Wary of Astrology?

If you are wary of astrology, I certainly understand.

To start with, even if you want to believe, those daily horoscopes in the papers and on websites are too vague to really grab onto. We have all heard alleged stories of newspapers mixing up the horoscopes before going to press, and no one ever notices (which always makes me wonder how anyone noticed it in order to report it.)

And then there are those scary obsessive types who ask for sun signs at the same time they ask your name. And then there are the online astrology blogs that read like term papers in quantum physics. And then, if you decide to look into it yourself, look at all those planets and signs and houses and stuff! And then there are the self-aggrandizing skeptics who sneer at the whole thing and insist upon exposing it as utter nonsense to save you from your own foolish, ignorant, trusting self.

It would make me wary, too. I was fortunate. I was single-mindedly sucked into astrology, so I never had time to fret about it. I had my birth chart read by a professional astrologer back in 1983 and I was so paranoid by the time the reading was over, I had to find out how the hell she DID that.

So right up front, I want to declare how I see astrology and what I think it can and cannot do. Astrology is a tool. It should serve you, not the other way around. It can help you have a holistic view of yourself; help you understand your basic traits, your strengths, your general desires and those areas in life that you might want to keep an eye on yourself. And it might help point you in the directions that will lead to your best personal growth and evolution.

Astrology does not “make you” do anything. People existed long before astrology was set up and codified. Think of astrology forecasts as suggestions and advice.

And for the record? All that scientific stuff about how the planets couldn’t have any affect on you? I agree. No astrologers I know claim the planets have any direct affect on anyone. Think of it this way: if I look at a working analog clock, and see the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 4, I know it is telling me it is 4 o’clock, but I do not think the clock is causing Time to exist. It is merely a measuring device, an indicator.

Same thing with astrology. I know the position of the planets, the signs they are in, the aspects they make to each other, and all these indicate to me information about a person or a situation. Who knows why astrology works? I do know I have been using it since 1985, and it works.