Shelley Ackerman - Astrology

Astrology

Born with a knack for remembering the birthdate of nearly everyone she has ever met, (which later developed as a photographic memory of the details in every astrological chart she has ever seen), Ackerman’s interest in astrology began in her early teens.

In 1974 she and her then-boyfriend, comic/actor Richard Belzer, obtained their first computerized astrological charts from Astroflash, a small booth set up in Grand Central Terminal in New York City that offered the earliest computer-generated horoscopes. Her interest grew through the 1970s and as an amateur astrologer she collected data (birth dates, times, and places) of her fellow performers between shows at both The Improv and Catch a Rising Star. Her first position as an astrologer was at Gurney's Inn in Montauk, New York on July 4 weekend 1992, and she made her first major contribution to the astrological community later that summer by obtaining Bill Clinton's birthtime from his mother Virginia Kelley.

In 1996 she became the head of the New York affiliate of the American Federation of Astrologers. She is also active in the New York chapter of the National Council for Geocosmic Research, and has taught at the New York Theosophical Society 1996-2006. She lectures, teaches, and sees clients across the USA, Europe, and Canada, and has written extensively for Beliefnet. Since August 2006, Ackerman's weekly column and commentary appears in The Westchester Guardian.