Starrypattern's astrology

Today many people see astrology as a practice based on the old superstition that the planets "control" us. Astrologers, they think, believe life is fated. They, on the other hand, believe in free will. I am not sure what free will is, because there is nothing free about will, it has to be cultivated. And I do not believe in astrology, I know it works. I have proven to my satisfaction through long experience that our charts are reflective of our lives. Astrologers, like credit reporting agencies, geneticists, behaviorists, and mortgage brokers--among many others--understand we all have a form. To astrologers, our form is most comprehensively described by our ASTROLOGICAL CHART.

An astrological chart is not about a form that is dead, like a chair. A chart is a map of consciousness, something that is alive. True, it is really rather fixed at birth. That is because it is a map of our (learned) habitual consciousness, reflective of our formative years during childhood, therefore deeply ingrained, yet effective at birth.

Our chart symbolizes our fate completely only to the degree that we are unable to reflect on our consciousness--the foundation of our behavior--and institute changes.

It is not always easy, but we can do something about our consciousness. First, and immediately, we have choices from among our habitual forms of consciousness because it is difficult to "occupy" two forms of consciousness at the same time. By choosing one over another again and again, we make the latter a candidate for atrophy. Second--a harder and longer choice--we can elect to learn new forms. Third, for brief periods of time, through various meditative practices, we can even choose not to occupy any of the forms of consciousness we were born with. Over a long period of time, that can lead to something else altogether.

Our astrological chart delivers us to apparently similar ends whether or not we exercise choice. But by exercising choice wisely again and again over time (some people might call this our free will), we can experience our lives considerably differently--far better--than that implied by their forms.

 So, getting information from your astrological chart does not mean you buy into the idea your life is fated. It means you spend less time figuring out that your life has a form, less time reacting to its various surprises, and more time in its optimal use, that is, engaging in informed choice. By doing that you are less likely to be caught in the past, less likely to be clinging to future fantasies, and more likely to be as right as possible with the present.

All self-assessments are made more complicated by the fact that we repress into unconsciousness parts of our behavior which cause pain or disapproval. Astrology does not repress them. Those unconscious forms of behavior are just as represented in our charts--if not in our awareness--as are our conscious ones. In fact, nothing represents them better.

Astrology has a great deal to offer.

Astrology covers the whole range of human consciousness, from its material to its spiritual manifestations, from the embarrassing to the charismatic, and from the idiotic to the mundane to the precious. It recognizes self-defeating as well as self-promoting behavior; self-hate as well as narcissism. It will reveal when an individual is caught in a "vicious circle." It shows when some one is trying to do the impossible with what they presently have. It identifies the excesses and deficiencies of consciousness that lead us into troubled behavior as well as health problems. It also recognizes talents, giftedness, and "windfall" successes.

Astrology acknowledges eras, ages, and generation differences. It is not phased by the concept of different levels of consciousness because that concept is built into the chart through the planets, signs, and houses. Those same planets, signs, and houses do a more than adequate job of portraying our joy, gratitude, anger, sadness, depression, finickiness, grandiosity, delusions, mystical states, and paranoia. If you feel any or all of these, it is no surprise. They are all part of the pantheon of feelings made possible through your astrology. When you try to never feel any of them, then you have a problem. 

So, getting a chart reading may or may not change your life. It is sure to improve your understanding of it.

Sidereal and Tropical Astrology

There are many different forms of astrology. For the last two thousand years the West has been dominated by traditional, tropical astrology, an invention of the Greeks. For much longer than that, the East has been dominated by their own "traditional" astrology, sidereal astrology. I do a unique form of astrology, discovered by me years ago, using sidereal as its base and the Egyptian harmonic. I do not do a combination of tropical and sidereal astrology. Doing that would be like using Fahrenheit and Celsius or inches and centimeters together. One can be converted into the other, but they are not used meaningfully together. Here in the West an affinity for the astrology of the West is understandable, but actually you do not need to understand which is the superior form of astrology. Even many astrologers are poorly informed on that. What you need you already have--yourself, with an ability to respond to and evaluate the truth of the astrology presented to you. If, however, you want to know more about the difference between tropical and sidereal astrology, go to www.angelfire.com/sd/binah/sidereal.html . On that site you can also find a description of my method along with some idea of the range covered by this astrology.

Types of Astrologers

In that same paper on tropical versus sidereal astrology, I discuss the three main types of astrologers. They are: (1) psychic, and (2) scientific, and (3) those with charts favoring success through astrology. The latter do not have, really, to consistently apply the basic principles of astrology. Their ability to read charts correctly is based on their own chart favoring their success as an astrologer. (We all know people whose success in their field is apparently not based on their understanding.) If you can find such an astrologer, he will give you a worthwhile reading. Some psychic astrologers also give excellent readings, depending on the clarity of their psychic abilities at the time they do your reading. Until recently, purely scientific astrologers gave the least useful reading because they were limited by the traditional, tropical chart. Uranian astrology, in which more planets were recognized and added to the chart, was one effort to fix that universally recognized limitation.

Of course, astrologers do not always come as pure types, but are often mixtures of the above. 

I belong mostly to group (2), the scientific astrologer. I do research. I expect consistency, and if I do not get it, I revise my hypothesis. In a number of areas I have shown reproducible results. More importantly, the astrological method I discovered and explored is suited, par excellence, to research, that is, to the scientific method. More research = more understanding = better readings. Indeed, my astrology delivers typical astrological information plus information available no where else. I have been working with this form of astrology--doing readings and research and writing papers--for the past 25 years. Prior to that, I was a traditional astrologer for 10 years.

What is true about understanding your own life through your chart is also true about the lives of loved ones. By identifying the form--the good parts, the hard parts, weaknesses, the best pursuits for growth, the places where you clash with others, you can make better choices. So, you may be interested in the astrology of two or more people, called synastry.

Please see my starrypattern charts offered page for a description of a chart that describes the astrological relations of two or more people.