The History of Seattle Astrology

Seattle’s astrology community once pulsed with a rare vitality, drawing seekers from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. For nearly half a century, the city stood at the leading edge of evolutionary and spiritual astrology, largely because of a handful of visionary individuals and one extraordinary family. This is the story of that era, told from the firsthand perspective of Steven Shroyer, who was present from the beginning and carried the flame longer than anyone else.

The spark was lit in the late 1970s when businesswoman Margret Nalbandian opened Seattle’s first dedicated astrology bookstore in the University District. The shop quickly became the unofficial headquarters for the region’s growing astrological curiosity. In 1979 a young Steven Shroyer walked through its doors for the first time and met Margret. A few years later he married into the Nalbandian family and moved into the same household, giving him a front-row seat to everything that blossomed into decades of direct involvement.

Margret possessed an almost uncanny ability to spot astrological genius. She recognized it immediately in Jeffrey Wolf Green and gave him space in her bookstore to offer natal chart readings to the public. Green’s groundbreaking work in evolutionary astrology turned Seattle into an international pilgrimage site almost overnight. Clients flew in from Europe and South America just to sit with him. The city suddenly found itself spoken of in the same breath as cutting-edge centers like London and San Francisco.

Building on that momentum, Margret founded the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC) in the 1980s, one of the first truly world-class astrology gatherings in North America. Speakers flown in from India, England, Australia, and South America presented alongside local talent. Steven assisted with every aspect of the conference for many years—recording every lecture, managing the bookstore on site, handling logistics—while absorbing an encyclopedic range of techniques and philosophies that would inform his own work for the rest of his career.

After Margret’s passing, her daughter Laura Nalbandian took the helm of NORWAC. Laura’s formidable organizational gifts kept the conference running smoothly for many years. Though she did not inherit her mother’s depth of astrological knowledge or skill, her storytelling ability and dedication to the event’s continuity earned appreciation from many in the community.

By 2010 Steven Shroyer had stepped fully into his own voice. He founded Seattle Astrology as a non-profit educational organization and website dedicated to a more introspective approach to astrology, the Sabian symbols, and leading-edge spiritual cosmology. Within a few years SeattleAstrology.org became the most visited and respected astrology resource in the Pacific Northwest. In 2013 a regional television documentary profiled him as one of the premier astrologers in the region, reflecting the site’s influence and the quality of his more than 300 original articles published over the next decade and a half.

For forty-five years—from those first visits to Margret’s bookstore in 1979 until November 2025—Steven remained the one constant thread energizing Seattle astrology. He taught classes, mentored students, wrote extensively, and kept the city’s reputation alive long after many of the earlier luminaries had moved on or passed away. Jeffrey Wolf Green eventually stepped away from public work; NORWAC, under evolving leadership, shifted direction; the University District bookstore closed its doors decades ago.

In November 2025, after a final New Moon article, Seattle Astrology the organization quietly closed. The entire fifteen-year archive of articles has been preserved and moved to a new home where it will remain freely available in perpetuity. Steven Shroyer has retired from active practice and writing, bringing a remarkable era to its natural completion.

Seattle astrology in its prime was never about any single person—it was the synergy of Margret’s vision, Jeffrey Green’s revolutionary insights, the international scope of NORWAC, and the steady, principled voice that carried the tradition forward for decades after the spotlight had moved elsewhere. That synergy has now become history, preserved here for anyone who wishes to remember what was possible when talent, integrity, and genuine spiritual inquiry converged in one rainy corner of the world.

The bookstore is gone. The conferences have changed. The websites have migrated. Yet the body of work remains, quietly waiting for the next person with eyes to see and heart to feel what Seattle astrology, at its best, truly was.