Like most new astrologers, I learned the Zodiac and Planets with keywords to decipher the texture of their seemingly mystical and magical meanings. With every new chart I wanted to understand, I would pull down books from my shelf, like The Astrologer’s Handbook by Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker, and look up every placement, every aspect and think about the ways the planets might manifest in the person’s life. Perhaps now you do the same thing.

I think this method, many years ago, was a very necessary development because the way astrology views the world is very different than most other forms of understanding people.

However, with the advent of better books and the mass re-publication of books that have been lost for centuries, like Ficino’s Three Books of Life or Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, we’re able to get to a deeper understanding of the planets and the Zodiac. We can and must go beyond the keywords. We must come to live with the planets and the Zodiac.

This is an important thing to note as keywords, ultimately, can slow you down in analysis and prevent you from trekking into the hinterland where a client really lives. One way to do this is to get a deeper appreciation of the mythology and astronomy that informs the life of the planets and Zodiac. Another way is through experiential exercises, like meditation, free writing, and astrodrama.

Caroline W. Casey, in her superb book, Making the Gods Work for You, dives deep into the mythologies and etymologies from around the world—not just the Roman and Greek ones!—that correspond to the planets and Zodiac. It’s highly illuminating and provides stories, characteristics and key phrases that give more life to the planets and meaning in our lives. I also would recommend Valerie Vaughn’s Astro-Mythology as understanding the myths for the constellations will illuminate why keywords and phrases are associated with particular signs, like why the stars of Gemini are considered boons to sailors. Raven Kaldera’s Mythastrology: Exploring Planets and Pantheons does a similar thing, but pursues the myth of every planet in each sign, from cultures around the world.

As you read books like this, and these are just several of the many books of this ilk, you realize that exploring the mythic journey of the namesakes of the planets and their multicultural counterparts brings the planets to life from the inside out. From this perspective, we can be more detailed with clients for the scenarios they are playing out in the lives, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Likewise, it’s very important to understand the astronomy of the planets, and how their purely scientific or mathematical qualities also inform or run synchronous with our astrological understandings. For instance, you might know that Venus, both by her very glyph, … and her mythic history is associated with women, but did you know that “as seen from the moving Earth, Venus averages 260 days as either morning star or evening star, coinciding with the human gestation period of 255 to 266 days?” This fact from Dava Sobel’s marvelous short book, The Planets, only cements Venus’ authority as a key signature for women. Also, astrologers who intuitively associated the rebellious idealist with the planet of Uranus probably didn’t know about the astronomical fact that Uranus is the only planet in our solar system that rotates on a horizontal axis rather than the usual vertical one. A fact like this might really concretize the experience of someone who has Uranus rising or a strong Uranus aspect, like Sun conjunct Uranus.

However, the testimony of the planets in the interior lives of clients isn’t only achieved by our familiarity with myths, legends and astronomy. There are other powerful ways, too. Meditation free or creative writing and astrodrama are also very powerful ways to understand the planets and the signs.

I have had the privilege to work in a small Kabbalah spiritual group for the last 6 years. At the heart of understanding the planets and the Zodiac in traditional Western thought is the Kabbalistic tradition. You can learn more about my specific tradition here: www.kabbalahsociety.org. During our weekly meetings, as we meditate on the parts of the Tree of Life, it helps me understand the nature and nuances of the planets. However, you could use your own meditation techniques to explore the interior life of the planets. Here are a few prompts: You could meditate on the levels of Love for Venus, for example. How does the energy and verve of Mars congeal into anger? How could the grandiosity of Jupiter manifest in our lives in good ways? How could it manifest in some not-so-good ways? In meditation, it’s about releasing your mind to allow the thoughts to come and go. As you go deeper, through modulating your breathing, you, ultimately, allow yourself to just observe your thoughts, not just participate in them. Once you do this, you can come to experience your own interior experience of the planets, possibly even surprising yourself by what you’ll find. It’s beyond the scope of the ability of this blog to teach meditation, but if you have a practice you can explore the interior nature of the planets on your own.

