posted January 27, 2007 06:30 PM            

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Years ago, when I began to study astrology, those musty old books held the promise of a remarkable power: I would be able to foresee the future. For an insecure kid, that was the next best thing to having Superman’s home phone number. No longer would I find myself at the right place at the wrong time, facing “Freddie’s gang” with an ice cream cone in my hand or arriving at the pizza parlor ten minutes after my heartthrob Mary had walked out the door. With the future in my pocket and astrology on my side, I would be unstoppable.

Or so I thought.

The trouble was that it didn’t work, at least not well enough to be reliable. My predictions were sometimes uncannily accurate. But other times I strolled confidently into that pizza parlor in time to see Freddie and Mary arrive arm in arm. Something was wrong with my books.

Astrology can be mind-boggling it its accuracy, but it can never consistently predict who is going to walk through the doors of the local pizza place. It doesn’t naturally speak the language of outward, concrete events. The future astrology foresees with such startling exactitude doesn’t unfold in the world “out there.” It unfolds between your ears.

Astrology cannot predict that you’re going to wreck your car. It cannot point out in advance the date of your marriage, your death, or the arrival of your new TV set. That kind of astrological prophecy is bogus and unreliable and we will not be concerned with in in “The Changing Sky.” What modern predictive astrology can do is inform you in advance of the natural rhythms of your life – and moods – thereby helping you arrange your outward experiences in the happiest, most harmonious and efficient manner. If it saves you some repair bills and bandaids as well, then so much the better.

Predictive astrology takes us one step beyond the birthchart, which is the territory we mapped in my previous book “The Inner Sky.” There, we were concerned with the dynamics of the individual personality. Now, in “The Changing Sky,” we add another dimension: We consider the forces that move through the birthchart over the course of a lifetime. We will mark the development of those personality dynamics, time their peaks and troughs, and watch them move step by step from mere potentials into actual human reality.

But we reject the notion that these minute-by-minute astrological forces make your decisions for you. They might affect your moods. They might help define the developmental challenges you are facing. But they don’t create events. That’s your department.

Although fatalism is admittedly part of astrology’s history, it bears the same relationship to modern astrology that using leeches to draw out “bad blood” bears to contemporary medicine. Modern astrologers predict questions, not answers. The old practice of “fortune-telling” is nothing but a skeletin in astrology’s closet, a mistake made long ago, now grown musty with cobwebs, but still capable of haunting us.

Just recently, in fact, that skeleton gave me quite a fright.

I was a guest on a radio talk show. Moments before we went on the air, the interviewer handed me an artricle her father had clipped from the local paper. As I scanned the newsprint, my face paled. The story, to put it mildly, was critical of astrology. And in a few minutes I would be expected to refute it.

What scared me was that the story was irrefutable. The anti-astrology arguments were sound. Checkmate.

The article concerened the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal – a group of scientists who had gotten together in 1976 to debunk astrology, parapsychology, and other “outdated mythologies.” Disturbed by a 1984 Gallup poll that showed the number of young people who “believe in astrology” had increased by over one third since 1978, the committee decided to take action: They sent out letters to all the daily newspapers in the United States and Canada demanding that a warning appear by the syndicated “daily guide” columns. They wanted people informed that astrological predictions had no scientific basis. The chairman of the committee, Paul Kurtz, phrased it this way: “Much the same as we label packets of cigarettes as dangerous to health, astrology columns should carry a proper label concerning their contents.”

Why my fear?

Because I was about to go on the air to defend astrology – and I found I agreed with the committee! They were right: those columns don’t work. As I went on to tell the radio audience, those newspaper predictions are invariably trite, and generally erroneous. With their rigidly mechanical view of how astrological forces interact with human affairs, I feel they have done incalculable harm to serious astrologers everywhere simply by distorting in the public mind the nature of our craft.

There are currently about 400 million Librans in the world. What intelligent person can seriously believe that each one of them is destined to “mend fences with a love partner today?” Some of them don’t even have love partners. I agree with the committee that those newspaper fortune-tellers are misleading. If that is astrology, then let’s wash our hands of it.

Strange bedfellows, the committee and me.

Our honeymoon, I fear, would be short-lived. I agree that the public deserves better information about what astrology can and cannot do – although I suspect my accord with the committee would collapse over the actual wording of that information. Here is the wording they suggested: “The following astrological forecasts should be read for entertainment value only. Such predictions have no reliable basis in scientific fact.” Here’s mine: “Astrology is humanity’s oldest and most precise mind-map. It cannot, however, accurately predict events. The planets hold half the cards, you hold the rest. Choices you make within the astrological environment determine what actually happens to you.”

