Astrology’s reputation as “unscientific” (which I covered in The Astronomy of Astrology) and “You Don’t Really Believe in Astrology, Do You?” has meant that most people do not understand the full scope of astrology — what astrology actually can do to help us live better lives. Most of us know that it can predict happenings — sometimes — because that’s what all those Sun-sign astrology columns purport to do. But the art of prediction is a challenging one to master, and, in astrology as in meteorology, insufficient data or insufficient understanding can lead to wildly inaccurate weather forecasts.
Besides, it doesn’t help to know “something is going to happen” if you don’t know how to shift reality so what actually *does* happen is in line with your best interests and desires. Knowing a big blizzard is coming is useful only if you know how to prepare for it — or have enough advance notice (and money) to close up the house and take a plane to the Caribbean for a week or two. Astrology helps us look at the big picture and see the incoming currents of change that we must steer through, then choose the ones that lead us most easily to where we want to go.
Free Will
Another common misconception about astrology is that it somehow invalidates free will. Astrology does not invalidate free will any more than the weather does. It simply makes us aware of environmental realities and of the choices we have in the way we respond to and shape our environment. Free will allows you to go outside and plant corn in December. But if you live north of the tropics, it is simply not going to grow, unless you have a greenhouse and artificial lighting. This is not an abridgment of free will, it’s simply life on Earth. Astrology lets you know when the energetic “weather” — in other words, the present flow of manifestation and co-creation within the environment of your life — simply isn’t conducive to allowing your plans to germinate and grow. It can tell you when that will change, or, if you must move ahead regardless, let you know how you might work around the current limitations, or even turn them to your advantage through an investment of focus and energy (or the purchase of a greenhouse). Astrology actually encourages us to use our will, to examine our lives and become truly free through developing deep insights into ourselves and our circles of family, friends, land, and spirit, then to make conscious, considered choices.
So, to get to the point, here are some of the things astrology can do for you:
- Help you understand soul-level plans and karmic patterns in your life. The chart is the itinerary your soul planned for this lifetime. But you, as the traveller, get to make changes in the spur of the moment.
- Make decisions that will help you express your full potential for this lifetime through a deeper understanding of your own underlying psychological and emotional realities, and of the spiritual lessons you have chosen for this lifetime
- Help with timing actions and events in both large and smaller timeframes. Know when to take advantage of favorable tides, steer around big rocks that are ahead, or raise all your sails to catch the wind.
- Give insight into larger social issues and events and how you can work with them or around them. It also gives you a clearer understanding of where you might want to put your energy into social change, and your personal effect on our collective manifestation.
The study of astrology is the study of humanity, in all our complexity and creativity. But you need to speak the language to decipher its messages, so a good astrologer will help you discern your own chart’s patterns and will talk with you, not to you, about what they see. If you’re ready to take advantage of the insights astrology offers, contact me and we’ll set up a time for a consultation.
