Bruce: You began with Western astrology and then moved on to Vedic astrology. How did Vedic astrology become a better fit for your career as an astrologer?

Linda: I always admired the Western astrology system and its incorporation of modern psychology into its analyses, but I became frustrated by all of the exceptions to its own rules. I remember opening an astrology magazine one day, only to read that an author had decided to invent the fifteen-degree aspect between planets, and I just said, “I’m done. This is just too much.” I pulled away from astrology for a while and moved from New York to Florida, where I started learning about yoga. 

 

As I deepened my study of yoga I ran across an article that spoke about the upayas that Jyotish offered, and I realized that these remedial practices promised healthy responses to life challenges revealed in the chart. This understanding renewed my interest in the study of astrology—now in the form of Vedic astrology. In my experience Western astrology never included remedies in this way. I found that upayas provided hope and options for clients to participate actively in their growth process. It was wonderful to know that one did not have to wait for Saturn to move to a new position in transit to get relief. As a lover of mantra I was thrilled by the thought of being able to use japa and chanting to harmonize the planetary energies. I found this use of remedials to be right up my alley, assisting clients in their personal and spiritual growth.

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Jyotish also brought other benefits compared to my previous exposure to Western astrology. I very much appreciated the Vedic mythology associated with Jyotish chart readings and remedies. I was also drawn to the ancient teachings about the cosmology of Jyotish and about the great yugas of time. Though ancient in origin, these great truths of the past still feel valid for our own times.

 

Bruce: Did you have any trouble shifting from the tropical Western system to the sidereal Vedic astrology?

 

Linda: I had no difficulty at all shifting over to the sidereal system. I had always found a tendency toward inaccurate readings with the tropical system. As soon as I began working with the actual star position, I started to give surprisingly helpful interpretations. An example of this came up early in my Jyotish study when I looked at the charts of my siblings. The three of us were Taurus babies according to tropical astrology, and this never made sense to me. One of my feisty younger brothers turned out to be a professional boxer, and the other intentionally burned our house down. Myself, I was a good Catholic school girl who suddenly changed to an entirely different direction in her life. When I learned from Jyotish that Aries was the sign common to the three of us, suddenly it made sense—all that fire, all that wild assertiveness. I became very connected to Vedic astrology after that, and it has always given me readings that made sense with my clients.

 

Bruce: You mention Saturn in particular as you talk about upayas. What do you feel the influence of Saturn to be with your clients?

 

Linda: There is wisdom in Saturn. He is the real truth-giver of the nine planets. When clients start to understand Saturn’s contribution to their lives they begin to accept that they are not in charge of everything, that their sense of control is elusive. They realize that the rewards they enjoy in life depend on the hard work, the seva, of the Saturn influence. I feel very strongly that a client will find peace if he or she will work within the parameters of what Saturn is presenting to them. For me Saturn represents strict neutrality and objectivity, and in this context he is the inner guru. In my own life I had a lot of difficulty with my parents, but when I began to understand the Saturn movement toward detachment in my chart, I was able to encounter them in a more objective way.

 

Life balance is hard to find for many of my clients who are swayed this way and that by emotions. One day a romantic relationship feels great, but after a while it may feel more like imprisonment. Some clients base most of their life decisions on how they feel emotionally in the moment. I find that Saturn teaches a more enduring way to make choices and commitments, based on a deeper sense of reality and detachment. When clients realize that the ebb and flow of emotions may not be the truth of their lives, better balance begins to develop.

 

Bruce: How many years have you been practicing Vedic astrology, and how has your practice changed over that period of time?

Linda: I’ve been offering Jyotish readings for about thirty years. The world has changed significantly over that time and with it my practice of Vedic astrology has changed. In the earlier years my sessions were recorded on cassette tapes and hand carried to the post office. There are so many ways like this that the technology supporting Jyotish practice has changed dramatically. 

 

Also, I find that people’s interests have changed profoundly in the three decades of my work. In the beginning there was a sense of sacredness in the work, and people felt that they were on a path of life exploration. They readily accepted practices and homework, knowing that their benefit would arise from their own personal and spiritual work. Now people who come to me seem to be more interested in quick fixes. The multi-billion dollar wellness industry has given people a false perception that one must simply pay a fee or buy a product and the relief will be immediate. 

