Erin Sullivan

LONG BIO

Erin Sullivan (1947 - ) was born in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and began her education immediately: "People, and why they do what they do". She was a voice in the consciousness movement in the 1960's both personally and collectively.

And, she continues to this day to work to infuse a sense of larger perspective and consciousness into her writing, studies, lectures, workshops and her books.

She has been called "The Astrologers' Astrologer" . . . likely because her vocation to astrology has been her primary work and focus since the early 1960's - she began her depth practice and conferencing in 1972. While, still and always augmenting that vocation with other 'important information'.

The British Columbia Astrological Society was formed in Vancouver speared by Erin and a few others in 1972. She created "The Ecliptic" - an astrological journal - one of two journals of astrology Canada - and was its editor for years, then "Behind the Tweed Curtain" (the Vancouver Island Astrological Society) was born as its own journal (Erin: I actually found copies of these journals in the library of the Astrological Association of Great Britain when I moved to London in 1989!)

That was when I really began to take authorship as a vocation very seriously, though I was not a great writer, just an original thinker with the desire to share ideas . . . that took place over many years.

The Cold Mountain Institute was founded in BC, Cortes Island in by Richard Weaver, primarily a Gestalt retreat center; it was purchased by Rex Wyler and c 30 friends/therapists in 1980 and around 1982, Erin became involved and taught special retreat sessions on basics of astrological archetypes.

It was then her commitment to the human experience, its unique paradigms and the social consciousness so strongly awakened in the 1960's became a professional activity. Erin is very focussed and idealistic at the same time, and fuses with perfect synthesis, her astrology, mythology, psychology and archetypal philosophy.

More on the very Early Influences on Erin's :

From Vancouver School of Art in 1964 (now Emily Carr Granville Island, Vancouver) she moved toward "motion art" - creating the now iconic light shows for major rock bands starting in 1965 . . . in Vancouver, as the "TransEuphoric Express" and then in San Francisco. Her group of friends and tribal associates (to this day) The Hog Farm, starting out in LA, also had a light show group in which she became integrally involved "The Single Wing Turqoise Bird".

From there, that group did the lights for the Shrine auditorium for a couple of incredible years, for The Who, Cream, Velvet Underground, J.Airplane, Grateful Dead, well, basically everyone

As part of the 'avante gard' for setting up the Woodstock Festival - in Sullivan County by chance - Erin married early, had a 6 month old daughter who went with the early builders in late August 1969 - in the Road Hog, which was driven from Santa Fe, New Mexico, eventually to White Lake New York, thence Max Yasgur's farm to be precise. Erin set up the "childrens' safety-play-eat" retreat in the Hog Farm compound on the Woodstock Grounds. Many stories from there! Wavy Gravy and team were the Sullivan County assistant police - They seconded us as security . . . the "Please Force" - as Wavy said - "my god, we're the cops!"

THE WHOLE EARTH CATALOGUE Ah, yes, then there was the trip to Stockholm in the summer 1972, June 21 - yes no darkness there then, and us with an outdoor "light show" ) . . . and the Holy Model Rounders . . . so old!

Anyway thanks to Steward Brand and Wavy Gravy, a small core of us Hog Farm flew over to Stockholm from San Francisco/Berkeley, to take part in The United Nations Meeting on what was to be "The discussion on Whaling" with the intention, of course, of shutting down whaling . . well, the Chinese didn't arrive, nor the Russians, so the discussion was not long and did not end as one wanted.

However we did send our propane powered bus over to Stockholm and in the parade: covered in black plastic, and the name "Maybe Dick" painted on the side, parading down Central Stockholm. (When the Swedish govt. saw "who we were" we were give an entire defunct airstrip/landing ground to set up . . . with all their army equipment, stoves, tents, vehicles, guards and so on!

Amazing . . .

Later . . . in mid-1980's when her daughter's were teens and in high school in Victoria, BC, Erin needed more, she needed to go to different places in the mind to create and to build her fascination and expertise with astrology.

So, she studied Classics at University of Victoria, a few science electives: solar system and deep sky astronomy - all of which simply fed her worldview and and psychological / astrological interests. The Tragedies, Philosophies, the Mythology, and the shift that took place in the ancient western world became a source for more original ideas - in cultural myth and in astrological grounding!

I have to give my especial gratitude to dear Peter Smith (Latin) and Gordon Shrimpton (History) and the faculty of the U-Vic Classics Dept. who "taught me to write good English well."

Erin's background in Ancient Greek Classics, Renaissance enlightenment (and the Inquisition!) as well as her broad interest in "belief systems" and how they form over millennia and into the immediate, she remains focussed on the human condition - the depth of the psyche to the expanse of the heavens.