If you prefer something more active, free writing or even creative writing about the planets could be immensely illuminating. In free writing, the goal is just to let yourself write, without a lot of editing as you’re writing. It’s like meditation, in the sense that you let your thoughts just flow. One piece of advice that I’d give about the free writing process is DON’T STOP! Don’t stop to think. Don’t stop to re-read. Just keep writing for 5 minutes, initially, and then for longer periods of time, like 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Write whatever comes into your head, even like “I have to go to bathroom, but I’m committed to writing for the next 10 minutes, so I’ll wait!” This is fine. If you gently guide yourself back to the goal of the exercise, which is to let your mind just go about a particular planet or sign, you’ll gain a lot more insight into it then you would by just reading someone else’s words. If writing isn’t your thing, you might also try this with a tape or digital recorder.

If you prefer something more active and you have a few brave souls who’d like to be active with you, I would suggest astrodrama. Barbara Schermer’s book, Astrology Alive, is all about bringing astrology to life and she has a brilliant set of chapters on Astrodrama. I was able to start an astrodrama group for a short period of time in 2003, and let me tell you, it was a very powerful experience. We did an astrodramatic interpretation of a chart for the solar eclipse in May 2003 that still gives me chills. In it, we seemed to focus in on Israel, as the eclipse was very close to its founding anniversary date. We focused on the Moon in Scorpio and its squares to Mars, Jupiter and Mercury. Somehow we dramatically played out how the Moon in Scorpio cloaked itself as a religious friend (in the 9^th house), but seethed with anger and terror. The very next week, a terrorist dressed as an orthodox Jew detonated a suicide bomb on a crowded bus in Jerusalem, the first time on record that a terrorist had actually impersonated a religious Jew. I seriously doubt if we would have found that analysis using keywords. By letting our imaginations come to life, we saw something dastardly that might have been prevented, if we had access to the right channels or collective faith in our ability to do so.

So with the fuel of myth, astronomy and imagination, the planets and the Zodiac can come to life…in your own life and that of your clients. It is a poetic life, ultimately, this life of the star-telling. It doesn’t mean you have to write the poetry, though you could. It means that the poetry is being written in the sky, and your job, as an astrologer, is to read this celestial poetry as deeply, well and creatively as you can.

Books I’d recommend from this blog:

The Astrologer’s Handbook (Harperresource Book)

Three Books on Life (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies)

Making the Gods Work for You: The Astrological Language of the Psyche

Astro-Mythology: The Celestial Union of Astrology and Myth

Mythastrology: Exploring Planets & Pantheons

The Planets

Astrology Alive: A Guide to Experiential Astrology and the Healing Arts

Many times, I’ve had people ask if astrology is an art or science.  Ultimately, I look at it as a craft, but I think it is more an art than a science.  I know many other astrologers would disagree, which for me, testifies more to its art than to its science.  This is more than just a light-hearted question, however.  I think if one comes to think of astrology as a definitive science, like chemistry, one is also bound for some deep disappointments and prone to more surprising results.  Let me explain.

Astrology is the art of stellar portraiture, which is capturing a moment as seen in the heavens.  The moment could be the moment of a birth, the starting of company, the posing of a question, the start of a marriage, or the end of a life.   The mechanics of the drawing is not something with which the astrologer has to be concerned.  It’s already drawn out by God, if you will, and replicated in symbols by your trusty astrology software program.   (Although there is something to be said for the practice of doing a chart by hand as the astrologer was, indeed, offering a portrait in her own style.)  The artistry comes in how and what is “seen” and “shown” by the astrologer.  This is about more than just interpretation.

For instance, it is rather jarring when an astrologer does a “different” kind of chart for someone other than how they’ve known it, if they have before.  For instance, when many people signed up for the Astrology Career Institute, I would offer them replicas of their charts using Whole Sign Houses.  Whole sign houses use a whole Zodiac sign, starting from the sign of the ascendant, for each subsequent house.  There are no intercepted cusps and all the house cusps have the same degree starting them, 0 degrees.  However, this was jarring for a number of people as their planets were shifted from one house, where they had grown accustomed to seeing it, to another.  It gave them a different portrait than they had seen.  Likewise, a similar, but perhaps more jarring thing, happens when someone uses a completely different zodiac, like the sidereal zodiac.  A person may have a lot of stake in being one sign; however, it is very likely that they’ll move back a sign when using the sidereal zodiac.  So, if you were born a Gemini, using the “normal” tropical zodiac, then you may be a Taurus using the sidereal. 