We are free. No rigid, fatalistic prediction can bind us. There is no astrological event so baleful that creativity, intelligence and honest self-appraisal cannot turn it to constructive uses – and there is no configuration so glorious that laziness cannot sour it.

The purpose of modern predictive astrology, long hidden behind ancient veils of superstition, is not to “forecast events.” It is to help people make better choices, to clarify the nature of the psychological terrain through which they are passing, and to serve as their ally in the endless, unpredictable task of creating the future.

Not fate, but freedom in the real world, a world of hard limits punctuated by the miraculous – that is modern predictive astrology.

Right or wrong, anyone who looks into your birthchart and tells you your marriage will break up is abusing astrology, and abusing you too, for that matter. That is not what the symbols are intended to do, nor is it what they do best. You are not a marionette. The planets that move through your chart year by year are not pulling your strings. That’s the old picture, and it has led to deep misunderstandings as well as needless worry and fear. The astrological forces are questions, not answers. They pose riddles, and each riddle has many solutions. Some of those solutions help us lead happier, more engaging lives. Others might only mire us more deeply in self-defeating existential sinkholes. The worst of them might see us pointing loaded shotguns at ourselves, literally or figuratively. Which solution will we choose? The choice is left up to our own ingenuity, determination, and nerve. We are, in other words, free.

Freedom. That is one of those magic words. Everybody wants some. Everybody approves of it, hungers for it, claims to pursue it. But what is it? All too often freedom is taken to be synonymous with happiness and peace. Actually the best synonym for freedom is probably uncertainty. And uncertainty is another one of those magic words – but in this case, no one wants any. Avoidance of uncertainty is as universal as avoiding icy mud puddles on a January morning. And yet uncertainty is woven into the very fabric of astrological symbolism. No astrologer can say what any one of us will do next. He or she might say how the stage is set, what the issue of the day might be – and what will happen if we try to slither away from facing it. The astrologer might also tell us what we can learn if we respond creatively to that issue and what new possibilities each path might open – all that, but what we will actually do? Never.

Questions, not answers: These are the heart of any accurate approach to predictive astrology. We must honor human freedom and weave it into our understanding of the astrological symbols. We must do that not for pretty, soothing philosophical reasons, but because the human will is a mighty force, a power capable of shaping its own future. In short every accurate astrological prediction must end with a question mark. It is we, not the planets, who are writing the script. And with that freedom comes uncertainty.

Life is a vast, ironic, mysterious whole, and most attempts to break it down into its components are intriguing intellectual exercises at best and vain self-deception at worst. Any such analytical systems, whether we call them religions or sciences, can be judged only by their practical usefulness and never by their ultimate truthfulneses. That final, all-pervasive Truth can be witnessed perhaps, but never precisely described. No words or ideas could ever be powerful enough. At least that is the way it looks to me.

One such arbitrary division of experience has proven to be very practical in helping me organize my understanding of predictive astrology. It is the notion that the process of life goes on at three distinct levels. The first and most obvious is the physical level. This comprises all that we do and everything that we might choose to call “reality” – trips to Europe, the endings and beginnings of relationships, meetings with “tall dark strangers.”

The second level is emotional and psychological. Thoughts and feelings are the substance of this dimension – all the inner, subjective reactions we might have to the actual events on level one. We quit a job; that’s a fact, a level-one experience. But how do we feel about it? Scared? Elated? Inspired to new heights? Insecure? That’s level two.

Finally, on level three, we find issues of meaning and purpose. We can refer to this as the spiritual level, though we need not think of ourselves as being particularly “spiritual” to grasp it. One way to come to terms with level three is to imagine that we are reflecting back on personal events of many years ago. What ultimate significance did those events possess? How did they help us to become what we are today? What we’re getting at in level three is a sense of how given events fit into our overall pattern of development. Typically, such reflection inserts into our memory of those events a level of self-awareness that did not exist in us then. “Mommy didn’t hug us much, but she would always feed us candy when we were good.” At the time, we felt happy to be given the candy. Twenty years later, level three awareness might arise, helping us to understand how the Love-Equals-Food equation has contributed to our pattern of compulsive overeating. We seem to stand outside ourselves, grasping the patterns of our lives – and that’s the essence of the third, or spiritual, level.

