Astronomy & Spirituality
In Our Daily Lives
Blending Knowledge and Understanding
with Love, Joy, Awe, and Faith
to Enhance Our Lives
and Deepen Our Connection
to ALL THAT IS
with astronomer Joyous Judy Young, Ph.D.
I offer consulting on creating and building both Astronomical Gardens and Sunwheels (i.e.
stone circle calendars with astronomical alignments). This consulting can be
done over the phone, over e-mail, or in person. Please contact me for more information.
The weekend retreat "Connect with the Universe" to be held
at the Rowe Camp and Conference Center in 2008
will include instruction on how to build a Sunwheel, astronomical garden, or stone circle calendar
with astronomical alignments. Contact me for more information.
I give power-point talks to public groups on the following topics:
I answer questions from the public regarding Sunwheels and calendar sites around the world, the intricacies of the Moon's cycles (lunar phases, eclipses, and the 18.6-year cycle leading to the Major Lunar Standstill), the cause of the seasons, and the subtle peculiarities in the times of sunrise and
sunset throughout the year. Just send me an e-mail.
I will lead a 4-day retreat entitled "Star Light, Star Bright" in Amherst, MA during the summer of 2008.
This program will combine the daily spiritual practices of meditation, yoga, prayer, and
mindfulness with astronomical knowledge and understanding of the Sun, Moon, and stars to
enrich our lives and deepen our connection to All That Is. We will make a pilgrimage to
the U.Mass. Sunwheel, and engage our full Self (mind/body/spirit) at sunrise and sunset,
as we peacefully experience the transition from day into night, and back again.
We will use the Sunwheel teachings on the solstices and equinoxes to explore the
seasons of our lives, and we will use the Medicine Wheel teachings on the
metaphorical significance of the 4 directions to reveal the deep ways we can connect
with our surroundings. As we enrich our sense of Who We Are, and Who We Are Becoming,
our spirits will shine brightly with love and joy.
I am creating a 1-2 week camp on "Astronomy and Spirituality in Our Daily Lives" to be held at the Blacktail Ranch in Montana, which is the site of the Sunwheel which inspired me to build the one at U.Mass. These camps will enable transformational experiences of both the astronomical and spiritual Universes, including: