Wednesday, September 02, 2009

ASTROLOGITIS

Fleetingly passing by an astrology message board the other day, the title of a thread caught my eye. Astronuts Tribe forum: thread titled "Quitting Astrology".

Passing readers here might find it of interest too. Contributors offer their opinions on whether astrology can become too much of an obsession, a hindrance to living one's life in fact.

This is something which has crossed my mind from time to time over the years. I am saved from the worst symptoms of astrologitis (as I'll call it) by my feeling that astrological doctrine is an imperfect tool which throws up only shadows at best. We are using a tool which hasn't been honed to perfection yet, in spite of centuries of trying.

Whether consulting a professional astrologer or interpreting charts for oneself, I believe it's best to look on the results as shadows, or skeletons - or even skeltons of shadows or shadows of skeletons. Still interesting, but requiring fleshing out and clarifying from hindsight and experience.

Personally, I'm not convinced by some parts of astrological lore. But I am totally convinced by the bare bones of astrology. Bare bones don't tell us what the picture is like "in the flesh " though. Clever experts can reconstruct a face from a skeletal skull, and be fairly certain that it resembles the human being who inhabited the skeleton - but can never be absolutely certain of the detail. Likewise in astrology.

I think the key to not becoming obsessive, not feeling the need to quit, is to stand back from it, not to focus on self too much. Look outward and backward, viewing people and situations, yours and theirs, with hindsight. This way you can see parts of astrology at work and know that "something is going on".
For me, that's where the magic of astrology lies.

Trying to predict the future can be disappointing and/or worrying. Neither is helpful. It's often said that if you know what's around the corner for you, you can prepare yourself for it. Maybe some brave souls can, and if you are one of those - fine! I'm not. I tend to worry, and prefer to meet problems head-on, as and when - and if - they occur. There's no point in worrying about the skeletal problem astrology might indicate which, when flesh is added and it becomes the reality, might turn out to be a minor irritation or even a blessing, instead of the serious problem that worried you.

2 comments:

Diane L said...

After experimenting with following transits closely & ignoring them for years, I agree with your position. In fact, I don't do predictive astrology for others anymore because I kept wanting to tell them to just "live their lives, damn it!" Argh!

Now I only work with people on understanding their natal charts & compatibility with others. Both areas where astrology can be quite helpful.

Twilight said...

Hello Neith!
I think that's a wise choice. Glad your feelings are similar to my own on this.

Hmmm - I don't have Neith.net in my links - I'll rectify that! :-)