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How do I schedule an initial session?
Send an email to bill@billherbst.com.
Click here to send me an email requesting a session.
Please be sure to include in your email:
1. your first and last name (whatever you call yourself)
2. your birth-data (full date, accurate time, and place of birth)
3. your mailing address (so I know where you are, meaning what time zone)
4. the telephone number you want me to call
(assuming you're in the U.S.)
I'll email back dates and times when I'm free over the next couple of weeks. Scheduling may take a couple of email exchanges, but we'll find a day and time that works for us both.
I'm available both weekdays and weekends, but I do only one session per day (this is intense work for me, and I'm not as young as I once was, so I limit sessions to one per day to maintain my physical health and preserve my emotional sanity).
What is the cost of a session?
Astrological sessions are currently a flat fee of $180.00.
How long are your sessions?
Sessions vary in length. We talk until we've addressed your concerns and shared as much as we can in one conversation. Sometimes an hour is sufficient. 90 minutes is usually as much as most people can absorb. I don't go longer than two hours, because my own energy and focus give out.
How do I pay and when?
Simply mail me a check after the session (not before). My mailing address is:
Bill Herbst
404 Cressida Street SE
Olympia, Washington (WA) 98513-1595
If you prefer, you can pay online through PayPal, by credit card or checking account debit. NOTE: Please do not send a PayPal payment before your session.
To pay electronically online after having your session, enter your email address and phone number, then click the "PAYPAL CLICK HERE TO PAY" box below. PayPal will notify me by email of your $180.00 payment.
PayPal is free and totally secure. Your credit card or checking account information is completely private and isn't sent to me. I've never had a single problem with PayPal.
For more information on PayPal, go to the PayPal web site.
Should I send you specific questions before the session?
No, please don't. Any questions you have about specific issues or particular circumstances are best brought up during the session itself, rather than beforehand. Since I'll be talking about your life from the inside out, it's better for us both if I enter the session "clean," so to speak, without preconceived notions or limiting expectations.
Do you work in-person or over the phone?
Right now I work exclusively by telephone. In past decades, when I lived and worked in homes I owned, about 80% of my sessions were local and in-person, with only 20% long-distance. Now I don't own a home, I live in a friend's house, and I'm very comfortable with phone sessions. Working by telephone is easy, efficient, and keeps the sessions focused, with no distractions.
Do I call you?
If you're in the U.S., I call you (and I pay for the call). If you're outside the U.S., you'll need to call me, since I use a cell phone exclusively, rather than a land line, and my cell is U.S.-only for outgoing calls.
Do you record sessions for your clients?
Yes. I record all sessions for clients at no extra charge.
I make a digital recording of our conversation, convert it to an mp3 after the session, then upload the mp3 file to a private page on my web site. I email you a link to that page, from which you then download the file. The mp3 files are big, roughly 25 megs, but downloading with a broadband connection takes just a couple of minutes. Each client's private page stays up on my web site for a month, during which time you can download your mp3 file again if you lose it (that happens).
After you download the mp3 recording, you can listen to it on your computer with iTunes or other free mp3 software players, or copy it onto any portable mp3 player, such as an iPod.
If you're not computer-savvy and are unfamiliar with downloading procedures or mp3 technology, please find a friend who can help you (as opposed to asking me).
Why do you call what you do "sessions" rather than "readings?"
A "reading" is the popular term for an astrological interpretation. I shy away from that word because it implies a certain passivity on the part of the client. Much of the public mistakenly assumes that purchasing a "reading" is akin to buying any other consumer commodity, like a pair of Gucci shoes. You pay your money, you get your shoes. Done deal.
My work is not a pre-fab product or standard "textbook" chart interpretation. Yes, I offer my professional insights into your chart, but you contribute also. I bring the astrological tools, along with my long experience as an astrologer, and my best understanding of human nature. You bring the knowledge of your real life with all its history and circumstances, plus your best consciousness.
Natal charts describe the basic machinery behind our life-experience. Our awareness as individuals is initially a product of that bio-psychic machinery, but over time the feedback loop of consciousness refines the hard-wiring, shifting its levels. In other words, the meanings of your chart (and my interpretations) change substantially according to how awake and self-aware you are.
Your willingness to work in the session by interacting with me from your highest awareness about yourself and your life makes an incredible difference in the quality of the information we can access and share.
I don't do this work alone. We do it together. So it's not a "reading." It's a co-creation. We are defining, refining, and clarifying the story of who you are, to help you live with more awareness of your inner self and better attunement to the outer experiences of your life.
