From Michael Erlewine: Going Home

[This is Michael's final installment to The New Orleans Journal, as we all say good-by to this indescribable gathering of astrologers from around the world. There was one line in it that resonated quite deeply with me, so I wanted to single it out here:

"I understood once again that in any mandala offering, it is the 'offering' process that is auspicious and meritorious (what we gave of ourselves), the giving itself, and not the result --"

Namaste' y'all.
Robin
Postcards from UAC~The United Kingdom Branch]

GOING HOME

In a just a little while I will be on my way home from UAC, the United Astrology Conference, here in New Orleans. For someone who does not travel and, aside from nature walks and photography, does not even go out all that much, this has been a trip in more ways than one. In other words, you will seldom see me in large social groups.

At 2 PM yesterday the Marketplace closed and we deconstructed our booth. As we packed our freight boxes it was only too clear that the mandala of UAC was disintegrating very literally by that point. No, we did not sweep it into the river, but as I surveyed the now-empty space where our booth was, I understood once again that in any mandala offering, it is the 'offering' process that is auspicious and meritorious (what we gave of ourselves), the giving itself, and not the result -- what we got from the process.

Of course I personally got a lot out of the conference, but it probably cannot be measured in dollars earned in the Marketplace. Immersed real-time in the stream of astrologers from all over the world, I once again have a real sense of how things are with us and where we are going. And as wonderful as we are as a group, I cannot say that all is rosy.

It is clear to me that astrology is still struggling to be properly recognized as a profession by society and that making a living through astrology remains a hard row to hoe. At the same time, I see that our intent and heart is in the right place and our compassion to be of use to others is very much alive and well.

Being here has been something of a wild ride, one that I will long remember. I certainly have ridden in enough elevators (some packed to the limit) and walked enough hallways for a while. And I will not miss the stinging in my eyes from the strong rug shampoo these hotels use that apparently has no way of being absorbed, except by our bodies.

But I will cherish the very many friends I have met here and the meaningful conversations we have had with one another. Isn't that what this conference is really all about? Of course I enjoyed the lectures I attended, but when I spontaneously think of this last week, it is the friendship of my fellow astrologers that comes to mind, and all my Facebook friends that I had never met before. We are many!

I include here a quick iPhone photo of our dog Molotov that my wife took yesterday. There he is amidst some poppies in our yard. I know that he is (and has been) waiting for me to come home all this time. My wife tells me that he has been spending most of his time in my office.

Anyway, I am on my way. Thanks to all of you who read this and I will return to my regular blog tomorrow (as they say around here), "If the good god is willing, and the creek don't rise."

Molotov, Michael Erlewine's dog

From Michael Erlewine: The Mandala Is Breaking Up

THE MANDALA IS BREAKING UP

The UAC mandala is dissolving. The last day is already here. I have to remind myself that, like the intricate sand mandalas of the Tibetan Buddhists that once finished are swept into a pile and tossed into a river, it is not the colored sand that is the mandala and blessing, but the act of offering and making the design. We have all offered ourselves to one another here; how inspiring.

When I first arrived in New Orleans, time seemed to crawl by and each day was an endless display of promising events. But each succeeding day has gone by faster and faster, like two trains passing, until today we are suddenly at the end. I already see that leaving all of this is going to somewhat painful. I was afraid of that.

Much of my experience here has been like a dream or movie in which the cast of my many astrological friends appear one after another in succession. I am awake in my own dream. As for my Facebook friends, I have met scores of you in person for the first time and, although we have never seen each other face-to-face, we were already old friends. It has been such a treat to meet you!

In my life I wear several hats, including being a musician. I had to skip the UAC banquet I was looking forward to when I received a dinner invitation from Ben Jaffe (the owner and creative director of the Preservation Jazz Hall), and the son of Hall founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe. Ben also plays tuba and bass for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This was an offer I could not refuse. It was a wonderful evening, just a few folks meeting at an incredible home for food and conversation. 

