Getting your chart done can be an extremely enlightening experience.
Photo: Bracketing Life
There is something about a brief glimpse of understanding the self that feels like a window into humanity. Rarely does it last. But hopefully, it comes around again, albeit in small pieces and unexpected moments.
To me, seeing an astrologer (a good one, at least), is a bit like getting a glimpse. They will explain to you some fundamental aspects about yourself, how the stars take part in making it so, and that at different periods of your life, you will be forced to stare deeply in the mirror in order to propel forward.
Sure, one can say “I already know myself well, and understand I will face some hard times in life,” but it is often helpful having someone else clarify, at least in part, why you do what you do. A lot of “ah ha”s can come from that.
Yeah, if you haven’t guessed by now, I love my naturopaths, massage therapists, and psychics. Fine, call me a new-age hippie – I can take it. But even if you can’t get on board with any of those alternative approaches, astrology tends to be a bit more of an accepted genre – who doesn’t read their horoscope at least every once in a while?
Well, it’s time to forget that horoscope, since it’s never right (it’s almost impossible to tell the whole world of oh say, Capricorns, what’s going to happen that day; so much is dependent on a person’s time and place of birth) and open your mind to something that can help you figure out a good time to push your career forward, when love might approach, and maybe most importantly, the best time to travel.
Here are five things to keep in mind when you decide to get an astrology reading:
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1. Get a recommendation.
Yep, same goes for astrologers as psychics. Really, get a recommendation for any professional you are paying good money, from a lawyer to a bikini-line waxer (very important).
Would you drop off your beloved dog after randomly coming upon some house with a broken-down sign outside that says, “We luv pets”? No. Don’t just pop in an astrology establishment because you are on vacation and think it might be fun to ask what’s happening in the stars. Unless, of course, you don’t really care about the answer.
2. Do your homework.
Learn a bit about astrology before you make an appointment. For example, the astrologer will need to know your exact time of birth, and usually specifically what questions you would like answered. Not only is your sun sign (the one most people know) important in defining your personality, but so are your moon and ascendant signs.
Astrology will become a lot more clear to you if you learn about your chart in this way. You can hit Astrology.com to get a free natal chart. Although you only receive part of it for free, you’ll get the essence.
Also, understand that there are different types of astrology, including evolutionary astrologers and Chinese astrology, among many others. Get clear on which one you are most on-board with before you make an appointment.
3. Think about the bigger picture.
I know I can sometimes get caught up in what is going on in the moment, and desperately want to know if that hot guy is interested or if that proposal will get accepted. What a waste of time to see an astrologer and ask these piddly-little questions.
Before the most recent trip (via phone) I took to an amazing astrologer, I deliberately decided to mark it as a practice of mapping out 2010. This is the second year in a row that I’ve used my birthday, which neatly falls at the end of the year, as a stimulus to both plan for the coming year, and see what makes the most sense to focus my energy on. Usually, what has already been in my thoughts ends up showing up in my chart, but rarely in the way I thought they would.
Knowing when it is best to sit back, relax, and rework can save you a whole lotta aggravation.
Learning that May might be the best month for you to try and make some extra cash because the stars are aligned is helpful information. Also knowing when it is best to sit back, relax, and rework (like during the dreaded Mercury in retrograde, which occurs four times a year for three weeks at a time – THAT’S why it feels like it’s always happening) can save you a whole lotta aggravation.
4. Be emotionally prepared.
Seeing an astrologer can be a bit like going to a psychologist. Hopefully, through recommendations and homework, you’ve happened upon a very loving astrologer (as far as I can tell, there are a lot out there). But, they are also here to tell it like it is, and not sugar-coat the work that needs to be done.
They should skillfully take you through the process of understanding yourself a bit deeper, but as with any self-inquiry, some of it certainly can sting if you aren’t already aware.
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5. Have fun.
Although astrology, like meditation or travel, gives you a chance to go deeper, it also gives you a chance to get out of yourself a bit at the same time. I often laugh uncontrollably when I’m “called out” by an astrologer (it is scary how dead-on they can be).
For example, in my last reading, the astrologer noted my Scorpio (dark, brooding) in Venus (sign of love) would have me always attracted to that which I shouldn’t be attracted to, so I’d better start working on accepting it instead of fighting it. Thinking about my propensity toward men who are for some reason or another out of reach, I couldn’t help but respond with a “touché”.
Let knowledge give you a chance to make fun of yourself. We all gotta take things a little less seriously, right?
What do you think about astrology? Share your thoughts below.
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18 Comments... join the discussion!
