What brought you to astrology?
I began doing intensive meditation when I was 19 years old and learned from the books of the teacher Rajneesh (later called Osho). That was my introduction, in this lifetime, to Vedic /Indian concepts – which would later include astrology. Years later I began studying yoga, and became a certified yoga teacher in 2001. My Vedic astrology studies quickly accelerated from there. All of the Vedic principles I had been studying for close to 20 years suddenly snapped into place once I looked into Vedic astrology. I had been studying the Vedic/Hindu gods, mantras, etc. and all of the energetics of yoga (which underpins Vedic Astrology) for close to 20 years by that time.
Why do you practice astrology—what makes it juicy for you?
Showing how astrological energies are folded into everything in life is very rewarding for me. When I developed my certification course, I coined a saying: Astrology is not something “up there”, is something “in here.”
In truth, I think most astrologers still see astrology as something separate from us, that we need to appease – rather than seeing it as the living universal wisdom that is creating everything.
What is your specialty or focus?
I really like teaching, especially the universal principles that transcend the “systems” everyone seems so hung up on. Vedic and Western astrology are based on exactly the same principles. Planets, signs and houses are universal regardless of system. Often people ask me, after reading one of my articles, “Is that the Vedic third house?” (for example). Then I have to explain, “There is no Vedic third house.” The third house is a universal principle, based on a certain point in the sky. Just as planets and signs are universal principles, understood or explained at different levels of clarity.
I enjoy (and perhaps specialize in) deepening people’s understanding of what they “already know” – then taking it from there into more complex and nuanced concepts.
Are there any additional comments you’d like to make about your lecture/workshop?
Like most things I teach, the “Moon Yogas” technique is appropriate for all, whether they are Vedic or Western astrologers. Like most good teachings, it is based on universal principles. In this case, it has to do with the spatial relationship of planets to each other, and specifically to the Moon – and how this spatial relationship shows our psychological outlook and structure.
For more on Sam’s October 13th lecture, Vedic Astro-Psychology: Beneath Waves of Emotions, see the lecture page.
For more on Sam’s October 15th workshop, Moon Yogas: Knowing the Heart of Your Clients, see the workshop page.
Update: Sam has added a video in which he discusses the Seattle lecture and workshop content further.
