why do you study astrology?

isthmus nekoi

There are so many reasons ppl read astro, and I was wondering if anyone who like to share how they got interested and why they continue to study astro...

Personally, what fascinates me is that you can see the whole notion of "free will" really put to work. With each individual, you begin to see how the environment can shape a person, how they choose to shape their environment. I learned something fundimentally (sp??) important about the nature/nurture and mind/body debate w/astrology and that is there can be no hard and fast laws about what is determined and what is not.

Mind/body and free will is a central issue I should hope all students of astro would consider. Because underlying this issue is how you come to understand responsibility. In many ways, I find (modern) Western astrology to be heavily existentialist - you must always take full personal responsibility for your life once you're an adult... as if the idea of *social responsibility* is secondary, or even non existent!!! I find this kind of thinking very one sided. Taken too far, it devalues those who lack the ability to take control - children, ppl w/special needs, mentally ill, economically disenfranchised etc. This is the conclusion I have come to, learning astro. You may reach another one. Study astrology and see for yourself...

The other great thing I love about astrology is illuminating ways ppl can improve their lives and broaden their self knowledge. I try to make them as active as they can be in the process and I love it when clients ask questions! So I'm not that interested in its predictive/timing qualities e.g. electional astrology, mundane astrology.

edited to add: any "conclusions" I reach are rather loose and tentative - I doubt I will ever be able to put the mind-body issue to rest....
 

dadsnook2000

My story

THE STARTING POINT
I learned about astrology in order to show my wife that the syndicated horoscope reading in her newspaper couldn't possibly apply to her and to the 30 million others that read the column. My first chart, after reading Joseph Goodsavages small paperpack book on how to learn astrology, was for another person I worked with but didn't know. I determined from his chart that he was sick such that his nervous system was affected and that he had to have a special diet because of this, that he had been seriously ill several times before (I indicated the years based on the tables in the back of the book). The only thing I didn't indicate was that he was to again be stricken several months later. He did die at that point. I was hooked on astrology after doing two charts, my co-workers and my own.

One of my very best friends and I have had a 30 year discussion of free will versus fate. She argues that the chart determines the limits and opportunities we have to operate within and that therefore we follow fate's guidelines -- part way or fully to the end. I say that the chart shapes us and guides us but that we can expand it and grow beyond it. To support this claim I refer to a series of books by Jane Roberts who wrote the "Seth" material. In one of those books the entity she channels for pointed out how she and her husband had an experience that led them to choose a new path in their lives and that they had changed radically at that point. Using this concept, I charted out several dramatic change points in my own life and ran charts for them -- sure enough I was responding more strongly to the new chart than the original birth chart. But, all of that is another story and one not suited to those are early in their astrological journey.

In terms of how we live our lives, personally focused or personally and socially responsible and engaged, we need to carefully consider what a birth chart is. A birth chart is a picture of immediate universe around us when we are born. This means that it is a picture of the world and its state, as well as a picture of the more immediate world around us that we are entering, as well as a personal portrait of our potential. Consider this:

A) You can use your birth chart to look at the economic situation of your family, to see what up-down cycles exist.
B) You can use your birth chart to examine your parent's attitudes toward life and personal values and each other.
C) You can use your chart to examine the relationship you had with each of your parents during your formative years.
D) And, of course, you can use your chart to see how you will interact with all aspects of your experience in the world around you.

So, this chart you have based on your birth is not "all about you" but is all about you in the world you have entered and how that world makes room for your experiences. Now, that chart is not invincible in its workings. It has to interact with all of the other charts of all the other people that come and go through your life. So, is it fate, or is it freewill? Perhaps it is neither but is instead a series of choices that you make in interacting with the world. Your chart shows your resources, your inclinations. How you live it and deal with all of life's complexities is up to you. Fate? I think not. You bring to you what you want to experience -- you do this through your actions and the reactions of others to you.

This leads me to the "why I help others learn astrology" question. I've had a lot of astrological experiences. I was lucky in that I could assimilate a lot of information and synthesize it easily. This allowed me to explore a number of astrological approaches in a relatively short period of time -- there is probably nothing in western astrology that I have not intensly explored at one time or another. During that time I have made wrong starts, discovered a lot of bad information, and thrown out about 90% of what I have learned just because it doesn't work 99% of the time. I only use that which is fully reliable. When reading for others, I will not intentionally mislead them with the latest fad or with stupid book information. I will do all that I can to give them that which I believe is applicable and helpful. I will stop when I reach my limits.

As for what types of astrology I am interested in now, that would be predictive work. I've taken on the challenge of practicing a form of astrology that requires me to put myself and my methods "on the line." It is easy to look backwards. It is just as easy to look forwards if you trust yourself. This is the fascination of astrology -- its so universal that you can use it in almost unlimitless ways. You just have to stay true to the basics. Dave.
 

prudence

Dadsnook, that is a very thorough answer and a tough act to follow!

I thought about this question last night...but still don't really know why I am studying astrology. I want to say it's just simple curiosity. It must be more than that. I have admitted elsewhere that my approach to astrology was hesitant, but now I realize all of the pop astrology crap I had read as a child was just that...crap. This realization has done much to foster my interest in the subject.

Now that I am starting to understand the basic concepts, it is actually becoming fun, so this is another reason why I am studying it.

A part of me feels like Dadsnook about it as well, a strong sense of wanting to see what astrology really can see, and what it cannot.
 

jumptothemoonyea

The reason I study astrology is : we are Stars and to know and see where we are at an instance of time in the Universe I need to learn its language :)
 

wizzle

I've been pondering this question for days and just got that "aha" feeling when I was re-reading the thread on developing psy gifts in children (divination forum).