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Ah yes, I forgot – nature, God, the Universe – all need to be explained by science.
Oops, I guess some people believe there is science behind astrology – here’s a quick reference list of astrology in science journals, books and theses from 1900-2007, http://www.rudolfhsmit.nl/u-refs2.htm
It’s interesting how most people who call something a joke often have no experience with it whatsoever.
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There are plenty of things science can’t explain. If people like to have unconventional ideas for why certain things work certain ways there’s their own business (even if a lot of us disagree).
But astrologers make money off of people’s desperate need to be told whatever they want. All of this “reading you” CAN be explained by science (body language, or saying 20 things that are wrong and one of them being true and that sounding amazing; there are loads of scientific explanations) and that’s why people use the word when you bring up astrology.
What annoys me is not people’s belief conflicting with mine, it’s someone making money off of it. Doctors make money off of people’s problems too, but it has been proven (yes, by “science” – perish the thought we should bring that up in a discussion about how the universe works) that their remedies can help the patient in the real world, based on proven research.
Astrologers hate it when you mention science for obvious reasons, since it very quickly disproves any likeliness of astrology being true. It’s the “party pooper”. If I watch Harry Potter and then you stand in front of me in the cinema and give me a list of reasons why it’s all impossible, that is indeed annoying. But you pay for a cinema ticket to get lost in a fantasy you know is false. You pay astrologers thinking they are giving you true information. This requires scrutiny like any other business.
If I sell you a product and lie to you about what it does, I should be liable to legal action. Why is astrology exempt from this? If I make big decisions in my life based on what I got in a reading and they turn out to have negative effects, should the astrologist be held liable? These are important questions. Astrologers words affect how (gullible) people live their lives, so the source of where their conclusions are coming from needs to be looked at and put under the microscope like everything else in society.
Sorry, but when you write on a site like this to lots of intelligent people you are going to have to deal with intelligent arguments. It’s not just a case of “skipping over” an article we don’t like. This genuinely annoys me because it’s a business of taking undeserved money based on unproven scripture, not because of the fundamental beliefs of someone. This article is actually promoting that business, not just the “idea” of astrology in itself.
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The day before I wrote this, I wrote about Buddhism. The day before that, someone wrote about yoga positions. Yes, we can “scientifically prove” (I put that in quotations because I spent years in school looking at conflicting data on just about everything from vitamin A to the causes of cancer – the reality is nothing is proven; things are constantly shifting and changing, new developments arise, and never forget to research which pharmaceutical company paid for this “concrete study”) that these help in lowering stress, and therefore – more than likely – have a positive benefit on health. In and of themselves, we cannot prove Buddhism, or any religion, or as I said, anything else really.
I have never seen an astrologer who came up with answers off the top of their head (exactly why I mentioned don’t bother just “dropping” into a place – that is a good sign they aren’t doing their job). They actually pour for hours over books and charts previous to talking to a person in order to connect the dots of often conflicting information to get at a person’s essence. And you will know when you talk to them if they are in fact, on their game. I promise no more or no less than it is a possible tool in a large chest for understanding yourself on a deeper level, if you are so inclined to try it.
At BNT, we like to broaden people’s minds, even when it is not something everyone agrees with. Considering astrology has been around for longer than some religions, and has a rich and varied history, we felt it was worth writing about.
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I like how Benny’s argument is based largely on the assumption of some sort of nefariousness on the part of the astrologers. Like none of the ones that have been practicing the subject over the past couple thousand years actually believed that they were involved in something that was valid, especially today. Of course they *know* its wrong, since it seems so obvious to someone who hasn’t really studied the matter.
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Christine,
That link is simply a list of the word astrology or similar words showing up in articles, books or other publications. A similar list could be cataloged for “unicorns.” Does that prove or support anything? No.I understand that not everything can be explained by science, but the business of astrology has been refuted by science and shown to be based on ancient misconceptions. The fact that it is a thriving industry seems criminal to me.
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Oh, for goodness sake! Why on earth does this otherwise extraordinarily useful and informative website need to be cluttered up with this absolute rubbish? Anyone who does even a trifle of “their homework” will surely understand that not only is astrology based on a series of dramatic misconceptions about the nature of the universe made centuries ago as well as a series of logical fallacies readily demonstrated, but has never, even once, stood up to the simplest test of what it asserts? It is simply absurd. Do your homework indeed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1439101/Astrologers-fail-to-predict-proof-they-are-wrong.html
http://www.sho.com/site/order/preview.do#/Penn_Teller_s07_e02↵ -
I’m sorry, did you just reference Penn and Teller as proof that astrology is wrong?