 

Many of my clients these days just don’t want to take the steps that real growth requires. They frequently try to place blame on others rather than taking responsibility to rectify their situation, and if personal growth is needed to resolve an issue, that’s someone else’s problem: a spouse, a boss, a parent, or a child. I also find fewer people who value and enjoy the esoteric and sacred knowledge and practices that are essential elements of Vedic studies. Again, the quick fix is what most clients are after. So often I get the sense from clients, “I’m paying you, so tell me what I want to hear. When will I get married, and when will I get rich?” I feel sadness about this shift away from the prior emphasis on sacred in the art of Jyotish.

Bruce: Who would you name as your most influential two or three teachers in your process of learning Vedic astrology? 

 

Linda: I’ve been very fortunate in studying both yoga and Vedic astrology under the guruluka system that flourishes in India, whereby teacher and student are in a close, long-term relationship. Dennis Flaherty has been my most influential teacher throughout my study of Jyotish. His knowledge is thoroughly grounded in Vedic astrological sources, but he is also able to translate this foundation into the cultural values and mores of our own time. My first formal course in Jyotish was the home-study program put together by Dr. David Frawley, and his course materials and books have had a profound impact on my career as an astrologer. And though I never met him, Bepin Behari influenced me and my Jyotish practice significantly through his insightful books, especially with his deep understanding of the nakshatras and the inner energetic aspects of Jyotish symbols. Behari managed to weave the ancient sacred knowledge together with practical principles of Jyotish for people in our own time.

Bruce: You have been a member of the Council of Vedic Astrology for many years. How has it served and supported your professional growth and astrology practice?

Linda: My first introduction to the CVA was in Sedona, Arizona about thirty years ago. It was a requirement for CVA certification to attend at least one Jyotish conference, and I got a lot out of it. I found the content of the lectures enlightening, and the conversations with gathered participants gave me a sense of belonging as a member of a professional Jyotish community. The CVA set rigorous standards for certification, and I felt confident that the process of learning and the certificate itself had been excellent preparation to work with clients. I appreciated that aspirants to certification were expected to learn the practical details and grasp the concepts in a deep and traditional way, demonstrated finally in formal examination and chart review. This was very much at odds with the haphazard approach to learning that I saw in some of my peers in the yoga community. At one point, many years ago, Dennis Flaherty asked me to represent the CVA at a conference in Rhode Island, where Dr. David Frawley, also a CVA member, was giving a plenary session lecture. It was the second time I had seen Dr. Frawley in person in a public setting, and I was struck by the energy and joy that filled him as he spoke to the group. I know that he is an important teacher and role model for many of us.

Bruce: You have trained in yoga as well as Jyotish. How have you used yoga and other Vedic tools to assist your Vedic astrology clients?

Linda: Clients frequently reach out to me when they are struggling with anxiety, despair and confusion, asking for help finding relief for their distress and resolution for the life situations that caused it. My yoga training has shown me that many just need to breathe in a relaxed way for a few minutes to begin to feel better immediately, and clients learn that intentional breath is a tool they can use to comfort themselves anytime. Many also find relief and benefit when I suggest that they pay attention to the state of their nervous system and the feelings in their body. Again they calm right down and life feels less burdensome to them. 

 

My training in yoga emphasizes simplicity and ease, naturally leading to relaxation and wellbeing. I teach clients that they can find relief and healing even if they breathe easily for just three minutes. This and other simple pranayama practices are well received by them, and over time they begin to notice how good this natural approach feels and how much they are helping themselves. 

 

Meditation is a powerful tool from the Vedic tradition, but I find that few people are willing to make a commitment to a regular meditation practice. I find that many clients have mistaken notions of meditation, that they must strive and concentrate in the process—of course, they don’t even begin to relax. Many misconstrue meditation guidance they have heard prior to meeting with me, such as meditating with perfect posture and holding still for a set amount of time. By the time many clients get to me, they consider themselves a yogic failure. The key for them is to embrace a greater ease in the practice.

