The Responsible Use of Astrology

by Tem Tarriktar

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Mercury Direct, the subscriber only section of The Mountain Astrologer in the December 2000-January 2001 issue. We republish it here in remembrance and dedication.

I realized during a recent week-long break from my normal routine¹ that although natal astrology is admittedly a sophisticated system and can be very psychologically revealing, it is only helpful up to a point. Most all the things that natal astrology is useful for fall into two realms:

1. the health, energy level, and activity patterns of the body
2. the desires, urges, beliefs, reactions, and thought patterns in the mind

Astrology deals with the patterns of our bodies and minds. Granted, knowing more about all these things is useful, especially for young people trying to get established, to find people they are compatible with and to find their place in the world. Astrology definitely has value and can be a wonderful tool for evolution. But once a reasonably functional psyche is operating, an over-reliance on astrology puts a conceptual cage around the spirit, especially if astrology is used, as it often is, as a defense mechanism — sometimes defending against evolution itself!

We astrologers tend to do this without realizing we’re doing it. For example, think of some recent problem you’ve had with the behavior or attitude of someone you know. Think of how your knowledge of (and use of) astrology has contributed to this situation. If you knew the chart of the offending person, did you quickly analyze it to assign proper blame — to the “problem” in their chart? Only the most mature and enlightened astrologers avoid the pitfall of using cosmic knowledge to reinforce negative ego. And we are perhaps the most brutal with ourselves and our own perceived limitations. After all, if our astrology charts can explain it, then there is no need to look any further and no motivation to directly investigate the “problem”² and see what it really is.

We may ask: If astrology only “rules” the body–mind system, what else is there? This is the essential question, isn’t it? Who are we, in reality? Does astrology touch who we really are? My experience is that who I really am, at my core, is totally free of astrological influence, even as I observe astrological energies accurately describe much of my mental habits, life circumstances, and actions. It’s not that astrology doesn’t work. It’s that what astrology works on isn’t me.

All this also ties into the question of whether things are predestined or whether free will exists. Even if events and behaviors are to some degree predestined, we discover that we are timelessly Free when we place our attention on the Here and Now, and open ourselves to the present moment³ — except that, in this expanded state of Being, there is no separate identity left to have a free will. So, the question of predestination and free will may be answered like this: even if “you” are subject to predestination, Freedom is available Now.

Speaking of Now: Astrology and the Future

We practitioners of astrology tend to be attracted to the apparent control we get from knowing where the planets are and where they are going. We can predict with certainty where, say, Saturn will be five years from now. After all, if we have an early warning of what’s coming, even just on the level of archetypes, then we can brace ourselves for the future (or open ourselves to it, if we think something positive is coming). Even humanistic astrologers, some of whom pride themselves in being non-fatalistic, may still fixate on future astrological events in order to anticipate the energies that will arise (in order to try to create what they think will be a positive outcome). My point is that the impulse we have is to insulate ourselves with a layer of preconceptions about what is coming in the future, because we feel that it cannot be trusted (when it gets here) and needs some amount of controlling. This tendency is not unique to astrologers, but we stargazers are particularly devoted to it. More than that, we rely on it to keep clients coming. Forecasting the future is our business as long as clients expect it of us. The future is the “bait” with which we hook most new astrology clients and students.

Many clients come to see an astrologer with the belief that the astrologer, the designated Seer, has a better view of the future than they do. Unless the astrologer is way out in left field, the client to some degree adopts the version of reality presented by the astrologer. Even if it is not entirely accepted, how can you get statements like “pay attention to any chest pains you might have in June” out of your mind? Being given this power by the client, the astrologer may feel (temporarily) infallible and begin to express more confidently, even making arrogant assumptions about the client’s limitations, talents, and hidden problems — all based on the chart. In the worst-case scenario, the astrologer forgets that the client is more than a soup of cosmic symbols. I know I did all this when I was reading charts.

