Who is Soma's Voyage Astrology?
My name is Ivey, and I am a Seattle born artist and astrologer. I practice sidereal Vedic Astrology from the Indian tradition (Jyotish) which has been practiced without interruption for thousands of years. This tradition uses a sidereal (star based) zodiac. The sidereal zodiac is fixed to the actual ecliptic constellations in the sky. The Vedic tradition puts primacy on the path of the Moon through the 27 Nakshatras or lunar mansions (divisions of the larger zodiac constellations.) Soma was both a nectar of immortality, but also the Indian Moon Deity (the personification of the Moon.) Soma’s Voyage is a reference to this tracing of the moon’s journey through its lunar mansions every 2.5 days.
I am also a certified Hellenistic Astrologer in the ancient Greek tradition. The Hellenistic tradition was contemporaneous with that of ancient India and shared many similarities and cross-cultural interactions. But these practices were lost to the history of Western Astrology until rediscovered ancient texts were translated into English in the 1990s. This practice is tied to the seasons and oriented around the Sun, hence when I use techniques from this tradition, I view the chart with a tropical (rather than sidereal) zodiac calculation as Modern Western Astrologers do while using ancient techniques rarely utilized amongst MW astrologers.
I sometimes utilize both traditional approaches when I want to check for congruency. Both systems are valid and effective and should therefore affirm similar results.
No matter the approach I am using, I do so by starting with whole sign houses in the natal chart as the ancient astrologers did, relying primarily on the seven inner planets/celestial bodies and the nodes of the moon (the two ecliptic points.) They did not use the outer planets, which were only discovered much later, but are heavily relied on in Modern Western Astrology today. I consider them only when there is a strong reason for it in your chart (if Pluto is directly transiting or opposing an important point in your chart at the time in question, for instance.) I'm sure you will find that the traditional uses of the planets already provided a complex, nuanced, resonating understanding of your chart and life without them.
I offer several consultation services such as in-person, video chat, or audio recordings for your own personal birth chart and karmas, relationship or family karma analysis (comparing up to three birth charts,) as well as chart analysis for current or past major life transitions. A consultation is meant to be an opportunity to verify or correct our perceptions about ourselves, our life, and our relationships. I am there to help you see your life through a different lens, or to reaffirm something about yourself that you knew but weren't sure about until it was vocalized. It is a form of collaborative omen reception facilitated by my background in polyvalent interpretations and years of study and practice in this ancient tradition.
My readings are always gender affirming and LGBTQIA friendly.
My Background
I have been an enthusiast of sidereal astrology for many years, my first exposure coming via sangha members within Tibetan (Vajrayana) Buddhism. I’ve been a devoted student of Vedic Astrology (Jyotisha) for nearly 20 years. I am also a certified Hellenistic Astrologer. I’m constantly learning to incorporate other astrological traditions, approaches, and techniques from around the globe including ancient Mayan, Babylonian, and Mythopoetic/Archetypal Astrology to my practice. It is my belief that to become an expert one must remain a perpetual student.
I am deeply grateful to my teachers/gurus/lamas within both ancient and classical astrological traditions, as well as Vajrayana Buddhism, who offer a wide body of astrological research, a rich textual tradition from the classical and ancient texts, and profound guidance and spiritual wisdom.
In addition to chart work, I also offer commissioned handmade multimedia textile/upcycled fabric collages which I create based on your own unique chart elements (or that of a close loved one such as a new baby, partner, or a departed loved one.) These are one-of-a-kind textiles meant to be hung on the wall. For inquiries, please email me for details and availability. These typically require several months to make and deliver to you, so please keep that in mind.
My academic studies and degree from The University of Washington and The Evergreen State College were interdisciplinary in nature. From Comparative Literature and Film Studies in Russian and German histories, to Fine Arts, Cultural and Medical Anthropology, French and Political Philosophy and the Comparative History of Ideas, my interests were always the study of people and their ideas.
I am also a trained doula, postpartum doula, and aspiring death doula. Life transitions are my area of strongest interest. I travel internationally frequently, and I practice meditation on the beach under the stars as often as possible.