“Follow your Star”

Written by Diana Tesni, Abbot Hill Alumni Group

“I’m feeling better about this interview now,” says class teacher and astrologer Amber Rounds. We are conducting our interview on a day when Mercury is in retrograde, but we have just discovered that she is a Sagittarius with Virgo rising, and I am a Virgo with Sagittarius rising. Cosmic connections are a real thing.

Amber and I are also both currently teaching third grade this year, she at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley, Massachusetts, and I at Meadowbrook Waldorf School in Rhode Island. Although I am also a student of astrology, her knowledge in this realm far outstrips mine. Amber has been a professional astrologer for 5 years, and presented her Antioch/CfA Master’s thesis “Tone Art- Anthroposophy, Astrology, Music” at the 2024 AWSNA regional conference in Hadley. Her thesis was published in the Journal for Star Wisdom. Amber is also a musician.

This multiplicity of creative identities is not surprising considering that Amber is a Waldorf alumna. She attended the Washington Waldorf School through her senior year in high school. “As a student, you are surrounded by an anthroposophical framework, but you don’t really learn about Steiner’s philosophy overtly. ” She didn’t begin actively studying Rudolf Steiner’s ideas until she was an adult, and she was led there by the stars. 

“I’ve been casting astrological charts since I was in high school, ” says Amber. “Steiner wrote a great deal about the archetypes of the zodiac and the influence of the stars. In everything from eurythmy to biodynamics, you find this connection to star wisdom. ” While Amber was busy learning about Steiner’s ideas, she was living in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts and assisting at the Hartsbrook Waldorf School. She met another student of anthroposophy who was coming at this philosophy from the realm of biodynamics – the entomologist Jarrod Fowler.

The two decided to start a band.

“Our collaboration, Zizia, creates ecological sound art, ” says Amber. “We weave samples of sounds from nature with chords and rhythms that reflect the patterns of the planets. ” Amber and Jarrod went on tour when she was in the second year of her CfA program, traveling across the country and presenting their music. Each concert was different depending on what was happening in the sky that day, the music a unique expression of the present moment.

Amber enrolled in the Antioch/CfA teacher training program while she was assisting at Hartsbrook, where she is now a class teacher. “I really  appreciate the diverse cohort in my program, ” says Amber.

“I met people who were public school teachers, who came from many different walks of life, who came from all over the country and the world. It was a wonderful experience to share ideas and inspiration with each other. I also appreciated the clear and flexible approach to anthroposophy that I received; students were encouraged to think deeply and ask questions, but we were given the freedom to develop our own relationship to Steiner’s ideas in our own time.”

Amber’s experience as a Waldorf alumna gives her a pragmatic perspective on Waldorf education. 

“I definitely value my education; it was wonderful in so many ways. My memories of middle school are very strong, and I definitely felt nostalgia for those experiences when I was chaperoning an 8th grade trip, for example. Waldorf education doesn’t “fix everything” – it is still challenging to be a teenager and grow up. Waldorf schools are a supportive place to discover who you are. ”

While class teaching is keeping Amber very busy, she is still finding time to make music and study the stars. “Hartsbrook has great mentors; there is always someone to go to for support or inspiration.” Amber and I agree that class teaching is  a little like creating an inspired piece of music everyday, crafting an experience to connect our students with the beautiful patterns of the world and the unfolding capacities within them.

To connect with Amber’s work, please visit her website at

https://amberrounds.com/

To listen to Zyzia’s music, please visit:

https://zizia.xyz/

https://amberwolferounds.bandcamp.com/album/sleeping-flowers