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WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A SESSION
by Jessica Murray
What
is astrology?
Astrology
is a language of symbols. Astrological birth charts are maps of a person's
life
purpose laid out in this coded language. A chart is derived from the
arrangement of planets in the sky at the exact time you were born, from
the vantage point of the exact place you were born.
Translating
the symbolic configurations of a birth chart into terms the client can understand
is the art form that the astrologer practices. Symbols are abstract
for a reason. Just as Egyptian hieroglyphics refer to concepts far more
complex than a single word could convey, planetary glyphs and signs and
the geometrical angles between planets are rich with layered meanings.
How
do you get a chart done?
If
you want the astrologer to do your chart, you make an appointment either
to come into their office for the interpretation or to do it by phone.
The astrologer will ask you to provide her with your date and place of
birth; and, ideally, the hour and minute too. People who don't know their
exact time can still have a chart done; it will be less precise, but will
still reveal a tremendous amount of information.
I
prefer giving and getting readings in person, especially the first time
I'm meeting someone, because face-to-face more channels are available for
intuitive information to flow. There is an occult (hidden)
component to astrology that melds rote technique with something more mysterious.
As we sit and have a cup of tea together, our conversation begins with
the data on the page and quickly expands into the psycho-spiritual implications
of that data. The chart becomes a conduit for psychic pick-up.
After
your reading, most astrologers will give you the chart itself and a tape
of the session.
What
an astrologer can tell you?
Using
your birth chart (which is generally what one starts with)astrologers
can give you a nonjudgmental overview of who you are. The chart shows them
your potential strengths, challenges and inborn talents; and areas where
you tend to get stuck. Your astrologer will describe to you what the chart
says about your inner resources, what you have to work with. The more spiritually
inclined practitioner will speak in terms of a soul purpose. There
are themes in the chart which suggest why each of us incarnated this time
round.
In
a transit or progressions reading an astrologer can read
the larger meaning of whatever is happening to you at the time. S/he can
see what the chart says your Higher Self is trying to learn during this
phase of your life, this month, this week, or even this particular day.
What really motivates a job change, for instance. You may assume it is
financial; she may look at your chart and see an inevitable emotional shift
which would be occurring no matter what you were doing or how much money
you were making.
In
a chart comparison an astrologer can help you see whether your needs
look anything like your new boyfriend's needs. Astrology is very good at
pinpointing a person's wants, tastes, beliefs and desires; and contrasting
them with another person's. Themes underlying a relationship which might
not be obvious on the surface are thus revealed. When you know where you
fundamentally differ from someone, and where you are on the same wavelength,
you have a lot of information to work with.
Astrology
and the future
A
common misconception is that modern astrology makes predictions. In fact,
centuries ago astrologers did, and some schools of astrology still do;
most notably in those societies such as India where the predominating world
view follows a more fatalistic bent. It is psychology, however, rather
than divination, that underlies most contemporary astrology in the West.
It
is true that you may hear some very precise and accurate feedback from
your astrologer over the course of your reading, due to the extra-sensory
aspect of astrology that transcends geometry. Even the astrologer herself
may be hard pressed to explain how she came up with the images she comes
up with. She may see in your chart that a sudden shift towards elimination
is upon you, for example, and the image of a garage sale may occur to her.
She may suggest it to you, intending it as a metaphor, only to find you
have an actual garage sale scheduled for next week.
The
reason this happens is because everything in life is a symbol. Your life
already chose the symbol of the garage sale, as an expression of that elimination
theme -- which was slated to be expressed, one way or another, during the
period in question. The astrologer can see the meaning of the period
in question, but only in thematic form. Your Higher Self chooses the perfect
way to play it out.
What
an astrologer cannot tell you
An
astrologer can see trends in your chart, not particulars. She doesn't
need to know how you manifest your particular themes; she sees them in
general form, which is the way it would be most useful for you to see them.
That way you can begin to grasp the consistent tendencies which underlie
your changing specifics.