 

There is one meditation-related practice that has been of great value to my clients, many of whom are in a significant amount of pain and suffering. Tonglen is a Buddhist teaching that quickly helps to bring comfort, and I offer it regularly to my clients. When a client is feeling panic or experiencing hurt physically or emotionally, I ask them to inhale that feeling into the heart and then to exhale with compassion for everybody in the world who is suffering in a similar way. Shifting the self-suffering to an other-oriented compassion changes the state of their nervous system from tightness and pain to relaxation and comfort. Quickly their own burden is lessened. 

 

One of my clients was in distress when she came to me. Her daughter had just died, and she was experiencing shock and anguish. Before I did anything else I brought her into the Tonglen process to calm her. For a long time after that she continued the practice to work through her grief, and in the end she said that Tonglen had kept her from “going over the edge.”
 

When I am reading a client’s chart I correlate the five elements related to the planets and signs with the role of these elements in ayurveda. When I see a client who is having a hard time in his or her life, perhaps agitation or irritability signified by the role Mars is playing in their chart, I share with them the ayurvedic perspective. People readily understand my explanation that the intensity of fire in the chart, for example, can be alleviated by turning to food and activities that reduce that imbalance. Often I am able to counsel someone to obtain basic blood work from their doctor because their chart shows an imbalance that appears to be causing symptoms. The principles of ayurveda work well in conjunction with the chart interpretation to support the client’s improving health—especially preventive health strategies. In a similar way I also use the chakras to correlate health challenges suggested by the chart with opportunities for chakra-related energy work in my clients.

Bruce: Some astrologers and their clients see Vedic astrology primarily as a tool for predicting the future. Others use the tools more to support their clients’ self-understanding and growth. Which of these is more true of your own Vedic astrology practice? 

 

Linda: Ultimately one needs to have tools to respond to life’s challenges and opportunities in creative ways. Sadly, we were not given a tool kit when we began our lives. What my clients are primarily looking for in our sessions are practical things they can do no matter what patterns are showing up in their chart and what life throws into play for them. With effective tools my clients grow to be more able to control their own life processes, whether in relationships, work settings or simply finding happiness. Clients appreciate the sense of being empowered by my work with them, making their own choices, rather than depending on me to predict what’s going to happen and essentially make the choices for them. 

 

That said, I do find that forecasting for and with my clients is a very useful approach, much as a meteorological forecast helps to guide people toward activities that will be supported by the weather report. In this sense I bring my client’s attention to the active planetary period, dasha and bhukti especially. No less important are the current transits of the planets and their relationship to the dasha and the birth chart. I also find it useful to see what the Jyotish forecast may look like in the midst of major life situations that arise with my clients. Determining auspicious dates for travel, job changes and relationship issues can be helpful, including what variety of complex planetary influences may become part of those experiences. 

 

Although the Jyotish tools can help to forecast the weather, figuratively speaking, it’s up to the client to put on the rain coat. Some clients are dismayed that I leave the onus of decisions with them and that I will not make precise predictions for them. One law student wanted to know urgently the exact date when they would pass the bar exam, and I told him it would especially depend on when and how hard he prepared for the exam. 

 

With my urging many clients have been able to look back and see the cycles in their lives related to cyclic patterns in the chart. For instance, every eighteen years, Rahu comes back to his natal position, causing something of a transformative storm in the client’s life. I invite them to remember what it was like when Rahu was in this position before—what did they feel and what happened in their life back then? I ask them to project forward to the current time how they had been challenged at that time and what seemed to work for them then. Clients can then anticipate similar challenges and opportunities in any future Rahu return, without any predictions from me. I appreciate how Dennis Flaherty refers to this practice as “predicting the past,” when the astrological factors of a previous time cycle come back around in the chart, become relevant once again. My clients find that this practice helps to make sense of their lives, to prepare for the future, and to avoid falling into the same pitfalls they did in the past. It helps them overcome the anxiety of future uncertainty as they relax into the awareness of cycles, replacing the stress of chaos with the greater sense of order that Jyotish affords.

Bruce: I sense in several of your responses that you bring hope to your clients, often when they are feeling hopeless. And I noticed that your name on your email is not Linda Callanan but Lilac Hope. Can you say more about this?

 

Linda: Lilac Hope isn’t a name I’ve chosen for myself, as such. I developed the name over a period of time. The story begins when a rather offensive acquaintance of my daughter was using my computer, and in the end he demolished it. I had no way to retrieve all the information, readings, and other materials I needed for my Jyotish practice. So when I got a new computer I decided to create an entirely new website for my Jyotish work. The name I chose for this website was Lilac Hope.

