Charles Harvey - Astrology - The only introduction you’ll ever need

Astrology has always had a reputation for encouraging a sense of determinism and predestination. People often express apprehension about looking into astrology, for they are frightened they will learn what fate awaits them. The I Ching tells us that the destinies of men are subject to immutable laws that must fulfil themselves, but that man has the power to shape his fate ‘according as his behaviour exposes him to the influence of benevolent or destructive forces’. But notice our emphasis of the word ‘behaviour’. We can use the knowledge of ourselves we gain from astrology, and simply from our experience of life, to act in accord with a more desirable outcome. To benefit from astrological insights, one must exert effort. That is where the real free will lies. (As Schopenhauer said, ‘We may have free will, but not the will to use it.’) A person having Saturn transit their Sun will know that it is not a time to take risks or to try to expand in adventurous directions, but rather a time to consolidate one’s material and professional position, a time to carry current responsibilities successfully.

Certain parameters are fixed in life. That is the nature of reality, for man cannot live in a vacuum. The contract with time and space is signed and sealed at birth; the parents and family we were born to and the society and historical period in which we gain our identity cannot be changed; the life drama we have chosen is ready to be played. But within the matrix of our given life parameters, we have the freedom to make choices. It is the unique combination of fate and free will that provides the psychic soil out of which we grow and live our lives. That same psychic soil grows heroes and heroines. In fact, man is free only in his mind, his inner attitude. Changes in fate are made according to inner attitude – that is what determines the wisdom of our choices, and ultimately our fate.

Astrology is Astronomy brought down to earth and applied to the affairs of man.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Astrology is best known for its power to describe character and for its ability to ‘look into the future’. These are certainly two important applications. However, the basic principles of astrology can be applied to almost every area of life. In this chapter we will look at what to expect when consulting an astrologer and some of the many and diverse areas in which astrology can be applied to obtain a fresh perspective and dynamic understanding of life.

Most astrologers in the English-speaking world work with western tropical astrology, as taught in this book, although there is now a growing number of Vedic astrologers in the West who practise sidereal astrology following the ancient Hindu tradition. The work of this rich tradition is beyond the scope of this book.

As astrology tends to be a subject which, like psychology, benefits enormously from life experience, few astrologers qualify before their Saturn Return, when they are about 30 years old. About 80 to 90 per cent of astrology students on most courses are women and probably 80 per cent of practitioners at the present time are females. This is probably because women usually have better access to the right-brain functions associated with poetry, imagination, the metaphorical and the symbolic, and a natural interest in people and their psychology. These are essential qualities for working fully and effectively with astrology. An increasing number of astrologers will also have some kind of additional training in counselling.

Like doctors, astrologers usually undergo broad training, which familiarizes them with most branches of astrology. Then, when the astrologer sets up in practice, she will tend to specialize in one particular area, and will probably undertake additional training. The great majority of practitioners now work in the area of psychological astrology and character analysis. Most psychological astrologers will also undertake work on chart comparison and relationships, including parent-child relationships and family dynamics in general.

Astrologers usually work by personal consultation, usually from an office within their own home and sometimes in alternative health centres. Very few astrologers are sufficiently affluent to have their own secretary or receptionist, so the consultation is normally booked directly with the astrologer herself, who will take the preliminary details and possibly some case history.

The information required by all astrologers is the date, time and place of birth. The time of birth is essential, but this can be problematic as in Britain the time is only recorded on the birth certificate in Scotland, except in the case of multiple births. If you were born in a hospital or a nursing home your time of birth will be on your original birth records, which the authorities are obliged to keep until you are 21. After that your records may be less readily accessible or even destroyed.

Astrologers vary a lot as to whether they want to take a detailed case history before the consultation. Some astrologers prefer to work ‘blind’, allowing the chart to speak for itself in terms of its pure potential. They will then relate that potential to the actual life history later in the consultation. Most astrologers will ask you the reason for the consultation and any special issues that you would like them to consider.

A typical first consultation or reading of a natal chart with an astrologer will last between 90 minutes and two hours, and sometimes longer. Prior to your arrival, the astrologer will probably have spent at least an hour preparing your natal chart, usually with the help of a computer, looking at current trends and probably making notes. If it is a first consultation the astrologer may well have prepared the chart several days earlier and have had it mulling over in the back of her mind for some while.

When it is not possible to meet in person, some astrologers work very effectively by phone. Some will also supply a reading dictated on to a cassette. A few astrologers will provide written reports. These, however, are very costly as a full written report would be unlikely to take less than one full day to prepare and write up.

Fees vary considerably. A first consultation is unlikely to cost less than £50 with a follow-up hourly rate of £20. A top astrologer in London will charge at least £40 per hour which, allowing for preparation time, will mean that the first consultation could be about £90 or £100.

At the simplest level, an astrologer can interpret your horoscope as a pattern of character traits, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses. This approach is purely descriptive, the astrologer attempting to sketch out a personality profile in words and images. If you have a lot of fire in your chart and a strong ninth house, you will be seen as impulsive, energetic, intuitive, idealistic and mentally adventurous. If you have a strongly placed Saturn in the first house as well, you will also be described as serious, self-doubting, ponderous, but reliable and conscientious too. These and other contrasting features of your character will be identified, together with the inner tensions and creative potential they involve. It will then be up to you to go away and draw your own conclusions.

An astrological consultation will reveal valuable insights about your personality and the dilemmas you experience in life, but it will not change deep-seated behaviour patterns or heal psychological wounds overnight. However, since we humans are blessed with the faculty of self-reflection, we can choose to go beyond a mere description of our character and actually engage with this knowledge in a deeper way. If you find that the beauty of this language really speaks to you, astrology becomes a kind of wisdom path which can lead to empowerment and desired life changes. This takes time, commitment, and the development of self-analysis.