Me and Astrology

If Astrology first entered my life in the form of a paperback book describing the 12 zodiac signs.I was around 9 years old. I learned  from this book that the time and place of our birth would invest certain characteristics upon us and that information was written in the night sky.  The zodiac was the sum total of what ancient astronomers used to communicate what they were observing.  Ultimately, to my nine year old consciousness, that meant that everyone born during the same day/time would be somewhat similar to each other.

Horrors!

I thought.

How can I be like everyone else born in this month?
I am me, I thought.

However, upon further investigation into this paperback book, thousands of books to follow, teachers, masters and decades of life experience, I discovered for myself that there’s definitely something to it.  I was the original skeptic.

Today, I feel totally different about this science/art/philosophy. After 50+ years of delving into psychology, metaphysics, spiritual philosophies, and scientific advances, I haven’t found any other discipline that can so accurately describe me to me. Amazing.

It’s been hard. I’ve had to endure a lot of skepticism, ridicule, and dismissal from family, friends, strangers, and others who know very little about astrology, it’s roots, or it’s scientific documentation. The advent of the horoscope column in the daily newspapers was our downfall.  How can one possibly command any respect for this rich field when every day it becomes a joke.  Today, I see my path as an astrologer akin to being a spiritual warrior.  Just as Arjuna came to understand his karma/dharma, so have I.

For many years I would enter into The Debate and get quite passionate about the whole thing. No doubt my passion turned them off even more. Today, I find The Debate a useless waste of my energy. To me, astrology is not something that you ‘believe’ in or not. It’s not a religion and it doesn’t require you to put away your logical, thinking mind. Quite the contrary actually. It’s the oldest science on the planet.

I think one of the reasons that so many people have difficulty with astrology is the issue of fate vs. free will. We are a people that like to control things. Look around…..power & control issues permeate our entire society. Being told that something is happening because of the way the planets are lined up, strips one of the illusion that we are in control of our lives. However, once you have given astrology a chance, by checking into it yourself or finding a reputable astrologer to guide you, you will find that you actually have more choices, and more control than you previously thought. It’s one of life’s paradoxes that you have to discover for yourself.

Another reason that people have difficulty with astrology is simply the way it is offered in our culture. Horoscope columns, tabloid-type publications, the advertisements from practitioners with only money on their minds……this is not the way a tradition that has existed for thousands of years should appear. A little bit of historical digging will clearly show that the astrologers of the ancient world were highly esteemed professionals revered by royalty, priesthoods, and common folk throughout the civilized world. What happened??? It’s my opinion that once the masses recognized the power and potential inherent in astrological thought the rulers (priests, etc) had to wisk it away so that they could retain it for themselves.   It is rumored that the largest astrological library on the planet is held within the confines of the Vatican. Hmmmm.  That certainly should make you pause and take a breath.

Today, astrology for me provides a frame of reference that allows me and this body/mind to navigate thru a changing world.  However, astrology does have it’s limitations and should our world expand into something that includes beings from other star systems, I’m not sure how it will fare.  But, as long as we remain on Earth, it’s the only language that excludes no one.

Om shanti.