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ASTROLOGY: MY JOURNEY INTO COSMIC MYSTERY
Well, hello there! My name is John Turnquist, and I'm a licensed psychotherapist and practicing astrologer. I'm also certified to teach yoga, which I did for almost a decade, though I’m not currently teaching. At present, I’m pursuing a Diploma in Psychological Astrology through the MISPA program based in London, England.
I often tell people that I didn’t so much discover astrology as astrology discovered me—and I’m still a bit shocked and bewildered to even call myself an astrologer! My journey began while spending time in creative solitude in a small cabin jointly owned by me and my twin brother. In June 2020, out of a curious impulse, I picked up The Archetypal Cosmos by Keiron Le Grice. To my surprise, I devoured it in just a day or two—I simply couldn’t put it down! The material was thought-provoking and emotionally stimulating, although I wouldn’t say I was an immediate “convert” to astrology (I had been more "agnostic" or indifferent up to that point).
The Archetypal Cosmos, however, cracked open a door for me: it provided an intellectual framework for how astrology could be possible. From there, my deeper instincts nudged me toward accepting astrology as a valid system of self-understanding, even while my skeptical, analytical mind continued to seek a solid empirical foundation. Soon after, I encountered Steven Forrest and evolutionary astrology, and that’s when I truly tumbled down the rabbit hole. His work subsequently led me to a wide range of brilliant astrologers and thinkers—Mark Jones, Dane Rudhyar, Jeffrey Green, Stephen Arroyo, Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas, and many more. Personally, Liz Greene has had the greatest impact on shaping my mind and soul as a psychotherapist, astrologer, and philosopher of humankind.
Since that beginning in June 2020, where am I now on my journey as a perennially growing astrologer? Well, I’m no longer as self-conscious about others knowing that I dig astrology—so that’s progress! I’ve had to learn to be more comfortable with being uncomfortable when viewed through the gaze of critical or skeptical individuals. And because I’m someone who loves analyzing and explaining things, I’ve had to surrender the compulsion to intellectually “explain away” the mechanism by which astrology works. The truth is this: I simply do not know how or why it works (though I do have a few vague, half-baked theories). And lastly, after more than five years of study, practice, and training, I have developed a point of view that defines how I approach and practice the empirical art of astrology. I’ve exposed myself to many schools of thought, and I find that nearly every approach reflects some facet of the complexity of the Universal Totality. Of course, this is just my perspective; ultimately, the onus is on each open-minded individual to test astrology for themselves and discover the “proof of the pudding.”
In my view, one of astrology’s greatest gifts is that it provides a broader narrative framework in which we can anchor, contextualize, and comprehend our complex lives. A horoscope, when understood through a psycho-spiritual lens, contains a plot, a developmental direction, meaningful themes, vexing questions and contradictions, and a deep wellspring of meaning/guidance. It is, in a sense, a sacred symbolic text—one that is entirely unique to each individual.
It is my deepest passion, joy, and expression of loving service to decipher the veiled story embedded in the archetypal symbols of your natal horoscope. Of course, I honor that it is up to each person to appraise the value and validity of what I provide—but I stand firm in my conviction that you will, at the very least, be intrigued and enriched by the insights that astrology has to offer.