Before we dive into the technical aspects of astrology and exactly how the science works, we first need to set the record straight about exactly what astrology is and what it isn't, as their are many misconceptions about this science that need to be put to rest. Hopefully this article will be able to do just that.

Astrology, as a belief, is a science that essentially connects your outer world to your inner world to reveal the potentials that you have as a human being. This is not to say that the influences of astrology are absolute. Just because a person has an astrological chart that shows he will be a great leader of people doesn't mean that this will necessarily come to pass. This is where free will comes into play.

Astrological influences are like little strings that tug on each person. How much influence these strings have on you depends on your own strength of will, or in the case of many people, lack of strength of will. For example, Astrological influences may cause someone to develop an addictive personality that will be prone to problems such as addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling or a number of other things. How likely that person is to actually become an addict depends a lot on their own free will and strength of will. This does not minimize the astrological influences, which could be very strong, but what it does is put them into perspective in that they are not absolute. Free will is always the ultimate decider. You can fight the influences, good or bad, or you can give in to them.

Where astrology comes into play is like this. It is easy to predict, using astrology, that you are going to have major changes come into your life at home. Perhaps outside forces beyond your control will force certain changes. For example, forces may indicate that your home is in some kind of danger, possibly from storm or fire or maybe even from a break-in. Where free will comes in is how you handle this news. You can choose to ignore it and possibly have your house get hit by a falling tree, or you can take precautions to avoid it which may include moving. Ultimately what you decide to do in response to the foreseen problem is what will ultimately determine the final outcome.

Now in the case of using your free will to wait to see what happens, some people would say that you are really doing nothing, That may be true. In that case the normal response to what happens would be that it was fate. This may also be true. But in either case, whatever you were supposed to learn from these astrological forces, you have learned. If you acted and it turned out well, then you learned to rely on your instincts to do something. If you didn't act and disaster struck then you learned that maybe you need to be more decisive about things. In either case, fate of not, you learned your lesson from the astrological forces. This in itself could be called fate in that you were meant to learn the lesson in this manner.

Many astrologers believe that you really don't have a choice. Ultimately what you decide to do has already been decided for you by the astrological forces themselves. In other words, if an astrologer tells you that your job is in danger of being lost and you are proactive and get another job before this happens, your actions were predetermined by the astrological forces themselves even though it was your own free will.

Obviously, that theory will be debated for centuries to come. But the point is, whatever the astrological forces have in store for you, ultimately it is up to you to decide how to deal with them. Therefore, astrology is not fortune telling. It is simply a warning of things that might happen depending on how you react or don't react to the circumstances.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Astrology