What Can Astrology Do?

As Theodore Roszak noted nearly 30 years ago: “Ultimately no system is any better than the judgment and honesty of those who use it. Wisdom and decency are qualities of people, not of systems.” Astrology is a language, an exquisitely rich cryptographic system, and in all of its sundry specialties (natal, horary, mundane, etc.), layers upon layers of meaning are available to the interpreter. Still, neither the system nor its interpreter can know the deepest workings or capacities of any human being. So, in my experience, what astrology can “do” for anyone depends greatly upon the perspective, understanding, sensitivity, and capacity of the interpreter to integrate myriad complexities and translate them in an effective, understandable way that’s useful to the client and applicable to his/her life.

There’s no way to look at a birth horoscope and know whether the person is male or female; a Buddha or a bulldog; tall or short; straight or gay; black, white, yellow, red, or a multi-cultural mix of all of the above. Neither can we know that being’s level of consciousness. We do need to be aware that the chart itself has an innate “authority” (else why would the client be there?) which is animated by the client’s projections. So, when we work with an individual's chart in a personal consultation, we step into a multivalent environment. Once there, we open a dialogue with the sacred and profane, the conscious as well as disowned and unacknowledged attributes of that being. We are charged with helping the client discover what the chart says about the soul’s best intentions for this incarnation; the ways to resonate consciously with those intentions; and what challenges might be encountered. We go in search of the unique power as well as the special music contained within him or her, and we do so in service to the highest good of that soul and our own. It is a sacred, humbling trust.

Read more: Hadley Fitzgerald: The Problem with Predictions

Astrology's Shortcomings

In my experience, astrology is not good at answering “yes/no” questions about the future. It is limited in its ability to predict specific outcomes on the physical level. But perhaps less discussed is the fact that astrology and other divinatory practices can be limited by the wording of the questions asked by the client. For example, some common questions I’ve heard over the years are: “When will I meet my soul mate?”and “Will I ever meet my soul mate?”There are many problems with this question.

First of all, a belief in the “one soul mate” theory is presumed. Astrology itself cannot directly speak to the existence or non-existence of soul mates. But more than that, I have not found that it is possible to predict exactly when or if such a meeting will happen. However, I would not shame anyone for having this question, as the need for love and connection, and the desire for a “soul mate,” is a very human one, and is entirely understandable! Instead, I would offer a client with this question specific information about transits and cycles of opportunity so that he or she is able to maximize efforts in searching for a partner.

Read more: Dena DeCastro: Asking the Right Questions

For me, astrology is, if nothing else, clearly archetypal in nature. That fact both expands, and limits, astrology’s possibilities. It expands by allowing a richness of topics available to be covered, and multiple dimensions or layers of meanings to be discovered. It allows for the practice of many types of astrology, like horary, mundane, evolutionary and psychological, because the meaning to be found is personal, political, as well as collective. People can receive extraordinary insights into both life’s big questions and the somewhat lesser, but perhaps even more practical ones, via astrology.

Read more: Joan Kiley: Archetypal Questions

I believe that astrology can, with impressive precision, predict the great questions that you will face in your life. It can accurately predict the timing of their emergence. It can, in wise hands, suggest good answers to those questions. It can warn you of limiting or destructive answers, and of tempting but ill-fated ones. But it can never, ever, accurately predict the answers you will give to those questions. That is in the domain of your freedom, your creativity, and your imagination. Your consciousness interacts unpredictably with the vast range of possibilities inherent in every archetypal field. A good astrologer is not so much a prophet as a coach. An astrological reading should leave you empowered, informed and encouraged, not just "described."

As astrologers, we examine the lives people have led through an astrological lens to try to determine the meaning of the astrological symbols in the birth chart. But our clients may or may not have been actively participating in the unfolding of their lives. Some clients may feel that events were being “done to them” while others feel that they have had a hand in shaping the events that occur.

When we examine our own lives, all of us judge the outcomes with our own biases – good or bad - and with our own idea about the outcomes based on our own value systems. Then we try to blanket that application to the whole world... 

Within the archetypal field illuminated by an astrology reading there are infinite possibilities and hints toward many choices one could make. The volume of information can be instantly overwhelming. It is therefore imperative that we learn to connect with our hearts – both as client, and as astrologer - to decipher the code of the soul's message to the self (as described in the birth chart) in order to locate and validate those directional cues from within.

The goal here when seeking any kind of advice from another is to know the self so well that to hear conflicting messages from an outside source - say an astrologer - would be to immediately recognize its untruth. The astrologer's proper role is the detective, the guide, the storyteller, the interpretor, the wise counsel. Not the director, the bringer of "ultimate" truth, or the word of God. An astrologer can open your mind to more possibility, ideas you hadn't considered, strengths you haven't tapped, or shortcomings you might be blind to. But an astrologer cannot, finally, tell you who to be.

Read more: Tony Howard: The Truth About Progress