Attending was acclaimed musician John Boutte, who wrote the theme song and other music for HBO's original series, "Treme." I had lunch with Boutte earlier in the week. Also there was the legendary musician Charlie Gabriel, a 79-year-old clarinetist who also plays in the Preservation Hall Band. Luke Winslow-King, who  played music at our UAC booth twice this week, was also there, along with Celia Sinclair (who helped out in our booth). Celia is the daughter of my long-time friend, poet, and activist John Sinclair. My old friend Bill Lynn picked me up at the hotel and brought me back. We had a delicious and vegetarian (mostly vegan) meal, so it was almost like home, what a wonderful time.

Today I will be tying up loose ends and (quite symbolically) taking down our booth sometime around 2 PM. After that I have no idea what I will do, probably say goodbye to as many folks as I can and prepare to head to the airport early Wednesday morning. I will soon be back home in a small town in mid-Michigan with my family, so far away from all this. Au revoir to New Orleans and to all of you at UAC.

Michael

 

 [Photo of Charlie Gabriel, not by me]

 

Charlie Gabriel, Clarinetist and member of the Preservation Hall Band

 

Michael Erlewine: A Hint of the Impermanence of it All

[We are fortunate to have another post from the brilliant astrologer and writer, Michael Erlewine. This time he has shared one of his gorgeous photographs with us. If you don't follow him on Facebook, I highly recommend it. It is full of beautiful photographs,moving personal observations and brilliant astrology.  robin dalton ~ postcards from uac - United Kingdom branch]

 

 

 

 

Oh, oh. I can begin to feel this whole conference beginning to wind down. I hate it when that happens. Everything is still going strong, but there is the first hint of the impermanence of it all, that a couple days from now I will be on a plane and heading home. 

Whenever I have such a rich experience as this has been, there is that little bit of heartache, or as Shakespeare said "Parting is such sweet sorrow." Anyway, I can already tell I will be breathing a sigh or two soon. As the writer Gertrude Stein once said, "Before friendship faded, friendship faded."

Meanwhile everything is still in bloom. I ran out of photos to share, so this one of a calla lily will have to do. That little drop that is about to fall symbolizes the end of the conference that will come. 

I am sorry I will miss the banquet this evening, but astrology is but one of several areas I play in. I am also a musician and know a number of people who live here in New Orleans. I have been invited to a house party, where we will all cook together. And I promised to do the astrology chart for John Boutte, who wrote the theme song and other music for HBO's original series. "Treme." Boutte is a wonderful singer and it will be fun to do a little astrology for everyone.

Meanwhile, the day is starting again and I am about to launch myself back into the stream of astrologers and see where it takes me. I love the new way that the elevators here at the hotel work, where you punch in the floor number and  are told which of seven elevators is coming for you. However, I don't love it when the elevators grind to a standstill when lectures let out and we all stand around there for.. who knows how long.

Last evening I went to the open house that the AFA (American Federation of Astrologers) put on and ate dinner at the Palace Café. That is all I have to report other than last night I got my first real night of sleep. That too is a sign of this winding-down business.

Hope to see some of you in the stream. Thanks to all my Facebook friends for saying hello. If you are on Facebook and we are not friends, please befriend me.

 

 

 

 

Michael Erlewine's New Orleans Journal

NEW ORLEANS JOURNAL

I am still here in New Orleans and still not caught up on my sleep. Woke up at 3 AM this morning and was up all day. I tried to catch a nap but didn't manage to catch it, so I lay there on my back for a while looking at the ceiling and then just gave up, got up, and jumped back into the stream of astrologers everywhere. Believe it or not, aside from perhaps a few thoughts of home and missing my dog (and of course my wife!) I was OK. I know that sounds bad, but I know my dog really, really misses me, and I hope my wife does too.

I started out the day with an on-camera interview for Chinese television, which took perhaps an hour. Apparently there is a growing demand in China for astrology, and (believe it or not) Western astrology at that. So that was fun and the camera crew and interviewer were fun and so respectful. Sometimes it is nice being treated like "somebody." I am sure we all feel that way.

As for food, I have pretty much given up on what I imagined I would be doing: feasting on all this classic New Orleans food. I tried it and liked it, but it was not too crazy about me. There is only so much fried food I can eat and then it's enough. Perhaps I can be a little clearer here if I tell you I actually ordered oatmeal for breakfast. And my lunch is shifting from whatever gumbo or New Orleans special there is to something like a Caesar Salad. You get the idea. I am not living to eat here, but back to trying to eat to live.

