Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 11 am PT
Expanding the New Moon’s Promise:
The Lunar Phase Family Cycle
The New Moon phase is a moment for fresh starts and new beginnings, when we set intentions for the coming lunar month. But how much can we really accomplish within a 28-day lunar cycle? Do we have to confine our lunar wishes to those modest enough to be fulfilled in a single month?
Enter the Lunar Phase Family Cycle, which expands the symbolism and promise of each New Moon over a three-year period in which a First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter Moon fall near the same degree. Each New Moon carries more weight and potential than a single lunar month can hold, and a story that needs much more time to unfold.
April Elliott Kent is a professional astrologer and author living in San Diego, California. She is the author of Astrological Transits (Fair Winds Press, 2015), The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology (Alpha/Penguin, 2011), and Star Guide to Weddings (Llewellyn, 2008). A popular lecturer, April has served on the faculties of UAC (2012, 2018, 2026), SOTA (2016), ISAR (2016), Making of the One Thing (2018, New Zealand), and Beyond the Borders (2020).
April is the past president of the San Diego Astrological Society and served on the AFAN Steering Committee and the board of NCGR San Diego. She is a member of ISAR, NCGR, and OPA. Her weekly Big Sky Astrology Podcast is new each Monday.
To learn more about April and her work, please visit her website at:
http://www.bigskyastrology.com
After the meeting, we will be going to lunch. All participants are welcome to join us. The lunch place will be announced at the meeting.
Please note this is a hybrid meeting: Our speaker will be lecturing in person at the Encinitas Community Center.
If you’re joining us via Zoom, you will receive the Zoom link in a separate email. (Please note it may take several hours before you receive the Zoom link). This meeting will be recorded. All participants registered will receive a link to download the recording.
Or join us in person on October 17, 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm
Encinitas Community Center
1140 Oakcrest Park Dr.
Encinitas, CA 92024
(Cross-streets Encinitas Blvd. & Balour Dr.)
Cottonwood Room #120
Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 11 am PT
The Moon ~ Friend or Foe
The Moon in our natal chart reveals how we instinctively feel, react, and seek safety in the world. It acts as an inner lens through which our emotional life is filtered, shaping our habits, memories, and automatic responses to stress and change. By exploring the Moon’s house placement and aspects, we gain insight into the emotional patterns that inform our defense and survival strategies.
When these lunar responses operate unconsciously, they can solidify into unhealthy or limiting habits—patterns that once served a protective purpose but may no longer support our growth. Through awareness and reflection, however, these same patterns can be recognized, softened, and transformed.
This workshop invites participants to deepen their relationship with their Moon, discerning when it acts as a trusted ally and when it may function as an inner adversary. Group discussion will be encouraged, offering space for shared insight, reflection, and the wisdom that emerges through collective experience.
Alexandra Karacostas is a professional, consulting astrologer. With decades of experience, she offers practical wisdom and insight. A student of astrology since 1975, Alexandra teaches and lectures nationally and abroad, serving an international clientele. Alexandra is past President of the Organization for Professional Astrology, OPA, and served on its board of directors from 2007-2024, She has worked closely with ISAR and NCGR, and continues to serve local astrology groups. Alexandra helped create OPA’s signature PG program and CS curriculum, programs that remain close to her heart. She has been published in numerous astrological magazines, was a regular writer for The Mountain Astrologer, and contributed to OPA’s books, The Professional Astrologer and the new Essential Astrology coming out soon. Alexandra also leads sacred site tours in her beloved Greece where she now resides.
After the meeting, we will be going to lunch. All participants are welcome to join us. The lunch place will be announced at the meeting.
Please note this is a hybrid meeting: Our speaker will be lecturing via Zoom and will not be at the Encinitas Community Center. But you will be able to engage with Alexandra and ask questions.
If you’re joining us via Zoom, you will receive the Zoom link in a separate email. (Please note it may take several hours before you receive the Zoom link). This meeting will be recorded. All participants registered will receive a link to download the recording.
Or join us in person on November 21, 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm
Encinitas Community Center
1140 Oakcrest Park Dr.
Encinitas, CA 92024
(Cross-streets Encinitas Blvd. & Balour Dr.)
Cottonwood Room #120
Saturday, December 19, 2026, at 11 am PT
Uranus in Gemini – Tricksters, Twins, and Re-making the World
When the planet Uranus – known as the Awakener – moves through the sign of Gemini, the twins, we enter the terrain of opposites, siblings, and conspicuous pairings; invention and innovation; and all forms of communication, from lofty ideas both old and new, shared in deeply-involved conversations, to gossip whispered over the fence between neighbors or through text messages in group chat. Gemini is ruled by the ever-resourceful Mercury (Hermes), whose preference is the open road, to always be on the move. Mercury is also a formidable Trickster, leading us on (or leading us on?).