What kind of information can I expect in a first session?
My primary focus is on what I call "central life-purpose." That term is shorthand for "what you're on the planet for." Central purpose starts with the hierarchy of basic human paradoxes that drive your particular life and the resulting core experiences that are always critical to your experience. Everything begins with and returns to those levels. I'll spend perhaps half the session establishing various dimensions of your life-purpose. Then we'll discuss where you are now and where you're headed on that life-path through the matrix of active cycles unfolding in your chart over time.
What we discuss in any session, whether the first time we talk or the hundredth time, depends always on two things: what's happening in your life and what's happening in your chart. You bring the information from your real life, I bring the information from your astrological chart, and together we'll make sense of them both.
Does the session cover everything in my chart?
No. Astrology is a symbolic system that contains literally endless information. No matter how many sessions we did, we could never address "everything" in your chart. Among the qualities that make certain astrologers better than others is the ability to pare down the overwhelming amount of chart data to reveal the core of significance and meaning in the client's life at any given time.
Think of the consultation as if it were a meal. Since the information from charts goes on forever, we could cook up a ton of food, but you can eat only a certain amount before you're full. If you overeat (by taking in too much information), you'll have trouble digesting and feeling nourished. So less is more, actually, from the standpoint of spiritual nutrition. You can always have another meal later, and it's never the same food twice.
Remember, the session is NOT primarily about your chart. It's about your LIFE. The tools of astrology are a means to the end of discussing what's relevant to you at the time of the session.
What birth information do you need from me?
I require full birth data to do a session. This includes:
- DATE of birth (month, day and year)
- TIME of birth (local clock time, from a birth certificate or hospital record)
- PLACE of birth (city, state and country, with any clarification necessary for me to determine the location)
How important is an accurate time of birth?
Time of birth is critical in real astrology. Birth times that are incorrect by as little as one hour (or even less) can radically alter the entire meaning of a chart.
DO NOT guess your birth time. And DO NOT trust your parents' memories. Check your birth certificate or call the hospital where you were born and ask for the Records Department (hospitals in America are required by Federal Law to keep all birth times on record, and you have a legal right to your own birth time). While even birth certificates or hospital records are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, such written records are the best sources we have.
If you cannot obtain an accurate birth time, then astrology is probably not the right system for you. Instead, consult with a practitioner who uses a different symbolic or intuitive method. (For a personal referral to two of my colleagues who are trustworthy, experienced, and reputable professionals using non-astrological techniques, please email me and I will send you their names and contact information.)
Is there a minimum age to have a session?
Yes. My work is designed for people who have amassed a certain level of life-experience. Except in extraordinary circumstances, I do sessions only with people who are at least 21 years old.
I sometimes work with children's or adolescents' charts, but mainly for existing clients who are parents and want to better understand their children's lives. Parenting is usually the hardest job any of us will ever face, and families are a big deal for almost everyone. As a general rule, however, I don't do sessions about newborns or infants.
Will you send me a copy of my natal chart?
After the session, I will email you a PDF file (Adobe Acrobat format) containing the custom graphics I prepare of your chart and major transits. You can view this file on your computer or print it out as hard copy for your records.
Do you sell written reports?
Absolutely NOT. "Written reports" are generally canned (pre-written) textbook interpretations that are then assembled piecemeal into a long document. These kinds of reports are the lowest level of astrological interpretation. They may claim to be comprehensive, offering 40-50 pages of written material, but in this case quantity serves only to hide an appalling lack of quality. In 35 years I have never seen a single computer-generated astrological report that was worth the paper on which it was printed. Trust me on this.
Do you recommend additional sessions?
If you decide after our initial session that you'd like to work with me further, that's great. Life changes, and each session is different. While initial sessions have a special impact all their own, there is no substitute for deepening knowledge and trust. I much prefer to work with people I know — the longer I know my clients, the better the work becomes. I have many clients I've worked with for more than 20 years, and those enduring relationships make this crazy profession worth doing.
When and how often we have further sessions is entirely up to you. I don't have any particular structure or schedule for work with my ongoing clientele. Instead, I'm more like a coach who is always on the sidelines and is available when you want or need insight or feedback into how the game is going or how you should approach it. Some of my clients consult me once a year, like an annual check-up. Other clients have sessions much more frequently. That is always up to you and the unique needs of your particular life.
Simply email me to request a session whenever you want or need one.
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