Skyscript Astrology Forum

Good day!
Is there any information about Frances Sakoian's astrology teachers? I managed to find out that her astrological career began in 1971 after her second marriage on 02.17.1966 to the publisher Vartkes Sakoian. It is not clear whether she studied astrology during this period of 1966-1971 or started studying before that, and, most importantly, what kind of astrology and from whom did she study?
Thanks for any feedback. Sakoyan's books have had a great impact on minds because of their popularity, so I'm interested in understanding the sources of these materials.

A small comment on why I asked this question. I searched the forum and found repeated mentions of Sakoyan's books, an analysis of the formulations. Sakoian was one of those who gave birth to the transit method, which had never been proposed in this form in the tradition. It is also obvious that the heyday of astropsychology occurred at a later time. Thus, the time of Sakoian's studies and starting work falls into a gray area for me. It is also interesting how the transmission of astrological knowledge and education took place in that period. If you can tell me good sources on the history of astrology in the West in the 50s and 60s, I would also appreciate it.

great questions! i too would be interested, and it appears nothing is easy to find on frances sakoians background to fill in the blanks.. i know of no book on the historical dynamics of astrology in the 1950/60s, but believe there was a resurgence of interest in astrology around this time which really exploded into the 70's when i began to learn astrology... but i can't answer your question and would also be curious to know..

there is this page at astrodatabank which you've probably seen.. https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Sakoian,_Frances

james_m wrote: Thu Mar 20, 2025 7:29 pm it appears nothing is easy to find on frances sakoians background to fill in the blanks.

Thank you for your feedback. I found the following information about Sakoyan with a link to "Contemporary Authors. Vol. 65-68" (the source itself has not yet been viewed):
Nee Cherpic. Astrologer of the USA. She was born into the family of greenhouse owner Thomas Cherpik. She graduated from high school in her hometown. Since 1942, Frances Sakoyan was the owner and manager of the Dairy Mill, Inc. ice cream company in 1953. On 10/10/1953, she married military commander Thomas Eldred, and soon gave birth to his son and daughter. After her husband's death in 1964, she remarried. On 17.02.1966, she became the wife of publisher Vartkes Sakoyan. It was after second marriage Sakoyan began her astrological activity. Since 1971, she began lecturing on astrology and appearing on radio broadcasts in the United States and Canada. Since 1973, F.Sakoyan is the director of the New England School of Astrology. In the same year, her book "The Astrologer's Guide" was published (written jointly with Lewis S.Ecker), which soon became an astrological bestseller not only in America, but also in Europe. She also wrote "The Astrology of Human Relationships" (1976), "Transits: The Key to the Psychology of Events in People's Lives" (1977), a number of articles for astrology journals (AFA Bulletin, etc.), as well as over a dozen astrological books published with private funds. During these years, she lived in Arlington, Massachusetts. In 1981, President of the New England Astrological Association. I taught an astrology course at JFK University. (Source: https://www.astrokot.kiev.ua/biografia/s/sakoan.htm)

thanks... we still don't know much about her astrological background, do we?? cheers james

Hi there - I remember reading Sakoian and Acker's books when I first started learning astrology. They were clear and logical and I found them very helpful. Given that Sakoian was living in Arlington MA when she see came to prominence as an astrologer, my guess is that she was a student of the highly influential teacher Isabel Hickey. Hickey was legendary in the north-east US as a spiritual guide and astrologer. She taught Alan Oken and many other prominent US astrologers in the 60s and 70s. Arlington is six miles from Boston where Hickey's school was based.

https://mountainastrologer.com/what-is- ... -the-plan/

Hickey ran the Boston School of Astrology.

https://newagesages.com/sage/isabel-hickey/

https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Hickey,_Isabel

I don't know if this is Sakoian's astrological background, but I offer the above as a pointer for further research.

I hope that helps.

Ed

astralwanderer wrote: Sun Mar 23, 2025 11:43 pm I don't know if this is Sakoian's astrological background, but I offer the above as a pointer for further research.

I hope that helps.

Ed

Ed, thank you very much!
Your comments are very valuable. I'll keep looking.

Hi Astroserg.

It is an interesting question you have asked. I think my intuition might be a false lead however. Some further searches have revealed that the British-based American astrologer, Darby Costello, was a student of both Sakoian and Acker and Hickey in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Boston area. This is from her website:

https://darbycostello.co.uk/my-life-in-astrology/

She told me her next class began in September and I should go and study with Francis Sakoian and Louis Acker for the summer then come to her in September. Years later, I found out that they were not friends and it was unheard of that she would send me to them. I think she was afraid I would get distracted (being a Gemini!) and go off elsewhere, but she was sure I should come to her to study and become an astrologer.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily imply that Sakoian wasn't taught by Hickey at some earlier point, but certainly it seems that there wasn't an active relationship between Sakoian and Hickey at that point in time.

There is an interesting interview with Darby on the skyscript website too:

https://www.skyscript.co.uk/darby.html

Good luck with your research.

Ed

astralwanderer wrote: Mon Mar 24, 2025 10:03 pm Some further searches have revealed that the British-based American astrologer, Darby Costello, was a student of both Sakoian and Acker and Hickey in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Boston area.

Ed, thank you!
Two things follow from Darby 's interview and article:
1. Sakoian and Acker were already actively teaching in 1969.
2. The work of Sakoian and Acker inspired Hickey's trust, which allowed to make a recommendation.

I tried to find Acker 's contact and found out that unfortunately he passed away on December 7, 2023.

We'll keep looking!