The astrologer weaves a story for the client, and it is woven from a combination of textbook keywords, the astrologer’s own (remembered) experience with his or her transits, and the astrologer’s beliefs about life, people, and the world in general. The scenario presented by the astrologer often has only a vague resemblance to the actual future experience of the client. The astrologer knows deep down that he or she is at best on shaky ground and at worst, by sounding authoritative about the future, is essentially telling a lie in order to satisfy the client’s expectations. All of us have wrestled with that one, right?

This lie (or, to put it more kindly, this educated guess) may be supported by years of astrological research and lots of charts, tables, and graphs. It may be flavored with a smooth, sophisticated presentation of psychological terms, astrological jargon, and so on. But the truth remains: The astrologer doesn’t really know what’s coming. The future is unknown, period.

Speaking from the Heart

If you are an astrologer, what can be done? After all, you have seen astrology help people with things like when they should time their surgery, when they should open their business, which partner is more compatible than another, and other practical concerns. How can you use astrology in this context? I have some suggestions:

First, tell the truth to your clients (and to yourself) when they ask about the future. You don’t know what is coming any more than they do. Direct them, if possible, to what is happening in their lives now, and maybe their next step will become clear to them. Consciousness of the present moment is the only place from which one can be really prepared for what arises next.

Second, remain fully aware of the present moment during the session. Let your responses to their questions and concerns come from your core, your heart, from the energy of the Moment, not from a prepared agenda. If their past transits or past experiences come up, they will do so naturally to serve the needs that are present in the session. If they ask about some practical matter that looms in their future, consider asking them what they feel about it — then simply let a response arise from your heart in the Moment. Don’t ignore astrological information that comes up, but don’t rely on it, either.

Third, if you use the astrological chart and its symbols, that’s no problem, but when astrology is happening, talk from your own experience with it, not from textbook interpretations. If you don’t know what to say, don’t nervously spout off astrological knowledge to “perform.” Just listen and wait. Something will come on its own, without effort on your part. If your intention is to help your client, tell the truth, and speak from your heart in the moment, without an agenda, without concern for repeat business, without trying to protect your client from the unknowable future; then you are truly serving them. And on some level, they will know that you are offering them something special.

Although this approach may make some clients unhappy or even angry, it may also attract other clients who are more interested in your healing presence and your true availability than in your knowledge of transits, aspects, and midpoints. After all, the world is full of astrology cookbooks, computer reports, and forecast calendars, but there is only one “your-presence-in-this-moment.”

Notes:
 1. Recently, I attended a 7-day silent retreat in North Carolina facilitated by Gangaji, a wonderful spiritual teacher based in Northern California. Although I have attended other retreats with her, this one was particularly powerful for me, and I am grateful for her clarity in articulating deep spiritual truths (in the lineage of Sri Ramana Maharshi). Anyone who is interested in learning more about her can check out the website of the Gangaji Foundation at: www.gangaji.org or call them at (800) 267-9205 and ask for a catalog if you don’t have access to the Internet.
2. By “directly investigate” it, I mean to put your awareness or attention directly inside the energy (whether it be a feeling of fear, annoyance, irritation, whatever) that we habitually avoid contact with.
3. I am not talking here about the concept of the present, or a point where the past becomes the future, but rather an expansive, living present, animated by awareness (consciousness itself). In my experience, the “Now” is a vast, eternal place, not a pinpoint of linear time. A great, inspiring book exploring this in more detail is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. 

Images:
Ladder: Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay
Door: Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
Faces: Image by John Hain from Pixabay

First published in: The Mountain  Astrologer, Dec 2000/Jan 2001.

Author:
Tem Tarriktar Astrologer, Writer, and Publisher began studying astrology in 1982. In November of 1987, he launched The Mountain Astrologer magazine as a typewritten newsletter. With the help of his partner Kate Sholly, their talented hard-working staff and the support of the astrological community, TMA evolved into the important communication hub for astrologers that it is today. TMA has provided a vehicle for over 600 astrological writers to share their knowledge and enhanced the public image of astrology for 33 years. Before leaving his earthly body on July 8th, 2019, Tem passed the baton to Rae Sapp to carry on the TMA legacy.

© 2000/2021 - Tem Tarriktar

All articles at  a glance