Understanding
Astrological Predictions
Opinions
about astrological prediction are generally
divided: "Mysterious! Magical!", say some;
"Nonsense!", reply others. In fact, both
views are based on a misunderstanding of
the nature of how astrology really "works".
In this article, I will use a story to show
both the true value of astrological prediction,
as well as its limits.
Let's
imagine that a girl named Ellen goes to
an astrologer, who, after studying Ellen's
natal chart in relation to this month's
planetary positions, tells her that next
weekend she will meet a fine young man with
whom she will begin a relationship. And
that's exactly what happens. Ellen exclaims
to Sue, a friend of hers: "It's magic! Everything
happened just like my astrologer predicted!"
Sue, impressed by this, makes an appointment
with the same astrologer. In her session,
she is told that yes, she will indeed find
that job she's been looking for, and will
have it by May. Sue, delighted, goes home
and waits for a response from the company
to which she had applied, yet May comes
and goes, and she doesn't receive a call
from them. "What a fool I was!", she remarks
when she sees Ellen, "I should have known:
astrology is nonsense!"
Which one of the two girls is correct in
her opinion? One might say that they both
are, since after all, astrology seems to
have "worked" for Ellen, yet not for Sue.
Yet I think it would be more correct to
say, on the contrary, that neither girl
was correct in her conclusion, since in
each case, that conclusion was based on
the acceptance of a faulty idea of astrology,
that idea being one which many people, both
"believers" as well as "sceptics" share:
namely, that astrology indeed purports to
be able to reliably predict what will happen
in the future.
At this point, many readers, both the believers
and the sceptics, will be disagreeing with
me: "Well, astrology DOES INDEED claim to
predict the future, doesn't it?", you may
say. And you are right in a way: many astrologers
do say that they can tell you what is awaiting
you in the future. This is a claim which
no "true believer" would ever dispute, and
one that no self-respecting sceptic would
fail to criticize, or even ridicule. Opinions
on the subject thus would seem to be hopelessly
polarized. The solution lies in distinguishing
what many astrologers CLAIM from that which
in fact astrology can really DO.
More than twenty-five years of experience
as an astrologer has convinced me that
- astrology cannot make precise predictions
about your future
- astrology can indeed reveal the tendencies
of your future
And what is the difference? Well, if an
astrologer tells you that next Tuesday you
will be walking down the street, and will
accidently trip and fall, breaking your
left wrist as it cracks against a fire hydrant,
that would be a pretty precise prediction,
wouldn't it? But no astrologer I've ever
known makes predictions of such a nature.
More likely, an astrologer would say: "There
is danger of an accident next Tuesday; try
to be more careful than usual!" This is
not a precise prediction, but a statement,
based on astrological techniques, about
an increased probability of a certain type
of event occurring. This is the real strength
of astrology: not to tell you what is going
to happen (since that is beyond its capabilities),
but to inform you about the probabilities
of certain types of events happening.
Those
of you who may be seeking to know just what's
going to happen in the future might be disappointed
by that last sentence, though you shouldn't
be. After all, if the future were totally
predetermined, and if it were possible to
predict future events exactly, what would
be the point? If something unpleasant were
predicted for you, you'd have to be living
in constant dread, and if a positive event
were foretold, you might just sit back smugly
and wait for it to happen, and would thus
be robbed of that sudden, wonderful sense
of amazement that you would have felt if
you hadn't known it was going to happen!
The true value of predictive astrology is
to show you the probabilities so that you
may take full advantage of the fortunate
times in order to fully prosper, and take
special care during the more unfortunate
periods, and thus have a better chance of
avoiding mishaps, overcoming negative thoughts,
making the best out of unpleasant situations,
etc.
Using astrology to find out when to expect
the "ups and downs" of life will not only
give you concrete advantages in many situations,
but above all, it can help you achieve a
greater understanding of the intimate relationship
which exists between our lives and the cosmic
forces which are continually shaping them.
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