Enrollment is open for the 2025 edition of my course Story Cycles: A Course on Secondary Progressions! 

Course Schedule: July 19 – August 16, 2025
Class Time: Saturdays, 9 am – 10:30 am Pacific Time

What are Secondary Progressions?

Secondary progressions are a symbolic timing technique in which each day following birth corresponds to a year of life. Since the timing of secondary progressions is based upon the correspondence of our experience of one solar day with our experience of one solar year, it means that if we are calculating the secondary progressed chart for someone who is forty years old, we will be looking at the astrological chart cast for forty days after their birth. This means that if someone lives to be ninety years old, the transits and cycles of the planets for the ninety days following their birth will define the timing of the secondary progressions across their lifetime.

Everything in our natal chart moves through secondary progressions, and it reveals critical turning points and transitions in our story when planets change signs, station and change direction, cross natal angles, or form new aspects with natal placements or other progressed placements. For example, someone born with the Sun in Virgo will experience important shifts as the progressed Sun moves into Libra and then Scorpio.

Why learn Secondary Progressions?

Secondary Progressions are a practical, accurate, and symbolically rich addition to your astrological toolkit for forecasting future storylines, deepening awareness of past influences upon the present, and marking important life transitions and shifts in personal growth.

Because the fractal nature of secondary progressions is based on the ancient concept of the part equaling the whole, they are one of the most powerful astrological techniques for connecting the astrological cycles at our time of birth with the trajectory of our life story. From the vaster whole of our entire life narrative, secondary progressions help us come into a deeper relationship with the part of our overall story we are currently living. They are potent for reflecting upon past experiences as well as in helping you write the next chapter of your life.

Considering secondary progressions will significantly alter the interpretation of transits and any other timing technique you are using. It offers a key perspective that is necessary to take into account with anyone you are working with in astrology.

Story Cycles Course Description

Each week students will receive a pre-recorded class to watch prior to the live class session. In the live class session we will build upon the material shared in the pre-recorded class to deepen understanding, interpretation, and application of secondary progressions through numerous live chart examples. Each live class will be recorded for all participants to experience, whether you can attend it live or not. There will be supplementary material given as well as homework assignments for those seeking structured practice.

We will also utilize an online forum channel where you can post questions and share learning with other course participants.

Week One: Saturday 19 July

Illuminated Storytelling: The Sun and Moon in Secondary Progressions

The first week will introduce the conceptual basis of secondary progressions and then shift into a focus on the importance of the Sun and Moon in secondary progressions. The Sun is at the center of the symbolic meaning underlying secondary progressions making it especially important. We will explore how the movement of the Sun in secondary progressions marks important life transitions and evolutions in personality. We’ll explore how the Sun changing signs, houses, and aspects through secondary progressions will pinpoint pivotal turning points in your overall narrative, increasing understanding of past, present, and future chapters of your story.

We will also explore how the astrological meaning of the Moon applies to secondary progressions and how the movement of the progressed Moon mirrors changes we experience in our life story. We will learn about the timing of the Moon’s cycle within secondary progressions, including the importance of the progressed lunar return and the Moon’s movement across angles and other important points in the natal chart. We will discover the meaning of the Moon shifting between elements, sign modalities, and house topics. We will also discuss the meaning of the Moon in secondary progressions making new aspects with natal placements as well as other progressed placements. We will also cover additional considerations of the Moon such as critical turning points in the Moon’s relationship with the lunar nodes in secondary progressions.

Week Two: Saturday, July 26

Cyclical Storytelling: Progressed Lunar Phases

One of the most powerful components of secondary progressions is the cyclic timing of the progressed lunar cycle. In the second week of the course we will apply what we have already learned about the progressed Sun and the progressed Moon into learning about the changing relationship between the progressed Sun and progressed Moon and how they create distinct chapters of our life story through the changes we experience in progressed lunar phases. Understanding the progressed lunar phase for someone enables you to have a clearer understanding of what phase of their life story they are currently living. We will use an eight-phase cycle for the Moon, exploring the meaning of the New Moon Phase, the Crescent Moon Phase, the First Quarter Phase, the Gibbous Phase, the Full Moon Phase, the Disseminating Phase, the Last Quarter Phase, and the Balsamic Phase.

Week Three: Saturday, August 2

The Light and Shadow of Mercury in Secondary Progressions

The fourth class will delve into the meaning of Mercury in secondary progressions and the importance of Mercury changing signs, crossing angles, and forming new aspects with natal and progressed placements. We will also learn how tracking the shift between Mercury’s phases with the Sun in secondary progressions is a powerful way to help people reflect upon their life story and envision the next chapter of their life. We will learn the meaning of Mercury’s solar phases and how they can be applied within secondary progressions to demarcate vital periods of personal development. Special attention will be given to the meaning found when Mercury shifts between being direct and retrograde as well as between being visible and invisible in secondary progressions.

Week Four: Saturday, August 9

The Mirror of Venus in Secondary Progressions

The fourth week will focus on the significance of Venus in secondary progressions. We will learn how Venus changing signs in secondary progressions can mirror changes we experience in our relationships, including inner shifts in desires that create changes in relational dynamics with others. We will also consider how the movement of Venus in secondary progression reflects changes in values, aesthetics, tastes, and creative expression we experience in life. However, the shifts of Venus in secondary progressions are not only about how our relationship desires and creative aesthetics change. We will discuss the need to understand the meaning of Venus in the natal chart and the additional house topics that the movement of Venus in secondary progressions will mirror. Special attention will also be given to understanding the solar cycle of Venus and its meaning within secondary progressions. We will spend extra time exploring the significance of the Venus retrograde phase in secondary progressions.

Week Five: Saturday, August 16

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Beyond

In the final week we will explore the slower-moving planets whose orbits are outside the orbit of Earth. We will primarily focus on the meaning of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in secondary progressions but will also consider examples of when Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto become important factors in secondary progressions. We will also learn about the synodic cycles of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and the phases of their cycle that are especially impactful in secondary progressions. Numerous examples will show the ways in which Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can define important chapters of personal stories in secondary progressions.

Total cost: $360

(payment plans are possible: contact me at consultation@graycrawford.net to discuss options)

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