 

Early in my life, as I mentioned before, there was a great deal of chaos and hardship. Every single night I was disturbed by the yelling and mean-spirited people that surrounded me, and though I grew up in this upsetting environment, I have always been a peace-loving person. It was difficult for me to put up with the violent and tumultuous environment, day after day, year after year. The saving grace for me was a tree outside of my window, a lilac tree. Every year the lilacs came out, and for a while everything would feel all right. I opened the window and would gaze at and smell the beautiful lilac blossoms. 

 

It gave me a sense of order, the way the lilacs would blossom in the spring year after year, and that’s what I needed: a sense of order, the steady cycling of the seasons, and the feeling that there is always hope. It is the same experience of order and hope that I felt when I encountered astrology, and my dharma in Jyotish is an attempt to invite my clients to this grounding sense of hope, order and beauty that I found in the lilacs outside my window. Spring will come again, and again the lilacs will display their beauty and fragrance, confirming hope and order in a frequently chaotic world.

Bruce: You have a rich experience over three decades supporting people’s growth with Vedic astrology. Where some astrologers are drawn more into research, teaching or writing articles and books, your central gift or purpose seems to be the way you help people, directly and compassionately. Would you share the story of your helping relationship with a client or two clients from your Jyotish practice?  

 

Linda: There are times when you meet clients who are very ready for the deeper personal and spiritual work that is possible with the practice of Vedic astrology. This was just what happened with my clients Maury and David (not their actual names). It was a joy for me, and I could give them deeper support because of their connection with Vedic knowledge and practices.

 

I did chart readings with Maury for a few years before I met David. Maury’s job work centered in Chicago where he was in charge of an organization that provided housing to people living with HIV illnesses, long before science had discovered the effective medicines to treat them. When it was finally possible to medically manage the HIV conditions, the support housing that Maury helped to provide was less necessary, and I worked with him to shift his career toward other life purposes. Because his experience with the HIV crisis had oriented him toward the role of medicines in healing, he found opportunities for work as an administrator in the pharmaceutical industry. I had noticed in his Jyotish chart that Mars (ruler of his tenth house) was placed in his sixth house in the sign of Sagittarius. Furthermore, the exalted Jupiter in his first house helped give him an easy grasp of the science behind the medicines and their roles in the healing process. My astrology readings didn’t push Maury in this direction, but it helped him see in his chart that he had an aptitude for a pharmaceutical vocation and that serving in health and healing work was dharmic for him. He became very successful as a pharmaceutical executive.

 

I met David through Maury, shortly after they were engaged to be married. I saw in David’s chart that he was entering his Mars dasa and that Mars was debilitated in his chart. That first year was difficult and ultimately life changing for David, and he found the Jyotish support to be essential to him during this difficult time of transition. One of the biggest changes that year was that David met his future husband, Maury, at a Vedic ashram, where David had lived for almost seven years. A second profound change came a few months after they met, when David left the ashram due to intense conflicts with the guru’s wife. David was particularly devastated with this sudden separation from the ashram because he has a beautiful ninth house in his chart, and he had felt that he had found a life-long spiritual home in the ashram. David never even named that spiritual organization as I worked with him, probably due to the Gemini influence on his ninth house. But the greatest gift of this ninth house was his ability to distinguish the poor treatment he received at the ashram from the truth of the Vedic teachings, which continued to be of utmost importance to him.

 

David was able to connect the disappointment with the ashram to the planetary period of Mars. He realized that part of his healing from this episode required him to become very active in service, putting his Mars energies to work. The Mars dasha also helped him come to terms with his father, who did not always approve of David’s choices. When David’s Rahu dasa arrived his father became ill, and David became his hospice care giver and family support person. Past difficulties between father and son were settled between them well before the time of his father’s death. David’s background in the Vedic teachings made him a joy for me to work with, and he has easily grasped the role of planets in his chart and the concept of karma in his life.

