About Melanie

Melanie has completed The Astrology Institute (Boston, MA) two year certification program in contemporary and traditional astrology, as well as a level 3 certification from the National Council of Geocosmic Research (NCGR).  She has served on the board of the NCGR GulfCoast Chapter and the Astrological Society of Austin.

Currently, Melanie is the director of the South Texas Astrology Retreat (STAR), which provides high quality traditional astrology education at affordable prices to create strong community and knowledgeable astrologers.  Her recent artwork includes a commission of illustrations of the classical constellations for the forthcoming release of Starlight Software V.2.

Melanie’s Story

Melanie Simone Schlossberg was born on August 23, 1971, in Kingston, NY. Her family’s claim to fame was opening the first scuba shop in Ulster County. There, in the attic of the converted garage, she spent many hours cutting up old wet suits and gluing the little squares on to her Lite Brite to create computer consoles and rocket launchers.  In 1979, after the death of her cat, her father, and the tooth fairy, her mother introduced her to psychics, colored light, and astrology.  At her first chart reading, she learned that Neptune was aspecting nearly every planet in her chart.  Told that she was living with a cloud about her head, Melanie chose not to see certain things and decided to create her own world, one where she would fit in perfectly.  A psychic told her mother that Melanie would be a success in this world if she was able to overcome “the frailties of her nature”.  Melanie knew this meant her debilitating shyness and fear of spiders.  Her mother, thinking her frailties were a vitamin deficiency, fed her orange juice.

In 1984 Melanie’s world changed.  Destined no longer to be small town girl, Melanie chose to attend Emma Willard, an historic boarding school in upstate NY.  On her own, loose in the world, it was during these high school years that Melanie realized her passion for art and metal.  She continued to explore this calling at Syracuse University where she made her first spoon, and gained a bachelor’s of fine arts degree for metalsmithing.  After many years of traveling and doing odd jobs, metalsmithing included, Melanie was prompted by a car accident on New Years Eve 1995 to move to Boston.  Though the accident was not her fault, she suffered from the illusion that if the clouds had not been surrounding her head, it might have been prevented.  Her clouds thinned into a fog.

In 1998, in an attempt to revisit her childhood, Melanie took a class at The Astrology Institute.  After learning many old-school techniques, she discovered that Hellenistic astrologers would have considered her Neptune aspects “out of sign”.  Comforted, yet unsettled, Melanie tripped over her thoughts.  The fall, resulting in a broken bone leaving her unable to make art for a period of time, allowed Melanie to shake the fog from her head, and see everything.  Today she continues to see, make art, practice astrology,and help others conquer the frailties of their nature.

On July 4, 2006 Melanie moved to Houston, Texas…where she remains.