Astrology Tutorial: A Long Rant on Why Astrology Works

Today's astrology tutorial topic is why astrology works. At least, according to me.

Sometimes people ask me how things as far away as the sun, moon, the planets and other celestial bodies can possibly have an effect on human lives. I tell them that distance doesn't matter.

I believe that's not because those celestial bodies are so strong that they're overwhelming, but because the human psyche is so beautifully potent. We're both stunningly simple and incomprehensibly complex at the same time. And all the aspects in every astrology chart are expression of those inner dynamics. The chart never compels, but simply shows in the world what's going on within -- with the astrological chart and transits to it acting as mirror.

So, do I believe we're all guilty of our illnesses, mistakes and the horrors of our lives and in the world? No, I don't.

Do I know why those things happen? No, I don't. Jesus asks us to risk loving ourselves and one another anyway, and to try to step back from the glorificaton of martyrdom through which that direction is often interpreted. The Buddha says our enemies are ignorance, denial, and avoidance.

We all believe something. I believe them.

I believe there's purpose to our being, purpose to our lives. If, as I suspect, that purpose is to grow in compassion, it seems we haven't figured out yet how to do that with joy. So here we are, companions on spaceship Earth, afraid to look one another in the eye.

Maybe right now pain is our most potent learning tool. Maybe, as the courage of so many desperately ill or injured children have taught their parents, teachers and caregivers, it's not about guilt. It's about courage. there's another way.

That's what I believe the compassionate and accurate interpretation of an astrology chart can offer: a template for the courage to grow in comassion of self and others. It's a glimpse in a mirror that connects the individual to the cosmos. It's a mirror in whihc we see ourselves and otehrs and part of a much larger plan.

The sun, the moon, the planets, asteroids and everything out there are mirros in which we can see ourselves, and still hold ourselves and others in copmpassion. The cleestial bodies and we come from the same source. As the old song says, We are stardust. We are golden. And we've got to find our way back to the Garden.

The key is in the door. (OK, so I first typed, The key id in the door. That, too) For some, the key is the language of astrology. It's a language meant to enlighten, not to compel. And that's why it works.