OK, then.  Moving on….I guess it might surprise some of you to know that most people are not born tiny baby astrologers.  I had to learn astrology like everyone else.  I was, however, born a tiny baby psychic.  Kind of.  I was sort of raised as a psychic by my grandmother, who was also a psychic. So I have been doing readings a very long time.  I started when I was about 4 or 5 years old.  My grandmother noticed that I seemed to just “know” things and, as she was a psychic reader (and a nurse/healer, by trade), she let me do something she never ever let anyone else do.  Not even her own children or her other grandchildren.  She let me sit on the floor at the side of her chair, and, if I were very very quiet, she let me watch her read for the people that came to her.  That was pretty magical to me and that’s how I got started.  At first I just watched and listened.  Then after the readings Gram would sort of just ask me what I thought about this or that bit of information that she had told her clients and that’s when the fun started.  That’s when I got to add my own 2 cents.  At first I thought I was just making up stories.  And Gram  didn’t say much at first, so I didn’t know if she liked my stories or not.  But after awhile she let me know that some of things I had noticed were correct or had come to pass. And that’s when I first learned that the things I saw weren’t just my imagination.

She had me practice on plants and animals for a few years before she let me do actual readings for real live people.  I had to tell her which plants were thirsty or which animals felt sickly, things like that.  Mostly I read for her many, many cats.  She was very fond of cats and was always taking in strays. Being a nurse she had very interesting names for some of her pets.  She had two nearly all black cats that were hard to see at night and so she named them “Ether” and “LightsOut.”  Then there were the identical twins: “Pete” and “RePete.”  She spoke fluent German and her favorite cat was called “ZucreKatzen” which I think meant sweetcat or sugarkitty.

Along the way, Gram and I played a lot of fun games together.  Like the “what’s the lady in front of us on the bus thinking?” game, or the “what does the color Green feel like if you close your eyes and taste it” game.   That one was my favorite game because she used m&m’s (PS-for those of you who may be wondering, green “tastes” like spring and new growing things and babies and I always see that color if someone is pregnant).  I didn’t know then that Gram was trying to develop my “sight” as she called it.  Getting me to see without my eyes and taste without my tongue and reach out and feel without my hands.  Mostly I just thought I was having fun with my gram.  And who wouldn’t want to do that?  So it all developed very naturally.  Gram didn’t know astrology¬—I doubt she even knew that word¬—but she did know a lot about the moon.  She always knew whether the moon was full or new and she let me know that some things worked out better at certain times of the month.  For instance, we always got our hair cut on the waning moon (as the moon was loosing light) and we never jarred jam around the time of the full moon (because some of the jars would burst).  So she did watch the night sky even if she didn’t know about all the planets.

My dad knew all the constellations however, and told me about them when I was about 13.  I still remember the first time.  It was the 4th of July and me and dad and my brother Don were laying on our backs on a big blanket up on the roof watching the fireworks and eating Ritz crackers (one of his favorites).  After awhile the fireworks dyed down and my little brother fell asleep. We could see the sky very clearly from our perch there on the roof and all of a sudden my dad just started pointing out the different constellations as they rose (if you watch the night sky long enough you’ll see several constellations go by).  And he knew the names of all the stars.  Now, my dad was a man of few words.  He wasn’t a “gabber” so to speak.  So when he talked like that you sort of paid close attention.  Anyway, that night was a major revelation to me. That’s when I first realized that the heavens were organized and that the stars had names.  And stories!  Gods and Goddesses and Animals are in the heavens and they each have a story to tell. And their stories are our stories and the whole thing just blew me away.  I was beyond amazed.  I started studying astrology soon after that.  And I’ve been studying astrology ever since.  It’s one of those rare topics that never gets old, and since you can never hope to know all of it, I’m never bored.

So, I am very happy to be an astrologer, or perhaps you would more accurately call me a psychic astrologer.  I was a psychic first, so it’s kind of just a part of me I guess.  But I am also other things.  I quilt and knit and crochet and love to make things.  I own an obscene amount of fabric and I’m lucky enough to have a friend who spins me yarn.  How cool is that?  But, after reading for people for over 30 years, I can honestly say that the most fortunate thing about me is that I know exactly who I am.  I am a messenger. You would be surprised at just how many people end up confused about who they are.  And that is exactly where astrology can be extremely helpful.  Your chart doesn’t always tell me exactly what job you work at.  But I probably know what you wished you worked at.  And your chart does tell me what your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as your talents and abilities, and sometimes it even shows why you came here.  Ah yes, and let’s not forget karma.  What could be more interesting than that?   I have the best job EVER!