2018 FAA Conference Speaker Verena Bachmann
Verena Bachmann is an astrologer and psychotherapist, trained in Psychosynthesis and Gestalt, from Zürich, Switzerland. She has a private counselling practice, has written many articles, is author of the books in German, Mondknoten (The Lunar Nodes), Chiron, Macht des Weiblichen (Power of the Feminine) and is the co-author of Pluto. Verena is the director of SFER, a professional astrology school in Switzerland and together with her husband, Jeffe Anders, she has developed Awareness Training, a tool to enhance self-awareness. Verena has taught and lectured extensively in Europe, Australia and the US.
Website: http://www.sfer.ch/
Lectures
For lecture dates and times, please see the Conference Timetable
The Soulful Evolution of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto: from Collective to Individual
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are known as ‘transpersonal planets’; as trans-Saturnians their energies are often described as being beyond our human understanding. Until recently they were portrayed through mythological images or as collective powers or universal developments. Their influence on human lives seemed fated without the possibility to consciously participate in what was happening. Today we are aware of them like other planetary archetypes, as energies of the soul. In this lecture we will explore what this means for the individual.
Anima and Animus: Dancing with the Stars
As Lilith, the archetype of the Great Goddess, becomes reinstated into the collective, the old images of masculine and feminine energies have been transformed. After millennia of struggle for domination, the possibility to find new ways to work with gender and archetypal polarities is possible. How can we learn to dance with these energies and create a new and creative balance? In this lecture we will explore how this movement between the two polarities can enhance our understanding and expression of the planetary archetypes in our horoscope.
Saturn and Lilith in Capricorn: Authority and Structures in Times of Change
A shift in our perception of authority was apparent with the Uranus – Pluto conjunction in the 1960’s. It was this seed impulse that led to big shifts in our society. With Pluto entering Capricorn and its square to Uranus, the old structures broke apart; then with the Saturn – Neptune square, boundaries dissolved. With Saturn and Lilith in Capricorn we can no longer deny these substantial changes, neither can we go back to the old way. We are challenged in this time to find a new vision of authority and structure that can contain and sustain our deeply-changed world. In this lecture we will look at what is, and what is possible.
Pre-conference Workshop
Using Traumatic Experiences for Individual Growth and Development
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2018
Time: 10.00am
From early childhood and throughout our lives we experience many diverse traumas. Most people believe it best to avoid the possibility of any suffering when possible or if they have already experienced trauma, these are often recognized as the reason for unhappiness and lack of fulfilment. In this workshop we will look at traumatic experiences from a different perspective: as the raw material for our individual growth. When we become aware of our distressing experiences without being overwhelmed by them, able to contain their grief and sorrow, then we gain a deeper insight into their meaning. This deeper understanding involves acknowledging them as stories of our soul, which allows us insight and healing to free the blocked energies and use them as resources for our future.