Because she has a good grip on the technical aspects of astrology, and other world views, along with her ability to work in collusion with others - and was writing her first book, as well - she was headhunted for the position of the Series Editor for Penguin, Arkana, Contemporary Astrology Series in London UK . Which she did from its inception through its ending: from 1988 through 2002.

It was during this rich, wonderful, ideal, fantastic time in her life, that she also underwent ten years of Jungian Analysis for ten years with Ean Begg in Chelsea Harbour aboard his home/office houseboat; and also studied with him the depths of archetypal psychology and the power of the psyche and the dream and the depths of the soul.

She has won Awards from the Fraternity for Canadian Astrologers (4), has lectured for the London Lodge, A The Faculty of Astrological Studies, London, was a supervision tutor and one of the main faculty for the Centre for Psychological Studies - founded by Howard Sasportas and Liz Green in the early 1980's throughout her 14 years in London (1989-2003).

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Because of Arkana, and Robin Waterfield as editor, and David Stanford Viking/Penguin senior editor, in New York, as commissioning editor, Erin was able to create the authorship of books for the Contemporary Astrology Series, Arkana - bringing some of the best minds in the astrological field to publication. Not only in the UK but also Europe, Australia and the US - in all, commissioning and publishing over 30 seriously great books, and later editing ten ad hoc.

She published her first three books, "Saturn in Transit 1991"; "Retrograde Planets": 1992 (considered a "breakthrough book" showing both the technical hence the meaning of retrogression); and The Astrology of Family Dynamics": 1995. All with Arkana. and now with Samuel Weiser Books (RedWheelWeiser).

Her other two books with the 'Centre for Psychological Astrology' were published in that period too, 1995-7: Jupiter and Venus: "Bridging the ideal and the Real". As well as "Astro*Carto*Graphy and Relocation charts" - recommended as "the book to have" on Astrodienst website.

Her most recent book, "The Astrology of Midlife and Aging" was commissioned by Tarcher Books (Penguin NY) editor Mitch Horowitz, and was published in 2005.

She has also created a truly personal book/report - "Your Personal Heroic Journey" (2002)

The transit of the planet Saturn demarcates the Heroic Journey that Joseph Campbell wrote in his 1948 Hero with a Thousand Faces. The structure of the Hero's journey is consistent (wow!) with the Four Stages of the Hero and his (her) archetypal, mythological, psychological and astrological passages.

Her report is written in her inimitable style, technically astounding. . . while giving good perspective on "where one is at" - delineating the transit of Saturn around the entire horoscope over 29 year cycles.

In fact, the report is precise, showing the Saturn Transit around "your" horoscope three times (90 years) over each angle, whereupon we find ourselves in Threshold transitions that are locked into the Saturn Transit/Heroic Journey.

Robertson Davies, a Canadian Author and Prof Emeritus at Kings in Toronto University, was one of the people who took part in the research for this report, and it was verbatim from him, *blind test, to the idea underlying the Personal Heroic Journey. Available in her web store.

From London Erin also lectured bi-monthly in Zurich for the CPA - Alois Triendl of Astrodienst being the "Swiss Connection".

And from that world centre of London, she lectured more frequently world wide, earning an international reputation. Too, having lived in many cultures around the world, she has an international astrology consulting practice and her work with people is highly regarded.

Erin continues to lecture at main conferences, and teach and lead workshops all over the world. She began her webinar online teaching in around 2005 and now has hundreds of mp3's of classes, courses and seminars on her site to purchase in her store.

Her articles span all the journals and Astrology magazines now, for over 40 years!

***In 2013 Erin taught a full Training Course to "live students" of 3 modules 6 classes each with students on Webinar platforms.

1. Working with Astrology: Principles and Practice in Contemporary Astrology

***In 2015 she taught another "live" full Training Course of 3 modules 3 2hr classes each.

2. Archetypal Psychological Astrology in Contemporary Practice. A course rich in Classical mythology, contemporary astrology, archetypal psychology.

Both Training Courses are now available in her website store as the original power point presentations - beautiful visuals and archetypal images for each topic.- and teaching.

The two courses are now self-directed, distance learning courses, with an option for tutorials with Erin, and also with a self-designed special project/s giving the student full Certification in one or both of the Courses.

Erin continues to practice her consulting work with clients all over the world, thanks to Skype! Thus her global astrology practice flourishes.

She resides both in Victoria, BC, Canada and Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. She has two lovely daughters, and three fantastic grown grand children . . . - 16 - 18 - 20 (as of 2017) the source of all life and joy - and the Future!