Sue Tompkins:
An interview with one of Britains leading astrologers
By Margaret Zelinsky
How did
you first get into astrology?
I think my
childhood prepared me pretty much for astrology. I was unhappy,
introverted and was the kind of kid who said little but watched
everything. In particular, I was a people watcher. I was also
full of unspoken questions about life and why we are here.
I can't
give you an example from then but I can give you one from this
week from an episode of the TV quiz show, Who wants to be a Millionaire.
Two contestants on the show were pilots; one of them got stumped
(a half million pound question) on the name of Amy Johnson's plane-he
incorrectly guessed Pegasus.
To an astrologer,
aware of what is going on in the sky at any given time, this pilot
'coincidence' is an everyday and, to some extent at least, an
explainable occurrence but as a child I had no framework in which
to place those observations, so I suppose I was looking for such
a framework.
I discovered
only a few years ago, that my great-grandmother (who died many
years before I was born) was also interested in astrology although
I donšt know to what extent. But anyway, my real discovery of
the subject came with Linda Goodman's Sun signs-I was eighteen,
nursing at the time and had a friend who was very typically Geminian
and I suppose I am fairly typical of my Sun sign (Aquarius) too.
I just knew there was something in it but there weren't too many
books around in Stafford on astrology and I didn't start to progress
beyond Sun signs until I was in Canada two years later.
It would
be good to know who your teachers were. What happened in Canada
- did you do a course?
No, unfortunately
I didn't know of any 'live' courses though they must have existed,
but what was wonderful was the fact that I was now in a city (Toronto)
with the kind of bookshops you could only find in cities in the
early 70s. I bought everything I could lay my hands on and eventually
I found out about Jeff Mayo's correspondence course and enrolled
on that. Jeff was my first tutor.
I travelled
a lot in those days but when I returned to the UK I settled in
London and I went to everything that was around, just as students
still do. I switched to the Faculty for my Diploma studies-I had
to do it by correspondence because there weren't classes then.
Cordelia Mansell was my tutor but I never had the self-discipline
to complete the whole course! Liz Greene was teaching with the
Centre for Transpersonal Psychology and I went to everything she
did. And there were other good teachers too.
I particularly
remember Pam Tyler who returned to the States and to Law some
years later, though some people will know her through her book
on Mercury. I also remember having a great time on a Summer School
on Harmonics in Cambridge with Suzi and Charles Harvey and John
Addey. There were a lot of good teachers.
You seem
to have always been involved in the educational side of astrology...
Yes, something
to do with having Moon in Sag. opposing Jupiter in Gemini in the
10th!
What prompted
you to start your own school with Christine Tate ?
There are
many answers one could give to that question. Briefly, I had just
resigned from the Faculty and was feeling bereft; I knew things
had come to a point where I had to leave FAS, I had served my
time and it was time to make room for others and for me to move
on. It was the astrology of the situation that prompted me really
-I have had so many things going on in my chart this year to do
with work and education and I just suddenly felt that this was
what I was supposed to do.
For starters
the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction falls on my MC at 27 Taurus, I
have various Uranus transits from my 6th house including a trine
to Jupiter in Gemini in my 10th and even the Jupiter-Pluto opposition
is hitting my chart favourably.
You are
also a homoeopath. Do astrology and homoeopathy support each other?
Yes, very
much so and some of the roots of homeopathy can be found in astrology.
I actually think that astrology can be described as a form of
homeopathy. In homoeopathy, cure comes through treating 'like
with like'.
An astrological
consultation can be similar, for the astrologer is holding up
a mirror and in a sense, giving a likeness. This is also similar
of course to Carl Rogers' approach to counselling.
Will medical
astrology feature heavily in the new school?
Not heavily,
no. Homoeopathy is such a powerful tool I don't want to encourage
people to diagnose or prescribe without having the proper training
to do so. But there will certainly be opportunities to learn about
various health practises and where they link into astrology and
the emphasis throughout will be on the holistic nature of things.
How would
you describe your approach to astrology?
Contemporary.
Apart maybe from Paracelsus, I actually have little interest in
what astrologers said centuries ago or rather in how astrologers
today interpret what astrologers in the year dot said. It may
be because I am too lazy to wade through all those old texts.
I am more interested in improving our astrological knowledge through
ordinary everyday empirical observation.
I could probably
be defined as a psychological astrologer, not because I am allied
to any particular psychological school of thought but because
I am drawn to a more psychodynamic, holistic, metaphorical way
of thinking in which there is considerable emphasis on the 'why'
and 'how' of a given situation and on the inner process. It seems
to me that the more traditional forms of astrology are designed
for a more deterministic society with a linear, 'right' and 'wrong'
black and white way of thinking. The main concern being 'what'
will happen and 'when' it will happen.
A good dialogue
between client and astrologer can change the future for the client
(for either participant actually) by changing his or her perception
of the current situation. The more we look at something, the more
our perception of it changes. The more we understand ourselves
and the options open to us, the more choice we are able to exercise
as to what we do with our future, albeit within the perimeters
of the potential written in the birth-chart.
Does that
mean that you don't think the astrologer should predict?
No, but it
does depend on the circumstances. It really depends on what one
is doing with one's astrology. I work with people mainly, so a
process-oriented approach which puts responsibility and choice
firmly in the individual's own hands is appropriate. When looking
at collective and mundane issues I think we ought to be able to
be very specific in describing what will happen. But it's a very
different matter predicting what horse will win the 4.15 at Haydock
or forecasting earthquakes or movements in the stock market than
it is when Mrs Bloggs wants to discuss whether or not to leave
her husband.
I reckon
the question of whether we can and should predict really comes
down to how much free will and responsibility the individual has
in a given situation. In situations where the individual has little
power/control/responsibility, where there is little they can do;
then it is both possible and advisable to try and predict. After
all, if the factory where you work is going to close down, it
would be quite handy to know in advance, assuming that's possible.
And personally
I love trying to work out the winner of the 4.15 at Haydock but
it takes a different skill, a different way of using astrology.
For
more information contact:
London School
of Astrology
BCM Planets
London WC1N 3XX
Tel: 07002 33 44 55
www.londonschoolofastrology.co.uk
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