James Burgess is the founder and leader of Sabian Mysteries, a modern training platform for students of the seminal Sabian Symbols work of influential astrologers Marc Edmund Jones and Dane Rudhyar. Currently his work is expressed mostly within his Sabian Alchemy trainings, including teaching videos of contemporary astrological transits. Since 1990, he has led workshops, trainings, and retreats internationally, especially in the Baltic states where he served as the representative of the Sufi Order of the West. He has introduced to various countries such techniques as astrodrama, planetary walks, pathworkings, and Sabian Symbols, using his own innovative teaching methods—which include the Elven Star, a profound study of septiles, and the 7 Words System, a practical cosmology based on Sufism’s 7 Planes of Consciousness. He has self-published Sabian Alchemy, a handbook for students of Sabian Symbols, and Path to Happiness, a Sufi-based approach to life management. He is the founder of the Sacred 7 Academy, an online school teaching astrology, tarot, Sabian Symbols, and Holy Trinity wisdom that launched in September 2024.
His nuanced approach to astrology reflects his long-term involvement with the Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, which emphasizes a spiritual approach to esoteric studies and the importance of balancing intellect, intuition, and common sense in any legitimate use of astrology. He lives in Ireland. Find him at jamesburgess.com and on YouTube @JamesBurgess.
