Astrologer Michelle Craft joins host Jenn Zahrt from Alameda, California! Join the two for a chat covering traditional astrology and more, including: a method-based, interactive way to make judgements; tracking the profection lord between the nativity and the solar return; and dispelling myths about Mesopotamian culture. Plus: medal-winning planetary extremes, considering the firdaria periods, and deus ex machina tropes!

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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 March 2025):

00:12 – Michelle Craft is a swimmer and astrologer living in Alameda, California. She primarily uses Medieval Islamicate techniques and Hellenistic traditions in her practice. Michelle especially loves to engage with predictive astrology. She has given talks for the Association of Young Astrologers and the San Francisco Astrological Society.

01:27 – Michelle’s first astrology book was Sun Signs by Linda Goodman.

04:56 – If Michelle could bring only three books to a deserted island, her first pick would be Abu Ali Al-Khayyat’s The Judgments of Nativities, translated by James H. Holden.

09:18 – Michelle’s second choice would be Abu Ma’shar’s Persian Nativities IV: On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities, translated by Benjamin Dykes.

11:31 – Interlude: Join the CAELi Support Drive and for only $35, you can enjoy your morning beverage out of a gorgeous CAELi mug!

13:37 – The third title Michelle would bring is The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture by Francesca Rochberg.

20:55 – For beginners, Michelle recommends On the Heavenly Spheres by Helena Avelar and Luis Campos Ribeiro, Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune by Chris Brennan, You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance by Chani Nicholas, and Mastering Traditional Astrology: A Depth of Beginning in the Celestial Art by Mychal Bryan.

24:12 – Find Michelle at her website: https://www.soulhealingwithmichelle.com/. On Instagram and Bluesky, her handle is @crystalsoulheal.

27:20 – 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 and production by Jen Braun of JJ Boots Productions LLC.