Astrology is fabulously accurate at predicting what happens on level three. That is its real purpose and its ultimate strength. Above all, astrology is a study of meaning – and meaning exists only in the spiritual dimension. Working on that level, a predictive astrologer can approach 100 percent accuracy, although in practice the symbolism involved is often incredibly subtle and human error takes its toll. What am I supposed to be learning here? What is the broad purpose of this event in the overall plan of my personal development? How will I look back on this moment two or three decades from now? Those are the questions we ask on level three, and if we want to understand our lives from that perspective, we can seek no stronger an ally than a sound knowledge of astrological symbolism.

Moving back to level two, the dimension of emotion, the accuracy of predictive techniques falls off dramatically. It is still significant, but not nearly so precise as the descriptions available on level three. How might a person feel about facing those spiritual issues? There is a lot of room here for human differences. An astrological event, for example, might arise involving the planet Saturn, always a sure sign that the spiritual lesson will touch on the need for practical, self-disciplined responses to concrete reality. One person might react with renewed personal resolve, self-respect, and determination. Another might experience a sense of inadequacy, followed by feelings of defeat and despair. The lesson itself is in the category of “fate,” but the emotional response is something we create ourselves and for which we must take personal responsibility. But what is the nature of the actual event which the passage of Saturn triggers? On level two, such a question is of no concern – here we are only interested in feelings and attitudes, not in what “actually happens.”

Level one, the physical, is the least predictable of the three. What outward action will the individual take in response to a passing astrological configuration? Certainly, some of that is determined by feelings arising on level two, and they themselves are unpredictable. But even if the feelings are understood, there is still enormous uncertainty. To predict which action a person will take in response to a spiritual question is futile. We might be right every now and then, but we will be wrong a great deal of the time. Predicting how someone will feel is a bit safer, but even there we will often be surprised. People are frequently far more resourceful and resilient under pressure than we might expect. It is only in predicting the nature of the spiritual issues people are facing that we can achieve dependable levels of accuracy – and significantly, it is there that we can best help a person to grow in self-knowledge and happiness.

The tragedy of astrology’s history is its obsession with level one, the dimension of action. Even its victories in that department seem pitiful in the light of the opportunities missed. It’s as if Albert Einstein had decided to be a baseball player.

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posted January 27, 2007 07:49 PM              

I was tired of watching tv and flipping through magazines, so I got online to find something to read.

Thank you!

posted January 28, 2007 07:51 PM              

I hope everyone will see this post and take the time to read it.
The greatest irritation I feel from LL stems from (what I perceive) is the abuse of what astrology is. I try to look at it as a test of my patience, so I don't snap on people who may be innocent of what they are doing.

Thanks for the post.

posted January 28, 2007 08:02 PM            

I hear ya on the patience thang But we all started somewhere..... I remember when "ooooh, his Venus conjuncts my Mars" was all I wanted to know

posted January 28, 2007 08:31 PM              

I like what you posted... conquering your chart is the key!

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The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

posted January 28, 2007 09:40 PM            

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Sun in Libra
Moon in Cancer
Jupiter in Cancer
Venus in Virgo
Mars in Cancer
Ascendant in Cancer

posted January 28, 2007 11:31 PM            

I remember when you came on board and I'm proud of your progress!! Maybe I'll toss in my other favorite "This Is What You Should Expect From Astrology" quotes in here too -- thanks for the idea

From Linda Goodman’s “Relationship Signs” page 196:

If only Earthlings would realize the power of love to conquer any kind of misery or unhappiness like a mighty magic wand, it wouldn’t matter whether two people’s birth charts were full of positive or so-called negative aspects because love can conquer the influences of the planets. It can even eliminate karma. Yes, if only humans truly understood this. Well, it’s the Aquarian age of serendipity, so maybe someday soon.

From Bill Herbst: http://www.billherbst.com/

Human beings are not signs of the zodiac, and astrology neither reveals nor determines the quality of our consciousness. The expresson of our charts is largely a function of our maturity, rather than the other way around. Our species is chock full of human beings who are mired in seemingly permanent adolescence, no matter what their age or elevation in culture. In terms of spiritual development, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Nonetheless, the water exists. We choose.

From Steven Forrest: http://www.stevenforrest.com/lovehandles.html

To me, in the realities of the astrological counselling room, there are
two immutable premises:

There is no manner of astrological interaction between two people that
is so inherently sweet that enough selfishness, confusion about sex, or
immaturity cannot turn it sour.

There is no manner of astrological interaction between two people that
is so inherently bitter that enough patience, devotion, and humility can
not only make it last, but make it something precious to both people.

From Marcia Sacks: http://www.mountainastrologer.com/sacks1000.html

Just as there is variety but no perfection in horoscopes, there can be love and companionship but no happily-ever-after in relationships. However, even folks with very difficult horoscopes can have healthy, successful relationships if they can accept that relationships require work. I think of it like gardening: You need seeds, soil, nourishment, water, and maintenance to grow something of beauty.

