My Friendship with Astrologer Robert Schmidt
by Michael Erlewine
I’m starting to dig through the 80 hard drives I have collected, one by one. I came across a video from
the 2nd Neo-Astrology Conference is June of 1990, where my good and close friend Robert Schmidt was speaking on “Intensive Magnitude” and Chaos Theory. Theodor Landscheidt was also present. Here Robert Schmidt and I discuss our friendship and how we met, also Schmidt is giving a talk.
I would like to share with you something of my relationship with Robert Schmidt. In my life I have known a lot of astrologers, many of them friends. Robert has been a special friend and perhaps I can make that clearer by telling you how we met.
Video of Ribert Schmidt and Michael Erlewine in 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nG8I5Fwqrg
It was on July 21st of 1989, the start of the first Neo-Astrology Conference at our home and center here in Big Rapids, Michigan. I have never been a fan of lectures, so this conference was set up with a most distinguished panel of guests and those in attendance were also invited to participate.
Some of the panelists at the conference included Michel Gauquelin, Thomas Shanks, Robert Donath, Dr. Lee Lehman, Doug Pierce, Dr. Suitbert Ertel, Rob Hand, Charles Harvey, John Townley, Mark Urban-Lurain, Ken McRitchie, Alois Treindl and, as I will relate, Robert Schmidt. Aside from the U.S., we had participants in attendance, folks from Canada, Great Britain, France, Austria, Germany, and even three folks from Australia. At the time, I had never met Robert Schmidt.
However, that was soon rectified as my dear friend (and astrologer) John Townley pulled up in front of my house just before the conference started with Robert Schmidt and his partner Ellen Black in tow. I had to take John aside and ask him “Who is this guy? Does he belong on the panel or did he just come to observe?” “Put him on the panel, for sure” was John’s response. We did just that and it was great.
In a sense, Schmidt and I met each other in the middle of that first panel discussion. In those initial moments, I believe we both knew we had met one of those people in our lives with whom we not only have a strong connection, but that will require repeated meetings to satisfy whatever craving it is that draws people to one another. Schmidt, a theoretical physicist and mathematician, was not an astrologer at the time. His interest in modern Chaos Theory and his ability to turn the light of his mind on almost any problem made him an instant hit with the rest of the panelists, most of whom had known each other for years.
In fact, we had so much to go over that Schmidt and his partner Ellen Black decided to come back for a visit soon after the conference. When that happened, we then found so much to exchange that Bob and Ellen decided to relocate and become a permanent part of our staff here at Matrix for a number of years. Robert and Ellen became some of my very best friends and stayed that way. Robert told me that it was his time living at the Heart Center (and our discussions) that convinced him of the value of astrology. Along with John Townley I would guess that perhaps I am somewhat responsible for his becoming an astrologer.
And Robert and Ellen lived in our center right next door, only a few feet away, so we saw them all the time and took most of our meals together. People have asked me, well, what did Robert and Ellen do at Matrix? And while we did come up with some ideas, you know, it really didn’t matter. Matrix was in its heyday, and we had a number of folks there just because we liked them.
Robert and I worked on chaos theory for a while and Ellen had plans to index our library, but that never really happened. Of course, they helped wherever they could. And Ellen made some incredible flatbreads (with chocolate chips) that we still talk about.
In truth, we all were just together for a couple of years before they moved on. It was after they left that Robert became a mainstay in astrological history by producing a series of historical texts (Latin, Greek, etc.) and welcomed many other astrologers to join him.
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“Project Hindsight,” as it is called, is to this day a highlight of modern astrology. Robert and Ellen not only revitalized Hellenistic Astrology (Robert translated Greek), but he inspired a great many other astrologers. It reminds me of stories about the Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, who complained that people came to him like ants to sugar to taste (and assimilate) his view on art and life.
IMO, it was similar with Schmidt. It is almost like people came to his conferences and took from them inspiration that the astrology community very much needed. I will tell you one story of one of Robert and Ellen’s conferences, because I was there as a featured speaker.
It was in July 27-August 2nd, 2007 and was called the “2007 PHASE Conclave: “The Astrology of the Mysteries.” It went on for days, before and after the conference dates. Aside from the astrology, which is probably too technical to get into here, this event was also one big house party, and I mean big-time.
And when I say “house” I mean a mansion where Robert and Ellen lived, with something like ten bathrooms, three kitchens, and more rooms than you could ever get around to cleaning.
What most sticks in my mind is the open air back porch on the second floor that extended the entire length of the building. We were up at the level of the trees and branches, which were filled with katydids singing in the heat of the summer night as it got late. You could walk from one end of the porch to the other; it seemed like a city block because it was filled with small groups of astrologers talking and having fun. And there was plenty of wine and whatever. I have no idea how late it went, because I had to finally just get some sleep. The whole event was like a midsummer night’s dream.
Bob Schmidt has passed on and I miss him very much. It’s not that Robert was interested in my astrological research or I in his. We didn’t talk astrology, other than obliquely.
What we did enjoy was each other’s mind. We talked most about our work, again not the content, but more our work habits, when we worked, how we went about it, what got us up in the morning, and all that. It might sound kind of boring, but the context of work and the working itself each day was something we went into great detail over.
What I believe we shared is our mutual delight in the fact that we had things that interested us deeply and, as best we could, we made a point to find the time and had the space to enjoy the life of the mind as we did.
I have had other friends, of course, and it’s all good, as they say. Yet there has not been anyone I have talked with whom I shared so much about so little. As mentioned, we did not talk about our research, but only about the joy and habits of our daily work.
Schmidt published a book I wrote as part of Project Hindsight. “The Astrology of the Heart: Astro-Shamanism,” with a forward by Steven Forrest.
[Video by Michael Erlewine.]
EMAIL Michael@Erlewine.net Note: If you would like to have access to other free books, articles, and videos on these topics, here are the links: SpiritGrooves.net.
As Bodhicitta is so precious,
May those without it now create it,
May those who have it not destroy it,
And may it ever grow and flourish.
