojanovic. A
well-known American astro-numerologist
William Dunbar Buchan
was desperate to get Nikola’s book
The Secrets of Exact Astrology.
I was particularly glad to happen to have the book on me
and I immediately gave it to
Mr. William–Bill.
He went to buy a Serbian-English dictionary straight
away and started to translate the book!
Naturally, to William’s pleasure, we contacted Nikola
on the phone. Bill expressed his admiration and support
for this book. Among other things, in his conversation
he said the following: “Mr.
Nikola, I’ve been pursuing astrology for more than 30
years and I have to tell you that your system of
horoscope interpretation is the best I have ever seen! “
Mr. Bill promised to look for the publishers in America
in order to launch this book on the American continent
as soon as possible.
Serbia certainly has many other very good books on
astrology and I will join this project and commit myself
to ensuring that our best books on astrology be
published and sold on this vast astrological market.
Gordana Varga astrologer from
Belgrade. Lives and works in Chicago.
Interview with Roy Gillett from London
Gordana: How long have you
worked as a professional astrologer?
For more than 30 years.
Gordana: Tell me something
about the situation in London in terms of astrology?
Gatherings of top astrologers are frequent. The
association of astrologers in London is one of the
oldest in the world. It was founded more than 90 years
ago. Many astrologers live and work in London.
Gordana: Is astrology open
for media?
Astrologers cooperate with media and are certainly
open for information in any way.
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Gordana Varga and Roy Gillett |
Gordana: Do you think it is
possible for astrology to be officially recognized as a
profession?
There are certainly many problems in that respect.
Astrology is not a legitimate academic institution and
an ordinary person can get information on astrology only
in newspapers from daily and weekly horoscopes.
Academics are mocking astrology at the same time
trying to explain to people that astrology is not a
serious science and should not be taken seriously. At
some colleges, astrology has only just started to be the
subject of studies. There is a lot of hostility toward
astrology and astrologers and this is certainly a big
problem to face and struggle against. Enemies of
astrology are wealthy enough to fight it.
I personally feel that astrology is very important
and that media are not educated enough. First
information on astrology broadcasted by media was in
1979. It was not before that media started to educate
themselves about astrology. Media have a cemented
opinion and I think that it cannot be changed much. In
media, they discuss astrology instead of educating
people about it. There are excellent schools of
astrology in London and, if people want to, they can
learn a lot about it.
Gordana: How is the
discovery of Sedna interpreted in London?
I am not quite sure. Sedna is slow-moving and it
will take a lot of time to learn something more about
Sedna. It will take several generations to find out
anything about Sedna. Anyhow, it takes 600 years for it
to go around the Sun.
Interview with Robert Hand
Robert Hand started to pursue astrology when he was
17. He became a professional astrologer in 1972. He has
published 5 books. He is a lecturer at Kepler
University, writes papers and studies medieval astrology
at Catholic University where he works on his doctoral
thesis.
Gordana: What was happening
with astrology in the 21st century?
It was becoming increasingly professional. Couple of
universities, especially in Great Britain, had serious
syllabuses. It was less of a hobby and more of a
profession.
Gordana: People perceive
astrology as something able to help them?
Yes. Especially as a tool for self-recognition. It
can also help people find the answers about their life.
Gordana: Is astrology today
present more than ever?
This is difficult to say… Some aspects of astrology
are disappearing while the others are developing more.
Interest in astrology is certainly increasing. It is
getting increasingly present in newspapers, on
television and the Internet.
Gordana: Are media
adequately informed about astrology or they withhold
information about it?
Astrologers have limited access to media. They need
to show grater responsibility and persistence in
educating media about astrology.
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Gordana Varga and
Robert Hand
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Gordana: What happens with
the newly discovered planet?
I honestly don’t know. It is too far from the Sun to
be studied. It does not have the same material structure
as the other planets. They call it HiperBelt and it has
a very eccentric orbit. Sedna
is much smaller and maybe this is why it does not
influence the Universe much. In future, astrologers will
certainly deal with it.
Gordana: Does Uranus in
Pisces bring about greater natural disasters?
Certainly. Uranus is transiting Pisces every 84
years. If we look back to the past, we will see that
this transit resulted in big troubles. Uranus in Pisces
also indicates more radical attitude of various
religious groups.
Gordana: Do you think that
the Earth shifted in Universe after the terrible tsunami
at the end of last year?
This phenomenon called Delta T appears as a result
of heavy earthquakes and similar natural disasters. This
certainly influences the Earth to move.
Gordana: And what happens
with Lunar Eclipses? Do they influence meteorological
changes?
I am not sure. Maybe. There is a general talk about
global warming. However, scientists cannot decide if
this is the natural course of events or a result of
human “action”. We certainly need to show responsibility
to the Mother Earth.
William Dunbar Buchan – Impressions of the Conference
MY IMPRESSION OF
THE 2005 CHICAGO ISAR CONFERENCE
You'll probably
agree that if "perception is reality", then at least
part of my favorable perception of Chicago land's 2005
ISAR conference could be attributed to my frame of
reference. My Tropical Placidus birth-chart shows
Sagittarius rising with Venus in Sagittarius also.
I found astrologers
and participants from all over the world, with
considerable good will and much attention to scholarship
and "higher education", with twelve tracks of
astrological study represented; both promoting many
astrological organizations staffed by enthusiastic,
expansive volunteers; and probably the finest collection
of astrological books for sale I've ever seen- what's
not to like?!
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Gordana Varga and
William Dunbar Buchan
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Also the clearly
well-organized conference appealed to my Sun, Moon, and
Mercury in Capricorn. Everyone had a name tag, with
entry passes to special activities and easily visible
red- or blue- ribbons to identify the wearer's function.
ISAR provided a convenient roomy carry bag and
understandable schedules and transportation between
buildings and operated on-time and had an efficient
support staff who answered every question and made thing
work well. I congratulate ISAR for a big and fun
undertaking that was well-planned and well-executed.
... a real success.
EVENING OF ASTROLOGY IN CHICAGO
On 15 July 2005
in St. Sava Culture Club
in Chicago, I organized an evening of
astrology – a get-together of astrologers from Belgrade
and their colleagues from
Chicago. Many astrology lovers were present
together with those interested in learning something
more about astrology. The lecture topics were: what is
really astrology, how long has it existed, how to
interpret a birth chart … We showed our guests the birth
chart of President Lincoln and were answering numerous
questions of our guests for more than 2 hours.
The questions were interesting. Guests were really
keen on learning something more about astrology from the
professional astrologers from Chicago. I think this is
the best way to educate people and media, which is why I
organized this evening accompanied by a carefully
selected classical music. A couple of our Serbian songs
were also performed as well as opera arias sung by
Olga Bojovic and
accompanied by Kristijan
Chivljak on the piano. To spice it all, we
provided good home-cooked food. With the sounds of blues
guitar and Lizz Medvelle
Greson, we ended this wonderful evening dedicated
to astrology.
Gordana Varga
was the organizer of entire program.
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