ASC’s Natal Chart

In 1972, a handful of astrology lovers sat on a waterbed in Hartford’s “hippie” West End to discuss forming a group. They never imagined their membership would swell to triple digits in many of its fifty years of existence. The Astrological Society of Connecticut, Inc. is one of the nation’s longest-operating regional astrological groups. Of course, they used astrology to select the date and time for such an important founding event, turning to a preeminent astrologer of the day, Doris Chase Doane, for a recommendation. The resulting chart launched ASC’s success and longevity.

As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, ASC is run entirely by volunteer members and operates without an office, our only locations a P.O. box and a website (https://myasc.org). For decades (until interrupted by COVID), we’ve met at Keeney Memorial Cultural Center in charming, colonial Wethersfield. Since March 2020, events have been streamed online, with hybrid presentations added in May 2022.

With a mission to educate about astrology, ASC offers lectures and workshops by well-respected astrologers, recording these for a lending library for members. Recordings go back decades and span a plethora of topics – you could say “everything under the Sun.” Since 2020, we’ve been compiling video recordings of our events.

A newsletter begun in the ‘80s called The ASCendant (combining our initials with the term for the zodiac degree rising in the east) grew into an extensive journal. This was followed by The Lunar Quarterly, a shorter newsletter distributed four times a year as the seasons changed. Nowadays, a monthly newsletter is emailed.

Fun is often on the docket at ASC and usually our December holiday lecture is on a more light-hearted or entertaining topic. There’s frequently a summer picnic with telescope stargazing. Occasionally, we’ve had field trips to a planetarium or other astrological-related event or exhibit, or crazy parties like the Fire & Ice “Winter Picnic” in 1995 and the “Coyote Moon Howl” in 1997. And at our last of symposium, “CUSPacho: A Cosmic Soup” in 1996, we enjoyed “astro-improv” by players from our group trained by a member who did improv comedy professionally.

Stretching beyond astrology into the realm of spiritual studies, in late 1985, we began running New Age Fairs. The fairs have a large following for the wide variety of vendors, wellness practitioners, readers and free lectures, providing a sampling of the metaphysical world to the public and acting as a key fundraiser. Our fairs usually include a Basics of Astrology class and/or a free lecture on a celestial subject. Other outreach efforts have included Astrology Awareness Days and Countdown 2000, an examination of future trends and predictions for the new millennium. Our Speaker Bureau, begun in the 2000s, offers lectures to local libraries, senior centers and organizations.

Since 1980, speakers have signed the large tablecloth used at our meeting check-in table. It’s a significant piece of our Society’s history, a tradition spearheaded by former president, Alberta Benson. Now it’s covered with embroidered signatures of astrologers from far and wide, several from our own ranks, many no longer of this world. This memento may be unique to ASC and it’s the inspiration for the cookbook, The Astrologer’s Table, prepared for our fiftieth anniversary year. In our organization’s birth chart, the Moon (related to food, cooking and eating) is on the rise (a prominent position, indicating outwardly expressed traits). ASC events inevitably feature food, so sharing our recipes is natural. In fact, this is our second foray into the culinary arena, following Stewing and Brewing With the Stars in 1978.

With the current resurgence of astrology’s popularity, ASC’s mission is still relevant. At 50, we’re as strong as ever, growing coast to coast, with some international members. Utilizing the newest technologies, we’re adapting to the post-pandemic world and looking forward to staying connected and learning together, whether in person or in cyberspace.