There are also other ways to show other things to be seen in a chart than what’s commonly done.  I have an astrologer friend who feels a very well known astrologer committed an immense injustice to her and her first session with him because he didn’t use Chiron, a planetoid, in his reading.  She feels that it would have provided more insight into her life than what he actually dispensed.  Many others feel the same way regarding not using asteroids, and another school of astrology would insist on using a set of hypothetical planets, like Vulcanus, Zeus, Vulcan, and perhaps a host of other hypothetical or pseudo-planets you’ve never heard of. 

So what does one do?  This is why I view astrology, at some level, as more an art.  From the way you set up “house” with a house system to what planets you use (or don’t) would be analogous to an artist’s palette and his or her style.  An artist could offer a portrait for someone in cubist, impressionist, modern, post-modern, surrealist, or any gallery of artistic styles.  It’s similar in astrology.  I might like for my physical portrait to look like a photograph, but I might just like as much an artistic rendition that’s more cubist.  One might reveal traits and thoughts that I might not have seen if I focused on just one style.  The same experience is true for the artist, and this is what’s important for the astrologer to realize.   What’s disorienting for many novice astrologers is that there is NO ONE WAY or true RIGHT WAY to offer a stellar portrait.  When people elect to take their essay exam for ACI, they ask which house system they should use.  I always say the one that makes them comfortable.  I can see why this is unsettling to people.  People want a way to do something that doesn’t depend on fancy, whim or style.  If that’s you, then astrology may not be the art you desire or the science you need.  In fact, this is why I don’t feel astrology is a science at all.

If we consider astrology as a science, then we have to fulfill a few pretty steep requirements for it to be considered as such, which no astrology has yet to fulfill (to my knowledge).  One mainstay of scientific thought is that results should be replicable, by another researcher using similar methods.  This is where things get tricky, for two key reasons.  Astrology seems to resist replicability and its methods, as I mentioned above, are so diverse.  For instance, one moment can have several different layers of meaning and importance for two different people.  Add the question of HOW I should look at that moment, i.e. using the sidereal zodiac, the Regiomontanus house system, or only seven planets, and you see even different layers than another astrologer.  In science, if I come up with a formula to make a drug, then any other chemist can use the same chemicals to make the same drug.  What’s more, even if one were able to get astrologers to use the exact same methods to delineate a chart, they may not all arrive at the same conclusions.  This is largely because the true “material” of astrology is not actually material; it’s spiritual.  Science is largely concerned with the material nature of the universe, not the spiritual or experiential nature of it.   It is true, though, that science is used in astrology.   It is important for astrologers to recognize the astronomy in astrology, but that’s just as true for artists to recognize the chemistry involved in most of the substances they use to create.  Nonetheless, the artistry of the science used in astrology becomes even less of an issue when we consider the craft of the art.

When we pay attention to any endeavor at the level of craft, this acknowledges that we are attentive to both advancing our skill set in that endeavor and deepening our own internal experience of it.   As I’ve intensely studied astrology, I’ve come to see that it’s more than just learning and practicing technique.  It is realizing that we use tools that provide us with keys to unlock our divine potential and nature.  By careful contemplation, we can become more skillful in recognizing the likely nature of astrological signature and their relevance in our lives and the lives of our clients.  Like Michelangelo believed that he was more releasing a sculpture from a block of stone, as we grow as craftsmen astrologers, we’ll no longer seek to infuse our beliefs and ideas into a chart, as much as correctly perceive what’s there.  This comes from just as much an internal change as the external acquisition of skills and tools.  It is in this sense that I believe that it is impossible to diligently study astrology without cultivating a spiritual life.  It doesn’t matter whether you believe in organized religion or not. Or if you believe in a literal God or not.  I think it’s most important to believe in the connectedness of all things and see that in yourself and your astrology.  In this regard, you come to recognize all your “divine” attributes while still fully being human.  This is true holiness.  In fact, celebrated medieval astrologer William Lilly may have said it best when he said, “for the more holy thou art, and more neer to God, the purer judgment thou shalt give.”  Craft, at this point, isn’t just about skill, but also character and action.  May we all become better at this craft of speaking for stars.  