Remember that relationships are not a cure for depression. Other people cannot obliterate your feelings of loss, lack, and limitation. If you feed yourself positivity through affirmation and imagery, if you pat yourself on the back and nurture yourself, you will begin to attract more positive, supportive people in your life.

From Liz Greene ~

I am always left with the feeling that if you only approach the issue of relationship in a technical way, by just comparing two charts or drawing up a composite chart, or any of the other range of techniques that we have, then some very fundamental, very important points get lost. To me, the thing that gets lost is the fact that every relationship contains an element of mystery that ultimately can't be defined, can't be explained. The essence of human interchange is like the essence of the person, and the essence of the person is not in the horoscope. I don't think we will ever find it in the horoscope. Bear in mind the fact that the chart you have in front of you could easily be that of a chicken, or of the opera society, for there is nothing in the chart that demonstates that it's human. But something works thru it which is uniquely the individual soul or individuality of the person. I believe this applies also to interchange between two people. The acknowledgement of some kind of mystery, some god at work, I believe is terribly important, because without that, all your techniques leave you, in the end, with unanswered questions.

posted January 29, 2007 09:46 PM              

'Is there something wrong with my chart?' that wud be me a few months back...

posted January 29, 2007 11:00 PM            

I feel astrology can predict to a certain extent, and that it is our flawed, imperfect, human minds that can't crack the codes.

As such, I agree that predictive speculation is a waste of time.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
-Shakespeare

posted January 30, 2007 03:03 PM              

My marriage, and subsequent separation from my husband seven years later, could not have happened at better times, strange as this may seem.

But I don't stick rigidly to those transits, or times - after all, if I did, I'd never get anything done!!

posted January 30, 2007 04:10 PM            

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I feel astrology can predict to a certain extent, and that it is our flawed, imperfect, human minds that can't crack the codes. I'm actually surprised everyone here, so far, is in agreement with Steven Forrest. I see a couple "thumbs up", and the rest are comments of approval. Rather than acknowledging that perhaps WE are the flawed entity in the equation, not Astrology.

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I didn’t see the excerpts from the book as supporting a view that “Astrology is flawed.” My interpretation from the material is that “Astrology cannot accurately predict events.” Am I understanding correctly that it’s your view that Astrology CAN predict events like death, marriage, and the delivery of your new TV set, but that we humans are too ignorant to understand the “codes?”

Just curious – if I put up a chart of my (deceased) father, could you point out the date of his marriage and death? And how is it explained astrologically that my brother and a friend of his were born the same day at the same time in the same hospital, yet they have NO major life events in common, with the same chart and the same transits?

posted January 30, 2007 04:52 PM            

By "flawed", I was referring to the belief that astrology "cannot accurately predict events", hence, radical predictive astrology would theoretically be flawed. But regardless, it is obvious that I disagree with this summation of astrology.

And no, of course I couldn't point out your father's date of marriage or death. I'm only human... or did you not get my point the first time? ...because it is the imperfection of the human element that was my entire impetus behind jumping into this thread.

As far as your brother and your friend, who knows. And if you're going to bring up that matter, then what about twins?

posted December 13, 2007 09:22 PM            

How Astrology Can (and Can't) Help You
by: Gloria Star

Contrary to some ideas, astrology is neither a belief system nor a religion. It is not associated with any type of questionable therapy or cultish practice. In many respects, astrology is more like a specialized language. Learning the language takes time, and, like any comprehensive subject, requires serious and devoted concentration for proficiency.

Great expertise is not required to begin to take advantage of the vast amount of astrological information currently available; a plethora of competent professional astrologers and organizations offer help to the novice. If you are intrigued, though, you may want to learn more about this cosmic language. (As a dedicated student, you will discover that there is always more to learn about astrology!)

Many people have questioned whether or not astrology works against the idea of free will. St. Thomas Aquinas believed the stars do not control the soul; man's ability to reason and make choices help determine the outcome of life situations. Similarly, a twentieth-century astrologer, Llewellyn George, spoke for many in the field when he said, "the stars incline, they do not compel."

One thing you need to know from the beginning is what astrology cannot accomplish. An astrologer is not a fortuneteller. Astrology cannot tell you how much money you will win at the races, or that next week you will break your arm. Your astrological chart may indicate that you are experiencing a positive time to increase your resources, or that you need to exercise greater care in high-risk situations, but exact circumstances and outcomes are not determined by a chart.