Again, nowhere in this article did I say that astrology was “scientifically proven.” I said it can be a very helpful resource for those who are interested, and in my personal opinion, is dead on. Excuse the “absolute rubbish” – next time, skip over an article that you don’t agree with.
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Great article Christine!
To all the naysayers quick to judge whether astrology is “proven” or not… it doesn’t matter. These types of experiences are what you make them out to be, and if they don’t resonate with you, fine. If they do, even better. The more troubling trait is to judge others because you happen to disagree with something.
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Very nice article! This is definitely some good advice.
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I’d be down to try anything once!
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Great tips Christine!
I think any sort of practice – religious, spiritual or astrological – that allows us to gain an insight to our feelings and explore plans and ideas for the future can only be a good thing.
It may not be everyone’s cuppa tea, which you’ve clearly stated, but what science does show is that the more coping-resources we have the better our health.
So, bring on the chart readings and astrology homework!↵ -
Chris/Christine, you ignored the entire main reason I wrote a comment and just responded with the default opinion based arguments for sceptics. I wasn’t trying to disprove astrology in my comment (frankly, that’s way too easy).
I’m going on the presumption that it’s true and asking why isn’t it put under the same scrutiny as other things you pay for that have a huge influence on other people’s life. There are moral and legal consequences of telling someone to do certain things in their life and a large majority of other industries that you pay for are scrutinised so that people know they can trust these facts given to them. When that scrutiny is applied wrong (as it can be in pharmaceutical situations as you brought up) then it’s just as useless. That’s bad science.
Longevity of the information has absolutely no connection with how useful or true it is. With that attitude we never would have progressed as a species and discovered new things that conflict with what we already “knew”. So I honestly don’t care if the astrologer makes up what they say on the spot or bases it on the ramblings of people from the bronze-age; where they get this information needs to be looked at and nitpicked. Not to challenge individual beliefs, but to challenge a business and how it operates.
Christine, it’s great that you have varied interests and write about yoga and Buddhism too. That is a grey area; yoga can either be pretty much entirely physical (poses, breathing), as well as meditation and some basic rituals (such as hatha yoga) or much more ritual and belief based. In the west the former is more popular and good for your body (and meditation for your mind), so I’m happy to promote it and took a few interesting (and more difficult than I expected) lessons in hatha yoga a few years ago. But teaching a more belief-based version of yoga or Buddhism is getting into religion, which is not a kettle of fish I’d like to open here since I’m not arguing people’s decision to have their own beliefs.
If astrology were true, then great, but if you are selling it to me, it should be analysed scientifically so that we could make “the best charts” possible. It isn’t. Religions like Buddhism on the other hand are (generally) not something you pay for. You are right that bad science (as applied in the pharmaceutical industry) is not at all useful, but that is not actual science. We have a scientific method that requires impartiality and “double blind” tests etc. This method is extremely effective, and is what I’m talking about.
If you do a test of 1000 people and only give half of them astrology readings and analyse their charts (not having met them, so that other things don’t influence the choices made) and give the other half random results from the first group, and see what happens… are you telling me that you can be sure that the first group’s readings will result in more true information?
I’m genuinely worried that an astrologer may tell someone to move country, quit their job, (or equally stay in their situation when they actually should quit) or make other important decisions looking into the sky instead of talking with and getting to know that person. (If some astrologers do that, then I’d argue that they are actually good psychologists or friends and you can ignore all the star signs part) These people pay to get that advice when it may turn out to be a very bad choice for them. That is my argument.
@Chris I’m not presuming nefariousness. I genuinely believe that the astrologers you would find following the advice in this article would be nice people who would not want to mislead you or steal your money. I’m not against those astrologers per say, I’m against the industry as a whole because the same rules as other industries aren’t applied.
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I have a bit of advice for first-timers going to see an astrologer: Don’t.
Unless you’re, say, in a temple in Taipei and you think it would be fun to get a handwritten reading in Chinese. Or you’re doing it for the fun with a couple of friends because, as Christine says, you can “make fun of yourself”, then by all means, go ahead.
But seriously,if you think that the location of arbitrarily-defined star constellations (many of which died millions of years ago) in the sky on the day you were born, and the number of hours your mother was in labour (which determines the exact time of your birth) have an effect on your career and love life twenty, thirty, fourty years later, then you should really consider getting a life, half a brain, and a basic scientific education.
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As an astrologer, I find it curious that anyone would make an assumption that I have a problem with science. I think science is fantastic – I love how it explains things that once seemed unknowable.
