In this exclusive interview for MysticMag, we delve into the fascinating journey of Diane Booth Gilliam, MA, the founder of Yogastrology®. Starting her career in an era when yoga was considered unconventional, Diane transformed her passion for yoga and astrology into a unique practice that integrates both disciplines, offering profound insights through her innovative approach.
When did you begin in this profession and what were your beginnings like?
Decades ago, in the USA, yoga was a very oddball thing to do. There were no yoga brand names, no cachet attached to it. Nothing like that.
At that time, I was working in an insurance office. I was so miserable there. Out of the corner of my eye one day, I saw a yoga class advertised at the local YMCA, and I went.
YOGA || In the first class, I had an intense IN-my-body and simultaneous OUT-of-body experience. It rocked my world.
Afterward, I looked for yogis and instructors to practice with and learn from. Eventually, I became a Certified Yoga Therapist and Registered Yoga Teacher. Then this happened:
ASTROLOGY || At a Christmas party, I struck up a conversation with an intriguing woman with shiny black hair and star-shaped earrings. Turns out she was a professional astrologer and I ended up going to see her for a series of readings. Finally, she suggested I “let go of everything you don’t absolutely need, because it will weigh you down.”
I didn’t know then — but now, I am a chart-reading astrologer myself, so I know — massive Pluto transits were set to arrive at a crucial part of my chart, which meant big changes in a certain area of my life. Pluto transits spell total transformation. Shortly after the astrologer said that, I moved into a monastery. In India. The seeds for Yogastrology® had been planted.
How did you get into Yoga + Astrology = Yogastrology®?
Excellent question. So I kept practicing yoga — not just the postures, but the complete practice, in the monastery in India.
Did you know New Moon and Full Moon rituals happen in monasteries? Enthralling, ancient, ceremonial rituals. Reliable and dependable as the daily sunrise and sunset. Sun and Moon rituals have been performed since the beginning of time, to soothe and uplift humanity. (I feature temple arts in my Institute training program.)
Getting back to your question, curiously the word Yogastrology® came to me first. I had to figure out what that word even meant, and that required years of scholarly research and personal practice.
Then I wrote the book, Yogastrology® Yoga Meets Astrology and my training Institute started to take off.
Now Yogastrology® stretches around the globe. It keeps growing beyond my wildest dreams.
You teach others through the Yogastrology® Institute year-long, online program. What can you tell me about that part of your work?
I can tell you it is alive. Finely-crafted. Experiential. Gently brimming with the vitality and vibrancy yogis call prana.
Hatha Yoga (postures) actually means
Sun = Ha
and
Moon = tha
in Sanskrit. It’s grounding to align with natural cycles of the Sun and Moon. Feeling the rhythm of eternity pulsating in your own body changes you.
What makes Yogastrology® unique?
Yoga + Astrology = Yogastrology® opens the door. It has led to yoga studios offering astrology-related events, like Full Moon gatherings or Summer Solstice classes.
As a successful author, what books have you written, and what are they about?
In 2011, I wrote and published the 1st Edition of Yogastrology®: Yoga Meets Astrology — a great little introductory text. Famous yogis started writing to me about their zodiac signs, and that was a cue to write the next edition, to include their insightful interviews. The 2nd edition of my book came out in 2013.
Yogastrology® Institute coursework starts with the basic structure of my book, but we plunge in much deeper in the Institute, indulging in rich explorations of embodied astrology all year long.
In closing, my newest project is another oddball. It contains the excitement of anything goes — I’m collecting essays about taboo topics we’re taught to keep quiet about. People love opening up to share experiences we’ve never told anyone before.
To learn more about Yoga + Astrology = Yogastrology®, you can visit Yogastrology.com
