They Call It Entertainment
Astrology Wrapped in Weasel-words,
Disclaimers, and Excuses

Astrology. It's perhaps the most popular of the occult sciences, having at least a toehold in almost everybody's consciousness -- a reputation gained usually through the daily horoscope whose idiocy continues to find a home on drugstore news-stands and in newspapers everywhere.

There are plenty of people who "don't believe in astrology" ... but who have no real grasp of what it's really about. And, even scarier, there are bunches of people who say they believe in astrology who also haven't a clue what Astrology is, how it works, or what it can really do. Thus, Astrology has the strange distinction of suffering from both the ignorance of its opponents and the ignorance of its proponents, neither of whom seem much interested in more education.

Lots of people think they have at least a notion of what astrology is. It is supposedly a way of describing character and a way of foretelling the future based on the belief that "the stars" somehow have sway over the affairs of human beings. People think they know what astrology can (or cannot) do -- predict your future, help your lost and lonely self connect at long last with your "soulmate," heighten the odds you'll come up with the perfect ticket in the perfect place and win that elusive, alluring lottery

Astrology may occasionally fill in some of these blanks, but it will never deliver these specific goods. To expect it will (and try to flog it into performing such miracles) is a fool's errand. To ask anything to perform a task for which it is not suited is an invitation to disappointment. So, the fact is, Astrology frequently does not live up to its bogus billing. (What a surprise!!)

But this doesn't mean Astrology itself is a crock of you-know-what. It means many people believe things about Astrology that aren't true ... and it also means there are people who call themselves "astrologers" ... who aren't. At least they're not much good at what they claim to know.

Again -- what a surprise!! Just as there are inept mechanics, incompetent carpenters, doctors who in no way qualify as healers, people being paid a teacher's salary that don't pass on anything worth knowing, actors who can't act, and cooks whose meals are more fit for the garbage than the dining table ... there are people claiming to be astrologers who should be ashamed of saying that.

Even the arguably competent astrologers themselves do the science a disservice when they hide their work, as if behind a fig leaf and a fan, under the disclaimer "for entertainment only."

That funny little giggle and dismissive literary warning offends me. It always has. Either these people believe in what they're doing enough to stand behind it ... or they're frauds who ought to step up and claim that title. Either they're good at what they're doing or they're not. And if they want to simper and smirk and wink-wink-wink behind the veil of "oh, oh, oh, for entertainment only", someone should boldly invite them to get off the field so that people who can practice this craft with the grace it deserves and deftly reveal its wisdom can show them how it's done.

There's a popular internet Astrologer -- yes, one of tens of thousands in the world, I'm sure -- who pulls thirty six sentences from a random pool of meaningless tripe every day, pastes it together in three sentence blocks, publishes it (even SELLS it!!) and calls it a "horoscope."

It has nothing to do with offering knowledge -- nothing to do with giving an authentically advertised product in exchange for money. It's not a horoscope. It's not astrology. It's fraud. And anyone who feels duped by this, taken in by this, mocked by this, and ridiculed by this has every right to those feelings.

People who look at this crap and see in it the evidence that Astrology is a hoax ... have a right to that conclusion as far as it goes. But the fact is, they're not seeing the whole story. They're not even seeing a bad imitation of the whole story. They are seeing the work of someone whose laziness, possible ignorance, and blatant contempt for his audience is being dressed up and masqueraded as Astrology.

Adequate analogies escape me as I consider this. Even a butcher who calls himself a surgeon at least traffics in blood, flesh, cutting instruments, and a modicum of skilled labor with what he does. A first grader who bills himself as a poet will probably work with recognizable words and maybe even a passing glance at rhyme or image. Either one of these people has more integrity in his claim to a craft than the purveyor of "horoscopes" such as these.

The elegance and value of Astrology in the hands of someone who truly loves it, knows it, and is able to use it as intended pushes the envelope of description past the limitation of words.

I like to think I'm one of those people ... someone who sees and reveres the awesome beauty with which Astrology depicts the various energies and cycles at work in all our lives, the delicacy and precision with which a Natal Chart describes the character and potentials of the person who owns it, the profound wisdom offered when you look at a chart and grasp, through these strange symbols and squiggles, what Life is asking of you or a client in meeting the promise or challenges described there.

I can become transfixed by charts and what they contain, the mysterious code revealing such wonders ... such wisdom .. such power and intelligence, something I, indeed, can only equate with God.

In Astrology, I see meanings and intentions revealed, lessons and evolutionary growth steps unfolding, the clash of opposing wills and needs, and the complexity of everything ... absolutely everything ... abrading, adjusting, aligning, supporting ... and working always toward temporary harmony, only to break apart again and begin the moves of yet another dance.

If, in your life, you yearn to find meaning, if an overview of The Big Picture and your place in it would be a sublime gift, Astrology can give you that. If it would help your social efforts to understand why you and one person get along famously and are so unfailingly good for each other ... while you and another person hit nothing but sharp corners and inevitably lock horns, Astrology can give you that.

If you'd find it worthwhile to see why life is jumbled and difficult at certain times ... and when it is likely to be clear and easy (or at least easier!!) again, Astrology can give you that, too. If being able to structure your life in line with greater currents of natural rhythm would help you swim, and surf, and snorkel as appropriate instead of struggle ... and then, when the time is right, let you get down to business with decent blueprints in hand instead of just a devout hope that you're on the right track ... Astrology can give you that as well.

In the 35+ years I've worked to learn this inspiring discipline, my respect for it has only deepened. Just as religion and ethics have their place in my life, so does Astrology. I live with it. I use it. It speaks to me ... and in its presence, life makes sense.

I would be so much less without it.