News & Events Julene Packer-Louis Professional Astrologer Dipl OCA ISAR CAP

United Astrology Conference May 24 - 29, 2012 in New Orleans
Open for Registration

The UAC schedule is up and registration is open! The United Astrology Conference is the "big one" put on via a united effort of major astrological organizations and offers the opportunity to hear many international speakers. The next one takes place a year from now in New Orleans May 24 - May 29 2012. I am honored to be asked to speak at UAC. I will be presenting two lectures: Observational Astrology - Reclaiming the Sky on Saturday May 26, 2012 from 4:30-5:45 and Chiron as the Archetype of the Shaman on Monday May 28, 2012 from 9:00-10:15 AM. Please click the banner below to visit the UAC website and come to hear many of the best astrologers in the world today.

It's been an interesting week for Astrology. Professor Parke Kunkle from Minnesota brought up precession, Ophiuchus, and told the world their astrological signs were wrong. He decided to fix it and put out new dates for the signs. This is like calling an electrician to fix your plumbing. Kunkle is not the first astronomer to do this, nor will he probably be the last. Every decade it seems some astronomer does this to send a new generation into a frenzy. This time the story reached epic proportions due to news spreading so quickly and vastly via our social media networks.

Many news stations around the country called on me and my colleagues to set the story straight. I was interviewed on Fox 8 News on January 14th. While much of what I said wound up on the cutting room floor of a fun and light story not much more than a minute and a half in length, the point did get across that no one's sun is changing because the tropical zodiac that your sun sign is based on correlates to the seasons not the constellations.

Astronomers don't know half as much about astrology as astrologers know about astronomy. I am glad to be involved in the group that knows both. I am also glad that when an astronomer alleged something was wrong with the sun signs of western astrology that the media reacted responsibly and sought out interviews with astrologers.

For more detailed information please read my article Astrology for Astronomers: Why the Tropical Zodiac Sun Signs Will Never Change Over Time.

Julene Packer Takes CEO Position at the International Academy of Astrology
by Ena Stanley in the Libra 2009 IAA Newsletter

The IAA Board of Directors is honored to announce that Julene Packer will be replacing Ena Stanley in the position of Chief Executive Officer. Ena will retain her position as President/Chairperson of the Board, which keeps many of Ena's existing tasks on her desk. As well, Julene will continue with her existing tasks that she fulfilled as Education Director: overseeing the development of the curriculum, the affairs of the instructors and coordinating their teaching schedule on our audio/video GoToMeeting classrooms.

Julene became a student at OCA/IAA in 1998. In 2000, she volunteered to write the school's newsletter, which consisted of the astronomical positions of the planets for the upcoming month. She named that newsletter Sky Watch. In April 2008 this publication was purchased by The Mountain Astrologer as a continuing feature.

Julene, one of OCA/IAA's most outstanding students, was scheduled to graduate in 2001; however, in 2000, along with the facilitation of Carol Tebbs, OCA/IAA began a construction of its courses of study. It took a couple of years to finalize the curriculum so it would meet the qualifications of the certifying bodies of the U.S. Since most of Julene's classmates dropped out before the completion of this rigorous curriculum, Julene was required to wait for other students to reach her level to make up a graduating class. But that didn't stop OCA/IAA from seeing Julene's potential; Julene started teaching classes at the school in the fall of 2000. After Carol Tebbs had worked with Julene, Carol suggested that Julene take over the instruction of the advanced, predictive courses - known then as Astro 201 and Astro 202. (When OCA/IAA changed its curriculum last year - 2008 - Carol again worked with Julene to enhance that area of study.) Nonetheless, Julene has taught, at one time or another, every primary course at the school. In every Student Evaluation, every one of Julene's students have raved about the amount of knowledge they have acquired from her. OCA/IAA can proudly say that she is a rising star in the astrological community.

In 2002 Julene became a member of the OCA/IAA Board of Directors. Along with teaching every course at OCA/IAA, she has also been influential in every decision made at the school for the past 7 years. Julene has this to say about her new position, "Well Uranus IS transiting over my Midheaven and Saturn over my IC, so why not?! Seriously, I couldn't be more honored and excited. OCA/IAA has been a large and glorious part of my life for nearly the past 12 years. I've learned so much at this school, grown astrologically and professionally, and made many wonderful friends along the way. I've thoroughly enjoyed every position I have ever held and know I will enjoy this one immensely as well. I am forever grateful to Ena Stanley for all the opportunities OCA/IAA has given me. I look forward to challenging myself to find new ways to give back to OCA/IAA all that it has given me."

Julene Packer has been writing this column since October 2000. It began as an idea to help IAA students locate the planets in the night sky and was incorporated into the school's monthly newsletter when Julene took on the position of Media Director. At that time the newsletter went out to less than 100 members. This article became very popular, and the membership of IAA grew to the nearly 3,000 it is today. In April of 2008 it stopped being published in the IAA news letter and became a column in the Student Section of The Mountain Astrologer.
Order The Mountain Astrologer magazine and get Sky Maps showing the planets in the night sky in IAA's Library