Kathleen McMichael Goodyear
An Astrological Biography
I first was curious about astrology in high school. While finding a pop-culture sun-sign book intriguing, I noticed not only that some of the descriptions of Scorpio, my sun sign, did not fit me, but also that many descriptions of the other signs did fit me, which didn't make sense (not understanding that serious astrology includes all the planets, not just the sun). And my scientific mind argued, "There's no reason why astrology should work! Leave it alone!" So I did - for awhile.
In 1973, I enrolled at Princeton University with the intention of pursuing mathematics and astrophysics, specifically black holes. At that time, Princeton and Cal Tech were at the forefront of black-hole theory. Well, I went to Princeton to pursue black holes and promptly fell into one! Suddenly my world went topsy-turvy. (Some of you may recognize a Pluto transit here - Pluto was semisquaring my sun.) I ended up leaving school and embarking on a journey of self-discovery, not knowing where it would lead.
Fast-forward several years - I was living in New York City in 1978. After having gone through a period of thinking myself an atheist, despite having once heard my inner Self during meditation, my interest in spirituality was finally blossoming. At the same time, my world was deconstructing itself again. (I was approaching another major Pluto transit, Pluto conjoining (lining up with) my Mars.) A new friend who was an astrologer offered to read my chart, and at this point I was open to it. Man, was it accurate! I kept asking her how she knew about situations in my life that I had not mentioned to her - she just pointed to the chart. I could see that there was something to this, and I just HAD to know how she knew this stuff about me! So I started voraciously reading all her astrological books, starting with humanistic/transpersonal astrologer Dane Rudhyar's classic The Astrology of Personality.
That was 31-plus years ago. Since then, I have done countless astrological consultations for clients, given talks, taught workshops and courses from beginning to advanced levels, tutored individual students, and done astrological research in a number of areas, including local space astrology and the astrological significance of black holes.
I also returned to college in 1997 and graduated in 2001 with a B.A. in psychology from the Metropolitan State College of Denver. As part of my psych major, I designed and conducted a qualitative research project interviewing artists on their creative process. (FYI, black holes tend to be active in charts of creative people.) I also completed an undergraduate certificate in public administration and then went on to complete two years of graduate study in public administration and nonprofit management, reflecting my interest in collective healing and well-being as well as that of the individual.
My astrological specialties/interests include, but are not limited to: black holes (which I call "doors of transformation and healing"); Pluto; Chiron; the Transneptunian planets of Uranian astrology; the asteroids, particularly those relating to healing; vocational astrology; locational astrology, particularly local space; and the mythology of stars and constellations. I am also interested in the astrological significance of the new solar-system bodies currently being discovered.
I am a member of the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR), a major astrological educational and research organization, and am an at-a-distance member of NCGR's New York City chapter. I have written several times for E-News from NCGR, and in March 2007, I presented "Wrestling With Serpents: The Healing Power of Scorpio" at the NCGR national conference in Baltimore. In years past, I served as the board chair of the Colorado Fellowship of Astrologers and the education director of the Aquarian Organization of Astrologers (Kansas City), and I was also a member of the American Federation of Astrologers, the International Society for Astrological Research, and the Psychical Research Society of Kansas City.
My spiritual awakening in 1978 also led me into a 15-year association with Elizabeth Clare Prophet's spiritual organization, for which I gave talks and classes on a variety of topics in numerous states in the U.S. While I am no longer associated with that organization, my spiritual belief system remains based on the inherent divinity within all of life.
Namaste,
Kathleen M. Goodyear
December 2009