If you define yourself as skeptical towards astrology but are a generally open-minded individual, this article is for you. As a professional in the field, I see a lot of misinformation and, for lack of a better term, ignorance circulating the internet as well as my daily diaspora. The study of astrology in its truest, most accurate form has been kept buried within the occult for so long that I don’t blame anyone for their lack of understanding. However, I would very much like to clear the air with regards to some common misconceptions that the general public has regarding what professional astrology encompasses and the philosophies that it is based upon.
To begin with, the horoscopes found in newspapers, magazines, and the like are, in my opinion, an illegitimate representation of what astrology is. These kinds of horoscopes serve no real purpose to those who read them and cause worrisome damage to the perception the public has about astrology as a whole. Firstly, it is important to understand that the average horoscope will only take into account the Sun sign. This refers to the position of the sun on your birthday. For example, those born between March 21 – April 20 have a Sun sign of Aries. Those born April 21 – May 20 have a Sun sign of Taurus, etc. The reason why this kind of astrological practice does more harm than good is that it uses only about 2% of what a professional reading would include, and markets itself to the public as a holistic, theoretical approach. If you were to go to a professional astrologer for a monthly horoscope, for example, they would not only discuss the way that the current planetary transits are affecting your sun sign, but they would also include how said transits are affecting your Moon sign, Mercury sign, Venus sign, mars sign, Jupiter sign, and Saturn sign, as well as impersonal planets such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. They would discuss with you the totality of this complex analysis within the context of specific areas of your life depending on the time and location of your birth. It is an important piece of information to note, and this is why I make a point of mentioning it: The best way for an astrologer to gain superb accuracy in a chart reading, horoscope, etc., is by having access to the time and location of the client’s birth. This is one of the biggest information gaps that exist between astrology and its skeptics. It is this concern surrounding over-generalization. It becomes clear to see, however, that legitimate astrological analyses are anything but generalized. They are highly personalized down to the very second and geographic coordinate of the client’s birth. This is where the real accuracy comes from in astrology, and so even the mere birth date is not enough to give an extremely detailed reading, let alone the entirety of the birth month.
Another common complaint among skeptics is that there is no scientific validity in the idea that planetary bodies up to light-years away are directing the human experience here on Earth. The reality is that to fully accept astrology, one must be willing to think somewhat esoterically. There must be some belief that there is something bigger to the Universe than just human understanding and perception. Without this, one will forever be confined to the still limited discoveries of science in the present day. What I would like to say to skeptics, however, is that, at least for the last two-thousand years, prominent astrologers have debated whether or not the stars and planets compel us to act in a certain way, or whether they simply serve as cosmic sign-posts, signaling to us that certain energies are manifesting from a larger cosmic force, such as Source itself. The majority of professional astrologers in the field today tend to lean more towards the philosophy of astrology being signal and not causal. Unfortunately, the why behind astrology may forever be an open-ended question for which we have no empirical evidence. It is like asking, “Is there a God?,” or, “If the Big Bang created all of the physical entities in the Universe, then what created the space within which the Big Bang occurred?” For as intelligent as we claim to be, there still seem to be some questions that are forever unanswered, and this is one of them. There is, however, a piece to this that we do have empirical evidence for, and that is; Astrology, when done the right way, and coming from a source with a deep level of understanding and knowledge, is shockingly accurate and can be a very helpful tool in guidance and healing.
The final point that I would like to discuss is the concern surrounding astrology and free will. Does astrology assume that free will doesn’t exist? The answer is no, astrology does not assume that the belief in free will is obsolete. In college, I wrote an essay for an intro-level philosophy course on Free Will versus Determinism. I believe that almost all of my classmates chose between one philosophy or the other. I, however, argued that both can exist simultaneously, and this is the philosophy that I use with my clients within my practice. Astrology asserts that there are certain energies and landmarks within the life of an essentially unavoidable individual. In a sense, this is your karma. Certain joys, pains, losses, and wins that you are meant to experience. The energetic landmarks within life seem to be somewhat determined. The course that the individual takes to arrive at these landmarks, however, and the specific manifestations that are a result of said course, are up to free will. To put this into perspective, think about your favorite ice cream. Mine is mint chocolate chip. Let’s say that this afternoon I am going to go to the ice cream stand and buy an ice cream cone. I can choose between so many different flavors, but the mint chocolate chip has always been my favorite. My selection in flavor is both coming from free will, and yet determined by the free will of others in times past. Imagine that no one had ever invented mint chocolate chip ice cream. Then what would my favorite flavor be? I would still go to the ice cream stand this afternoon, but I would never have the option to order mint chocolate chips. Maybe I’d order Rocky Road. You see, the use of free will is both free and determined at the same time. Free will and determinism exist inextricably from one another. This same idea applies to all things in life, from what ice cream flavor to order, to whether you decide to have children, and yes, to astrology. There are certain energetic bumpers that we find within the birth chart that keep an individual within a larger, personalized karmic field, full of exponential courses of action and life paths. Thus, the individual is both determined and free simultaneously. Just as your choice in ice cream flavor is determined by the free will of others in times past, wherein they chose to experiment and invent these novelties, many astrologers would say that your current life is in this same way partially determined by your free will in past lives. Your current experience is determined by your karma, and yet you are still free to make as much of it as you can.
I understand that this article does not placate logical positivist thinkers (those who only follow scientific facts and empirical data). The reality is, as aforementioned, the practice of astrology assumes that one will place its faith in something larger than its self. For those who reject astrology based on fundamental disbelief in anything related to the soul, higher consciousness, and divine creation, I don’t feel that it’s my job to try and remold their entire framework for understanding the world. For as stark and as limiting as this kind of thinking can be, to some it has merits and that is something I can respect. However, for those of you who find yourselves doubting astrology not from a fundamental rejection of the assumptions it makes about higher purpose, but from a genuine lack of knowledge and technical understanding, I hope this article has given you a new way of thinking about what astrology is and can do when practiced with awareness and integrity.
Commentaires