Today we find ourselves both on the move and at a rather profound crossroads. This webinar will look at what happens when Uranus enters and moves through Gemini. We will look at prominent Trickster figures, known to be disruptive and confusing and, importantly or improbably, the creators of culture. And we will look at various pairings of twins and siblings in mythology, including Prometheus (foresight) and Epimetheus (hindsight) – perhaps most important of all at this time, given that astrologers have identified rebellious, progressive, freedom-loving Prometheus as a particularly Uranian figure. Webinar includes a variety of chart examples as well as cultural and historical touchstones.
Bio
Shawn Nygaard is a professional astrologer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a Tutor for MISPA (Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology). He has been a speaker at many astrology conferences and the MN Jung Association. His writing has appeared in The Mountain Astrologer. Shawn hosts “Imagine That!”, a podcast focusing on archetypes and astrology. Influences include James Hillman, C.G. Jung, W.B. Yeats, Toni Morrison, music, and literature. Shawn is a graduate of CMED Institute, where he studied archetypes with Caroline Myss. He completed Thomas Moore’s year-long “Soul Psychology” program. Shawn is certified in Horary and Mundane astrology through the School of Traditional Astrology.
After the meeting, we will be going to lunch. All participants are welcome to join us. The lunch place will be announced at the meeting.
Please note this is a hybrid meeting: Our speaker will be lecturing via Zoom and will not be at the Encinitas Community Center. But you will be able to engage with Shawn and ask questions.
If you’re joining us via Zoom, you will receive the Zoom link in a separate email. (Please note it may take several hours before you receive the Zoom link). This meeting will be recorded. All participants registered will receive a link to download the recording.
Or join us in person on December 19, 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm
Encinitas Community Center
1140 Oakcrest Park Dr.
Encinitas, CA 92024
(Cross-streets Encinitas Blvd. & Balour Dr.)
Cottonwood Room #120
Saturday, January 16, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, February 20, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, March 20, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, April 17, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, May 15, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, June 19, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, July 17, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, August 21, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, September 18, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, October 16, 2027, at 11 am PT
My presentation is based on the content of two of my books, Manazil, 28 Mansions of the Moon, and Stars and Stones, an Astro-Magical Lapidary. The first, and major part of my presentation is concerned with the Lunar Mansions. I am planning to give an introduction of the subject, followed by an account of its historical development and later transmission into the West. The main focus is on the mansions’ astrological, but also talismanic use, whereby I will explain important topics, like the distinction between the boundaries of the tropical and the sidereal mansions, or the connection with their determinant fixed stars. l will then talk in detail about the most important mansions, their attributes and their common use. In this context, I will also touch on related subjects, like Geoffrey Chaucer’s use of the lunar mansions in his Canterbury Tales, or the myth of the so-called Royal Stars of Persia. Depending on how much time will be left after the first part, l will also introduce the audience to the subject of my book Stars and Stones before taking questions from the audience.
Peter Stockinger is a traditional astrologer with more than 35 years of professional experience, specialising in predictive techniques, drawn from medieval and Renaissance sources. Born in Austria in 1964, he first trained as a Cosmobiologist in Vienna before moving to Great Britain in 1998. There he focused intensively on the practical methods of English Renaissance masters, especially William Lilly, and shifted fully to traditional (classical) astrology. He has contributed articles to many journals, amongst them the Journal of the Astrological Association of Great Britain, and The Tradition journal. Peter has published five books to date, including Stars and Stones: An Astro-Magical Lapidary, and the recent Manazil: 28 Mansions of the Moon, and is currently working on a book about popes and their astrologers. He maintains an active practice offering natal, annual prediction, horary, electional, fertility, gemstone, and other specialised readings, and shares research as well as resources on his long-running Traditional Astrology Weblog. Based in Southport, UK, he is known for precise, historically grounded delineations that address practical questions of health, relationships, vocation, and timing.
After the meeting, we will be going to lunch. All participants are welcome to join us. The lunch place will be announced at the meeting.
Please note this is a hybrid meeting: Our speaker will be lecturing via Zoom and will not be at the Encinitas Community Center. But you will be able to engage with Peter and ask questions.
If you’re joining us via Zoom, you will receive the Zoom link in a separate email. (Please note it may take several hours before you receive the Zoom link). This meeting will be recorded. All participants registered will receive a link to download the recording.
Or join us in person on October 16, 2027, from 11 am to 1 pm
Encinitas Community Center
1140 Oakcrest Park Dr.
Encinitas, CA 92024
(Cross-streets Encinitas Blvd. & Balour Dr.)
Cottonwood Room #120
Saturday, November 20, 2027, at 11 am PT
Saturday, December 18, 2027, at 11 am PT