The power of accompaniment
Two months ago, I started volunteering as a small claims mediator with Clackamas County. Mediation is a facilitated process that creates space for people in conflict to move toward a resolution that best fits their needs.
Sitting with people in conflict for two hours each week has gotten me thinking a lot about harm, repair, and healing. And recent events in the astrology community — namely, the controversy surrounding astrologer Steven Forrest — have had me thinking about these questions on a larger scale, too.
What becomes possible when we create spaces where people can listen to one another, acknowledge harm, and find a way forward grounded in healing — not only through public statements and online exchanges, but through relationship?
I don't have a simple answer to what repair should look like in every situation. But my experience as a mediator has made one thing increasingly clear to me:
Accompaniment matters.
Mediation makes possible conversations that might not happen without a mediator present. As a mediator, I don’t tell people what they should do. Instead, I help create the conditions for people in conflict to hear one another, clarify what they need, and exercise their own agency in finding a way forward.
This is influencing how I understand my work as an astrologer, too. I see myself not only as someone who offers an interpretation of cosmic wisdom, but as someone who can accompany, witness, and attend to what is surfacing for you at a particular moment in your life. I offer astrology as a mirror: a space to slow down, get curious, and ask what needs caring attention.
Recent events have reminded me that astrology is not immune to harm. And when harm happens, I believe we have a responsibility to name it and make space for accountability and repair.
But transformation doesn't happen simply because we understand harm and make a plan for repair. It is enacted and sustained through relationship — with ourselves, one another, and the values that guide us.