Understanding Astrological Predictions
Opinions about astrological prediction are generally divided:
"Mysterious! Magical!", say some; "Nonsense!", reply others. In
fact, both views are based on a misunderstanding of the nature
of how astrology really "works". In this article, I will use a
story to show both the true value of astrological prediction, as
well as its limits.
Let's imagine that a girl named Ellen goes to an astrologer,
who, after studying Ellen's natal chart in relation to this
month's planetary positions, tells her that next weekend she
will meet a fine young man with whom she will begin a
relationship. And that's exactly what happens. Ellen exclaims to
Sue, a friend of hers: "It's magic! Everything happened just
like my astrologer predicted!" Sue, impressed by this, makes an
appointment with the same astrologer. In her session, she is
told that yes, she will indeed find that job she's been looking
for, and will have it by May. Sue, delighted, goes home and
waits for a response from the company to which she had applied,
yet May comes and goes, and she doesn't receive a call from
them. "What a fool I was!", she remarks when she sees Ellen, "I
should have known: astrology is nonsense!"
Which one of the two girls is correct in her opinion? One might
say that they both are, since after all, astrology seems to have
"worked" for Ellen, yet not for Sue. Yet I think it would be
more correct to say, on the contrary, that neither girl was
correct in her conclusion, since in each case, that conclusion
was based on the acceptance of a faulty idea of astrology, that
idea being one which many people, both "believers" as well as
"sceptics" share: namely, that astrology indeed purports to be
able to reliably predict what will happen in the future.
At this point, many readers, both the believers and the
sceptics, will be disagreeing with me: "Well, astrology DOES
INDEED claim to predict the future, doesn't it?", you may say.
And you are right in a way: many astrologers do say that they
can tell you what is awaiting you in the future. This is a claim
which no "true believer" would ever dispute, and one that no
self-respecting sceptic would fail to criticize, or even
ridicule. Opinions on the subject thus would seem to be
hopelessly polarized. The solution lies in distinguishing what
many astrologers CLAIM from that which in fact astrology can
really DO.
More than twenty-five years of experience as an astrologer has
convinced me that
- astrology cannot make precise predictions about your future
- astrology can indeed reveal the tendencies of your future
And what is the difference? Well, if an astrologer tells you
that next Tuesday you will be walking down the street, and will
accidently trip and fall, breaking your left wrist as it cracks
against a fire hydrant, that would be a pretty precise
prediction, wouldn't it? But no astrologer I've ever known makes
predictions of such a nature. More likely, an astrologer would
say: "There is danger of an accident next Tuesday; try to be
more careful than usual!" This is not a precise prediction, but
a statement, based on astrological techniques, about an
increased probability of a certain type of event occurring. This
is the real strength of astrology: not to tell you what is going
to happen (since that is beyond its capabilities), but to inform
you about the probabilities of certain types of events
happening.
Those of you who may be seeking to know just what's going to
happen in the future might be disappointed by that last
sentence, though you shouldn't be. After all, if the future were
totally predetermined, and if it were possible to predict future
events exactly, what would be the point? If something unpleasant
were predicted for you, you'd have to be living in constant
dread, and if a positive event were foretold, you might just sit
back smugly and wait for it to happen, and would thus be robbed
of that sudden, wonderful sense of amazement that you would have
felt if you hadn't known it was going to happen!
The true value of predictive astrology is to show you the
probabilities so that you may take full advantage of the
fortunate times in order to fully prosper, and take special care
during the more unfortunate periods, and thus have a better
chance of avoiding mishaps, overcoming negative thoughts, making
the best out of unpleasant situations, etc.
Using astrology to find out when to expect the "ups and downs"
of life will not only give you concrete advantages in many
situations, but above all, it can help you achieve a greater
understanding of the intimate relationship which exists between
our lives and the cosmic forces which are continually shaping
them.