Among the best pieces of advice I got as I was still thinking about becoming a practicing astrologer was to use the power of my moon sign in establishing my practice.   This means that you use your moon sign to gain insight into the kind of clients you’re likely to draw and to obtain valuable clues on the best ways to reach and serve these clients.   Of course, there are also number of other factors you can consider, like the 7^th, 10^th, and 11^th houses, their rulers and any planetary tenants in those houses, but that’s a different blog.  This blog entry serves to help you consider who might be possible clients and how you might best reach them according to your moon sign.  Needless to say, you have to know your own moon sign first!

Moon in Aries: 

As a child of Mars, you like and respect a sense of drive and edge to those around you, especially your clients.  You’re likely to be counted among the more entrepreneurial of astrologers, coming up with innovative ways to reach people about astrology.  You’re also likely to do extremely well with people who are pioneers or teeter on the edge themselves in business, like real estate agents, people in network marketing, and other entrepreneurs.  Be direct, energetic and enthusiastic with potential clients about what you can do for them to keep them on the cutting edge and not the chopping block.

Moon in Taurus:

One striking aspect about you is that there’s something steady and reliable about you.  This is very important as clients will welcome having someone in their lives who they can count on.  You should definitely invest in creating a comfortable (yet cost-effective) place to greet clients as that’s one of your key gifts.  You’re likely to be attractive to people who are either well established in life themselves or those who until recently had firmer roots that have become uprooted.   So be attentive to homeowners, established business people, like bankers, and people who enjoy (and afford) haute cuisine and spirits. 

Moon in Gemini:

You have a natural ability to multitask, so you might fare well with having multiple ventures happening at once, like writing a weekly blog, lining up speaking engagements, and keeping in touch with clients either by phone or newsletter on a regular basis.  You like connecting with people, and you would do well to make your presence felt at networking and other social events.  You will also be attractive to people who enjoy chatting or who have to talk to a lot of people frequently, so be sure to chat yourself up a little bit when you’re on the go at the market or even in line to pay your parking ticket.  (You do like to go fast!)

Moon in Cancer:

You’re a born nurturer, and people will sense somehow that you care.  You may find people trusting and opening up to you without solicitation.  Be sure to take care of yourself as much as you spend time taking care of others, however.  The people most drawn to you would include people who may also spend a great time taking care of others, like parents, people in the healthcare industry, and educators.  You might also have an incredible memory, so you should consider using it in sessions as it also cements your reputation as someone who does care and takes the time to remember details.

Moon in Leo:

You have a sense of presence and importance that will make others seek you out.  This doesn’t give you license not to market yourself, but you should realize that you shouldn’t “try” so hard to impress people.  You can just do that naturally by being you.  You somehow draw people who evidence a good amount of heart or courage in what they do, like artists or entrepreneurs.  You might also be someone who edifies people who have lost their faith in life from recent traumatic experiences.   If there is some way for you to take center stage, as either a speaker or teacher, you will find people drawn to you and what you have to say. 

Moon in Virgo:

You have a sharp mind and a keen ability to analyze key details.  You might find people come to figure out their priorities and to get some perspective on life.  In fact, your sessions may help them to organize their thoughts.  You may be quite meticulous also in your astrological analyses, so you must be careful not to inundate your clients with too much information.  However, if you give just enough information (leaving out astro-jargon), your clients will feel like they have an efficiency expert to help them live better.  You naturally may draw people in business or who keep their lives cluttered with too much information.  This means you could benefit from some low-cost advertising in local publications.