I have no idea why I started astrology. I do remember that it was right around the time my son was born and my first saturn return (1977). I got caught up in the "as above, so below" concept and there were plenty of books on astrology back then. Tarot was thin on the ground, although I got the RWS deck.

Astrology is based on something concrete, i.e. the movement of the planets, so it didn't feel too wierd. And it's intellectually appealing. Just learning how to erect a chart is a lesson in itself (no puters in '77).

I dropped it for a while and then it re-surfaced for me in the early '90's when I found Liz Greene, Howard Sosportas and all of the other Jungian astrologers. Not only were their books full of new insights on planets and houses, but they elaborated beautifully on a concept I liked when I first started my studies, the concept that although we all have the same basic "stuff" we use and express it in different ways. That is a very important lesson for anyone, but for a parent in particular. We can't serve our children well if we expect them to be clones of us. This lesson also teaches us not only to tolerate others but to start to appreciate the diversity with which people solve life's challenges.

If only for these basic insights into the human condition, I think astrology is a wonderful thing to study.
 

Minderwiz

Nothing as exciting as Dave, much more in line with Wizzle. I took up Astrology in my early twenties because as I became interested in the occult. I struggled to set up my own chart working from a series of monthly magazines called Man Myth and Magic.

I dropped out of the scene till my daughter was born in 1979 and then took it up again, doing charts for my wife and daughter. I began to read about that time, mainly Nick Campion but also Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas. Work intruded into this renaissance and I dropped it again.

About six years ago two things happened to re-awaken my interest, firstly I got made redundant (not to be recommended though ) and secondly my wife started watching a programme on TV called Psychic Lifetime, because of the medium in the show, Derek Acorah (who has become quite famous since then). The show also featured an Astrologer called Maria Killoran, and I was both impressed by her performances but also felt that 'I could do that'. My wife actually got to be a guest on the show, where we met Derek (a link that still continues) but sadly Maria wasn't on that episode, so I've never had the chance to thank her personally for setting me off on the road again.

This time I vowed to make it a permanent renaissance and so I took a course in Astrology and then followed it up with a second course on Applied Astrology. This started me reading widely and I began to learn about the history of Astrology - being spurred on because I obstinately refused to accept that Pluto 'rules' Scorpio (not to mention Uranus 'ruling' Aquarius and Neptune 'ruling' Pisces).

Then interest in the history of Astrology introduced me to branches I didn't know existed - such as Horary, and Decumbiture readings. Most of my reading now tends to be on the historical side but it makes me take a wider look at some of the modern ideas and to re-evaluate what I do.
 

Pipkin

Astrology

What first caught me astrologically was my step-father going to the New Year Sunday magazine where there was a full page for each sign...within that page were characteristics and who gets on with who...well that piqued my interest, seeing the family dynamics come into it. For years I just got a grounding in sun-sign information, taking note of people's signs or playing the guessing game to find out...everyone loved you to try and guess it in 3. I then learned a bit more about rising signs and then moon signs and then many years later just went on a huge learning curve...it happened so quickly I didn't notice the full extent of it, taking in aspects, transits and so forth. I started to love reading astrology articles, never been a big one for daily/monthly horoscopes etc, favouring the personal chart. I find it a fascinating subject and there is always so much on offer to learn and also to refresh yourself. There are so many braches of astrology too the mind boggles.
 

Nevada

My first occult study was astrology, but I still feel like a beginner, thirty plus years later. It started with daily horoscopes in the newspaper, which my parents always read. Then I got a copy of Linda Goodman's Sun Signs and realized how powerful just the sun sign descriptions were for me and the people I was close to. Later I read a book that revealed to me there was much more to astrology than sun signs. I think it was Heaven Knows What by Grant Lewi. After that I learned a little bit more every now and then. When I met my husband we discovered it was an interest we shared in common, and we studied a little more. When we got a computer we learned there was chart software we could buy, and later we joined a local astrological society and went to the lectures regularly for several months. The interest just kept growing, slowly and steadily. We're not really involved in it now, but whenever I start to feel things slipping out of control, I check what the planets are doing and usually find an explanation. Awareness of that influence helps me get back on track.

But I still feel like a beginner. :)

Nevada
 

autumn star

For me, I have always been interested in astrology - ever since I was little -I think that it was my mums influence because she used to talk about astrology sometimes.

Like, Nevada, I still feel as though I am a beginner and have alot more to learn. I generally study astrology, on a casual basis - I have moments when I do alot and times - even years when I pay no attention to it at all.

The reason, why I am studying it at the moment, is because, it gives insights into myself - and others - why I act the way that I do and why others do. Transits help to see what phases and cycles you are going through in your life - and what opportunities you have to learn from them.

For me - I am still a half skeptic about astrology - I definately don't believe everything that I read - and I keep an open mind. I think that anything - which can be used predictively can be dangerous and make you think things that are not true - so I don't use astrology in that way - or pay attention to any sources that do.

I use astrology to gain wisdom about myself - but I don't believe everything that I read :)
 

Kaylee Marie

When I was a preteen, my friend's mom had a battered old copy of Linda Goodman's Sun Signs, and I was hooked. I pestered my mom to buy me a copy, which I promptly devoured. But none of my other friends were interested, so it got pushed aside until my early 20s.

I love the interplay between patterns and chaos/randomness. It's so chaotic, all the different planets and aspects constantly moving around and so hard to keep track of (add to that your where and when coordinates), yet there seems to be reason behind it. I love that. I see god in that. Not that I'm out to start the Church of Astrology or anything cuckoo like that -- it's simply divine to me.

Am I making sense? Sounds a little crazy on reread. Oh well.