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This website is dedicated to all who find themselves on a journey, each on our own and all of us collectively, through our cycles of time on this Earth:

Welcome. This is the Dharma Rising website created by Mark Wolz.

I began studying astrology in 1983, because I found it provided powerful insights into personality and character, along with explaining many events that were otherwise mysterious. I came to these interests by way of a BS in Psychology at Michigan State University and an MA in Anthropology and Southeast Asian Studies at Cornell University, deepened through travel and study in Southeast Asia and India.

Astrology makes use of a set of symbols that revolve through our heavens and draws conclusions from the interrelations of their cycles. As symbols they resonate with the planes of our subconscious as well as the collective unconscious. As objects in the sky they respond to the same cosmic energies that influence the subtle patterns in our minds, our hearts and our lives.

I was born with Gemini rising, the Moon in Scorpio and an Aries Sun. Along with astrology, I was inspired by the teachings of the Tarot, the practice of yoga and Hermetic laws, not to mention the poetry of Baudelaire.

I base my astrology practice in New York City, where I offer consultations, classes, workshops, lectures and private instruction. For clients and students at a distance, I am available via telephone or e-mail. I am certified by NCGR (National Council for Geocosmic Research) for both consulting and teaching. I am happy to be collaborating with Heather Roan Robbins and Anne Ortelee on speaking engagements; together we have created Access Astrology, dedicated to making astrology accessible to the public.

Individually each of us exists as a mind/body/spirit continuum. In the tradition of yoga we distinguish five koshas, or sheaths, that constitute this existence. They are the physical sheath (anamayakosha), the vital energy sheath (pranamayakosha), the mental sheath (manomayakosha), the intellectual sheath (vijnanamayakosha) and ultimately the blissful sheath (anandamayakosha). How well balanced and integrated these sheaths are determines the flow of energy through our lives and consequently our health and our capacity to enjoy life.

Integrating the insights of astrology with the practice and discipline of yoga enables us to live consciously and with vitality.

I am a certified yoga teacher, trained primarily through the Integral Yoga Institute, which was founded by Swami Satchidananda. And I am a practitioner of Thai yoga bodywork, certified through the Lotus Palm School of Thai Yoga Massage, founded by Kam Thye Chow. I practice yoga for its spiritual and mental focus as well as its physical benefits.

In my astrology readings I work with clients to help them find balance and direction on their path. I believe the proper use of astrology opens us to whatever healing we need, develops our awareness of self and others, and allows us to recognize our purpose in this life.

We come into life with a sense of dharma, or duty, to fulfill. This dharma is different from destiny and separate from karma. When we are on our path and centered within our purpose, we find a strength in our dharma that feels like a radiant sun rising to warm our day.

Chakras are centers of energy within the envelopes of body/mind/spirit where channels of vital life force intersect. These powerful “wheels of light” correspond to the vibrational energies of the planets. Astrology serves as a key to open and balance the chakras and revitalize our lives, harmonize the will and direct our energy in keeping with our dharma. I find an awareness of the chakras and their relationship with the planets is a powerful tool for transformation.

In my consultations I look for an integration of body and mind with one’s dharma, or path in life. Astrology provides insight into an individual’s character and shows the cycles of change that are impacting that person’s life. Through its mental focus, yoga leads us to grasp that knowledge through direct experience of body and mind.

In working with clients' charts, I use classical approaches to the natal chart combined with esoteric indications drawn from Hermetic laws and the teachings of the Tarot.

For a consultation I include secondary progressions and current transits. To look at relationships or any interpersonal connections, I use appropriate techniques of synastry, such as midpoint comparison and Davison charts, along with observations on the synastry among individuals' charts.

For rectification or to analyze particular events, I make use of solar arc directions, minor progressions, tertiary progressions and converse progressions, along with the secondary progressions and transits. Solar return charts are helpful for an annual check-in.

I often give my clients homework. Because I believe we can and ought to actively work with the energies of the universe that are at play in our lives. The homework is based on the astrology reading and relies on an intuitive glimpse into the person’s psyche and its readiness for practices drawn from hatha yoga, mindful breathing, meditation, the yamas and niyamas, sound vibrations, color therapy, chakra balancing and other forms of spiritual healing.

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