The Evolutionary Astrology Network continues its series of interviews with graduates of the JWG School of Evolutionary Astrology/Correspondence Course with Lesley Mahler, a 2002 graduate. It takes commitment and dedication to complete the EA School/Course. EAN would like to network the graduates to recipients of this newsletter and inspire those who desire to become Evolutionary Astrologers! EAN assistant Nina recently emailed Lesley.

Nina: How did you first become aware of Evolutionary Astrology?

Lesley: I saw the first volume of Pluto on a friend and fellow astrologer’s kitchen counter in the late 1990’s; when I read “Pluto in Virgo or the 6th house,” being a natal Pluto in Virgo AND the 6th house (retrograde), I had to put the book down, it was too intense though I knew the words to be true. I could barely get through those pages, and I read nothing else in that book. Soon after, Pluto II was published, and I found that book in a store while I was waiting for my car stereo to be installed next door! -- God’dess comes to you wherever you are. This time, I “somehow” flipped to the section on evolutionary conditions, and as soon as I found those pages, lights and fireworks went off inside me: “THIS is what I came here to learn. This is what I have been wanting to know my entire life.” But I still didn’t buy the book! My Saturn’s in Taurus conjunct the famous Lucifer, so I can be incredibly stubborn, to my own detriment. A few months later I met a man who turned out to be a terribly painful past-life contact; this time I bought “Pluto II” to learn about the Soul’s evolution through relationships, and after reading it scheduled a consultation with Wolf in July, 1999. After speaking to him that first time, my whole life changed, little by little. I became an EA student six months later and never looked back to traditional or classical astrology.

Nina: What inspired you to become a practicing EA counselor? What feedback have you gotten from others relative to your counseling work?

Lesley: The inspiration came from the way that EA changed and enhanced my own life. I thought, “If this can help ME, it can help everybody it touches if they’re willing.” That Saturn I mentioned is in full phase opposition to my Jupiter in Scorpio in the 8th: I need proof that something works before I will buy into it. EA proved itself to me consistently, and still proves itself daily in my life, 8 years after discovering the discipline. As I’ve counseled others, I’ve received a lot of amazement for what the Evolutionary Astrologer can see in the birth chart. When they express awe, I always tell them: “I learned from the best.” Sometimes, though, the feedback goes the other way: the client denies what you’re seeing in the birth chart because what you’re saying exposes things they don‘t want you or anybody else to know about. Yet you observe the person and the symbols are of course correct. So that feedback was important too because it taught me to trust what I see, and listen very critically to what I’m being told.

Nina: How does EA help you in your everyday life?

Leslie: EA always gives a logical reason for any experience, makes every experience meaningful and instructive -- and that gives much-needed perspective to someone like me, who tends to get stuck in left-brained mazes that lead nowhere and only perpetuate confused and conflicting thought patterns. (Remember the natal placement of my Pluto!) I know that EA has saved my life many times, in taking victimization out of my consciousness (little by little), in showing me the reasons why I incarnated to address certain struggles and issues, and in giving me not just hope for ultimate healing and resolution, but the specific steps to take to get there. EA is the only discipline (or at least the first discipline) I’ve come across that asserts that God Itself is not perfect, and that thought alone goes such a long way in healing my Soul. I consider myself so fortunate to be involved with EA, and incredibly blessed to be here while Jeffrey Green is also on planet to give us the information direct, firsthand. It is my honor to be involved with this work at this time in human history.

Nina: What were the biggest challenges you faced in the context of completing the EA course materials? What were your favorite aspects of studying EA?

Lesley: Honestly, my biggest challenge was my own self-doubt. My biggest challenge was self-created! One thing I want to say to anybody who faces a similar struggle is this: the minute you start trusting yourself, you will automatically become a better and more accurate astrologer in that very moment. For me, that took a while. The important thing is to keep going. I was so afraid to be wrong! But I finally realized that making mistakes is part of learning; it doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t help people. It’s the purity and consistency of your intention that brings you through the self-doubt. You’ve got to be more tenacious than the doubt itself! You don’t have to know everything about everything to be able to help a client, thank God. My favorite aspect of studying EA has always been the message board Forum (for registered students). I am very grateful that Steve (Wolfson) put up the current board. I find the commiseration with fellow Evolutionary Astrologers to be incredibly supportive and healing. What a wonderful group of people. Thank you, Steve, for doing such an excellent job with our Forum.

Nina: What challenges do you face as a practicing Evolutionary Astrologer? What are your favorite aspects of the work?

