Why An Astrologer’s Expertise Matters
Unlike other trades, astrology is without regulation. Anyone can do it, but not everyone can do it well.
Astrology bridges many other arts and sciences, including psychology and counseling and coaching. Match-making, picking a date to do something important, investing in stocks, seeking medical advice — it can all come from astrology but not everyone is skilled in astrology, let alone medicine or finance or people skills.
Herein lies an ethical issue. People put their trust in authorities. Students put their trust in teachers. Astrology can seem mystical and psychic, as if the celestial wordsmith is all-knowing, but they are human like the rest of us. And astrologers must use caution when projecting to the impressionable. In the good circles of astrologers, this is expressed and discussed. If undergoing self-study, there may be too much ego (and knowledge) unchecked . . . leading to a haphazard reading that begs for intervention, if just for the moment.
Unless astrologers have a practicing license in any of the aforementioned specialties, they shouldn’t be telling you where exactly to put your money or what exactly to put in your mouth. Though, mere suggestions with loads of astrological symbolism can do the trick without the extra trades. Astrologers don’t need that extra training to be good at their jobs, including guiding people to and from careers and relationships that don’t serve them. But working with people is tricky, especially when they can sue you!
It would help for the layperson to have a bit of understanding of astrology to see if their intended astrologer is right for them. No one likes to waste money, right? Well, you can ask what tools are used for your intended reading. Is it natal astrology plus transits and progressions? Or, is it horary astrology? Is aspect interpretation included, or is the astrologer solely “trained” on planets in houses?
I was lucky to be on the other side of the curtain *wink* browsing — you guessed it — astrology books while some innocent woman was receiving a reading. She was asking about good times do to something in her relationship and the astrologer pointed out that when transiting Venus entered her seventh house of partnerships would be a good time. Venus is a fast moving planet and spends about one month per zodiac sign — give or take depending on retrograde — and maybe even less than one month in a given house depending on the house system used and your unique natal chart. What that astrologer was suggesting was that there’s only one month for actions taken in relationships to have good results! (Or two months, if you use her logic and include the other “benefic” planet Jupiter.) What about the other ten or eleven months of the year?
And, to make matters worse for this woman, her seventh house was in a sign Venus wouldn’t reach until early 2024. She responds with saying that she was intending to take this specific action with regard to her relationship next week! Now, should she wait?
The bigger question, which the woman was getting to, was where this relationship was heading. Is it marriage? If so, when? And the astrologer did something right here. She said that without the partner’s consent to use his natal chart, she wouldn’t be able to look at any synastry. But this whole time, there is a big tool that wasn’t being used at all. The natal chart itself — transits, progressions, and synastry aside. Often all you need is the natal chart. And if the answer isn’t within the natal chart, it won’t be found using any of the other tools.
The natal chart describes your partner — and yes, all your exes have something in common. Your partner is someone you project onto, so they are a part of yourself, a part of your astrology. Desires for independence within relationships versus dependence; conservative versus non-traditional; it’s all there. How you love, and want to be loved. These affirming messages about yourself can inform whether a relationship is right for you or not. It puts the power in your hands, versus the astrologer’s. She doesn’t know; you do. Like a good therapist, it’s an astrologer’s job to bring you there . . . that place deep inside that always knew the answer.
There are people who believe in fate and those who believe in free will. I believe in a blending of the two, where self-discovery (through astrology) can drive your intended destiny. Sure, self-study of astrology can get you there, but like other trades, it takes a lot of time to be exceptional in the art and science. And everyone’s interpretation is still a matter of some opinion, as we are only human with biases and projections. We can all be right, to a degree, and I’d rather people not spend their spare cash on those who are only a “little” right.
With a little research, you will know who is right for you. But also, with a little research, you can learn more about astrology on your own, too. There are myriad videos on YouTube (see Kepler College, for instance) as well as books and magazines and actual schools, with some offering pathways toward “accreditation” within organizations like the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR) and elsewhere in the world.
Outside of asking an astrologer what tools they have in their toolbelt, you might as well ask who they’ve studied under as well. Exercise caution with anyone who is trying to reinvent the (Zodiac) wheel. Many astrologers agree on zodiacal and planetary archetypes. Sometimes they just take a different route to getting to the same or similar answer. Rest assured, you have that answer, too.
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Astrology is both an art and an inexact science and should always be subject to interpretation due to its human influence. In this way, astrology is best utilized for entertainment purposes only. Take what you want and leave the rest, but never replace sound advice from a variety of skilled professionals — including and especially of the medical and financial trades — with astrology and its astrologers. In case of a medical or psychiatric emergency, please contact your local authorities.
