Showing posts with label Astrology in Greece. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Astrology in Greece. Show all posts

Wednesday 9 October 2019

The Greek Astrological "school" "Alternative Education" ("Enallaktiki Paideia") - (A Critical Approach by Thomas Gazis)


Some non-Greek fellow-astrologers have seen this article (in Greek) on Facebook and they thought it might be interesting. By using though the automatic Google translation they couldn't make much sense of its content.. So, I have translated the article in proper English, for them to read it.

Many of us, who are stating that astrology is our main subject of interest on Facebook, have been bombarded in the last few weeks by an "ad" that was calling us to enrol in the "Alternative Education" astrology "school" ("Enallaktiki Paideia" in Greek ). I wanted to write a review of this "school" but I waited for  the enrolments to be completed first, so that my criticism wouldn't be considered a malicious one. Now that they have been completed, I can more freely express my opinion.

The "Alternative Education" Astrology "school" caused a lot of fuss in Greece in April 2017, when it appeared on many TV news stories as the first astrology "school" ever in Greece, a "school" recognized by the Greek Ministry of Education! Many people who watched the specific news story were excited, hearing that a recognized astrology school has been established in Greece, providing official "astrology diplomas"! It seemed like brand new horizons were opening up for astrology in this mediterranean country. And that's odd because till recently Greece was a rather backward country, when we were coming down to astrology.

Personally, I have been dreaming for many years now the creation and establishment in Greece of an academic level Astrology School - and I have incessantly worked on a collective level to realize this vision - alongwith the one of a national Greek Astrological entity (association etc.)! So I would be one of the first persons in Greece to celebrate the establishment of a true Astrology School! I am stressing the word "true" because somebody can relatively easy create a "sort of astrology school" but in order to create an actual astrology school many terms and conditions must be fulfilled first. So let's see if these conditions are met in the case of  the "Alternative Education" center.

First of all - as you can see in the photo below of the "Alternative Education's" identity (you may click on it) - we are not dealing here with an academic type of "school" but with a "Lifelong Learning Center" - "LLC" or "ΚΔΒΜ" in Greek! There is a big difference between these two entities!



I wonder why the directors of "Alternative Education" display the actual status of their center with just its initials ("ΚΔΒΜ" in Greek, meaning "Lifelong Learning Center" - "LLC" !) Is it because they are ashamed to state publicly that theirs actually is a simple - NON academic - "LLC"? Or because they prefer to give to the public the impression that their center is a recognized by the Greek Ministry of Education "school" - without actually being it? If the latter applies then they mislead the public!

To give a hypothetical example, we could create a "Lifelong Learning Center" for knitting! At this center the art and the secrets of knitting would be explained. Secrets that ultimately our grandmother might hold much better than the rest of us. So our grandmother could lead a knitting section to a similar "LLC". But in no case she could become a "teacher" in an academic school, if she did't meet first a whole bunch of prerequisites!

Let's go to the second element that I have highlighted above in the identity of "Enallaktiki Paideia"! In the element stating that this "school" is composed of "distinguished astrologers, with extensive experience in Astrology teaching"! If we believe this claim then we must admit that "Alternative Education" has been staffed by foremost "teachers" of Astrology!

In reality though, there is no easy way to become  a TEACHER! And not just in Astrology but in any field. Actually, in Greece we do not even have many worthy Astrologers (our country ranks among the last in the West in Astrology Education, Astrology Research, etc.). So how did we suddenly get in Greece so many important Astrology teachers?

The concept "teacher" carries a lot of weight! Being a teacher of Astrology means that you are literally a mobile encyclopedia, in terms of Astrological Knowledge! That you are knowledgeable on any Astrology branch, on  any aspect of Astrology, no matter how small and trivial it might seem! That you also have knowledge of many different fields and subjects, such as Psychology, History, Politics, etc. That you are an integral person, with Principles and Ethics! These are the elements that constitute a true Astrology teacher!

From my part, though, I've never read a book, original astrological articles, or some kind of research by the majority of the "Alternative Education" employees who are claiming to be foremost Astrology teachers! And I am a man who reads a lot and peruses the publications of Greek astrologers of all kinds (I don't read of course the trivial weekly predictions, the Mercury retrograde hysteria etc. because I don't think that such "bubble-gum" kind of articles are worthwhile - nor they automatically render you an Astrology "teacher").

But let's go into some more specific details and take for example the case of Mrs Nona Voudouri. As she writes in her resume (and as you can see in the picture below) Ms. Voudouri has been working as an astrology teacher
at the "Alternative Education" LLC. since 2018 ! She even mentions that she  took lessons in this very "school". The point is that  the "Alternative Education" center was founded in April 2017! Which ultimately means that in just a few months, Ms Voudouri has turned from a mere astrology student into an astrology teacher! We're talking here about things that are not serious at all!






Finally, let's look at the third statement that I have underlined on the "identity" of the "Alternative Education" center. The statement saying that this particular
"LLC" "will employ as teachers the most important Greek Astrologers "! Since I am an old hand at the various vicissitudes of the Greek astrology scene I can assure you that the "Alternative Education" has actually done the opposite: it employed none of the people who are the truly leading Greek Astrologers (you can see my relative article here)! I mean people like Nicholas Kampanes, Konstantine Stefanou, Yianni Symeonoglou (unfortunately he passed away early in 2019,  with the bitterness in his heart that his work will never reach the wider public). Despite its "fanfare" statements, the "Alternative Education" did not employ any of these three foremost  Astrologers, which are among the few in Greece that meet the prerequisites of a proper Astrology teacher! So why the directors of  the "Alternative Education" (some very knowledgeable and connected people) did not employ these leading Greek Astrologers as teachers of their "school", when they founded their school?

All in all, the Greek "Enallaktiki Paideia"
"school" is in reality a LLC. center of not very sincere intentions. But this "school" would never actually exist unless the very Greek public had "summoned" it! A public that considers the formalities more important than the essence. You see, the diploma provided by any school has no value "per se"! Its value is derived exclusively by the overall quality of the "school" the diploma is provided by - and of course by the worth of that school's teachers! 

Thomas D. Gazis

Sunday 18 February 2018

Meet Fabulous Astrologer Nadiya Shah in Athens - Greece (at the "Babel Astro-Scholar evenings")!



(Το άρθρο στα Ελληνικά: εδώ )
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The "Babel Astro-Scholar evenings" are a series of free talks and lectures taking place in Athens - Greece every Tuesday, at a cozy and friendly Art-space (located in Marousi, at the number 87 of Vas. Sophias street). We are trying to offer to the Greek public the best of International Astrology and we have had so far great, generous Astrologers from all over the world talking to us, via the internet!