Books are created to be shared
Vanya Kiritzova is a storyteller who touches the soul. Mother, wife, author of two books, business consultant and astrologer. She is well known as one of the founders of Evolution of Technical Communication – the only international conference on Technical Communication in SEE. She is a co-founder of the Bulgarian branch of the international professional organization for technical communications tekom Europe.
Vanya is among the people who launched the “Women Who Code” initiative in Bulgaria.
She has more than 20 years of experience as an author of technical communication. Until recently, she led and developed an international team of more than 30 authors and managers of technical documentation in a large technology company in Bulgaria. Her second book, “Yana Sharana 2.0. Astrological Tactics for Tired Managers”, was recently published. Vanya describes it as “a beautiful ending to some not-so-inspiring experiences.”
What determines us – our parents, the environment around us, the education or the choices we make?
Before we learn to make choices and take responsibility for them, parents are the first to define us. Not so much their behavior as their untold stories and hidden motives. These first seeds planted in the family environment, which is a part of the larger social context, create in us basic beliefs and viewpoints that will later determine the way we perceive and experience the world. Teachers who love their profession, their subject and the children they teach can open windows to new horizons for the kids, they can give us the seeds of new, different beliefs, even dreams. But regardless of the beliefs we have embraced in childhood, there is always a time later in life when we wake up to ourselves. And not just once. These moments are often accompanied by doubts and not so pleasant experiences. But if we embrace them, if we carry out the complex and painful archeological work of sifting the soil of the past, of carefully looking at and discerning what is ours, what comes from our parents, our teachers, our bosses, the culture in which we were formed, we will find that we are the true creators of our lives. And this freedom – to be a creator- comes with its own responsibilities. If we abandon our creative nature, we will simply repeat other people’s models.
Is our life a result/coincidence of circumstances, a reflection of the interaction between the stars, the result of the work and effort we put in or a mix of it all?
In my opinion, life is colorful, unpredictable and vast, it does contain everything in it. There is also a mystery. That’s why writers write books – we are simply trying to understand the mystery of life. There are patterns, causes and consequences that we cannot understand with our minds. Karma or free will? Both, of course, we live in a dual reality and things always come in pairs, in polarities. If we look outside ourselves, our horizon can be shaped by a problem – personal or public, or it can be shaped by the endless starry sky. No matter where we choose to set our horizon, at some point while observing it, what really matters is what we see. Do we see beauty? Is there joy? Is there love?
What is the book you wish you had written?
“The Master and Margarita”.
What is a book – a conversation with yourself out loud or a search for like-minded readers?
Probably both. Sometimes we write to understand ourselves. Sometimes we write because we have something to say and we want to be heard. Another time behind the published book stands an ambition or desire to make a dream come true. Regardless of the dynamics that led to the birth of a book, it belongs to the readers. It is created to be shared.
Are you planning / writing a third book already?
In my mind I always write, if nothing else, at least the book of my life. Right now, I’ve devoted myself to learning and gathering ideas. If an idea decides that it needs a whole book, it will demand it and get it. That’s how things happen with me – the most vocal one wins.
If you had the opportunity to share something on a billboard, what would it say?
Love always finds a way.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to start a career in the IT sector?
First of all, to test their motivation to work in the IT field. As wise people say, “this is not a bite for every mouth” – meaning that this career path is not suitable for everyone. Various opportunities for development come with the ability to be flexible, to constantly develop new skills, to gain new knowledge, to communicate with people from different cultures. Constant change is the only sure thing. Another piece of advice I would give (I realize I love giving advice) is to focus equally on gaining technical competence and developing effective communication skills.
What are the best and worst advice you have received in your life?
I would give the first place for worst advice ever to “For the sake of your children, endure.” It just doesn’t help anybody, least of all the kids. And the best advice is always the one that gives freedom and choice. For example: “You have the right to leave, you have the right to choose, you have the right to make mistakes.”
It seems that we are in a period of constant crisis. Is a calmer time for the world coming according to the stars?
Both as an astrologer and as a person, I am an optimist. I choose to look at the world from the bright side. If a bright side is not visible – I search until I find it. In this line of thinking, we are at the beginning of a new cycle, which started with Saturn and Pluto conjunction in Capricorn in early 2020. Every time these two planets meet, and this happens every 33-38 years, deep processes of renewal begin. Initially, these processes are always revealed through conflicts and upheavals. The current period of crisis marked by the Saturn-Pluto conjunction brought the Covid-19 pandemic. Historically, at the beginning of this planetary cycle in 1914, the First World War began. Both planets are related to the concept of karma. The first 8-9 years following the conjunction are something like testing time – have we learned our lessons as humanity and as human beings? The test requires that we are placed in a similar situation. Therefore, these cycles begin with conflict, with the clearing of the old and the pathological. But always after that something new and something better is born. Until the next cycle. We can use the energy of this cycle of fSaturn’s conjunction with Pluto to clear the way for the new, yet this may not be easy or fast.
The pandemic has clearly shown us that we are one – that we are connected and interconnected, regardless of national borders and nationalities. But how did we react? We started to fight – both with the virus and with each other. Responsible against irresponsible. Pro-vaxxers versus anti-vaxxers. We brought war and conflict into our minds, and two years later we have a real war. From an astrological perspective, these events are related.