Moon in Libra:

In you, a client finds a partner who actively listens and can level a judgment informed by the stars.  This means that some of your natural tendencies to weigh lots of options will have to be honed before your sessions with clients.  In fact, you may find people come to you when they’re at their wit’s end and may look to you to make decisions for them.  Don’t make the decisions for them, but you can clearly inform them of the options and what’s in their favor.  You may find your best clients are people who thrive on conversation, like Gemini, but may be a little more emotionally intense.  You might also think about a specialization in synastry, i.e. relationship astrology.

Moon in Scorpio:

You more than most other moon signs should choose your clients with care.  You’re not for the casual passerby in astrology.  You can usually perceive deeply and forthrightly into people’s issues and some people aren’t ready for that.  Those who are more likely to benefit from your services are people who are looking to change their lives, either by therapy or rehabilitation, or who have had their lives changed for them by recent traumatic life experiences, like war or some other brush with death.  You may have gone through some “dark nights of the soul” yourself, so you know quite a bit about retrieving meaningful messages from the heavens for people in need of Light. You might consider partnering with agencies, therapists, and health practitioners open to your services.

Moon in Sagittarius:

People can count on you to tell it like it “T.I. Is,” as some old folks used to say.   You also exude a sense of adventure and worldly wisdom that can reach a broad cross-section of people.  As a child of Jupiter, it’ll be helpful to use a fair amount of humor as to be sure you’re not taking yourself and your astrological work too seriously.  Laughter is a balm for the soul, just as much as a soothing voice.  As a social person, you’d do well to meet people who enjoy having a good time, talking and laughing, like private parties, comedy clubs, salons or a new age lecture where you can share your own pithy wisdom and wit.

Moon in Capricorn:

Often people don’t know what they want, even from moment to moment.  You’re someone who can help them focus on goals and astrological timing for goals.  At times in your life, you may have appeared as an underachiever, but you truly are an overachiever.  It’s just a matter of you finding the right time and activity that excites you.  If astrology is it, you will be very attractive to “A” types and overachievers.  They’ll like your no-frills, business-like demeanor, and they’ll benefit from your insistence to bring the very best out of them.  You actually could make a terrific resource for life-coaches as well.

Moon in Aquarius:

You possibly enjoy the philosophical beauty of astrology, i.e. we are all connected.  This suggests that the World Wide Web is one place where you could concentrate your efforts, as nothing is more analogous to this philosophy as that.  There is a no-frills sensibility to you too, as a child of Saturn and Uranus; however, you’re less focused on achievement and more interested in reaching people who somehow don’t fit in, like hipsters, hippies, and other people who somehow walk along the edge of society.

Moon in Pisces:

Your compassionate imagination is probably among the most powerful in the Zodiac.  If you really let the astrological symbols speak to you, they will tell a story where they only speak a few messages to most.  Your empathic insight may provide you with a clue as to who’s attracted to your services.  You’d also do well to work in partnership with other healthcare professionals, like naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, psychotherapists open to spirituality, and even a few spas as your compassion could complement the soothing and healing work they do. 

From the Desk of Samuel Reynolds

One thing to help in astrological analysis is to recognize that planets are on trial. Like a court trial, planets testify for or against something, and you, as the astrologer, have to judge their testimony. That’s why one of the classical phrasings for delineating a chart was “judging” it. This brief essay outlines a technique that will improve your astrological analyses and help you come out with better judgments overall.

One of the developments in modern astrology that’s made it so difficult to accurately judge a horoscope has been the advent of cookbooks. Not food cookbooks, but astrological books that look at the placement of planets in signs and provide interpretations for each one, as if they’re individual ingredients for a dish. You might think at first that this should have been a boon, but it’s not. The reason is simple: traditionally, planets were not viewed in isolation of each other. For example, it would be impossible to consider Venus in Aries, without considering the “testimony” of Mars as well. What’s more, an astrologer would also look at what houses Venus rules, occupies, and what houses Mars ruled and occupied as well. The two would be connected, because Mars rules Aries.

