Resources for Approved Teachers
The following information provides the teacher information in addition to the course descriptions for the public, and are given in a separate document.
Practice applying rules for interpretation are required in most courses, as described below. Instructors need to focus on developing consulting skills for students. The certification exam will confirm that students have learned facts and figures, but all consulting skills development and assessment is done in courses given by the FVA-approved school.
The following terms should be included periodically in most courses so that students develop facility in utilizing consulting skills in their consultations.
Relational/Procedural/Communication Skills
| Active listening | Joining |
| Empathy | Reflecting |
| Eye Contact, Focus | Paraphrasing |
| Tone/Prosody | Mirroring |
| Body language | Setting boundaries |
| Holding | Reframing/Relabeling |
| Containing | Asking open questions |
| Establishing the Frame | Phrasing open statements |
Course 1: VA Essentials
Recommended text or reference books and other resources that you may wish to use:
- Vibrational Astrology: The Essentials by David Cochrane
- Vibrational Astrology Study Guide, Module 1 by the AVA
- Vibrational Astrology: Interpreting Aspects by Linda Berry & David Cochrane
- Astrology for the 21st Century by David Cochrane
Course 2: VA Fluency 1
One big emphasis in this course is interpreting aspects. For example: Venus and Mars in 5, 7, 11 vibration or any other 2 planets in various vibrations.
Suggested available tools:
Use charts of famous people and/or students to illustrate interpretations in class, and have students interpret charts of themselves and friends. Help the students feel the interpretation as well understand it in purely cognitive terms. Emphasize that all information is confidential and encourage students to be candid and open if they volunteer or accept the invitation to have their chart interpreted.
Course 3: VA Fluency 2
Students are required to interpret charts in this course as well as learn about Isotraps, midpoint isotraps, Super Symmetry patterns etc. By the end of this course, the importance of confidentiality and privacy of the client has been emphasized.
The instructor must evaluate and grade the homework video recording of the consultation by the student. A letter grade or number grade must be given for the consultation.
Course 4: VA Compatibility
At the beginning of the course make it clear that consent is given for every chart interpreted. Example: for a boyfriend’s chart to be interpreted; the boyfriend must give consent. Proper ways to use your political and philosophical views publicly by using supporting evidence and specific details. How to properly interpret charts of celebrities and politicians in a respectful way. Some people can do this better than others because a polished and sensitive use of language facilitates this. Do not promote hatred or violence. It is OK to interpret charts of deceased people. How to deal with questions about ex-friends that are still alive.
Is it OK to get the birth data of the ex-friend and use that information to help the astrologer analyze the situation, but not refer directly to that person in the consultation? Answer: No. Reason: invasion of privacy.
How do you verify that permission was granted? Answer: you must have direct evidence such as a text message or email from the person.
Course 5: Forecasting
At the beginning of this course instruct students not to state factual events that definitely will happen, do not use the word “will happen” and do not scare the client with statements like “you may get into a car accident on June 6”. Do not predict death.
Course 6: Astronomy, Theoretical Framework, Software, Comparison to Other Systems.
The coordinate systems: ecliptic longitude and latitude, right ascension and declination, and Azimuth and Altitude. Moon’s North Node is the intersection of the path of the Moon and the ecliptic plane, the Asc, MC, Vertex and tropical Zero Aries are intersections of two Great Circles. What the ayanamsha is and the difference between tropical and sidereal.
Comparison to other systems:
Nakshatras. A few basic ideas about Vedic, Hellenistic, medieval, humanistic, archetypal, evolutionary, and what horary astrology is. Note: just a very brief overview of some basic terminology and perspectives are. This can be very brief.
For investigating ideas: use the AstroSignature research and do an extreme case sampling study. Some students may wish to do other kinds of research. Theoretical Framework: astrology as divination, archetypes, or energy flow. In VA archetypes and behavior as a symptom of energy flow. A mention about Spin and Dimension Reduction as a foundation for why VA works.
Reference materials that you can use:
- Videos by David Cochrane and How Astrology Works: A New Theoretical Framework Video by David Cochrane (This one is excellent as required by the students but note that this is only available at AstrologyDC.) It describes how Spin and Dimension Reduction are a basis of VA and also about structures in space, the relationship of VA to Carl Jung’s thought, how numbers embedded in Spin combined with dimension reduction create the tropical zodiac, etc.).
- A series of 4 videos called “Astronomy for Astrologers” Part 1, 2, 3, and 4 by David Cochrane which is at either youtube or www.AstrologyDC.com
- What is Declination? Video by David Cochrane
- Astrocartography and In Mundo Video by David Cochrane
- The Moon’s Mean Node & True Node Video by David Cochrane
- Essentials of Planet and Minor Planet Orbits Video by David Cochrane
- Interpretation of Out of Bounds Planets Video by David Cochrane
- Whole Sign Houses, Quadrant Houses and Equal Houses: 3 Different Models Video by David Cochrane
- Sirius Software: Planetary Nodes Video by David Cochrane
Course 7: Relocational Astrology
Possible source materials: David made over a dozen videos, and ones that can be especially helpful is “AstroCartography and In Mundo Planet Positions” (https://youtu.be/t8YB2iPuK2g)
Course 8: Interpretation Practice and Application
This course assists the student in being able to prioritize and organize the information in actual analysis. There is no required homework for this course (unless the teacher wishes to assign homework). This course gives students a rest from learning new techniques and interpretive details and focuses on applying and refining their ability to interpret. This course prepares students for the next course where the students will be required to submit practice consultations that are closer to a professional level of competency.
Course 9: Practicum
The goal of this course is that students can conduct their own consultations and feel confident doing it, and the teacher’s assessment of the consultations indicates that the student is approaching professional competency.
Course 10: Training, Consulting Skills and Business Skills
A course booklet is made and the instructor is required to follow the materials presented in the course booklet. If you do not wish to teach this course, there are may be Avalon approved instructors for ethics training who can teach it, and fees need to be worked with the instructor in this case. Gisele Terry who helped create this training material can also be contacted to teach this course.
Exam and Other Information about Classes
The VA Certification Exam is based on the material in the 4 Study Guides: Study Guide Module One and Two had been published and can be purchased at Lulu or from the AVA website. https://www.astrovibe.org/learning-resources/
Teachers need to provide the information that is in the Study Guides so that students are prepared for the Certification Exam. The Study Guide should be a review and not new information for graduates of your school.
Client confidentiality, appropriate consulting skills, etc. needs to be woven into the teaching process starting with Course #2 when it fits into the context of the course.
Students are giving many consultations. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram provide endless stream of people who love to have their charts interpreted. Make sure students are selective and choose only people who really have a recorded birth time, willing to have their chart used for educational purposes with the instructor and other students and the person does not have some strange “axe to grind”, such as a conspiracy theory or desire to disprove astrology, etc.
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