Astrology-in-Action

If this is your first visit:

1. Watch the video
2. Do Step One (below)
3. Do Step Two (also below)
4. Then read through the Sections  that follow.

Step One

Do this right now:

Do this right now if this is your first visit.

Make a note of the date and especially the current time, so that later you know when you made a start, or took a new route to astrological understanding.

The chart for this moment will reveal its secrets to you once you have studied a bit.

Assuming you have made it this far, there is no getting around it – you have to spend some time reading.

I could divide up the information into portions and send you several emails. However, it’s all down below in various Sections, and you can always take it a bit at a time.

It is also all in a .pdf file that you can get from the Downloads page. If you have questions, email me.

Section 1: Here we go.

Astrology is very seductive and it’s easy and common to get carried away. This is not good.

So how do you get into it, while keeping your feet on the ground?

You start from the inside out – looking at people and what they’re like, and then referring to their horoscope. You very quickly do both at the same time. Observing someone’s actions increases your understanding of a sign or house or whatever. At the same time, greater knowledge of a sign or planet will enhance your ability to see the person clearly.

Astrology instruction typically begins with theory and then introduces the practice. This procedure is a recipe for failure.

Here, you access everything you need to get started with a never-ending study.

If you’re reading these words, you have an interest in Astrology, but is it a good idea to learn some? Maybe, but maybe not.

The Points below present some ideas for you to consider before undertaking the study. Astrology is not for everyone – at least this applies to the approach offered here. It is not typical. It’s not for everyone because Rule # 1 is: Assume nothing – though this is easeir said than done.

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Point 2: The problem with current “astrology”

It is typical to start with some theory and fit people into it. The natal chart is supposed to show what they should be like.

In a Forum, someone asked about how to judge the strength of a planet and referred to a Table that gave numbers for ideas like a planet having dignity and debility, and accidental dignity, and so on. Part of the answer was that: The joy of a planet is linked to the Sect…

At the same time, though, it’s complicated by the planet involved and if it’s a day or night birth.

Starting with the theory this way and then trying to read a chart is a recipe for failure.

Instead, start with the chart of an actual person and learn what it shows – as we do in the Course.

It is  also common with “astrologers” to start with what you know, or think you know, about the person and then find apparent proof in the chart. The probblem is that you might be loose and casual and making it up as you go along. It makes sense to you, but too often it’s not astrology.

I once watched a video about what happens in charts with Venus square Neptune. This is a so-called “hard” aspect and indicaates difficulties in relationships (ruled by Venus). An example given was the singer Tina Turner who had been physically assaulted by her husband Ike. Tina does have Venus square Neptune, so it seems like a good example – but then what? Ike was Tina’s legal husband – and so a 7th House matter – but the two guilty planets, so to speak, aren’t connected with Tina’s 7th House, so we can’t jump t o a convenient conclusion. Tina was assaulted and there are indications, but we ought to get them right. Seeing what we want to see just results in going round in circles, and it’s not astrology. The Course demonstrates a method that avoids this pitfall.

Point 4: You have to ask the chart a question

A horoscope doesn’t tell you anything until you ask it a question. Asking: What does Mars in Cancer mean? is not a real question.

Planets rule signs and there are signs of the zodiac on the cusps of Houses, so marking their beginning point. A planet ruling that sign is then the significator for the affairs of that House. Aries is ruled by Mars, so with Aries on the 10th House, Mars is the significator of business – if the question is: What can I expect for business, then Mars, let’s say in Cancer, would provide the answer. Or the person might have Aries on the 7th House – the House of marriage and partnership. Mars, in whatever sign, would then describe the conditions to be expected with marriage, or the character and personality of the marriage partner.

There is a video on YouTube that tries to explain why Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, is so disliked. Meghan was born with Mars in Cancer and the narrator of the video wants to say that this placement accounts for some of the dislike, it making Meghan cruel and a bully. On the other hand, Meghan has an Aries 10th House – so the ruler or significator of her reputation (the 10th House) is Mars in Cancer in the 12th House (self-undoing), so she gets herself into public trouble. We should remember, though, that the intense dislike began only after she married into a dysfunctional family. Before that, she was a popular enough actress in a tv show. So we need to look at the chart and what it shows, and not just jump to conclusions.

