I had a chance to interview Thaya Edwards, our guest speaker for Guild’s monthly meeting on October 6, 2016; she will lecture on Practical Aspects for Medical Astrology. Thaya has been a member of the Guild since 2004. She is a Professional Astrologer who has been practicing Astrology for 28 years, first in Russia and then in Canada…Below are some of the questions I asked to her:
When did you start studying Astrology?
I began studying astrology in early ‘80s in the USSR.
What motivated you to study Astrology?
Well, I didn’t know much about astrology at that time, which is no surprise: activities like that were strictly forbidden in the Soviet Union. However, there were groups of people who didn’t follow the rules. We had some meet-ups, “underground” of course, when we managed to find speakers to tell us about energy healing, different religious and spiritual practices, etc. And once we were fortunate in finding a professional astrologer… That was the beginning of my 4-years fundamental studying.
What was the most difficult situation you encountered while studying Astrology in Russia?
We were fortunate to never have been discovered by the KGB: astrology was considered an anti-communist activity. However, for some reason I was never afraid. The lack of information bothered me the most. There were no books available. We had only our lectures and our experience. I wasn’t happy that we started learning forecasting only in the third year. However, now I see the merit of this type of education as it made us learn the subject through and through. That’s how I try to teach my students: first, signs, planets and elements and how they work together; and when they have properly digested them, we go to aspects, then to the houses etc, and only after that to forecasting. If given all that information at once, the poor students will have a mess in their heads.
Who were your mentors when you were studying Astrology?
Pavel Globa was my teacher. After perestroika he became very famous in Russia. His school now is called the Avestan Astrological School. I am glad that I studied in the early years because things with this school went from “very good” to “not so good”. As Russia is between West and East, our astrological school took the best from Western astrology as well as from Arabic and ancient Persian astrology, and even a bit of Vedic.
I had already been a professional astrologer for many years when I came to Canada. However, it was very difficult to start all over in the second language. Anne Massey helped me a lot. I am also very grateful to Chris McRae and Stephanie Clement. Stephanie did the editing of my book and gave me a lot of valuable suggestions. Unfortunately, this was her last editing… Nobody knew that she was terminally ill, not even Anne.
What motivated you to write a book about Medical Astrology?
I studied all aspects of astrology, but the medical aspect was one of the most fascinating to me. I started working with herbs a long time ago, and soon discovered that if herbs are collected and taken in the proper time – according to planetary positions – they become much more potent.
When I began working as an energy healer, medical astrology helped me a lot. It took me nine years to write this book. I guess I was not in a hurry I used some of my patients’ charts as examples in my book. I think knowledge about medical astrology is very important for people who wish to stay healthy and cure possible illnesses with naturopathy and energy healing.
How do you see Astrology 5 or 10 years from now?
I think that astrology will become more recognized and respected. The population in general is getting more spiritual, and astrology can help a lot in educating people about the ways of the Universe.
How do you see the Guild 5 or 10 years from now?
It is difficult to say. I joined the Guild in 2004 and I’ve never been that long with any other organization. I hope our Guild will survive and grow, but in order to do that we’ll need a lot of changes. I can see only two ways of managing an organization. One is having a strong leader who rules. It was like that with the Guild before, but I don’t think that will happen again. The second way is to form a group of devoted and honest people who will share the same ideas. Let’s see if we can manage that.
Have you encountered difficult clients? What’s your advice in dealing with them?
Of course, I have, although most of the “difficult” came from my psychic and healing practices, not from the astrological one. We need to explain in the very beginning what clients should expect from the reading, and mention that we don’t give advice; the decisions are theirs. I try to use as little of astrological slang as possible. And if you do counselling (and teaching), you will need a lot of patience. Do not be afraid to use the phrase: “I don’t know”, and don’t try to please. Even the most difficult clients become nicer if they trust you.
What’s your advice for upcoming Astrologers?
Usually when we learn something new, especially something as amazing as astrology, we are eager to share this knowledge. Be very careful with what you are saying. Be gentle with people. Always remember that wrong words can kill. Don’t try to help if you are not asked.