 

Maury brings financial stability and health benefits to the thriving partners with his corporate pharmaceutical position. Maury also steadies David’s Mars, especially a tendency toward risk taking and impulsiveness, because  Maury’s exalted Jupiter in Cancer directly influences David’s Mars in Cancer. Maury plans to leave the corporate world as soon as he is confident in the their financial stability. 

 

For many years both of them have dreamed of developing a resort, hotel or center to host wellness and spirituality retreats. Currently, they are looking for a permanent place in Vermont. David has become a successful life coach, helping others to be at peace and in joy with their sexuality. With high energy and good will David shares his knowledge and optimism to clients in his workshops, books and podcasts, setting the stage for more of the same when the retreat center is established. 

 

Because Maury was also part of the yoga organization where he met David, Maury has a good grasp of the Vedic teachings. This knowledge has been helpful to Maury, especially in the context of his busy pharmaceutical career, to keep his own sense of purpose and dreams for a spiritual retreat center alive. 

 

Money is a potential point of conflict for them. Both have Saturn in the 2nd house of money. For Maury Saturn is also conjunct Rahu, which can cause him some anxiety over finances. David with a Scorpio Saturn in the second house can stubbornly push back on having to delay dreams for financial considerations. With an understanding of their charts, both have been able to experience the Saturn influence as their teacher, and they have learned to balance David’s enthusiasm with Maury’s fiscal conservatism. Again, with the support of astrology, chaos gives way to balance and order.

 

Maury’s Venus adds to his compassionate approach to life, and he is also aware that teaching and elevating others is dharmic for him. With his continuing dream of the retreat center, I believe that Maury will soon take the leap of faith to leave the corporate pharmaceutical career completely. 

 

Maury is currently going through his Saturn dasa which might cause delays in their move, but will ultimately bring stability to the partners’ financial life. Maury has Venus in Libra in the fourth house. The energy of that Venus, aspected by Saturn, has opened his interest in sound healing. Venus is in the fourth house of home, rules the fourth chakra as well as the eleventh house of entertainment and entrepreneurship. I suspect that once the new center is established Maury will become a strong healer for others as well as for himself. No doubt he will continue to take care of the finances, with his Saturn/Rahu conjunction, to ensure that the retreat center is profitable. 

I have appreciated working with Maury and David. They exemplify what I have always been seeking with Vedic astrology—finding the order in chaos. In these very unsettled times, Maury and David chose to cherish the sacred Vedic teachings. They chose to do the hard work with the sometimes disorienting, unbalancing energies they faced, rather than to push against them or to complain about them. They have persisted with the rhythm of their charts to establish a sustainable, dharmic and peaceful life. 

Bruce: Thank you for sharing in depth this story of these two remarkable people. You supported them, counseled them and taught them along the way. I would say that you empowered them to make the choices that are leading to their success. Speaking more generally now, is there an overall purpose, quality or tone that you try to bring to your Vedic astrology clients? 

 

Linda: I have a second house Moon in Cancer, and therefore find it easy to speak with hope and positivity to my clients. Although this is a core strength in my work with people, the very wise Dennis Flaherty advised me long ago to be cautious about giving false hope. I’ve paid attention to that because sometimes people can be very fragile, hearing only what they most want to hear. They may miss the truth of obstacles and challenges that I’m trying to convey in the context of the soft, encouraging words that flow so easily from my Cancer Moon. While I always try to help people see some light and positivity in their chart and in their life journey, I also strive to help them to realize the whole truth of their situation, including both the positive and the more challenging realities. At this time in our Western culture most people want everything to happen quickly, and they don’t always have an understanding of concepts like karma, dharma and importance of learning from both the easy lessons and the harder ones. So I would say that this is the overall tone in my work with people, balancing encouragement with the need for learning and growth.  

 

I find great enjoyment working with the younger generation of clients. They have grown up in fraught times, and are already quite open to talking about the obstacles in their lives. They know that life is not always a walk in the park. They seem to respond very well to the balance of optimism and realism that I intend with my Jyotish practice.

 

Bruce: Thank you for your candid sharing, Linda. Your work as a Vedic astrologer, as a Vedic counselor really, is a model for us all.

 

Linda: It was an honor to be invited by the CVA for this conversation. My sincere hope for Vedic astrology in our time is that more of our clients return to the sacred dimensions of this work, finding growth in self-understanding and self-realization.