Especially
if you are having your first reading, your astrologer's imagery may be
quite abstract. Not knowing you from Adam, she will be reading overall
patterns, not trying to guess what form they take. The astrologer who gets
the garage sale image while looking at your chart does not know whether
you are downsizing your company or giving your old shoes away or weeding
through your inner values. It would depend on what needed to happen
in order to teach you the cosmic lesson at hand.
And
that is what you really want to know. Consider, before you hasten to fill
her in with back story, that you will get more out of your first reading
by listening to the truth of your chart on this level.
The
planets themselves have nothing to say about what you are going
to do. They only say why you are going to do it. Knowing the why
allows us to more consciously participate in what happens.
What
about destiny?
Your
birth chart is a coded map, not a list of literal events waiting to take
place. Most astrologers believe that there is no such thing as "destiny"
as apart from human will. So the wild card in all this is free
choice, which gets more and more free the more conscious a person becomes.
It
may disappoint some to hear that no specific events are made to happen
because heavenly bodies form certain angles in the sky. Nor do celestial
cycles force us to understand anything; they do not have agency. They simply
announce themes, which can, if read with discernment, become lessons for
us. And they specify when those lessons are going to be taught.
Other
People
Does
the chart tell who we are most compatible with? To the extent that we attract
what we are, it does.
For
example, each of us has our own version of ideal masculinity, expressed
by the planet Mars. A chart with a bellicose Mars is more likely
to incline one towards Marines, policemen and competitive athletes than
is a chart with an introverted Mars.
But
your chart does not really describe outer reality at all. It only describes
the state of your own psyche. A self-aware person with a fiery Mars could
manifest it as raw courage, and would tend to attract others who personified
that quality.
An
astrologer can help you understand your inner maleness (and we all have
a Mars, men and women alike, whatever our sexual persuasion), in terms
of its highest potential. Astrology's goal is to re-acquaint you with your
Mars' strongest and finest qualities. This puts you back in touch with
a part of your psyche that might have become estranged or under-used. Getting
to know your Mars increases the likelihood that you will encounter male
energy in this heightened form. Instead of bullies, you might begin to
attract heroes.
The
same goes for every other planet in your chart, each of which would then
tend to be reflected back to you in a more creative way in the mirror of
other people.
Can
astrology tell when you will meet your soul mate?
Don't
ask your astrologer to tell you whether you will meet the love of your
life this summer. Your Aunt Phyllis might know; your astrologer does not.
An
astrologer sees only what themes are being highlighted. If a new boyfriend
would offer a teaching about one of them, a new boyfriend wouldn't be ruled
out. Certainly important emotional and psychological lessons show up in
a person's chart; and as we all know, the cosmos often uses relationships
to great effect, to teach those kind of lessons. But if a boyfriend
came in during such a transit, he would be coming in as a carrier of that
theme, not necessarily to fulfill your picture of what a boyfriend should
mean.
That
said, in the same way that your astrologer might see that the workplace
will be a hotspot for you this summer, or that old business with your father
is due to surface, she might see your relationship arena activated. This
will mean the issue is up. You may find yourself thinking about romance
more, you may indeed meet someone who personifies it for you, you may become
engrossed in a movie or a book or a song that plays it out.
So
though your soul mate is not in the chart per se, the urge to find
him might be (and because intention creates reality, this often
amounts to the same thing). This urge will be stronger at certain times
than at others; and that is definitely in the chart. Similarly, your spouse's
changes are not in your birth chart, but your attitude towards them is.
Simply
put, there are no other people in your chart. But there are many
indicators of your relationship karma and how it is developing. An astrologer
might see, for example, an urgent need to be free from limitations in relationships.
And if that attitude shift led to an actual shift in your marriage, it
wouldn't be surprising, would it?
But
all the chart shows for sure is the inner event. That is what a
good astrologer can help you understand and prepare for.
Why
go to an astrologer?
Astrology
reveals your life path in ciphered form and pinpoints where you are upon
it. An astrologer can help you see the mythic meaning behind unarticulated
urges and intense yearnings, as well as the everyday changes of mood and
direction that may feel arbitrary, confusing and embarrassing to you otherwise.
She can show you how these fit into the seasons of your lifetime as a whole.
It is
a perspective that allows one to live life with more grace.
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