Diploma Program
Professional Astrologer
Training and Certification
YEAR TWO COURSES
Start from the beginning and work towards certification OR take only the courses you’re interested in and study at your own pace.
Course 1: Major Aspects
Instructors: Kelly Surtees, Jason Holley, Tony Howard, and Mark Jones
Learn how to use one of the most important building blocks of astrological analysis as we uncover the symbolism of the 6 major aspects: Conjunction, Opposition, Square, Sextile, Trine, and Quincunx. You’ll hear from four different instructors who will introduce you to psychological, mythic and traditional approaches to interpreting these aspects. We will cover aspect theory as well as application through chart examples featuring each of the 6 major aspects.
Required text: Aspects in Astrology by Sue Tompkins
Supplemental Text: Aspects and Personality by Karen Hamaker-Zondag
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, four pre-recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio and handouts are available to view and/or download.
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 2: Understanding the Four Angles
Instructors: Darby Costello and Tony Howard
In this course we will explore the four angles – powerful points in our chart that constellate energy. Sometimes called “the cross of matter”, these angles can be understood as points through which core energetics in our life manifest – from our home environment, to how we meet the world and step into life, to our life’s mission or career, to how we meet “the other”.
We’ll learn the meanings of the IC, the Ascendant, the MC and the Descendant. We’ll discover how to interpret those points through their signs and also the planets ruling those signs.
Required texts: Incarnation: The Four Angles and the Moon’s Nodes by Melanie Reinhart and The Midheaven: Spotlight on Success by Frank Clifford (ebook available as part of The Astrology Quartet)
Course includes: 7+ hours of instruction, four recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio and handouts are available to view and/or download. Course also includes a bonus lesson with Safron Rossi on the “gatekeeper” archetype.
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 3: Inner and Outer Planets in Combination – When the Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary
Instructors: Jessica Murray
The personal planets take on transpersonal power when they interact with the three outer planets. In this course, Jessica looks at what happens to Mercury, Venus and Mars when they are in major aspect with Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. She talks about how to approach these aspects in a natal chart as well as what to expect from their transits, from psychological and spiritual points of view.
Required Text: Astrology, Karma and Transformation by Stephen Arroyo
Supplemental Texts: Aspects and Personality by Karen Hamaker-Zondag and The Inner Planets by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas
Additional Text for Further Study: The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption by Liz Greene
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, four pre-recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio and handouts are available to view and/or download.
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 4: Natal Chart Synthesis 201 – Holistic Chart Interpretation
Instructors: Tony Howard, Kelly Surtees and Jessica Murray
Now that you’ve learned the meaning of the core symbols of astrology – planets, signs, houses and aspects – it’s time to work toward a holistic look at the chart. In this course we’ll teach you 4 key steps toward chart interpretation and work through the steps with two famous charts so you can learn how to synthesize all of the details into a cohesive interpretation. This course is perfect if you’ve struggled trying to pull together all of the details in a natal chart into a cohesive analysis. At the end of the course, you’ll have a system you can use to identify the core aspects and themes to focus on for your interpretation.
In part two of the course, you’ll get tips for understanding chart signatures that students often find challenging. This includes aspects and planet-sign-house combinations of paradox, complex archetypal blending, seemingly contradictory astrological symbols, or multiple areas of emphasis.
Includes the charts of Malcolm X and Penelope Cruz.
Required Text: Getting to the Heart of Your Chart with Frank Clifford
Supplementary Text: Aspects in Astrology by Sue Tompkins
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, three recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio and handouts are available to view and/or download.
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 5: Forecasting 101 – Timing Cycles with Transits
Instructors: Darby Costello, Kelly Surtees and Tony Howard
Learn the core timing technique of modern astrology which is the foundation of most modern timing readings. You’ll learn how to identify important transits, how to approach interpretation, and how to approach forecasting or “prediction”. We’ll look at chart examples to see how key events in people’s lives reflected their planetary transits at the time.
Required Text: The Changing Sky by Steven Forrest
Supplemental texts: Predictive Astrology by Bernadette Brady and The Gods of Change by Howard Sasportas; Astrology, Karma and Transformation by Stephen Arroyo
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, four pre-recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio and handouts are available to view and/or download.
