Speaker Biographies

Abstract Title: Astrology, Time and Entanglement

Biography:
Nicholas Campion is Associate Professor in Cosmology and Culture, Principal Lecturer in the Institute of Education and Humanities and Director of the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He is Programme Director of the University’s MAs in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, and Ecology and Spirituality. His books include the two-volume History of Western Astrology (Bloomsbury, 2008/9), the definitive work on the subject, Astrology and Cosmology in the World’s Religions (New York University Press, 2012), The New Age in the Modern West: Counter-Culture, Utopia and Prophecy from the late Eighteenth Century to the Present Day (Routledge, 2015). Recent papers include ‘Einstein’s Cosmic Religion’, Intersections of Religion and Astronomy, ed. Aaron Ricker (London: Routledge, Religion and Science series, 2020); and ‘The Importance of Cosmology in Culture: Contexts and Consequences’, in Abraao Jesse Capistrano de Souza (ed.), Cosmology (Rijeka: InTech Open, 2017), pp. 3-17.

Name: Crystal Eves

Abstract Title: Spatio-Temporal Representation and the Language of Astrology

Biography:
Crystal Eves is a Canadian astrologer with 30 years of international client work. She came to the MA program with an honours BSc from the University of Toronto and foundational training in psychoanalysis. Crystal belongs to the Canadian Chronobiology Association and the Canadian Positive Psychology Association and she stays abreast of scientific research in both of these fields. Her writing has appeared in the Mountain Astrologer and in the Toronto Star.

Name: Kim Farnell

Abstract Title: The Relationship between Women’s Media and Popular Astrology

Biography:
Kim Farnell MA is a freelance writer and editor who has written extensively on the history of astrology. As a trained astrologer, she has written horoscope columns for numerous publications and was President of the Astrological Lodge of London for twelve years.

Name: Chris Layser

Abstract Title: Maya Skyscape Iconology and "The Vase of the Count of Days"

Biography:
Chris Layser is a student of the University of Oklahoma Archaeoastronomy graduate program and holds an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from the University of Wales TSD. He is on the board of the Pre-Columbian Society of the Penn Museum and is a member of the Society for Cultural Astronomy in the American Southwest. Much of his fieldwork occurs in Belize where he participates in excavation, digital mapping and 3D spatial analysis as a volunteer with the Maya Research Program. He is employed as a network engineer in Pennsylvania where he lives with his wife and two golden retrievers.

Name: Astrid B. Leimlehner

Abstract Title: The Marriage Of Astrology And Psychology – A 20th Century Phenomenon?

Biography:
Astrid Bernadette Leimlehner was born and still lives in Linz, Austria. She studied psychology at the University of Salzburg in the 1990s. Astrid received her MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology in 2015 (distinction) and was awarded the first Dissertation Prize of the Sophia Centre’s Alumni Association (2016). Currently working as an independent scholar, Astrid translates primary and secondary sources from German into English and vice versa, speaks at conferences and writes papers. Research interests: historical, philosophical and psychological perspectives of astrology, alchemy and related fields; the representation of the stars in literature and in lyrics of songs.

Name: Jayne Logan

Abstract Title: Using Qualitative Narrative Research to investigate mid-life crisis

Biography:
Graduating from the MA-CAA (UWTSD) in 2019, Jayne continues her life-long engagement with personal development which has gradually morphed from mainstream to esoteric pursuits. Following her dissertation, she segued into evolutionary astrology after experiencing the transformative potential of this approach and now focuses on working with others to support their journey. Jayne is a semi-retired Management and Human Resources Consultant and a Certified Professional Coach specializing in Organizational, Leadership and Personal Development. She is currently exploring the potential of Astro-Genealogy, researching her family of origin and writing a family memoir. Based in Canada, Jayne divides her time between North America and the UK.

Name: Alina Pelteacu

Abstract Title: Is there a role for the Daimon/Guardian Angel in Twentieth-Century Psychological Astrology?

Biography:
Alina Pelteacu holds an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from the University of Wales TSD since 2018. Graduating from the Politehnica University of Bucharest (chemical engineer's degree) and CNAM Paris (Executive MBA) in 2004, she subsequently combined managerial positions in editing and printing fields, and later, and for more than a decade, managing the commercial activity of the Romanian stamp-issuing company, and currently as a freelance book publisher. Her projects as publisher include the release in 2019 of the Romanian translation of Nicholas Campion’s Astrology and Cosmology in the World’s Religions originally published in English by New York University Press in 2012. She currently resides in Bucharest with her family and some of her collaborators. She can be contacted at alina_pelteacu@yahoo.com

Name: Garry Pillipson

Abstract Title: Panpsychism and Astrology

Biography:
Garry completed his Phd thesis, Astrology and Truth: A Context in Contemporary Epistemology in 2020. He is also the author of Astrology in the Year Zero (2000), curator of Cosmocritic.com and is a part-time tutor for the Sophia Centre.

Name: David Rubin

Abstract Title: Is there mazal in Israel? A tale of two citings

Biography:
David Rubin, author of Eye to the Infinite: How to increase divine awareness - A Guide to Jewish Meditation, combines work as a ritual scribe, with lecturing on Jewish meditation and providing soul-centered astrological advice to members of the global Jewish community. A long-standing interest in astrology has taken him from the works of Ibn Ezra, to Vedic and Western Medieval astrology. Having received tuition from Noel Tyl, he is presently engaged in Tyl's Master's Degree Certification Course in humanistic astrology.

Name: Liesel Wilkes

Abstract Title: Contemporary Cosmology in Hip-hop and the Rap Language

Biography:
Astrology was Liesel’s first love. It gave her the insight to approach her ninth house Saturn Return by entering into further education, studying Social Policy with Community and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex. This led her into a career as a Health Professional in Substance Misuse Treatment. After ten years of working in the field, and Uranus transiting her Midheaven, Liesel decided to return to her first love and embarked on the MA in Cultural Astrology and Astronomy at University of Wales Trinity St David, which she completed in 2019. Her days are now spent reconnecting with nature and the cosmos.