Astrology-in-Action
Learning Astrology… from the inside out
If this is your first visit:
- Watch the video
- Do Step One (below)
- Do Step Two (also below)
- Then read through the Sections that follow.
About The Video
Watch the video so you know what is on offer here.
It’s about astrology – but what does tht actually mean? You need to know so you can decide if this is going to be right for you – and it may not be.
The video gives some idea of what a natal chart is and what it can reveal. The approach demonstrated is very specific, but you may prefer something more casual.
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.
Step Two
Keep track of your life:
Begin to keep track of the events and conditions of your life.
The 12 Houses of the chart rule different people and situations. As the planets move through the zodiac and so around the Houses, events happen (or are delayed) that correspond with the astrological factors. As the Moon changes Houses, for instance, you will find that your thoughts and worries change too.
This data that you collect with times and dates will enable you to recitfy your chart so you know it is accurate.
You will learn in the Course that Houses rule different people – so you might be told that your brother’s first child (shown by the 5th House from the 3rd, or your natal 8th House) won an award – and the planets at the time of the call will show this.
You can better rectify your natal chart with data this way, but the experience also makes you wonder what is really going on in life if planetary movements show actual events.
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.
Point 1: What really is Astrology?
Astrology is serious work. It’s easy, but there’s A LOT of it.
Because it’s easy, it is tempting to learn a little and assume that you know – or can know – it all. You can’t. Interest is not the same as ability.
There is always going to be more. You may understand to some extent, but we have to keep updating and refiniing our knowledge. This is why it takes so long to get the hang of it. If you want quick answers, you will be disappointed.
What you can do, however, is make a decent start that will bring improvements into your life, and enable you to see people as they really are – and not so much as you wish they were. This reduces stress as you no longer expect people to produce what they can’t produce. This changes everything because you’re observing and learning and not being tossed around by life.
This Course shows a method that enables you to read a horoscope.
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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 3: We have to be demanding of proof
I watched part of a video on the transits of Uranus – the planet that rules astrology, among other things. The discussion was about what it might show as it moves through the zodiac.
One member of the audience excitedly recalled that he began his study of astrology when transiting Uranus passed over (or went conjunct) his natal Sun. This seemed like some kind of proof or verification of astrology working – except what about the thousands or millions of people in the world who have the same conjunction but who do NOT start studying astrology? The transit might have been a contributing factor, but what were the other indications in the natal chart that the person would want to study astrology in the first place? They never looked at this – but if they had, they would have learned some astrology. This is what we do in the Course – i.e. learn astrology.
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 5: Astrology can be a lonely study
Learning astrology can be lonely.
You might learn or discover some fact or factor about a person or about living, and you may want to share or explain it to others. You can’t, though, because they haven’t done the work that produced the realization, or been exposed to the ideas you have seen and come to know.
They will be confused, perhaps angry, and you may be ostracised and get a reputation for weirdness. This can be unpleasant. Think carefully before you sign up – or keep your interest and your studies to yourself.
You might go to astrology conferences, but you will not be welcomed if your approach is not mainstream – and the material in this Course is not just what you can read in textbooks. Most students are taught theory and then they make the person fit the theory or conform to vaious principles. So if you are born with no planets in Earth signs, then you apparently lack practicality (a characteristic of Earth signs) and this is supposed to be a defect or a weakness and you correct it by being deliberately “earthy”. Except that you don’t know how because you have no planets in Earth and you act out some idea of what is meant to pass for Earth.
An alternative interpretation is that if you have no planets in Earth signs, it’s because you understand Earth and don’t need them so it’s not actually a deficiency or a problem to be fixed.
People can say one thing, but mean another. It is easy to get mixed up when we confuse what seems to be going on with what is really going on. This happens a lot with astrological interpretations, especially when you start from a conclusion. In the video about why Meghan Markle is so disliked, the writer mentioned Meghan’s apparent cruelty and bullying and puts it down to her natal Mars in Cancer. Is she really cruel and a bully? She has the Sun in Leo, so she is 75% bossy. Is this misinterpreted as bullying? It is too easy to talk planets and signs to “prove” your opinion, but it’s not astrology. We take a different approach in the Course.
At the same time, you can’t superimpose your values onto the native. You might think that hard work and a sense of responsibility are important, but not everyone is like that or is built that way or with that mentality.
We have our own ways of behaving that are right for us – and this is what the chart shows, if we can read it. Then we no longer get upset with other people. Instead, we note their behavior and wonder what in their natal chart accounts for it. This is very liberating, as well as interesting.
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 2 – About This Course of Study
You get all you need all at once and work through it at your own pace. Then you go over it again, but this time you’re doing it with some understanding. You build the ability to read a chart as you learn.
However, it depends on what you want.
Astrological instruction usually goes from theory to practice. This might seem like a good idea, but it’s not. You normally learn a bit about the four elements, modes, planets, signs and houses. You might take eight or ten two-hour weekly classes. This can give you time to digest new information, but it cam have the drawback of letting misunderstanding grow that is difficult to change later as you learn more. Some people prefer to be fed slowly having information dripped out over a period of time.
However…
Imagine if you wanted to play chess and first you learned how a pawn moves. Then you try a game using only pawns. A week later, you learn how a knight moves and you play a game with pawns and knights. It doesn’t really work, does it? You need to know how all the pieces move.
There is a better way.
So with this Course, you are introduced quickly to all the information you need, while practicing with charts of actual people, whose lives you can research should you wish. We go over planets, signs, cusps, houses, rulerships, directly and indirectly so you learn that houses, for instance, have basic meanings, but they can be read from many points of view. This is why the 8th house shows death and regeneration, but it’s also the 5th house from the 3rd, so it would provide details about your sibling’s first child. This type of analysis is considered to be intermediate or advanced – but really it’s basic and you ought to know about it early on so you can make use of it. Or, the 12th is confinement, but it’s also the 3rd from the 10th so it shows how you talk about business, or how you mother communicates, etc. So if you want to know what someone’s mother talks about and how she does it, study the cusp of the 12th and the planet or planets connected with it. They will tell you.
The Course itself consists of:
55 audio-visual .mp4 files. They are audio files (much smaller than video), with illustrations appearing on screen as required. You will find a list of the Section titles at this link.
13 good astrology textbooks in .pdf format. There is a down loadable list of the titles at this link.
The Method:
Once you have downloaded the files, start with The Preface and work through the Sections in order. Go through everything once at your own pace, making notes or thinking of questions that you might have. Or just watch.
Then go through everything again and notice how your understanding has changed. You may discover answers to your earlier questions; you may come up with more questions that you can ask me. I am happy to answer privately, but ideally others would enjoy expanding their knowledge by being able to read and work with your question, so I’d like to put the information on the website, or include it in an email, but with your permission.
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.
Section 5 – Buying The Course
You can get the Course for a one-time payment of $249 US. It may go up to $299 US in a while.
Payment is via PayPal. You can go to PayPal and make a payment directly to bllntr at yahoo dot com. You can charge a credit card if you don’t have a PayPal account.
Or you can use the PayPal button at the site. Their system is secure.
When they inform me by email that a payment has been made, I send you a link to download the files, You can start right away.
I never offer sale prices. I don’t give refunds, so you should be sure before buying.
You will be added to a private email list for extra information or updates and lessons as they are required.
If you have questions about the Course, email me or we can chat if you like. We can set up a time.