Johanna Mitchell

"We had an amazing world-lit teacher who introduced us to Greek literature," says Johanna Mitchell, who was then a high school senior in Miami. "There was a lot of mention of planets. That's astrology!" Mitchell went to a book store and found Sun Signs by Linda Goodman. "I devoured that book," she says. "I knew then that astrology was a vocation." She spent a year at the U of Miami, but dropped out to protest the Viet Nam war, and for 10 years worked at retail jobs in fabric and jewelry stores in Iowa City and Berkeley. She also met with astrologers, took classes, and moved to LA in 1977. "That's where I really got to study with great teachers," says Mitchell, who passed the exam and was certified by the American Federation of Astrologers. After a first visit to Eugene in February of 1981, she did her chart for Eugene, liked the result, moved in June, and opened an office with fellow astrologer Douglas Bloch. The following January, she gave a free talk at the library, titled Future Signs: The Astrology of 1982. Future Signs has since become an anticipated annual event and a reliable fundraiser. "I focus on what the planets are revealing," says Mitchell, who will offer her forecasts for 2015 in two sessions, 2-4 pm on Saturday and Sunday, January 10 and 11, at Tsunami Books, 2585 Willamette. All donations ($10-15) will benefit Laurel Hill Center, a local non-profit program for adults with chronic mental illness. Since her marriage to Ron Peterson in 1994, Mitchell has seen clients at her home office in East Eugene. Learn more at johannamitchell.com.