And it is the same story with my plans to take historical New Orleans by storm. I had a strong start when I toured the disaster areas of New Orleans, like the lower 9th ward, and so on, but any such plans have kind of evaporated and I find myself not particularly interested in leaving the hotel, aid-conditioning and all. Instead, I seem to keep immersing myself in the stream of astrologers I am surrounded by. 

I am meeting many new Facebook friends, and having conversation after conversation with astrologers attending the conference. I kind of lose all sense of time and wake up realizing I have been standing there in the middle of a crowd for a long time talking to someone and ceased to see or hear what is going on all around me, like a lot of movement and noise. And these conversations are not just chit-chat, but mostly real conversations that either are reestablishing ties since I last saw the person or plunging into topics of one kind of another. All this is all fun.

Last night I went to astrologer Michael Lutin's play "OMG, the Mayans Were Right." Every UAC Michael Lutin, armed with a small army of astrologers, performs a play. I know it is months in the preparation, and many of the astrologers (well known to us all) disappear from view for several days during the conference because of the rehearsal. We miss them.

The whole event was held in a huge ballroom, and there were many hundreds of people there. There were two acts, the first was a big silent auction and cocktail party that was loud and boisterous as you might imagine. I was pretty much wallpaper through that event. Then, this huge crowd massed to a single point and entered what was called a "wormhole" and into an even larger room where the play was held.

These kind of plays are usually not my favorite cup of tea because no one has had enough time to really rehearse. However, this one was a lot of fun. Michael  Lutin is a real pro, a true entertainer, and very funny. He was like the main actor/MC or narrator of the story. I was impressed. 

All around him were all our favorite astrologers in various states of dress and undress, painted and not painted, but all carrying on. Where else could you see astrologers Stephen Forrest dressed as Albert Einstein and Andrew Morton as Sir Issac Newton singing a duet? I think: nowhere.

And Gloria Star, one of my favorite people, was "Jelly," the cabaret singer, and she was incredible. Her singing was so good that it brought tears to my eyes, and I am a professional music critic! How about that?

Anyway it was a fun romp through the night and the huge audience loved it. So there you have it, a capsule review of the play and the day. As I write this, I must turn to more serious things because today is my talk and it would seem that I left my notes at home! 

I am going to start recreating them. Thanks for listening and that is my journal for today. Hope you are enjoying these!

Photo by my friend Hal Bahr. This is our birth. I believe that is me back there holding forth about something with someone.

 

Photo of Michael Erlewine's Incredible booth courtesy of Hal Bahr

 

Video: Astrologers Michael Erlewine & David Palmer UAC Astrology Conference 201...

Michael Erlewine at UAC

MichaelErlewine, a photo by Postcards from UAC on Flickr.

The hugely fabulous Michael Erlewine in his booth at UAC. Sent to us from Thomas Canfield of ACS.

Hal Bahr on UAC 2012 New Orleans: The Land of Dreams

This is another update we received from Hal Bahr on our Postcards from UAC Facebook Group. You can find him on Facebook HERE  and also on his Wordpress Site: Soul Journey Design

I had another wonderful day in New Orleans. As I walked into the lobby of the Marriott I saw clumps of astrologers deciding what to do with this last day before the conference begins. For me it began with a walk through the French Quarter with Caroline Casey to historic gathering place Cafe du Monde for beignets, cafe au lait, and orange juice. A young man sitting close by wore a t-shirt whose slogan caught our eyes Work Hard, Be Nice. Good guiding words for two people who will be very busy over the next week. We then went and took in the view from the square. Treasured time sharing stories, possible visions of the future, and confidences with my great ally and friend knowing we were in no hurry but the with the aim of exploring the voodoo vibe of NOLA and a visit to the resting place of Marie Laveau the voodoo priestess of New Orleans. Caroline first caught my attention in the 80's when she was on Nightline with Pat Buchanan talking politics and astro-wisdom. Later she inspired me with her book Making the Gods Work for You, amazed me with a personal reading and over the last few years she had become a friend. That's one great thing I have found with the astrologer tribe. These wise and learned folks are also accessible and even greater in their heart-centered humanity.

