What's Happening
This CAELi Lab invites you to experiment in joy with the gods. Each class of the 8-week course will be a springboard into the mind of a planetary god through its astrological house. Analyzing the role of the joys in natal charts, musing on why the joys were set as they are, and engaging in meditative, theurgical, and practical experiments will animate the Lab space. Participants will gain a deeper theoretical understanding of the houses, as well as a deeper, practical intimacy with these places in your own chart, and throughout the laboratory of life.
Where It's Happening
CAELi's virtual campus (& Zoom)
Your Instructor
Drew Levanti
Drew Levanti is a fiery and endlessly curious astrologer, and a warm and encouraging mystical educator. His work bridges Hellenistic astrology with ancient metaphysics & mysteries, interweaving the mathematical and magical roots of traditional astrology. Drew is an experienced astrology teacher, both independently in his classes on elections, and collaboratively, producing a course on the Orphic Hymns with Kristin Mathis, and being a teaching assistant in Austin Coppock’s Fundamentals of Astrology courses for the past two years. Drew has spoken at NORWAC, the AA Conference, and the Queer Astrology Conference, and his writing has been featured in the CAELi Review, The Mountain Astrologer, and the NCGR Journal.
Additional Information
Lab Description
The Planetary Joys are prismatic, refracting and revealing a wider spectrum of meanings, moods, and tensions hidden within the astrological houses. According to this ancient framework, the Sun, Moon, and the 5 visible planets are each linked with a house of “joy” — Mercury’s joy is the 1st house, Saturn’s is the 12th, Jupiter’s is the 11th, the Sun’s is the 9th, Mars’s is the 6th, Venus’s is the 5th, and the Moon’s is the 3rd. Each unique planet-house connection tells us about the inter-related nature of the two, expanding our understanding of the houses beyond their modern association with zodiac signs (i.e. Aries-1st house, Taurus-2nd house, and so on), while building on other traditional paradigms such as angularity & configuration to the Ascendant. By understanding the houses in planetary and not just zodiacal terms, we can enter new kinds of relationships with the gods in our lives.
Lab Purpose & Philosophy
Joy Lab is a space for astrological students and practitioners to collaborate, invent, and experiment on how to imagine and work with the Joys. Because lectures can be limiting, they will be limited. The goal is to build shared frameworks for practice and learning that will continue long after the time of the Lab is over.
The philosopher Heraclitus said, “The God whose oracle is at Delphi neither reveals nor conceals, but gives a sign.” Nothing is hidden from us by the gods, and nothing is given as certain.
Lab Structure
As a lab space, participation is encouraged by all. The facilitator will present information each session and provide a frame for discussion, leaving ample space for the group to collectively generate gnosis of the Joys. Each week is devoted to one planetary house joy, with the exception of the first week, where two joys will be on the table, Mercury and Venus. See schedule below.
After a week break for NORWAC, Joy Lab will culminate with an opportunity for anyone who wishes to present findings or revelations, or to prompt and distill questions for further research.
- Summary of Lab Objectives
- 1. Deepen Theoretical Understanding – Explore the Joys as a framework for understanding the houses that embraces ancient mystical perspectives.
- 2. Examine Planet-House Relationships – Analyze how each planet’s joy reflects and shapes the meaning of its house of rejoicing.
- 3. Explore Experimental Practice – Try working with the planetary joys through meditation & theurgy (god-work), including practice with the Kristin Mathis’s cuttingedge Orphic Hymn translations.
- 4. Apply the Joys to Natal Charts – Investigate how the Joys manifest in individual charts, enlivening personal and client-centered practice.
- 5. Reconstruct Ancient Perspectives – Consider historical, philosophical, and cosmological reasons for the planetary joys, questioning how and why this framework came to be.
- 6. Cultivate Planetary Intimacy – Foster relationships with the planetary gods through observation, ritual, and reflection on their Joys.
- 7. Collaborate & Share Insights – Participate in discussions that generate group knowledge by sharing findings, questions, and revelations about the Joys.
- 8. Synthesize & Present Findings – Optionally, synthesize insights from the lab experience into a final synthesis, with opportunities to present or frame future directions for research.
Lab Schedule & Session Outline
All sessions will be held Wednesdays from 10 AM-Noon PDT, and will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.
- Session 1: May 14
I The Ascendant
Beginning & Birth: The Joy of Mercury
- Session 2: May 21
XII The House of Bad Daimon
Darkness & Ending: The Joy of Saturn
- Session 3: May 28
IX The House of God
Finding the Light: The Joy of the Sun
- Session 4: June 4
III The House of the Goddess
Moving Light of the Mind: The Joy of the Moon
- Session 5: June 11
VI The House of Bad Fortune
Entering the Night: The Joy of Mars
- Session 6: June 18
V The House of Good Fortune
Birth by Night: The Joy of Venus
- Session 7: June 25
XI The House of Good Daimon
Wandering & Following: The Joy of Jupiter
- Session 8: July 2
Participants Integrate, Present, & Chart Paths Forward
More Events and Experiences