There’s also another big issue to consider with thinking about planets in signs first or only. Traditionally, that is before the 20^th century, astrologers didn’t focus on interpretations of planets in signs; they focused on the conditions of the planets. Going with our last example, Venus in Aries is a very challenging position for Venus, because she’s in the sign opposing to what she rules, Libra. This means she’s in detriment. This compromises her ability to rule justly and well over the affairs she rules by a house. She also might sour somewhat the affairs of the house she occupies. So if Venus in Aries is the ruler of the 7^th house (Libra) for an Aries rising person, then this person might have trouble integrating the lessons of true partnership in her life. There’s further testimony of this as Venus in Aries is in this person’s first house. This means she is even more likely to think about herself first, though the person may protest to the contrary. This is pretty specific information, but admittedly not enough detail. We only have the testimony of one planet. That’s why our next step would be to look at the testimony of Mars, the planet that rules Aries and most likely rules the house that Venus occupies.

However, a cookbook would come up with a snappy judgment that perhaps complements what Venus says, but adds more that’s not fueled by additional testimony. For instance, a cookbook might say something like this about Venus in Aries: “Socially aggressive. Passionate romantically. Tend to be impetuous in love, possibly even marrying in haste. Can take initiative making money, but may be just as impulsive in spending it.” This sounds great, but could be completely wrong as we don’t have enough testimony or evidence for this just from a Venus in detriment. That’s the key thing! Mars in Scorpio, however, may temper that Venus to be very good with money, almost too deliberate. Although Venus in Aries is likely to be in the first house of an Aries rising, her ruler, Mars in Scorpio, may not only suggest she’s very attractive, but she has an allure that makes her compelling in getting what she wants. She may, in fact, be driven by a measure of selfishness, but she may not get it by overt aggression! This is why it’s important to see the chain of evidence that you have to construct when “judging” a nativity, a chart.

I also recognize that since the advent of psychotherapy, astrologers have become reluctant to judge, or pass a moral statement on just about anything. I think that’s unfortunate as it’s built into the actual system of astrology. This is why we talk about planets in detriment, fall, exaltation and dignity. This does not mean, however, that we have to judge a person as a bad person because many of the planets are in fall. These placements speak about what has been given by nature (at the person’s birth) and testify to the work he or she must do to improve his or her life. However, if we skirted the importance of that work, of the planets’ testimony (by fall or detriment) that certain areas of life need serious attention and effort, we could cheat the client out of his or her destiny or spiritual growth. The testimony of the planets provides us with windows into spiritual growth and possibilities for the person.

In some ways, getting away from the cookbook principles of astrology is liberating. I used to find it tedious and laborious to look up the zodiac placement of every planet in someone’s chart. Then I would have to synthesize what it would mean. If I know that Venus in Aries doesn’t allow for the true expression of Venus in that sign, then I know that detriment will complicate the areas that Venus also rules and prove challenging to the planets that Venus contacts, especially by square or opposition. I keep the terms of Venus’ testimony to a simple level, without running the risk of adding statements that can’t be supported by the chart, as we saw with the cookbook example above.

In other systems, like in India , they have even more advanced ways of “grilling” the testimony of the planets for particular houses using “amsa” charts or divisional charts. Divisional charts are what we call harmonic charts in the West, and they divide up the chart by different numerical sections. For instance, a navamsa chart is a 9^th harmonic chart that divides each sign of the zodiac into 9 equal parts and then superimposes that into 12 houses, like we regularly do. From this type of chart, the astrologer can gain more information about the power and weaknesses of planets for 9^th house affairs (and marriage in Vedic astrology, but that’s a different topic.)

One final word about testimony comes from looking at a house cusp for the testimony of a planet, for example, looking at the ruler of Pisces on the cusp of the 12^th house. This is something that also has become confusing in the 20^th century with the adding of modern rulers of particular signs. I personally don’t believe the outers truly rule signs, though I know the standard idea is that Uranus rules Aquarius, Neptune rules Pisces, and Pluto rules Scorpio. However, I challenge any astrologer, student or otherwise, to produce the evidence that demonstrates HOW astrologers came up with these rulerships. From what I’ve been able to read, it seems that people, in this century, have just seemed to go with the flow, though there’s not a lot of written testimony on why and how these planets were assigned to these particular signs. There’s more I can say about this, but my key point is that the astrologer should stick first to the traditional rulers: Saturn for Aquarius, Jupiter, Pisces and Mars, Scorpio. If additional testimony is needed from the outer planets, their testimony should be added only after the traditional rulers.