As we wandered Caroline told me stories of coming to NOLA just months after Katarina. Anti-depressants made it here faster than clean water, a city in shock with every person you met having a heart-rending story to tell, and the miracle of sunflowers and watermelons growing rampant in every vacant once-flooded space of the devastated city. After stopping and greeting our great spirit ancestor Marie Laveau's final resting place and tidying things up bit our tour continued. We paused in another gathering spot on the way to visiting Priestess Miriam and the Voodoo Spiritual Temple and cultural center while Caroline told me a story about Marie Laveau. Marie was in love with a high-born white New Orleans white man who took the legal steps to be declared colored so that he and Marie could own property and be together. Marie had the voodoo herbal cures for ailments like yellow fever and this among other things gained her entree among many unlikely and disparate groups. It was Marie who held the first multi-racial gatherings in the city where drumming and spirit was called forth for the good of all.

Then on to the Voodoo Spiritual Temple and cultural center where modern-day voodoo priestess Miriam Chamani presides. The shop was a sight to behold. Filled with talismans, remedies, candles, music, books, altars and Miriam who is available for personal readings, greetings, and chat while the images of Marie Laveau and Baron Samedi gaze down upon the visitors.

After stopping for delicious gelato and a quirky conversation with a flamboyantly dressed busker we eventually wandered back toward the hotel. As soon as we entered the building you could feel the vibe had changed from languorous lounging to the building frenzy of a huge gathering of astrological stars. I think we may have enough accumulated talent and brightness here to begin the Big Bang all over again. Checking in with Michael Erliwine again we all proceeded up to the registration check-in desk for the conference to get our credentials, badges and tickets for the various parts of the conference. I was delighted to find Victoria Naumann Peltz and Geri Bellino staffing the desk. The generous volunteer work at this conference is a tribute to the passion and excitement this kind of event stirs up in folks. Micheal took us behind closed doors into the UAC marketplace where we got to see the vendors setting up, Micheal's expansive booth and, wouldn't you know it... that same original couple setting up their bookstore booth. I told you paths would continue to meet here.

Then I began to get calls with questions about where the room monitors were going to be meeting and I had to leave my companions and see if could help the flow of communication. On the way I ran into friends, colleagues, teachers and astrological/organizational treasures Chris McRae, Monica Dimino, Richard Smoot, Henry Selzer, Robert Corre, and Maureen Ambrose. Once back up in my room I had the pleasure of a visit from Cayelin Castell co-founder of the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School and her gorgeous daughter Jenna. Rockin goddesses. Cayelin and Daniel Giamario will be hosting a booth in the marketplace that will offer a new version of the groundbreaking Shamanic Astrology Handbook. Check it out!

Our visit was sweet but brief as I had to go to the first gathering of the cast and crew of Micheal Lutin's OMG The Mayans Were Right. I was impressed with the stage and overwhelmed with the sheer star power of great astrologer's who Micheal had somehow convinced, cajoled, cohooted, and coerced into putting their trust and faith in him and Gloria Star. I want to reel off the list of who's in the cast but I know I'll miss some name and so I'll wait till a later date to fill you in but it's truly an astonishing assortment of the incredibly well-known, stunningly talented and beautiful, and the quirky and unlikely. You will gasp in wonder, surprise, and delight. When Michael outlined the show I could see it's truly something not to be missed for all those who are here and sure to be heard about for a long time to come.

I left the meeting early to get to yet another meeting being held by Michelle Gould and Charlotte Benson training the first group of room monitors for the pre-conference speaker presentations. Again the volunteer commitment at this conference is simply off the scale. What a group tribal effort of love. Michelle has done an extraordinary job of organizing and coordinating the various pieces that make up the support staff and I know I want to at least buy this Wonder-full lady a tall drink before this event is over.

