Bernie
Ashman graduated from the University of Florida in 1971 in Gainesville,
Florida. His life changed greatly when he moved to Atlanta, Georgia,
in 1972. He was seeking clarity and a deeper sense of himself. He
was 25 years old and had just recently gotten married. He and his
wife were anxious to explore a new spirituality. Bernie was very
fortunate to discover a metaphysical center in Atlanta owned by Peter
Calhoun, author of the book, Soul on Fire. Peter was an inspirational
force to getting him interested in a metaphysical path.
Bernie
is the author of The Earth Mandala software program.
Bernie’s
reading of Carl Jung’s work with the collective unconscious
and archetypes inspired Bernie to write this report. Bernie says
it deepened his experience of astrology and life in general to
have encountered Carl Jung’s work. Another influence to The
Earth Mandala was the Sabian Symbol work of Marc Edmund Jones
and the later writings about the Sabian Symbols by Dane Rudhyar.
The
Sabian approach was an innovative and intuitive way to observe
the degrees of the zodiac, a type of Astrological I-Ching you could
say. Perhaps just as key an ingredient to the writing of The Earth
Mandala was Bernie’s own inner experience of meditation and
his own intuitive way of "tuning into" the writing of
the material.
Bernie
began studying astrology in 1973 after encountering a book,
The Astrology of Personality by a Frenchman, Dane Rudhyar.
He came upon this book in a bookstore in Atlanta (he says it
found him!).
ACS
Publications published Bernie’s first book, Astrological
Games People Play, in 1987. The book shows how astrology and psychology
interface and how to make use of our astrological traits for self-growth.
This book was inspired by the work of Zipporah Dobyns, a pioneer
in modernizing astrology. Bernie met Ms. Dobyns in 1998 in Atlanta,
Ga, at the United Astrology Conference. She attended a lecture
he gave called Past Life Themes, and he was very pleased to meet
her! Zip’s daughter, Maritha Pottenger, an astrologer and
author herself, edited Bernie’s book. Bernie’s
next book was RoadMap to your Future: A Quick Guide to Transits
and Progressions, published
in 1994 by ACS. The book
is an interpretation of all of the cycles we encounter in a lifetime
through two techniques known as transits and progressions. RoadMap
was reprinted by the American Federation of Astrologers in 2000. Bernie’s
third book about relationships, SignMates: Understanding
the Games People Play, was published
by Llewellyn in 2000. Llewellyn
asked him to write a chapter for the book, Civilization Under
Attack,
published in late 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attack. The
chapter is titled Psychology of Terrorism. Bernie also wrote several astrology articles published in numerous
magazines and websites. He has lectured at numerous astrology conferences.
He is also a professional astrologer and really appreciates his
many clients. He says writing, teaching and lecturing have been
very rewarding. Bernie is known for tuning into the reality a person
is presently living and being a catalyst for their growth and inspiration.
Bernie enjoys residing in Durham, NC, with his wife, Beth, and
their Siamese cat, Mocha.
Bernie's new book "Intuition and Your Sun Sign" will be released June 2014 by Llewellyn publications.
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