The cosmos are a blueprint for Rick Levine.

The master astrologer and Redmond resident writes daily columns that are distributed to some of the largest print and online publications in the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post and Yahoo.

Dressed in a purple long sleeve shirt with planets and stars on it, Levine’s long white hair and well-groomed beard hint at his origins with astrology beginning in the late 1960s, as he sat outside SoulFood Coffeehouse this week.

“I grew up very strong in science and math,” he said. “I was going to be a math teacher and in a way I think I still am.”

Levine grew up in a family with a strong science background, he said. His father was a radio engineer.

When he went to college in the late 1960s, he started studying to be a math teacher but quickly decided to study psychology. He was also a fan of science fiction of all stripes.

“Anything that was on the edge was intriguing to me,” he said.

It was in college where he was introduced to astrology and decided to pursue it. He’s been practicing his craft ever since, and said in recent years his craft has enjoyed greater cultural acceptance.

Levine’s knack for communication has also paid off with a national syndicated daily column, work writing books for chain book stores and a monthly gig at SoulFood Coffeehouse on the last Wednesday of each month.

The mixed group at these sessions includes astrologers, interested people and some who are just along for the ride, he said.

“One of my skills is I can talk to an audience like that,” Levine said.

His presentations include an astrological analysis of current world events and the current astrological patterns before he draws three random names and gives the people personalized readings.

“Every moment in time has a quality that is describable by the geometry of the moment,” he said.

This includes the positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars and how they relate to each other.

These observations are the basis of his practice, which he said comes from the understanding that “we are part of an energetic system” and which he said can affect people.

Levine said this includes everything from a full or new moon to the phenomena known as the Mercury retrograde where the planet appears to move backwards in the sky.

Soulfood Coffee live streams the events and he also uploads them online, garnering up to 60,000 views a month on his videos.

Aside from being broadcast live, Levine also said he runs workshops across the country and around the world.

Astrology is criticized as a pseudo-science by many in the mainstream scientific community, Levine said, but he also said many of the criticisms are aimed at a system that he doesn’t use.

Developments in technology have also made the jobs of an astrologer easier over the years, Levine said.

He demonstrated a program on his tablet where he plugs in a person’s birthday and time of birth for a reading that he can interpret.

“All of a sudden, you don’t have to be a mathematical genius,” he said.

Where as a reading could have taken him hours before, now he can finish one much quicker.

And while he said no readings are always accurate, he tries to get it right.

“The patterns themselves take on meaning, just like a meteorologist isn’t always right, but there are patterns,” he said.

Levine’s next astrology night will be at 7 p.m. June 27 at SoulFood Coffeehouse, 15748 Redmond Way.