When I first started studying astrology, I discovered a guy named David Roell, who had an astrology bookstore in southern California. This was during the winter of 1994-1995. I didn’t have astrology software; David had a chart casting service that I used copiously. He had every book you could imagine, and I spent most of my money casting charts and purchasing books.
I would do this by phone. Dave had a lot to say. He was lonely where he was, I think around Oxnard somewhere, in a neighborhood without a lot of people. My calls to him would turn into extensive astrology classes.
I would call his toll-free number, 1-800-475-2272, night after night, and get donated lessons the entire winter, each of which went on as long as I could keep going. I learned a lot of astrology from Dave. He explained every book he sold me, and answered my questions on many, many charts.
He had read a lot of books. I am sure he holds the unofficial world’s record in English for reading astrology books. The benefit of that, among others, is that he could navigate around the history of astrological ideas and traditions. This was mingled with his love of music, as a listener and as a composer. I think he may have identified as a musician first and astrologer second.
He was also a repository of knowledge about Eastern religion, various matters of psychic affairs, Blavatsky, occultism in general, ghosts, reincarnation, UFOs and numerous other subject areas, and had something intelligent to say about all of it. More than being an opinionist, which he definitely was, he was a theorist. That is what Aquarius is famous for — coming up with theories. Usually they were interesting; sometimes they were funny — he believed that Porphyry houses should be banned. Everyone should know someone like this.
Before I went to Egypt, he cautioned that if someone (for a little money) offered to get me the opportunity to sleep inside the Great Sphinx, not do to it, owing to the potential for some severe energetic impact. He was generally cautious about encounters with people we’ve known in past lives, contrary to New Age thinking that we’re all good old buddies (some of us are, some of us are not, and not everyone wants to clear their karma with people from the past).