I don’t practice astrology because it is logical or explicable. I practice it because it has heretofore remained the most useful lens I’ve found through which to see the Universe and my place within it. I certainly would not recommend that anyone go to an astrologer who feels averse – I think, as a rule people should believe in, subscribe to, and invest themselves in those philosophies and activities that make sense to them in navigating their lives.
For my part, I started doing charts because people were interested in learning about themselves in that manner. And I keep doing charts because people continue to ask me to do so. I can’t recall a time when I’ve advertised my services to anyone – and yet, folks keep showing up and sharing their appreciation for the work. Some have been skeptics and have said they think it’s me, it’s my perceptiveness and my ability to read people that makes my readings powerful or “accurate”. Maybe they’re right – I don’t pretend to know how or why the location of planets in the sky offers such meaningful insights. I’m not attached to astrology being the one true cosmology. It’s simply the vehicle for self-and-other understanding that’s been the most powerful in my life, and I appreciate the fact that others have shared that appreciation with me. I trust that those who aren’t interested will find another, more appropriate method to engage in this kind of inquiry. There are many paths to greater awareness, and I honor them all.
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Thanks for sharing Patty. It’s nice to read a non-judgmental perspective.
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Why are we assuming that science is the only lens through which the validity of anything can be measured?
Even that which is supposedly “scientifically proven,” is not likely to be pure and unbiased. If we’re going to be wary, we must also be wary of science. For example, 70 percent of funding for pharmaceutical trials originates from the drug manufacturers themselves (Len Saputo M.D. in A Return to Healing). The “science” associated with the safety of our food and personal care products is equally tainted.
Our scientific method is based on a one-to-one cause-and-effect model that just isn’t relevant in proving anything that has any degree of interconnection, has a spiritual component, or relies on intuition or access to realms we can’t today “capture” and “measure.”
So, while I might look at science as one way to inform my decisions, I don’t need science to tell me why my astrologer helps me to better understand myself and my life, why it feels really good to be in nature, why my spiritual practice serves me, and why my intuition jumps in to alert me of impending mayhem. These activities feel good and work for me. Besides, science isn’t very interested in this stuff because there isn’t enough money to be made in astrology, nature, or spirituality.
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“There isn’t enough money to be made in astrology”
[groan]Astrology is a multi-million dollar business. How many times do I have to hint to this? Someone above said that I’m claiming nefariousness on astrologers (even though I wasn’t) – well you are claiming nefariousness on science. Science is the quest for truth, not a guy in a lab suit or a book on star signs making up how both drugs and astrology help you when they are nothing more than placebos that make you feel better because you just need “something” to fill the void or cure an ailment, and paying for it means it “must” be good.
Nobody is answering my comments about astrology simply having the same process applied to it as everything else that you pay for. You keep referring to the pharmaceutical industry; we have much more strict laws about the scientific process for such products in Europe, so I agree that in the states it’s ridiculous how many misleading studies are used to the benefit of drugs corporations.
But the exact same thing is happening with astrology. This is not the scientific process – it’s a pity you can’t see that. In both astrology and research on fake drugs, you are filtering the facts for the one or two times it seems to point to a truth out of thousands where it’s pure rambling. And with that misleading information, you have a money-making industry. I see the lies of the pharmaceutical industry in the states and astrology as being exactly the same thing, so it’s silly to use one to defend the other. In both cases you have biased misinformation that benefits either a single corporation or an entire industry. Science is the quest for truth, plain and simple. The truth will tear astrology to pieces, which is why you are all so scared of it.
Sorry for the wake-up call, but astrology is a money making venture like anything else. My problem with this whole discussion isn’t an attack on people’s beliefs, it’s how an industry is making lots and LOTS of money off of gullible people. It’s exempt from investigation because of the warm fuzzy feeling you get when an astrology tells you everything is going to be alright.
The discussion would be the same trying to talk about Santa Claus visiting every house on one day being scientifically impossible; you’d argue that “it just feels right” that he can. I find it annoying to see how pejoratively astrologists are looking at science when it has done so much for society.
Astrologers make money off ancient ramblings that a ray of light from a star that possibly died billions of years ago and its relevant position in a random point in space to another such ray of light when you were born decades ago… tells you that you will find a boyfriend. It’s ridiculous and I find it incredible that we are still actually talking about it in the 21st century. It should have died with alchemy, human sacrifice and all the other things we gave up because they didn’t fit with how the universe actually works.
If you want to believe this ridiculous nonsense, then that’s your choice. But making lots and lots of money from it is wrong.
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