I'll be working as one of 4 "Floor Runners" helping to keep the flow of room monitors, recording, and speakers moving smoothly throughout the conference. My main task will be taking care of the presentations on the 41st floor which will be the Symmetrical or Uranaian Astrology track and helping out on the 4th floor. Check in on Friday for my first reports which I'll be titling Notes from Uranus. It's after midnight now and I'm reporting for duty at 8:30 am to help out at Ray Merriman's pre-conference presentation tomorrow so as my fingers cramp and my eyes water I end this report and head off to the land of dreams. Oh wait that's where I've spent the whole day already isn't it? Only at UAC in New Orleans 2012.

Photo by Hal Bahr

Brilliant Dreamers, Thinkers, Observers and Speakers On a Night In New Orleans at UAC 2012

 

This is another update we received from Hal Bahr on our Postcards from UAC Facebook Group. You can find him on Facebook HERE  and also on his Wordpress Site: Soul Journey Design

This particular volunteer was fortunate enough to live in New Orleans (in the Marigny, just outside the Quarter) for a number of years. I visited the Quarter in 2008, 3 years after the devastation of Katrina. Hal's description and observations are gratefully received. It's only the very beginning and already he has made me feel just the tiniest bit part of it all and he has made my heart sing just a little bit. This is what I had always hoped Postcards from UAC could be. So, please, don't be shy. Send us your videos, your photos, your words, your poetry...

With much gratitude,

Robin Dalton

Postcards from UAC Volunteer

Back at the hotel after a great evening spent with Caroline Casey, Michael Erlewine, and Martha Ward, who wrote an amazing biography of Marie Laveau, the voodoo priestess of New Orleans, among other books. It was a treat to meet Michael and watch as two brilliant master astrologers (among other things in lives lived broad and deep) and abstract thinkers met each other for the first time and began to exchange ideas and vastly broad life experiences with one another. Being in the presence of People of Presence I got to be the listener, happier than any fly on the wall, with better drinks and food.

Martha lives here in New Orleans and picked us up at the hotel to take us on a tour of the Bywater neighborhood and the Lower 9th Ward. She told stories of the devastation of Katrina and the renewal of spirit that followed. We stopped at one spot in Bywater that had been blighted, but was taken over by the Vodoun community and rebuilt as a center of community growth and activity. Now filled with restaurants, healing arts, health foods (literally the only one on this side of the Mississippi) community credit union, yoga studio, dance studio, community outreach, low-cost housing, and an interfaith center. Rebuilt and painted in vibrant hues that proclaim new life and unity of purpose. She then took us on a tour of the hardest hit parts of the 9th ward. New buildings interspersed with still-blighted homes, vacant lots and the heart-tugging sight of only the front steps and walk up to what were once houses that families lived and thrived in. Six years later the wounds are still present but so is the creative and concrete rebirth.

Remembered will be the musician's neighborhood where artists were given low-cost homes in exchange for sweat equity and work on neighbor's houses, the area where Brad Pitt financed new green technology homes built high enough to survive another great flood and fitted with solar panels, The community garden area, the sun setting over a new levee and storm walls. The blood and tears of the past have watered and fertilized this new garden of the future and breeding ground of creative vision. The triumph of the weediness in the human race that lets us set down roots and re-grow even after devastation.

Seeing a slice of history as we passed the Mother-in-law lounge. Finally we ended up at a quintessential New Orleans restaurant The Praline Connection. How many things can you have deep fried? Apparently pretty much everything including okra, pickles, oysters, catfish, chicken livers, crab cakes, crayfish, and shrimp accompanied with tasty sides of mustard and collard greens. Definitely got my fix of Corexit [see euphemism for oil~rd] and a taste of the faith of the people who live in an area that intertwines the economies of oil and fishing in slightly uncomfortable and delicious ways. Talk about Neptune in Pisces during a time of Pluto/Uranus...The food, wonderful as it was, got overshadowed by the interplay of these brilliant thinkers, dreamers, observers and speakers with the backdrop of a high-school kids band on the corner tuning up to improvise the night away. Only available at UAC in New Orleans 2012.

23 May 2012 05:28

Back at the hotel after a great evening spent with Caroline Casey, Michael Erlewine, and Martha Ward who wrote an amazing biography of Marie Laveau the voodoo priestess of New Orleans among other books. It was a treat to meet Michael and watch as two brilliant master astrologers(among other things in lives lived broad ...See more

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