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because
those columns have almost no bearing on the
legitimate practice of astrology. Here are a
few other myths about astrology that should
also be dispelled:
1.
Astrology is not a religion, nor is it affiliated
or associated with any religion or with satanism
or with any specific belief system. You can
believe in and participate in any religion you
choose and still practice astrology.
2.
Astrology is about symbolism and has nothing
to do with any purported physical energy emanating
from a planet, moon, or star.
3.
Astrology cannot be used to predict an event,
only the possibility of an event occurring,
or a good time for a particular type of event
to take place.
4.
Astrology is only a guide, a map of the potential
in your life. However, no two people born at
the exact same time and place will have the
exact same life. The very nature of astrology
speaks to your exercise of "free will" and the
many choices and options you have for how you
live your life.
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What Is Astrology?
Astrology
is a complex art and science which applies symbolic
meaning to astronomical information as it existed
over two thousand years ago when the practice
of astrology was first documented in writing
by ancient astronomers and astrologers.
Western
or Tropical astrologers use the ancient positions
of the constellations and Sidereal (aka Vedic
or Hindu) astrologers use current astronomical
positions. The two systems are very different
but work equally well. Astrologers begin by
erecting a natal chart, or horoscope, based
on the date, time, and place you were born.
Today, most charts are done on a computer which
makes them very accurate. But, they are only
as accurate as the information you provide.
Any reputable astrologer will advise you to
obtain more accurate birth information or to
have your chart rectified if you only know that
you were born "around 5 p.m."
Astrologers
interpret everything in your chart individually
and then integrate it all for you into a picture
of you and your life. Interpretations come in
many forms: basic insight into your personality;
examining specific trouble spots in your life;
comparing and contrasting your chart with that
of a loved one, friend, co-worker, etc.; looking
at career options and financial indications;
finding the best place to live; forecasting
future opportunities; selecting the best time
for a wedding, to start a business, etc.; spiritual
growth; and, answering questions.
Most
astrologers have a general practice which incorporates
a variety of these services, and they may also
have some areas in which they specialize such
as relationships, careers, horary, or electional.
The
best way to use astrology is to learn to evaluate
a problem on your own, to examine the choices
you have to make in order to fix the problem,
and then to consult your astrologer to see in
which ways the possible solutions will work
for you and when the best time is to make changes,
take risks, be patient and wait, plan, etc.
With all that information in hand, you will
possess a powerful knowledge with which to solve
your problems, change your life, and be the
person you always wanted to be.
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Astrology and Your Birth Time
Astrology
is extremely accurate. But, it is only as accurate
as your birth time, which is used to calculate
not only the planetary positions, but also your
Ascendant (Rising Sign), to the exact degree
and minute. That calculation then determines
the degree on the Midheaven and all of the house
cusps. The cusps then determine in which house
your planets will fall. Without an accurate
birth time, interpretations and forecasts are
invariably incorrect. All of this information
is then used in interpreting your personality,
determining your career choices, comparing and
contrasting your chart with those of other people
you know, and forecasting events in your life.
Before
you schedule a consultation or order charts
and reports, you should obtain a copy of your
birth certificate. If you do not have a birth
certificate, if the time is not stated on yours,
if you suspect your birth certificate is in
error, or if you have only an estimated birth
time, you can have your chart rectified (see
next section).
But
what about your birth certificate? How accurate
is it? It may not be as accurate as you think.
It's not hard to get the date and the place
correct, but birth times are an entirely different
story. Since doctors and nurses are not usually
astrologers, they give little attention to the
exact time of birth. For example, they may round
off an 8:38 birth time to 8:40 or 8:35. A doctor
may fill out the birth certificate later on
and use an estimated birth time that could be
far earlier or later than the true time of birth,
or than the time recorded on the delivery room
records.
Depending
on where and when you were born, your birth
certificate may not even have a space for the
time of birth. Some people have no written birth
certificates at all because they were born at
home, or during times when birth certificates
were not considered necessary, or in countries
where birth certificates are or were not issued.