Lesley: The biggest challenge is the “prove it to me” client I get so often. They are not there for help, they don’t want to listen, they just want to see if astrology is “true” or not. “Really? You’re an astrologer? Do my chart! But I don’t believe in that past-lives thing.” It’s not my job to convince anybody of anything, and I won’t have EA reduced to a party game. I was giving a lecture on EA at the local library last December (on Jeffrey Green’s birthday, as it turned out…the beauty of synchronicity!), and the first question from the audience was, “Yeah, are you psychic?” I replied, “No. That’s why I use the birth chart.” Such misconceptions are a huge challenge to my work at the present time. My absolute favorite aspect of the work is watching the light bulb go off in the client’s eyes, the lift in their energy field, the brightening of the face, when you simply VALIDATE what they’re going through. I get a lot of 1st stage Individuated clients, and they just want to hear that there’s nothing “wrong” with them. It is my joy and my honor to be able to alleviate that fear for them. One thing I’ve always told them is, “I am excited for you -- you are evolving as we speak!” That always works wonders for them. And, in an illustration of the axiom “You give what you get,” I was recently in the office of a local homeopath, scared to death for what she‘d told me in my diagnosis, and when she said the very same thing to me -- “I am so excited for you! You are going to be just fine!” -- I got how it felt to be on the other end. I really know the power of those words now.

Nina: What advice would you give current students who desire to become certified Evolutionary Astrologers?

Lesley: I would tell them not to let initial confusion, or an initial feeling of being overwhelmed, stop or deter them. All it takes is consistent effort over time. At some point the discipline itself coalesces in the right brain, and it’s not such an effort anymore. The information just flows to and through you. It’s so exciting when that begins to happen, because all sorts of things about the nature of Creation become apparent at that point. And, if you’re worried about it as I was, don’t let fears of being wrong stop you. Practice on yourself, your family and friends, people who are non-judgmental, as you are learning the basics. Read the Pluto books and watch the course video materials many times over, because as you learn you will pick up things you missed the last time you read the book or saw the videotaped course. Repeated exposure will deepen your understanding and appreciation of the EA system. EA is definitely not something you “get” on the first pass (or even the third or the fourth). Above all, always keep your sincere desire to help people as your inspiration.

Nina: What are your plans for the future? Are there any current projects you are working on?

Lesley: I have a lot to get done to meet my goals. I am currently researching natural times and customs, in preparation for writing a book of my own. I'm going to be attending Patricia Walsh's workshop on resolving past-life trauma in October, and the Medical Astrology class with Kim Marie next spring. Meanwhile, I’ve also been working on a project that deals expressly with Virgo, because Virgo can manifest in countless negative and insidious ways if its energy is not deliberately and constructively used. I would like to lecture, possibly about Virgo, at the next EA Conference: I’ve been too scared for too long, procrastinating for too long. I’m ready to come out of hiding, drop my fears, and just enjoy doing the work I love so much.

Nina: Is there anything else you would like to share about your personal experience with Evolutionary Astrology?

Lesley: I would like to mention that EA has enriched my life as much as it has because this discipline goes beyond astrological symbols and terms; EA is based and rooted in Natural Law, and so through studying, working with, and internalizing EA, I have grown closer to God’dess Itself. That is my ultimate gratitude to Jeffrey Green, and to EA: through this discipline, I have been able to begin my journey home. Not coincidentally, when I found EA, I was undergoing my first Saturn return…and the difference between myself at 29 and myself now, at 37, is incalculable. It is true evolution, and ever ongoing.

Nina: What is the most profound transit that you see impacting mass consciousness?

Lesley: I think that when Neptune enters Pisces in about 4 years, and transits that sign for the following 14 years, the health of humans everywhere will be extremely taxed -- the ultimate reason being to realign the human organism with Natural Law and inspire within it a necessary reverence for all life. I can’t help but look at the urgent situation of our environment and the Earth itself, the contamination of our food and water, the incredible ability of things like parasites and viruses to mutate and ensure their own survival, and come to the inevitable conclusion that, unfortunately, health crises are on the horizon on a mass level. Add to this Pluto’s transit into Capricorn in the next year or so, and I see the beginning of a necessary “fall from grace” for the human organism over the next 15 years, given what we’ve done to this beautiful planet. Through Capricorn’s natural square to Libra, the human organism will have to learn to live in balance, with each other and with Nature itself. If we can adapt (Pisces) to what Nature is instructing us to do, the effects can be mitigated as things unfold. I hope this occurs.