I had already been working as an astrologer for 20 years when I got invited to write this weekly column. It started out as a radio broadcast on WEBK, in Killington, Vermont. It morphed into a newspaper piece when the radio show folded and people wrote in asking if maybe the Mountain Times would run it as a published piece. At this point, the column has been in print for a little over 30 years.
Everything in astrology is based on cycles. The 30-year cycle is a big one. It marks a point in time where we return to the beginning. It is also a point where we have to decide to continue with things, or leave the past behind and move on to something new.
For the last 6-months, I have been totally burnt out from my work. As much as I love what I do, the demand for my services has increased to the point where I have no life. I spend six days a week doing charts for people, and on the seventh day, I write this column. In between, a few hours of each day are given over to email correspondence, answering questions from people who write to me in search of help and advice. As of today, my appointment book for readings is booked solid from now straight through until the summer of 2023.
People are of the mind that astrologers don’t have to do much but look into their crystal ball and pop out an answer or two. With me, that is not the case. I spend more time preparing for my clients than I spend talking with them – because I know that if they trust me enough to lay their life in front of me, I owe it to them to do my best work. What happens in the course of a session requires me to enter into the cellular memory of the individual – some people are way more complex than others – and for the length of time that we talk, all of who I am has to give myself over to the person on the other end of the line.
Don’t get me wrong; like I said, I love what I do and am grateful to be the one who gets to do it. All of this was a dream of mine that began when I was 20 – not many of us are lucky enough to have time give birth to “the dream come true.” At the same time, 50 years down the road, I am totally tapped out. All kinds of energy is going ‘out’, and there is nothing coming back in to replenish it. In a sense, the well has run dry or my battery is dead and needs to be recharged.
People who mean well tell me to “raise my rates.” While this makes sense on the surface, having lived through “hell and high water” myself, I know how hard it is for working class people to come up with the funds to pay for the kind of support that I offer.
All of this is meant to inform you that I am in need of a break. My doctor has advised me to take the next month off – no readings, no writing, no weekly column, no mental work of any kind. He has also advised me to stay off the computer, so if you email me with questions, do not be surprised if you get an automatic response saying that I am “on Vacation.”
I do not know what will happen next. What I do know is that my M.O. regarding my work is in need of an overhaul. For the next few weeks, I will do whatever it takes to bring myself back to center. I will keep reminding myself that I am not a cosmic answering machine, and that life is not just about work. If you are one of the people who has an appointment scheduled with me between now and the end of June, please note that our session is officially cancelled until further notice. If I get back in action before the end of June, I will email you to let you know that I am working again.
Once I get myself sorted out, I will do a write-up on the astrological aspects in my own chart that have precipitated this decision. Many influences, including several “lethal” connections have fed into it – so trust me – I am not just playing hooky; none of this was done lightly. I am an “Old Gal” – going on 72 years.
Time has taught me to take good care of the physical vehicle, and right now, I am treating myself with kid gloves – because I love what I do, and I need my body to keep doing it. Between now and the time I resurrect myself, I am sure that you will be able to find numerous other astrological outlets to supply you with words of wisdom for the week.
Until then – thank you for understanding,
Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skyle
