Award-winning astrologer Bear Ryver joins host Jenn Zahrt with tin can phone in hand from Olympia, WA! Together, the CAELi colleagues cover: book terrain, elemental imbalances, fixed stars, firdaria, Jupiter in Taurus, Sabian symbols, observational astronomy, degree theory, the Boomer-Millennial Saturn/Uranus connection, and more. All that, plus: dial-up modems, Battlestar Galactica philosophy, and… learning that dinner doesn’t always have to be an accomplishment!

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Transcripts available upon request.

Song “Wake Up” used with permission by The E-Block Band.

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Episode timestamps (conversation recorded Oct. 2023):

00:31 – Bear won the Organization for Professional Astrology’s Most Promising Astrologer award in 2018! As a queer astrologer with a focus on Intersectionality, Bear uses compassion and humor to help his clients hone strategies for grounded growth and embodied empowerment by bringing them back to the BASICS – bravery, authenticity, sovereignty, courage, and stewardship. Bear has lectured at conferences like NORWAC and ISAR. He holds certifications in Hellenistic, electional, and horary astrology, and was a teacher for the Portland School of Astrology.

01:16 – The first astrology book that Bear received was from his grandma! It was a little pocket astrology book about Leos (Bear and Grandma share that sign). Later, as a teen, Bear discovered two books by Stephen Arroyo: Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements: An Energy Approach to Astrology and Its Use in the Counseling Arts and Astrology, Karma & Transformation. Here’s to astrology-loving grandmas everywhere! (Bonus side conversation: Check out Temperament: Astrology's Forgotten Key by Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum.)

05:27 – If Bear were lost in the Olympic Mountains, what books would he bring? First up (and in order of print date), he would bring his 1911 copy of Star Lore of All Ages by William Tyler Olcott. Bear appreciates Olcott’s approach to cultural astronomy.

07:36 – Bear’s second choice is Abu Ma'shar Al-Balkhi’s Persian Nativities IV: On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities, translated by Benjamin Dykes. This is an essential text on timing techniques; Bear uses it when prepping for clients.

15:52 – Enjoy the conversational trip to Georgia Stathis’s Pushing Through Time: Synodic Cycles and Their Developing Phases and Robert P. Blaschke’s Sabian Aspect Orbs (Astrology: A Language of Life, Vol. 2). Both books cover synodic cycles!

17:56 – Interlude: Join CAELi  and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)

18:42 – Bear’s third selection is about lunar mansions and more: Shams al-Ma’arif: The Sun of Knowledge, An Arabic Grimoire: A Selected Translation by Ahmad ibn ‘Ali al-Buni and translated from the Arabic by Amina Inloes, PhD, with commentary and illustrations by J.M. Hamade. (And check out episode 27 from last week, J.M. Hamade: A Starry Tour Guide’s Travelogue!)

30:49 – Bear’s recommendations for beginners? For those who want to nerd out on history and do some homework, Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques by Demetra George is a wonderfully approachable entry point. For the super-duper newbie, check out Chani Nicholas’s You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance. A favorite of both Bear and Jenn is On the Heavenly Spheres by Helena Avelar and Luis Ribeiro. For the intermediate student, the previously mentioned Persian Nativities IV is a must. Finally, for those interested in history and mundane astrology, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View by Richard Tarnas is the one to have.

34:22 – Find Bear at his website: https://www.bearryver.com/. And his handle on social media is @bearryver.

35:05 – Thanks for listening to Within Orb! If you love the show, please help support it at no cost to you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review! And if you’d like to become a CAELi member or support our work with a contribution of any amount, we’d be delighted – thanks!

Show notes by Jen Braun, JJ Boots Productions LLC.