Table Of ContentThrough
the
Looking Glass
A Search for the Self in the
Mirror of Relationships
by
Richard Idemon
Edited by Howard Sasportas
The Wessex Astrologer
Published in 2010 by
The Wessex Astrologer Ltd
4A Woodside Road
Bournemouth
BH5 2AZ
England
www.wessexastrologer.com
First published in 1992 by Samuel Weiser 9780877287216
© The Richard Idemon Trust
ISBN 9781902405445
A catalogue record of this book is available at The British Library
Credit: The Baleful Head, c.1876 (gouache) by Sir Edward Burne-Jones,
(1833–98) © Southampton City Art Gallery, Hampshire,
England
/The Bridgeman Art Library
Nationality/copyright status: English/out of copyright
This version used by kind permission.
Cover design by Dave at Creative Byte, Poole, Dorset
Printed and bound in the UK by Cambrian Printers, Aberystwyth
No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any
means without the express permission of the publisher. A reviewer may
quote brief passages.
Richard Idemon
(1938–1987)
Contents
Preface by the Trustees of the Richard Idemon Trust
Foreword by Liz Greene
Editor’s Note
Introduction
PART ONE
The Basics of Relating
Your Personal Mythology, Basic Ground and Hidden Agendas
The Moon: Naming Your Inner Child
The Parent-Child Relationship: Breaking the Psychological Umbilical Cord
Lunar Aspects: What You Need to Feel Nurtured
PART TWO
Realizing the Self
Eros and Projection in Adult Relationships
What is This Thing Called Love?
Mars: Self-Assertion in Relationship
PART THREE
Practical Applications of Synastry
Relationship Significators in the Natal Chart
Relationship Significators in the Chart of Isadora Duncan
The Art of Synastry: Comparing the Charts of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald
Group Discussion and Conclusion
P
REFACE
Richard Idemon’s untimely death on February 22, 1987, shortly after
his forty-ninth birthday, left a significant void in the astrological
community and we are enormously grateful that his unique
contribution lives on in this and other presentations. Richard’s
insights bring added depth and dimension to our understanding of
the human condition and his method of integrating Jungian
psychology and myth with astrology demonstrates his capacity to
correlate other disciplines with astrology’s symbolic language.
Extremely bright and well-read, he was conversant in many fields; a
literary pundit, history buff, thespian, gourmet, world traveler, bon
vivant, and connoisseur of life, all of which contributed to his
charismatic style as a teacher and anecdotal story-teller, and to his
objectivity as a psychotherapist.
The hundreds of students Richard taught at his School of Astro-
Psychological Studies in San Francisco and the countless people he
reached in the years he lectured throughout the United States,
Europe, South America, and Africa continually beseeched him to set
down his observations and wisdom in book form. Shortly before he
fell ill, he made a commitment to himself to fulfill these requests and
was in the process of gathering together his research and material to
actualize that pledge. However, during his long illness he came to
know his condition was incurable and there would not be time for him
to do the writing himself, so he set up The Richard Idemon Literary
Trust, which he endowed with the responsibility to publish his life’s
work.
We, the three trustees Richard appointed to bring his request to
fruition, all knew and loved him well: Michael McCloskey, his trusted
attorney and devoted student of many years; Jeff Jawer, a fellow
astrologer and loyal, sensitive ally; and Gina Ceaglio, his confidante
and vigilant friend who tried with loving care to ease the pain in his
final months of life.
The Richard Idemon Literary Trust
F
OREWORD
Richard Idemon invited me to run an astrology seminar with him in
1982, when he first spoke to me about his dream of teaching
astrology in a “retreat” setting of beauty, tranquillity, and historical
interest. Although I had heard him lecture at various conferences in
America and Europe, and was always inspired and delighted by his
rare ability to bring astrological symbolism alive in the imagination as
well as in the intellect of his audience, I had never worked with him
before. He wanted to organise a programme of yearly seminars with
me under the auspices of his School of Astro-Psychological Studies,
with each year’s residential location being different but equally
exciting; and we discussed with enthusiasm the various places in the
world which might provide the kind of ambience he was looking for.
We agreed that participation needed to be limited, to preserve a
group rather than a lecture hall atmosphere and to encourage
questions and discussion. The first concrete product of this
developing partnership was born in 1983—a week-long seminar
given in Orvieto, a medieval hill-town in central Italy. Its theme was
“The Hero’s Journey,” and all the vast mythic panoply of the planets
and the signs sprang to life against the backdrop of La Badia, a 12th-
century monastery transformed into a luxury hotel that overlooked
the ancient towers of the town and the Etruscan tombs below. The
pleasure and stimulation of working with Richard was such that I had
no reservation about committing myself to the next year’s project,
and the next year’s after that.
Since my home was in Europe and Richard’s in America, it
seemed logical to alternate continents. For our first American venue
he chose a wonderful resort hotel in the Green Mountains of
Vermont, with all the timeless charm of an old New England hostel–
the Sugarbush Inn. This conference, “Through the Looking Glass,”
with the complex drama of human relationships as its theme, was
the result of a year’s careful planning. Because the number of
participants in this seminar, given in August 1985, was much smaller
than at most residential astrological conferences, we were able to
work with a relatively intimate and informal group atmosphere.
Richard was at his very best–a magical blend of wit, warmth, and
honesty, with the personal charisma of the accomplished actor
(which he had once been) and the profound insight of the trained
psychotherapist blended to produce his unique and powerful style of
teaching.
By the time we had organised and arrived at our third conference,
called “The Magic Thread” and held in the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Virginia in 1986, Richard was already fatally ill—although few people
knew it, and his energy and presentation seemed as exciting and
dynamic as ever. But there would be no more of these extraordinary
seminars which embodied his ideal of how astrology should be
taught, with techniques and locations that spoke to the soul as well
as the mind and provided visual and imaginative food as well as
intellectual stimulation. In 1987, Richard died, leaving behind him his
school and a rich legacy of taped lectures, seminars, and
workshops, but no published book. He had told me that he had
always wanted to write a book, but had somehow never sat down
and done it—more a tragedy for the astrological world than for him
personally, since he was perpetually busy generating new ideas
through his teaching and received his rewards, like any truly
dedicated actor, from the immediate and inevitably positive response
and participation of his audience.
The book which follows is a transcription of Richard’s lectures
and discussions from our joint seminar given in Vermont. Howard
Sasportas has done a superbly sumpathetic job of editing this
material, and Richard’s ironic humour and deep understanding of
myth and metaphor shine through without any sense of another
person intruding on his personal style. His death is a terrible loss, not
only to those of us who knew him well, but to the whole field of
astrology, because he was one of the most original, gifted, and
insightful astrologers I have ever met. He was also great fun to listen
to, since he had the rare grace of being able to laugh-not only at life
but also at himself. I am grateful that his work has found its way into
print at last.
Liz Greene
London, December 1991