We work through a method to achieve this in the Course.

Point 6: Should you listen to “astrologers”

Maybe later, when you have some way of judging their content.

You might listen to a podcast in which a few people talk about the nature of Virgo. The problem is that their first sentences or two might be to the point, but the discussion quickly moves to behaviors of Virgos that comes from factors other than the Sun in Virgo. They seem to be talking about Virgo, but they’re talking about someone with the Moon in Taurus who happens to be a Virgo. It promotes confusion rather than clarity.

In a podcast about Capricorn, someone said that Capricorn people have high standards, and no one disagreed. I wanted to know what “high standards” actually means. Joseph Stalin, dictator of Soviet Russia, had the Sun in Capricorn and he killed millions of people – how do “high standards” apply to him? David Bowie, anothr Capricorn, used to pay his backing musicians standard union rates for their work. In what way is this an example of “high standards”? We can be too casual with astrology.

In the same way, some write that Geminis are idea factories, endlessly churning out brilliant observations. Except that they’re not. Maybe one in a million comes close from time to time, but if we’re being realistic, then being an “idea factory” might be possible, but it’ss not probable. We really ought to be learning about people as they are.

All in all, it’s not surprising that astrology is generally ridiculed. It’s actually a serious subject and is the key to everything, but we have to work with charts and learn to read them, and not twist and bend astrology to fit our preconceived ideas.

Section 3: How you learn astrology

As mentioned before, astrology is easy but there’s a lot of it. In part, this means you isolate one factor and study it in multiple charts. You want to see what you discover, not confirm what you already thought or thought you knew. That point of understanding is attainable, but it  comes much later.

You decide what sort of information you want the chart to provide – and then look at the house or houses and their planets and signs that will give it.

So you might get the charts of five people who married and divorced. You don’t start with an idea of what astrology you should be looking for – like a particular planet in the 7th House that supposedly or apparently brings about divorce. Instead you examine the charts to see what you see and can discover – in the same way that there are many combinations of two numbers that added together give a total of ten, there are many factors that can result in someone getting divorced. So you see what you see – and it gives ideas for what to look for or how to develop your thinking. Then you examine ten more charts of people who married and divorced – you may find similarities or the same factors, but you may find something new that should then be studied. Then you look at fifty charts of people who married and divorced and soon you can look at a chart and know if the person married and stayed married or not – but your conclusion is based on experience and not on intuition or some vague impression.

Or, remembering that Mars rules personal creative energy, you might get the charts of some artists and examine their Mars position by sign, house, houses ruled, aspects, etc. You could relate what you find to the kind of art that they make – then perhaps find other artists whose work is similar and see if or how their Mars conforms to the ideas you are developing.

Astrodatabank

We do best if we begin our studies with reasonably accurate birth data. House cusps and the house positions of planets can change – sometimes very significantly – with only a few minutes change in the time of birth.

You will find thousands of charts at the astrodatabank section (on the right hand side of the screen) of astro.com. People are listed in alphabetical order and you can search by name. Charts are given a “Rodden rating” – after the late Lois Rodden who pioneered compiling accurate birth data of celebrities and others. Charts marked AA or A have some formal confirmation of the time of birth, so work with them first. Astrodatabank lists people from all walks of life and multiple countries – so if you are looking for a famous Pole or Norwegian, there is a good chance you will find it.

Section 4: Following up

As you work through the material, you will probably have questions or doubts.

We can follow up with live streams – that you can choose to join – where we examine charts or points of interest or confusion.

There can be specially made videos posted somewhere that you can download or watch on-line.

I am thinking of a private mailing list so I can send additional material – explanations or suggested exercises, or whatever makes sense depending on your needs and requirements.