azineand NCGR Journal,as well as six newsletters. Many other publications are pro-
duced intermittently.
From its 1979 launch in a seminar at Princeton University attended by dele-
gates from chapters, NCGR developed and implemented a four-level education and
testing program leading toward certification for astrologers. The first three levels
cover basic techniques of astrology and require survey knowledge of its various special-
ties. The fourth professional level can be tested in four tracks: consulting, research,
instructor, or general studies. Each student who achieves Level 4 is entitled to include
“CA NCGR” after his or her name, and is identified in a special certified astrologers
section on the organization’s web site, http://www.geocosmic.org. Although NCGR does not
require that its members be practicing astrologers, more than 1,000 members have
participated in the organization’s testing program at Level 1 or above, and momentum
is building. The education curriculum and testing program are widely respected for
their excellence and rigor. Those who have successfully tested at Level 3 or above may
use that towards substantial credit for the technical course work required by Kepler
College of Astrological Arts and Sciences, the first accredited liberal arts college in
the United States to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in astrology.
To briefly summarize the history of NCGR, seven men and women met in
Wareham, Massachusetts, on March 6, 1971, at the home of Harry F. Darling, M.D.,
who became the organization’s first chairman. The official signing of the articles of
incorporation took place at 9:02 P.M. The founders included astrologers, medical pro-
fessionals, scientists, and scholars, all interested in exploring astrology as it related to
other disciplines. The name they chose, “geocosmic,” sought to avoid the popular mis-
understanding of astrology and set the tone for their purpose with a serious and schol-
arly approach to the study of correspondences between life on earth (“geo”) and the
cycles of the “cosmos”—in particular, that of our solar system.
The first three elected to head NCGR were medical doctors: Darling, followed
by Henry Altenberg, M.D., and Donald Wharton, M.D. In 1980, Neil F. Michelsen, a
businessman and pioneer of computer technology for astrologers, became chairman,
followed by Robert Hand, prominent astrologer, author, and software developer, and
the current chair, Maria Kay Simms, astrologer, author, and businesswoman. The late
A. Charles Emerson, a teacher, writer, and astrologer in New York City, who was
among NCGR’s founders, never served as chairman, but is widely considered to be the
“father of NCGR” because of his tireless work to build the organization through its first
two decades. Through his efforts, along with that of many astrologers’ countless hours
of volunteer service, NCGR moved beyond an initial “techie” reputation to welcome
and assist members of all levels of expertise who share its goals of continuing education
and the promotion of the highest professional and ethical standards for astrologers.NATIVE
A native is a person born in a particular place. In astrology, this term refers to the per-
son for whom a natal chart was cast. In the latter sense, it is a useful, concise term
that, in any extended discussion, is preferable to “person for whom this chart was cast”Native
[484] THEASTROLOGYBOOK