North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 17, 2018 Page: 4 of 8
eight pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 4
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018
NTDAILY.COM
The beauty behind Beautiful
Incarnations: New Age shop
aims to help others find answers
By Raquelle Dunbar
@DunbarRaquelle
With every meditated step, astrological interpreter Peter Miller
intently exercises his angled positioning of glistening quartz and
crystals flat on a blank white table, all in alignment with the orbital
matters in the sky.
Miller, the 34-year-old owner of Beautiful Incarnations, claims he
was not born as an astrology enthusiast.
“Astrology didn’t come in [my life] until I was 23 years old,” Miller
said. “I am an empath, I feel all these different emotions around me.
[For example], my mom called me while my head was pounding and
she said, ‘I hit my head earlier,’ and suddenly it all made sense.”
Miller soon found it was the small moments that revealed
his potential and ultimately the sole purpose of his soon-to-be
organization. Beautiful Incarnations started with a mission to help
people through astrology readings.
“I really don’t go looking for people,” Miller said. “People who need
me find me.”
Miller said his path to astrology and his love for what’s in the
sky wasn’t always so smooth. He attended UNT from 2011 to 2016,
eventually completing his bachelor’s degree in science and diversity
training.
“I really worked my way through school with a class or two here
and there,” Miller said. “Then I’d work a little more. I have gone
through a lot of spiritual journeys. At one point all I bought were
books on astrology and the connection with Mars and the day and
time [people are] born.”
Miller, whose home town falls in close proximity to Denton, recalls
times when he actively fled from his family’s home due to estranged
occult activity within the family. This heightened his drive to dig
deeper into others, which revealed to him a few characteristics every
human shares.
“We are all born with all these abilities at first,” Miller said. “It’s
just about growing and channeling in on the ones that resonate with
us the most. Every person is unique, every [astrological] map is
different. No two readings are alike.”
While the address associated with his organization is not his
preferred place of meeting, Miller makes himself available to his
clients’ needs, setting appointments when and where a client best
sees fit. Among supporters who sought Miller’s services are also
strong skeptics.
Quetah Wade and her daughter Suzen Wade are Liberian and
strong believers of the Christian faith. As part of their culture,
Quetah and Suzen have been exposed to nearly all forms of “juju,”
also known as black magic.
“Where I come from, people steal your blessings simply from a
handshake,” Suzen said. “Or they will take the life of a thief and hide
it under their big toe with the intention of killing them later very
slowly, all the while wiping their fabricated tears and adjusting their
dry face at the funeral of the deceased.”
Between the mother-daughter duo, both said Quetah fears the
implications of juju more.
“We are not afraid of juju, we are just not trying to open doors
that should not be knocked on in the first place,” Quetah said. “To
Hollywood and people [from cultures different] to ours, this is all
make-believe and doesn’t really exist. In reality, where do you think
they come up with these ideas? You think they just wake up with
it? Any man that claims he holds answer from beyond future or past
is dealing with an ancient magic — black magic — and no answer is
free.”
Suzen explained that she was the one who searched and located
Miller, thanks to the internet. However, she said she had her doubts
even then.
“I gave [my mom] his name and the address and even called to
make an appointment,” Suzen said. “My mom almost caved in, but
she won’t do it. The fear of messing with him is almost worse than
her need to see him.”
Miller said this fear is what stops people from making appointments
with him.
“People are afraid of astrology because they think it is evil,” Miller
said. “They have this impressionable mentality that it’s composed
of only negative news and negative possibilities, but future is often
based off of things from the past. If you gain a better idea of what
has occurred and what is occurring, then what is to come [can be
identified].”
Astrologers offer many different services ranging from pointers
on how to take control of one’s life to where to live based on one’s
zodiac sign. But Miller’s offers extend far beyond the satisfaction
of his readings, constructing a lasting veil between himself and the
client, leaving no question unprobed. Miller’s services provide clients
with the chance to find answers to unanswered questions.
That’s when Beautiful Incarnations comes to life: when everyday
people begin to inquire about ordinary things in an extraordinary
way.
Native American Student Association aims to create visibility
HERITAGE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Gaston said it took her until she was 21 years old
to find a Native American community in the Dallas
area to connect better with the culture she had only
vaguely known.
“Through that [Dallas] community, I’ve been able
to connect with my culture because I grew up not
knowing what that meant,” Gaston said. “Basically
knowing [my Native American heritage] was there
but how do you express it? How do you connect to
it if there’s nothing visually you can feel or sense?”
In 2016, Native Americans comprised about 2
percent of the entire U.S. population. Even growing
up in diverse circles, members said it was rare to
find anyone who shared the same culture.
“The only Native Americans I knew of were me,
my sister and my brother,” member Naomi Niyah
said. “We were pretty much the only ones, and it
was interesting because I grew up in a community
that was pretty diverse — a lot of Hispanics, a lot of
blacks, a lot of Asians, but it was different being the
less than 1 percent of the population.”
As for the following generation, students said
they still grew up seeing the issues that arise within
the community caused by lack of visibility and
opportunity for Native Americans.
“I’ve grown up pretty much my whole life in
suburban and rural area, and I only occasionally
«
[There are] people not
leaving the reservation
... and then there
people not returning
back and losing
that connection with
culture. It’s sort of a
two-way problem. ««
go back to visit my family on the [reservation], so
I think that left some issues on both sides,” Niyah
said. “[There are] people not leaving the reservation
and not getting all the opportunities they could, and
then there are people not returning back and losing
that connection with culture. It’s sort of a two-way
problem.”
The small population has also correlated to a
direct lack of visibility of Native Americans in local
areas. Member Ruther Thunderhawk said she did
not come in contact with the culture until her family
traveled to a reservation.
“One of my main issues was lack of representation
because it felt like for a while I didn’t know anyone
else who was my culture, so I didn’t really know
much about [it],” Thunderhawk said. “It wasn’t until
my parents, when I was about 8, took us up north to
South Dakota and Montana and we actually visited a
reservation.”
For members, the Native American Student
Association group is a way to bring that culture to
UNT and Denton.
“For me, my experience is different from theirs
and each person in the group’s experiences are
different, and that’s why its important to have a
group like this,” Gaston said. “It is so that people can
get connected who are displaced or just had never
had that opportunity.”
As the fall semester approaches and Native
American Heritage month rolls around, Native
American Student Association students are planning
to create official events to create that representation.
Guest speakers, presentations and film screenings
are just a few events Native American Student
Association members are hoping to finalize.
“A lot of the problems we have, like difficulties
between races, is due to a lack of education and a lack
of dialogue,” Niyah said. “I think by finding a good
system combining that we can start having healthy
relationships.”
Although she has only recently been connected to
her culture, Gaston said this is simply a part of her
lifelong appreciation and respect for it.
“I didn’t grow up traditionally,” Gaston said. “But
as an adult, I live like it now in a way where I respect
it and practice the culture from what I’ve been taught
and what people have shared with me. Hopefully for
my kids it’s different.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
NORTHTEXASDAILY@UNT.EDU
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Spicer, Alec. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 17, 2018, newspaper, May 17, 2018; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1158421/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.