Some parts of the United States have other problems
with birth certificate times. For example, during
certain years in the state of Illinois, War
Time -- the precursor to our modern Daylight
Savings Time -- was in effect but was not observed
by all hospitals, many of which continued to
operate on Standard Time. That means that if
you happen to have been born in Illinois during
those times, your birth certificate could be
off by an entire hour.
Without
an exact birth time, astrology in general, and
predictive astrology in particular, are rarely
accurate. There may be some general information
and interpretations that are correct, but the
subtleties and events-oriented aspects will
be wrong.
Rectification
of the Birth Time
When
you don’t know your time of birth or suspect
it is off by a few minutes or more, you can
have your birth time rectified. Rectification
is a very time-consuming process that involves
forecasting backwards in your life and adjusting
your birth time until it coincides with all
the significant events in your life. It can
be a costly investment. However, the time and
costs can be considerably less if you have a
birth time on your birth certificate from which
to start the process, and if you have a very
good memory for as many events in your life
as possible.
Rectification
is not a job for an amateur; not even all professional
astrologers are up to the task. But, for astrology
to work properly, an accurate birth time is
essential, and rectification is the best way
to determine it. So if you want to get your
chart rectified, start by obtaining a copy of
your birth certificate and then make a detailed
list of all the significant events in your life
(e.g., births, deaths, relocations, marriages,
divorces, career moves, etc.), asking your friends
and family members for help along the way if
you can't remember exact dates, times or places.
After you've done all of this preparatory work,
you can start looking for an astrologer who
is experienced in rectification.
Rectification
is an important investment for anyone who regularly
uses and relies on astrology for guidance in
life. Once your exact birth time has been properly
determined, you will find that astrological
consultations are far more accurate than you
ever imagined possible, and that the predictive
advice you receive will be right on the money.
Selecting
a House System
Natal
charts are divided into twelve sections called
"houses," which indicate the different areas
of interest and activity in your life. How those
houses are divided up depends on the house system
used by you or your astrologer. There are at
least eight major house systems in use throughout
the world, but the three most commonly used
in the United States are Placidus, Koch (pronounced
"coke"), and Equal. These three systems result
in the same Ascendant (Rising Sign) but have
different Midheavens and house cusps.
The
Placidian system is named after its 17th century
inventor, Placidus de Titus. It is used by at
least 80% of astrologers in the U.S. because
it is the most widely known system and its house
tables are readily available in most areas.
The Koch system is the second most commonly
used house system in the U.S. It originated
in Germany and is named for its first publisher,
Dr. Walter Koch.
Both
Placidus and Koch systems result in the same
Ascendant which is always the cusp of the first
house. The Midheaven is always the cusp of the
tenth house, but each system results in a different
sign (or the same sign at a different degree)
on the Midheaven. Placidus and Koch are "unequal"
house systems which can result in interceptions.
An interception occurs when two opposite signs
are each on the cusp of two houses, while another
two opposite signs are not on any house cusps
at all and are instead inside of houses with
neighboring signs on their cusps. But in any
given chart, the signs intercepted by Koch are
not necessarily the same ones that would be
intercepted using Placidus.
The
Equal house system is just what its name implies.
All the houses have the same degree on each
cusp, and there are no interceptions. Equal
house systems are especially useful for people
born in the northernmost and southernmost latitudes,
and this system is the most popular one in use
outside of the United States.
No
given house system is better than another, only
different. Astrologers select the systems which
they feel work best for them and for their clients.
They also select systems which best suit the
kinds of astrology they practice, giving them
the desired interpretive results. For example,
those who practice astropsychology are often
inclined to use Placidus, and those who practice
Uranian astrology are more likely to select
Koch. If you are unsure which system is best
for you, try both, or try one of the other house
systems, and see which produces the most reliable
results. That's the best house system -- for
you.
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About Orb
When
planets form relationships such as trines, squares,
oppositions, etc., those relationships are called
aspects. The term "orb" refers to the range
of degrees between any two planets when they
are in aspect to each other. A wide (large)
orb of 10 degrees is felt by only a few people
because you would have to be very sensitive
to the earliest and slightest influences of
the aspect. However, a tight (small) orb of
3E or less means the aspect is more intense
and significant in nature, and it is felt by
nearly everyone, especially the closer it is
to being exact (0E). The reports advertised
on this website make use of small orbs of 3E
or less when possible.
