This last week I had the joy of meeting and interviewing Dr. Sherri Taylor, a gifted teacher who co-conducts the monthly Cosmic Consciousness: An Astro-Wellness Salon here at The Raven's Wing.
Can you tell me how you and Andi developed your ideas for Cosmic Consciousness?
Well I have been a fan and friend of the Raven’s Wing for many, many, many years. I’m sure we’re in double digit years at this point. I had approached Andi a while back to follow a dream that I had to offer some type of workshop or group and at the time I think that the docket was full so to speak; he was excited but he told me to sort of like circle back when I had some more fleshed out ideas and that he would keep me in mind for the future.
Then the pandemic happened and so those ideas got put on hold for a while. At some point I just walked into the Store and decided to ask Andi if he wanted to collaborate with me on doing a kind of embodied or body-based consciousness and astrology offering. I remember standing in the store with him and we started creating it right there and getting more and more excited. We came up with the name Cosmic Consciousness: An Astro-Wellness Salon and so it was!
We really wanted to have a space for people to feel intuitively how they experience the energies of the zodiac in their bodies & in their lives. We also wanted to offer educational components, experiential things, and importantly we wanted to give back to the community. Every salon a portion of its proceeds get donated to a community organization who in some way embodies the liberating themes associated with that sign.
How did we develop our ideas? – well we meet and then we vibe! You know we bring our most nerdy Aquarian moon selves into conversation with each other and it really takes off. We will often have a moment in the prep conversations where we are both like, “Oh we’re here. It’s on.” It’s super fun to create this for the participants – it’s a great joy plus I get to create handouts and we make a playlist for each sign! Such a space of creativity.
Can you tell me about your background in Astrology?
I have casually studied astrology for 10 years or so and over the last four years I’ve gotten increasingly more formalized in my study; taking online classes, checking-out conferences, etc. At times taking copious notes and falling down different rabbit holes has been my best teacher. Ultimately, I am learning astrology from the “inside out” so to speak and trying to figure out what type of contribution I can make to someone’s understanding of these concepts and energies. Some of the people I would call my teachers are Demetra George, Christopher Warnock, Kelly’s Surtees, Chani Nicolas, Stephen Forrest, and Renee Sills. There are many others, but these come immediately to mind.
I also really love learning about the feeling of certain signs via the body. Sphere and Sundry products are always great for having a more intimate encounter with a particular sign. I learn so much preparing for the salons, talking with Andi, and the salon participants themselves. I find astrology really welcoming and there’s so many ways to dive into the “meaning” of a sign.
What excites you the most about Astrology?
I have felt seen and validated in ways that I could not believe though deep study of my natal chart. I also feel like I have slowly come into some deeper appreciation for and understanding of the profound ecological webs that we inhabit as humans in this big cosmos. I also see a lot of lessons about doing power differently, about liberation, freedom, and imagination in astrology and that excites me a great deal.
Can you tell me what your astrological sign is?
Virgo Sun, Aquarius Moon, Virgo Rising
Are there other parts of your practice besides Astrology that you could elaborate on?
I am a dreamer/dream worker. I have also been called a Minister of Imagination. I am the guardian and steward of a very emergent beautiful gift called the Black Womxn’s Dream Lab. These are spaces for Black womxn to commune, rest, and heal together via learning about dream work and dream medicine. The Black Womxn’s Dream Lab explicitly centers and amplifies the eros and audacity of Black Joy. It is something I was led to offer some years back and I have some fantastic collaborators who I work with to have these offerings, but/and/also the Black Womxn’s Dream Lab moves at the pace of Spirit. It comes to visit when it chooses. There will be one in 2022 coming soon!
Do you have other projects that you are working on?
Probably too many to mention. My other primary intention is to write a book about why we should all be thinking about death in order to live more robust and authentic lives. Tentatively titled, (Always) Start with the End in Mind.
For more information about Sherri and the services she offers or to sign up for Cosmic Consciousness: An Astro-Wellness Salon be sure to check out the links below.