Reviewed by Mary Plumb
This review first appeared in The Mountain Astrologer’s Oct./Nov. 2012 issue.
Using Astrology to Create a Vocational Profile
by Faye Cossar, Flare Publications.
As I was reading Using Astrology to Create a Vocational Profile, recognizing how practical and thorough it is, I thought that it could be used by astrologers to develop a specialty in career counseling. At the end, in the author’s biographical notes, I found out that Faye Cossar does indeed offer an online apprenticeship using this book as the basis. The material is also the foundation of training courses she offers through the Amsterdam School of Astrology and the London School of Astrology.
Faye Cossar has worked with career counselors outside of astrology and has integrated tools and processes from those fields into her work. One of the essential reference points in her work is to engage the client in the process. Although she includes what the astrologer can realistically cover in matters of career and vocation if the client is only coming for one session, her forte is an ongoing (and clearly structured and organized) process that actively involves the client (e.g., in writing assignments, “to help them create their own matrix”); this results in their Vocational Profile, something that can be referred to throughout life.
Cossar recognizes that to find a job that satisfies all of our innate qualities takes time. She states that “we can help clients to focus on their mission and support them in making career steps that progress towards their true vocation … Each job needs to act as a stepping stone to something more in tune with who you are.”
The framework is the exploration of three essential questions: Who am I? What can I do? What do I want? Each of these is subdivided into more subtle themes and specific astrological techniques for each. For example, the section Who Am I? includes chapters on “Finding vocation and motivation” (The Sun); “Recognizing style and drive” (Mars, the elements); and “Expressing an authentic image” (The Sun, Ascendant and MC).
Cossar’s astrology is eclectic; she acknowledges her peers’ work and employs a variety of techniques — Huber Age Point, parans with fixed stars (as per Bernadette Brady), quintile and bi-quintile aspects, Ceres as indicator of environmental work, etc.
Although many examples are given throughout the book (both clients and famous people), Cossar traces the process of one actual client in great detail; this work took place over six two-hour sessions.
Cossar covers every possible angle of vocation, from creating a logo and a brand to discussing our “stumbling blocks and heavier issues.” The chapter “What can’t I do?” includes “Clarifying blocks” (here, she looks at Saturn, Chiron, and the 12th house). She writes that the aim of the Vocational Profile is “to define blocks, not to work on them.” (That might come later, with the help of a therapist.)
Faye Cossar’s excellent book is practical, very interesting, and fun to read. I am sure that many others will appreciate it as well.
— reviewed by Mary Plumb