Astrologer, artist, and writer Nate Speare joins host Jenn Zahrt from Brooklyn, NY in a fun episode covering Nate’s wide-ranging list of astrology (and non-astrology) books they’d bring to a deserted island! Pack your little green suitcase and join the duo in a discussion of: the value of mythology and storytelling; challenging anthropological and historical assumptions about humanity; astrological magic and remediation; the teleological reality of living into the soul’s code; tertiary progressions, and much more! Plus: insatiable longing and the 8th house, the fluidity of identity, and cosmic lobsters abound!

Visit CAELi’s Within Orb pod page!

Learn more about the CAELi Institute.

Visit our bookshop.org page to support CAELi and purchase books mentioned on the show!

Become a CAELi member or renew your membership!

Love the show? Support our work with a financial contribution or book donation.

Follow CAELi on FB, IG, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Transcripts available upon request.

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

*****

Episode timestamps (conversation recorded November 2024):

00:31 – Nate Speare (M.F.A.) is a multidisciplinary artist, astrologer and writer. Their work offers generative possibilities of revisioning life, within and through: therapeutic storytelling, shadow work, pleasure-centered bodywork, unblocking creativity through vocal magic, and astrological approaches to sex and desire (Astro-Erotics), and to the unfoldment of the soul’s code of their readers and clients. Their therapeutic storytelling work has been featured at the United Nations and in programs for public school students living with a disability and incarcerated men at Rikers Island. Their practice, Weird Astro Body, includes client work, performances, and writings. They are co-artistic director of Nekyia Theatre and live and work in Brooklyn, NY.

02:12 – At age eight, the book that got Nate started was The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider. But their first serious astrological books included Jungian Symbolism in Astrology and The Heavens Declare: Astrological Ages and the Evolution of Consciousness – both by Alice Howell – and Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil by Liz Greene. Finally, Nate includes a book titled Aspects: A New Approach to Understanding the Planetary Relationships in Your Chart (from the Special Topics in Astrology series) by Robin Antepara.

05:35 – If Nate could bring only three books to a deserted island, their first pick would be Myth Atlas: Maps and Monsters, Heroes and Gods from Twelve Mythological Worlds by Thiago de Moraes. (And a weird fiction and science fiction shout-out goes to authors Jeff VanderMeer and Ursula K. Le Guin!)

08:00 – Nate’s second choice would be The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow.

08:43 – The third title Nate would bring is Astrology and Your Vital Force: Healing with Cosmic Rays and DNA Resonance by Judith Hill.

09:44 – Sneaking in a fourth book, Nate offers Astrological Remediation: A Guide for the Modern Practitioner by Andrea Gehrz.

09:58 – Interlude: Join CAELi and snag yourself a Saturn stress-relief ball. (Yes, you read that right!)

10:45 – Giving a nod to their gateway into astrology, Nate mentions authors James Hillman, Rafael López-Pedraza, and Joseph Campbell. Also, a hat tip goes to Ensoulment by Porphyry of Tyre, with Sara Beth Brooks (editor) and Andrea Gehrz (translator).

26:38 – For beginners, Nate recommends: Experiential Astrology: From the Map to the Territory by Antero Alli; The Shamanic Astrology Handbook by Daniel Giamario, with Cayelin Castell; and Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle by Rob Brezsny.

31:13 – Find Nate at their website: https://www.weirdastrobody.com/. On social, you can find Nate: @weird.astro.body (IG and TikTok); @NateSpeare (FB); and Wyrd Astro Body (Substack). And check out their Kickstarter page!

32:22 – 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.