An astrologer cannot and should not make your decisions for you. Astrology can help inform your decisions and actions, but ultimately, you must make those decisions and take those actions yourself. Think of astrological forecasting in much the same way you think of weather forecasting. All the indicators may say there will be rain tomorrow, but whether you take an umbrella or stand in the rain getting soaked is up to you!

One other common pitfall is to blame the planets for your life situation. It's certainly convenient to have a scapegoat, but remember: Your chart does not make you do anything.

Astrology cannot give you simple answers to complex questions. The question, for example, "What sign should my future wife be?" cannot be answered by a single astrological term. When you look into your astrological chart, you will learn that you have many different levels of need and personal expression. By using astrology to help you understand your inner motivations, drives, and preferences, you may be able to make a better choice about a relationship, but it is never as simple as just pointing to a person's Sun sign!

What astrology can do is to help you become better acquainted with yourself, and, more importantly, your inner nature. It can help you uncover repressed emotions, explore reasons you are drawn to certain situations, and become more aware of your strengths. With these insights, you may reach a more profound understanding of your needs, hopes, and desires, and thereby make choices which will lead to a more effective and satisfying life.

In many ways, learning about your astrological chart is also a self-affirming experience, which can add to your personal confidence and further influence your success in life.

You can gain insights into relationships with astrology, by learning why and how you are attracted to different people, and the special ways you connect with others.

Astrology also offers exceptional insights into timing; in addition to exploring your potentials, strengths, and liabilities, you can use the stars to help you determine the best times to act. Astrological techniques have been developed to indicate specific areas of opportunity or crisis, and illuminate avenues of better choices. You can also use astrological information to help you determine the best time to begin or end a venture, and whether to expand or stay closely focused.

There are numerous branches of astrology reaching into all levels of life experience, and many professional astrologers specialize in certain fields. Some are counselors, focusing on issues such as personal or spiritual growth, relationships, crisis intervention, child guidance, and career-building. Other astrologers work in business and economics, studying financial trends; others are interested in world events. Still others do research, studying the correlation of planetary energies to specific data.

Although you do not have to know astrology to benefit from an astrologer's interpretation of your chart, you'll probably find a little knowledge of the topic to go a long way. Understanding astrology's basic elements will give you more confidence when consulting an astrologer - and allow you to ask more informed questions. (It will also help you ferret out those charlatans who profess to be astrologers, but actually know little or nothing about the subject.)

Astrology opens the doors to a world of knowledge offering a phenomenal variety of possibilities. Come on in, there's a welcome mat out front!

posted December 13, 2007 10:41 PM              

I think we have more power than astrology. Astrology is definately flawed; it can't predict everything.

posted December 14, 2007 03:34 AM              

That's why I find myself attracted to the Magi approach more and more..

As "fatalisitic" , (or dare I say "cocky") as they may sometimes come across, I find their methods somewhat "opened ended" in that they are always willing to say that "this is what we've come up with so far" (that's my interpretation of there outlook anyway)...

They seem to rely more on a logical look at statistical analysis of planets, and their aspects, as opposed to the above's apparent complete lack of hope of any new information coming into the "astro-world"

It's like they've gone through what's already been done, and then, made an authoritatively sounding analysis of what is to come, based on what's already been done!!!...It's like their viewpoint is the complete and last final word!

I HATE that!!!

Also, I just re-read some of the above posts, and I noticed the pattern that whatever doesn't "work" about astrology, seems to get relegated to higher, and higher "dimensions of self " ( or some such newage B.S.)

What if everything, in every dimension,is connected... ALWAYS!!!

Wouldn't that logically lead to the conclusion that everything ( in every dimension) is ALWAYS affecting everything else?

Is it that far of a logical jump to theorize that deducing the proper symbolisms of the planets and asteroids/planetary bodies etc., and how they relate to each other mathematically in the sky, might help us to better understand the situations we are in from day to day?

Isn't that what astrology is SUPPOSED to be about? Isn't that the ATTRACTION of it anyway?

I hope I'm making sense here That is my goal..

posted December 14, 2007 07:39 AM              

So what you're all basically saying is:

1]stop thinking astrology can predict the future
2]don't forget about free will
3]google sometimes is your friend
[use the search function if you wanna find what "venus conj. mars" means - unless you're asking for personal experiences, google can't help you with that]

posted December 14, 2007 09:18 AM              

I'm in agreement with SW. The codes are there, we just can't see them.

Much in the same way Uranus, Neptune, Pluto were always orbiting the sun, only that the Ancients couldn't see them.

posted December 14, 2007 03:35 PM              

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Steven Forrest, for all his credentials is not the final authority on astrology.

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