You are a judge as an astrologer. You’re not here to judge the person, but you can judge the nativity. No one has made you God to judge someone’s lifestyle or even a client’s hair-do. However, you can look to the testimony of the planets to see where they are strong and weak and how that will affect the native, the person holding the chart. It is your responsibility to do this to the best of your ability, and that means keeping a level head. If you go by just planets in signs, you might be apt to make some statements that don’t bear out in the life. This mostly is because there is a chain of testimony that connects the planets to permitting something…or denying it. You do have to interrogate each planet to see how they testify. Sometimes they sing like a canary, and other times they’re sealed shut like a clam. But you have to take your time and do the work. Thank the heavens that there’s only seven to use initially, and a smaller number to use for additional testimony.

Further Testimony from other sources (click any of the links below to order the book):

Rulers of the Horoscope

Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart

Christian Astrology, Book 3: An Easie And Plaine Method Teaching How to Judge upon Nativities (Don’t be put off by the title, Christian Astrology! This is a must have in your library!)

“Everybody lies” is one of the maxims of the acerbic character Dr. Gregory House, from the hit show “House” on Fox. Now, this isn’t a surprising comment from House, who as a son of Mercury, has supposedly the same “birthday” as the Gemini actor (Hugh Laurie, OBE) who plays him: June 11, 1959. What’s more it’s not a surprising idea as the OTHER fictional character on which “House” is based is “Holmes,” as in Sherlock Holmes. Holmes had similar beliefs and his author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was also a Gemini (May 22, 1859, Edinburgh, Scotland). This is not to say that Geminis are liars, at all. Lying isn’t just a question of truth. However, Gemini and Mercury as astrological symbols do highlight a theme of duality and a need to rectify two separate “entities,” like heart and mind or two different versions of the same story. It shows us how one aspect of reality as we see it may not be how it appears in another version of reality. This cuts at the heart of what House means…and his important implications for our work as astrologers.

One of the key reasons why House says “Everyone lies” is that people have a vested interest in looking good and just as much interest in NOT looking bad. However, he also says, “Symptoms never lie.” There’s a similar sense in what happens in an astrological consultation. I always say that there’s astrology, and then there’s biography. The two may not be the same thing. How things manifest in a chart may not be how they manifest in someone’s actual life. The chart documents a “promise” for the native, as in what are the latent potentials of character, behavior and correlative events that are likely and possible for a person. However, as astrologers, we’re looking at this promise through symbols, which expose us to shades of interpretation. There’s always room for error, but not as many errors as we might think.

So, if you’re a beginner in astrological analysis, it’s not unusual to be doing an astrological reading for someone and have her say that she can’t quite connect to what’s being said. The astrologer often feels as if he or she is doing something wrong. And there could be a good chance that he or she is. In fact, many new astrologers take such comments to heart and, unfortunately, get discouraged. However, many never consider that the client could be lying. I actually was surprised by this discovery as I matured in my practice. I always assumed that I was doing something wrong. Again, I don’t want to say that the astrologer is completely off the hook—she may not be, indeed, wrong. However, it’s good to keep in mind that your client may not always be as willing to pursue the truth about him or herself as you think.

For instance, I had a client this past summer who was looking to buy her first property (as a source of passive income) and wanted to know where to buy and when. At times, we had trouble communicating with each other because English was not her first language, though she speaks it fluently. It was actually jarring, at first, as I take pride in being able to communicate well with most people. But, for some reason, our pace and ways of speaking with each other clashed. However, I gave her the information she sought and she seemed happy. In a follow-up session, later in the month, she complained that the transit report I gave her didn’t match up with her experience AT ALL. She was actually quite upset about it. I told her that was unusual as most of my clients seem to love the transit report, so I asked her if we had the right birth time for her. We did. I also asked if she was taking the report too literally. For instance, when it talks about love or a break-up, she shouldn’t expect something literally to happen on that day. She said, “No, I just can’t relate to anything it says.” I finally asked if she wanted to continue with our follow up or have a refund. She said she wanted to continue with the session. I’m glad we did.

