Open Possibilities

 

November 19, 2004

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/nov19.html

 

Hi Eric:

I truly enjoy reading your very down-to-earth responses to your e-mails. I am so puzzled after reading an astrological comparison on me and the man I adore. The report stated that he is a liar and a cheat. This bit of info tore my heart to pieces because I feel so good when I'm with him. If his character is so tarnished, what is it about him that makes me feel this way? My birthdate is January 24, 1961 at 5:20am; his birthdate is June 24, 1967 (time unknown). Any insight you can give will be greatly appreciated! Thank you Eric.

 

Your Fan,

Gentle

 

 

Dear Gentle,

I will do my best to be gentle with whoever wrote your report, and I will definitely be down-to-earth.

 

No doubt, the statement to which you refer was based on a single aspect or placement in the chart in question. The way most computerized reports work is that the birth data is entered into the software. The software detects certain aspects and then it goes to a database and pulls up pre-written interpretations for those aspects, which are assembled into the report. It is really no different than looking them up in a book -- with one gargantuous difference: you know who wrote the book.

 

When you happen to get a good computerized report, it is because the writer is a good astrologer, and usually they will sign their name to their work because that is part of a trusting relationship with you. By good astrologer, I mean someone who is sensitive to people and what they go through, who is experienced enough to see the many possibilities, who can express themselves well, and who is aware of the fact that aspects have multiple levels of interpretation depending on where the chart's owner is at in his or her life.

 

But mainly to be a good astrologer, you have to not be a total dork and say flat-out judgmental things like, "[such and such aspect] means this person is a liar and a cheat."

 

Aspects definitely give information, but it is raw data. So when an astrologer writes an interpretation that is going to be read by people of different ages, genders, cultures and belief systems, in order for that interpretation to be good, the writer has to be very good.

 

It's important for astrology students to remember that aspects are expressed in life very different ways by different people. They change (in their expression, as well as in the progressed horoscope) as we get older. We grow into them; we develop a relationship to them; we learn the lessons or master the challenges -- or we don't. This is why when giving an interpretation in a report, the astrologer needs to leave some of the possibilities open. However, exploring or considering the possibilities takes time and it takes understanding. And it takes a rather special style of writing where you can reach across all worlds -- or at least see the greatest potential good in people. An aspect that might point to an integrity problem in one person might be the same psychic architecture that points to the person being of exemplary character. It all depends on how they work with their energy of their own chart.

 

Here is something to blow up and paste on your refrigerator, or onto a bookmark that you use in your astrology reading projects. The astrology you get is only as good as the astrologer you get. There is NO objective interpretation of a chart.

 

So I suggest that our readers develop relationships with the work of astrologers they trust, and that they not give that trust away so easily. If you purchase a report, keep an open mind, look at what it says, and size it up based on what you know about the relationship or person involved. I suggest viewing reports and even daily horoscopes as commentaries and insights, rather than as truth. Once you do that, they become truly valuable tools. The perspective of a competent astrologer is a very good thing to have, if you remember that it's a perspective, and subject to discussion.