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About Relocation
Everyone
wants to know where the best place is for them
to live. That ideal place where your life will
work perfectly. But, what constitutes a "best"
place is not the same for everyone.
Astrology
can help you find places that are good for you,
but that doesn’t mean you will like them.
For example, two places that are great for me
astrologically include Easter Island and a place
near the Arctic Circle named Cambridge Bay.
I don’t like islands or snow, so I’m
not going to either location.
Some
astrologers believe that the farther away from
your birthplace you go, the less likely you
are to follow the path on which your spirit
was set when first it came to this plane of
existence. In some ways this makes sense, because
wherever you move, you will have to make some
form of compromise. No place is 100% perfect
for anyone.
I
lived for many years in Venice, California,
a place that I loathe with every fiber of my
being. I could not wait to get out of that place.
Finally, I moved up the coast to my hometown
of Monterey, a place I truly love and that is
fairly close to my birthplace of San Francisco.
But, is it perfect in Monterey? Close, but not
quite.
Astrologically,
Monterey is good for me because I don’t
get one of the very negative aspects I had in
Venice. But, geographically speaking, I moved
to a place that has a very high cost of living
with pitifully low wages. All things considered,
however, it is the perfect place for me.
When
I first set out to decide where to live, it
was during a time when I spent a good deal of
each year lecturing throughout the United States
and other English-speaking countries. On various
lecture circuits, I managed to visit all but
four states, some of which I visited on several
different occasions.
I
must have relocated my chart at least 100 times,
trying to find my ideal place. I ended up with
a list of fifteen cities that were promising
astrologically. Out of those, I actually liked
about nine.
When
it came time to narrow down my selections, astrology
didn’t help. I had to actually think about
what my life would be like in those cities.
Boy did that ever narrow the choices down fast!
Now I was left with only three cities, one of
which was Monterey. When it came to making the
final decision, I picked the city where I actually
knew people and had lived before. Monterey had
changed a lot, but it still felt like home.
When
you decide to relocate, you need to look at
more than just your relocated chart. You need
to visit different places, check out the jobs,
the weather, the housing, the schools, etc.
And, if you have a spouse and family, you and
your spouse will need to agree on a community
that is good for the two of you and your family.
Use
astrology as a tool to help you narrow your
choices. Then, take some time to really research
the cities and make several visits to each prospective
"best place." When it’s time to move,
you will make your decision based on facts and
first-hand evaluation. And that’s how
to find your best place to live.
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Many Happy Returns with your Solar Return
Solar
returns are also called birthday charts. In
fact, it’s from the solar return that
we get the expression "many happy returns" which
we say when wishing someone a happy birthday.
Your
solar return is calculated for the exact date
and time when the Sun returns to the place it
was in when you were born. This means that your
true birthday may fall on the same date you
were born, or it may fall the day before or
after, depending on when the Sun reaches the
correct degree. For example, if you were born
on September 28, 1950, when the Sun was at 05ELIB
00', your solar return would fall on September
27th in the years 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Many
reputable astrologers believe you can affect
the outcome of your solar return by being in
a place other than your birthplace or your place
of residence at the time of the return. Some
people will go to extraordinary lengths to visit
another town or country for their solar return.
This is because calculating a solar return for
a different location can cause certain desirable
planetary aspects to appear, and certain undesirable
planetary aspects to disappear, or a planet
or planets can change houses if the chart is
erected for a different place.
However,
while the ancients believed in erecting a solar
return for the location in which a person is
at the time of the return, people back then
did not travel much, and they could not have
anticipated our highly mobile lifestyles.
The
solar return takes the single day of the return
and uses the 24 hours that follow the return
to predict the future events for that year.
But, we can argue that, like progressions, we
need to recalculate the solar return for the
place where the person lives once they return
home. Why is the solar return any different
than a progression in that respect? After all,
if I went to New York in June, I wouldn’t
erect my progressions there and then return
to the West Coast and rely on those New York
calculations. When I progress the planets in
my solar returns to predict events, it has always
been the solar return chart erected for my residence
that has been reliable.
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Dispelling Some Common Myths About Astrology