Here’s what I learned. She decided against buying any property, because AFTER reading some books on home buying, she realized that she couldn’t afford to purchase anything. She didn’t have enough savings or she doesn’t earn enough to purchase where she wanted to buy. I had assumed, very incorrectly, that she had already done some research on buying property before seeing me. But she hadn’t done anything. She just thought she could go out and buy it. Here’s the thing: she had transiting Neptune (the planet of deception, illusion, unrealistic expectations) going over her natal Moon (the planet of our emotions, sense of security and “home”). This aspect was in her transit report, but because it mentioned relationships, she didn’t really read deeper into the other possible meanings. (She is currently single.) However, this transit was square in both of our faces as manifesting. She was shrouded in illusion and confusion, which might have been why it was so hard for me initially to connect with her. Also, her unrealistic expectations were well matched in the transit of Neptune over her moon.

Before I learned what I learned, during the first half of our follow-up session, I actually was a bit disturbed that my transit report for this client wasn’t working. Actually, I was completely baffled. We had talked about her impending Neptune-Moon conjunction, but I guess it hadn’t sunk in. I re-iterated to her that she needed to embrace more the lessons of Saturn, which also was in aspect to her Moon by opposition.*** However, unfortunately, she seemed to have a greater vested interest in feeling sorry for herself than the truth.

Another time, at a local retail store, I was doing a mini-reading for a client who happened to have her sister shopping with her. In her chart, I saw multiple astrological signatures for a key aspect of her personality, but she didn’t seem to resonate too well with what I was saying. She actually seemed uncomfortable about it. Well, I was feeling pretty brazen, so I called her sister over. I asked my client if I could ask her sister if what I was saying was true. She agreed, and I explained what I was saying. Her sister replied, “Absolutely!” I thanked the sister and continued with my reading.

This can be one of the most challenging aspects of astrological work. We’d like to think that people have a definite interest in knowing the truth about themselves. Oddly enough, this isn’t always true. However, it’s important to realize that the “truth” in astrological analysis is two-fold: it’s technique in interpreting a chart and it’s the receptivity of the client to the truth. We know as astrologers that we can be prone to missing a clue or misinterpreting a symbol, but we don’t always acknowledge that clients are not as receptive to the truth as we think or like to hope.

That’s why it’s important to look at multiple factors before making a strong statement. However, if you see that there are repeats of the same signature, like a person is passive aggressive, then you can pursue that line of reasoning with a client. They will either agree or disagree, but it’s likely to be true. This is where either the chart is lying or they are. But once you know “everyone lies,” you’re more likely to seek the truth beyond just blaming yourself.

***If you’re interested in a good book on exploring and understanding transiting aspects, check out Rob Hand’s Planets in Transit: Life Cycles for Living.

aci-curriculum.doc

Please download this chart, which we will use for the call.

Example of Passing Essay

Attached is a passing essay from a student at our Astrology Career Institute.  As you can see, it is very thorough and goes much in depth into her friend’s chart.  I don’t mind if students use the charts of friends, family members or associates, but I do think it’s a bad idea to use one’s own chart.  It probably won’t be challenging enough and demonstrate enough of the mastery of the material.  After all, do we really need a chart to write at length about ourselves?

The essay really isn’t that hard, especially since our students have a 10-point system for analyzing and synthesizing a chart.  There is one hazard, however.  You will have to be diligent and detail oriented.  Some of the failing essays submitted have been ones where students were content to merely list aspects, placements and house rulerships and give pat answers about each one.  Of course, this may happen because of a natural resistance to synthesis. It seems intimidating. On our calls on 3/13 and 3/20, I’m going to give some golden rules and tips for synthesis.  I will also go through a chart step by step as I expect students to do during the exam. In the interim, taking a look at this superb essay will also help in seeing not only my expectations for passing our exam, but it will also provide some guidelines by example for how synthesis in a chart happens.

I look forward to greeting you on our calls in the next two weeks to facilitate how to make the connections that change lives, and put you one step closer to becoming a working and handsomely paid professional astrologer.
All the best, always, in all ways,
Samuel F. Reynolds, M.A.