I was recently contacted by a high school student who was working on a class project about Astrology.
She was given an assignment to interview someone who studied and / or practiced astrology professionally, which ultimately led her to me.
Although her questions were geared more toward the reasons people “believe” in astrology than about it what it actually entails, they were respectful and insightful enough that I was inspired to indulge her.
The following is our interview in the format it was presented. Due to space constraints, it’s only a small sampling of the many myths we were able to debunk. But we’ll be looking at more of those in the coming weeks. For now though, here’s the interview in its original form.
• When did you become intrigued by the Zodiac?
When most people refer to the “zodiac,” they’re thinking of the Sun in each sign of the zodiac. But astrologers look at the positions of each planet as well as the Sun and Moon – and then look at the angular relationships those planets make to one another from a geocentric perspective. In this respect, the zodiac is only a very small portion of what is actually involved in astrology. It’s simply the backdrop for the planets that are located there.
Specifically, the zodiac represents the apparent path the planets take as they traverse the night sky. The word “apparent” is emphasized because from an astrological (and astronomical) perspective, these planets (as well as the Sun and Moon) appear to be circling the earth, when of course we know otherwise.
I started studying astrology in 1979. I was given a reading as a birthday gift and was fortunate to have had that reading with someone who knew what he was doing. At the time there were very few books available in book stores and no local teachers so I was mostly self-taught. There were also no computers or astrology software, which means I had to learn to cast charts by hand (mathematically). It took several hours to cast each chart. These days with computers and software (and information readily available on the internet) it’s much easier to cast a chart but still takes many years to competently read one.
• Can you give me the best description of how the zodiac works?
Astrologers don’t believe that astrology is a causal discipline. In that sense, the zodiac doesn’t “work;” it (and astrology in general, meaning the planets and Sun and Moon as well as the actual zodiac) simply acts as a sort of stage for the planets that are positioned upon it (figuratively). There’s a pervasive assumption that astrologers believe the planets cause events to occur or people to be born with certain physical characteristics or personality traits. This is simply not true. No legitimate astrologer believes this. Instead, we understand and interpret the patterns and cycles in the night sky as they correspond synchronistically to the patterns and cycles in our own lives.
This is why the zodiac (and the natal chart) is looked at geocentrically (from our earthly-perspective) rather than heliocentrically (from the perspective of the Universe as we know it, ie the planets revolving around the Sun, and the Moon revolving around the Earth).
• How do you help people by being an expert on Zodiac?
As with other professions, there are many different branches of astrology. There are mundane astrologers, medical astrologers, financial astrologers, corporate astrologers, psychological astrologers, etc. I am a psychological astrologer.
• How would you persuade people that the Zodiac is real?
Students in my advanced class must “prove” astrology before they can be certified. This involves matching anonymous case histories with anonymous birth data. My reasoning is that if you can tell people what’s happening in their lives based on their birth data (date, time and place of birth), you should be able reverse that process, and match life events with the correct and corresponding birth data. As for trying to persuade someone who’s already decided that astrology is nonsense otherwise, I don’t.
• Do you think that our signs really shape who we are?
No. I see it as a sort of holographic representation of the hermetic “as above so below” principles. It’s the greater macrocosm reflected in the lesser microcosm. I don’t believe that one causes the other; I see them as reflections of one another.
• Do you think that horoscopes are helpful? If so, should people be reading them every day?
Not too helpful. They’re based only on Sun signs and for many of us the Sun’s a lot less prominent than other planets or points. Horoscopes are fun and entertaining but I wouldn’t take them too seriously.
• Do you use the zodiac in your psychic readings?
Yes, I would never personally do a reading without astrology. Again the zodiac is just one small portion of what astrologers use. I would never do a reading knowing only the Sun sign. I would insist on seeing the whole natal chart.
• Any other facts/comments about the zodiac?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about astrology. And a lot of “bad” astrology too. Some of the biggest misconceptions include:
• The idea that astrology is just horoscopes or Sun Sign predictions. It isn’t.
• The idea that astrologers believe things happen because the planets exert some gravitational force on the earth. We don’t.
• The idea that astrologers don’t know about the precession of the equinoxes or that the zodiac has shifted over time. We do.
• The idea that astrology is mainly a predictive tool. It’s actually so much more, and in fact many astrologers don’t predict period.
• The idea that astrologers are a bunch of bored (and naïve) housewives. Most actually have advanced degrees.
Astrology is a vast and intricate study that’s constantly evolving. It’s been researched extensively by some of history’s most brilliant minds. There are still so many misconceptions out there, but step by step, little by little, modern day astrologers are working to debunk the myths.
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Want to read more articles like this? Visit my website: Ask the Astrologers.
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This article also appears on my website: Melodie Sheppard
Thinking about learning Astrology? I highly recommend Stephen Arroyo’s Chart Interpretation Handbook and Demetra George’s Astrology for Yourself.
Steven Forrest’s Inner Sky and Changing Sky books are classics that every serious astrologer has in their library, as is Tracy Marks’ Art of Chart Interpretation.
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