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 6: Retrograde Planets
Instructors: Tony Howard and Safron Rossi
Get an in-depth look at retrograde planets. In this course we’ll focus our attention on Mercury retrograde, Venus retrograde, and Mars retrograde. We’ll gain rich interpretive insight by applying Dane Rudhyar’s phase relationship model and approach to retrograde planets, as well as the mythic dimensions of Mercury, Venus and Mars. If you’ve been mystified by interpreting retrograde planets in the birth chart, tune in for some practical inspiration that will help you add nuance to your chart work.
Required Text: Retrograde Planets by Erin Sullivan
Supplemental Text: Astrological Aspects: A Process-Oriented Approach by Leyla Rael and Dane Rudhyar
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, four pre-recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio, and handouts are available to view and/or download.
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 7: Cosmos and Psyche 201 – Cycles of Creativity and Expansion
In this course we will continue our study of Cosmos and Psyche with a focus on two cycles: Jupiter-Uranus and Uranus-Neptune. As we read the text, your instructors will map out ways to incorporate this inspiring material into your astrological chart analysis whether working with clients or seeking to understand world events. As we mine the gifts of an archetypal approach to astrology we’ll also think about how to approach important transits in both the collective and in personal experience.
Instructors: Dr. Safron Rossi and Tony Howard
Required Texts: Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas; Tables of Planetary Phenomena by Neil Michelsen
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, four pre-recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio, and handouts are available to view and/or download.
Next Live Q&A Sessions: March 31 at 10am, April 7 at 11:30am, April 14 at 2pm, April 21 at 2pm (all times Pacific time)
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 8: Timing Development with Progressions
Instructor: Kelly Surtees, Darby Costello and Steven Forrest
Learn how to work with secondary progressions in an astrological timing reading. You’ll learn how progressions can describe our “shifting” or “evolving” experience of our self and our psyche over time. Includes an intro to the progressed Sun, Moon, and progressed lunar phase, plus a bonus lesson on progressed Venus. Includes Kelly’s approach to combining transits with progressions and Darby’s approach to the progressed Moon.
Required Texts: The Changing Sky by Steven Forrest, The Astrological Moon by Darby Costello
Supplemental Texts: Predictive Astrology by Bernadette Brady; Astrology, Karma and Transformation by Stephen Arroyo; The Modern Textbook of Astrology by Margaret Hone
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, four pre-recorded Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio, and handouts are available to view and/or download.
Next Live Q&A Sessions: May 5 at 9am, May 12 at noon, May 19 at 1pm, May 26 at 9am(all times Pacific times)
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
Course 9: The Lunar Nodes 101
Instructor: Mark Jones
In this course you’ll be introduced to the lunar nodes from an evolutionary and humanistic perspective. Mark Jones will share his technique for interpreting the nodes of the Moon derived from the teachings of Dane Rudhyar in conjunction with insights gained from his years of work counseling others.
The nodes can be approached as a doorway to understanding our deepest life purpose in the context of a therapeutic emphasis on personal transformation.
Required Text: Healing the Soul by Mark Jones
Course includes: 6+ hours of instruction, Q&A sessions, discussion area, weekly reading assignments and homework. Video, audio, and handouts are available to view and/or download.
Next Live Q&A Sessions for 2024: June 6 at 9am, June 16 at 9am, June 23 at 9am, and June 30 at 9am (all times Pacific time)
$295 (audit) / $350 (diploma-track*)
Pre-recorded and available for instant access. You may register and start this course and get started today or wait for the next live cohort. You will have access to a discussion area to ask questions as you move through the course.
*Diploma-track option includes feedback on homework and an exam review. Audit students receive the same study materials and videos but do not receive personal feedback on their work.
In-Person Summer Retreat
July 20-21, 2024 in Boulder, CO
Join us for our annual in-person summer retreat. You’ll get to know other students in the program and have fun deepening your learning experience.
This retreat is open to students in any year of the program who have completed at least 4 courses. This retreat includes a graduation ceremony for the year-four students.
Optional Summer Elective: The 12 Houses in History and Practice
Instructor: Demetra George
In this 12-part series, Demetra explores the houses from a traditional through modern approaches.
Required Text: None (this course includes 12 video lessons)
Dates: Self-study at your own pace
Available with a discount only to students who complete all of the year-two material. You will receive an email at the end of year two with a special discount code to register. All other students can take this course any time.
ABOUT COURSE ENROLLMENT
Our program courses are offered a la carte and also in 9-course bundles. You can choose to join the current courses live, or enroll after the live presentation and complete the course on your own time. Online discussion areas are monitored regularly whether the course is live or pre-recorded, so all certification students will get direct feedback and response to questions.
