I believe you can be your best astrologer. Really. Yes, I know—you think you don’t know enough and every time you see a new astrology book it’s about some aspect of astrology that you never knew even existed! You are overwhelmed with information. But still you dream of possibilities—could you be your own astrologer? Could you understand your friends and lovers better if you knew this language? I believe you’ve taken the first step towards that dream by reading this book.
I’m not going to dispute the fact that there are times when talking to someone else is better—a friend, therapist, or a professional astrologer. But there are other times when you can learn what you want to know yourself—and right away. You can find out what you’re curious about—is this a good time for you to connect with a new partner or to connect with your Soul more deeply? Is it time to get out of a rut and change jobs? By learning how to understand astrology you can do this without needing to spend lots of money, time, or effort seeking out just the right astrologer for you, when you are it!
So here’s what we can do—let’s “lift the veil”. Let’s take back our “intuitive wisdom power” and have a new look: too many people become accustomed to believing that others always know more or have a direct line of connection to Divine Wisdom. I believe it’s time to take back this projection of all that Wisdom, and dream deeper into ourselves and what we can do—we are each our best Oracle if only we knew it. The Hindu Sanskrit sages wrote: “Tat tvam Asi” meaning “Thou art That” or “You are That.” They meant you are all that you seek. You are your own wisest Self.
I believe the craft of the art of astrology is much easier to grasp than you might think—and that it is an illusion that you need to know all sorts of esoteric and complicated information, and have degrees and certifications. You don’t. Having been a professional astrologer for over 20 years and having “read” thousands of charts, I know there are other ways to lead you into knowledge.
You do need to have an inquiring mind and a few good books that aren’t too simple, too complex or too focused on just one aspect of astrology. And I think this book might just be one of those books because I’m going to teach you what I believe is important for you to know and what isn’t.
There’s such a confusion of information out there: so the first step will be to—simplify and prioritize. I’m also hoping to try to light up both the right and left sides of your brain—your rational mind as well as you intuitive, soulful side. When you trust your Self, you have embodied your Soul, and it is out of that part of you where your wisdom flows…and where you are your own best astrologer.
I’m going to assume that you, my reader, might call yourself an “advanced beginner” depending on how modest you are—so this book is written for you. But no matter where you are on the learning spectrum I suspect you picked up this book because you know that the key to understanding the compass of your chart isn’t even astrology—it’s knowing yourself! Deeply. And astrological language can help you with that. For one, it doesn’t label you by pathologies—oh God, I’m bi-polar! No, maybe your Sun and Moon are in opposition…hm...Sun and Moon in opposition is a full Moon time when things are seen clearly—I’m not crazy! I just can see more clearly than others can see at times, and it can throw me off balance. That’s not so bad…
So in some ways this little book spans the range from beginner to advanced, as I’ll try to fill in gaps in your understanding (we all have them!) And sometimes there are things that your personal astrologer, or your internet astrologer, or horoscope column, simply doesn’t tell you. There are things beneath the veil that deserve unveiling.
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So here’s the “first lift” of the veil: To be your wisest astrologer you need a subtle change of attitude. Really! As my colleague, Caroline Casey says: “It is better to create prophecy that to live predictions.” When you know the full range of possibilities at any given moment, you stop being passive and become active. And that is a change from a toxic “stuck” attitude to a co-creative, vital, intuitive attitude. You also don’t want to have the attitude that astrological events cause something to happen—they don’t, they simply reflect what is happening. You have more power to effect the outcome of any astrological aspect than you may realize.
You are your own wisest Self, but you have forgotten. It’s time you regained your powerful sensitivities and self-confidence by enlisting the help of your own intuitive imagination by engaging divine guidance as well as being persistent enough to read this book (and a few others) so you will learn and remember this unique language of the Soul. It could be the best language you ever learned.
However, I’m not going to delve into all the things that could be astrologically explained to help you learn this craft—there are hundreds of good books out there, and you can always look up on the web what still puzzles or intrigues you. Instead I’m going to prioritize what I think are some of the most important things to know…and a few things people haven’t talked much about—and maybe that’s the most important part.
For me, the key to successfully understanding a chart, or even understanding the language used in a horoscope reading, lies in defining the priorities of what is more or less important, rather than trying to learn the 15 million unimportant nuances. In my experience—from being a professional astrologer for over 20 years—is that it’s better to go deeply into the core meaning of a sign, house, planet and aspect, rather than to struggle with layering on midpoints, asteroids, and minor aspects—do we really need sesquiquadrates and the asteroid of Black Lilith in every chart? Maybe at times…but mostly not.
You’ll still you need to learn the basic language of signs, houses and planets –simplified through a unique linking technique I’ll share with you that makes it much easier to learn the meanings of these basic building blocks. And you do need to practice the intuitive art of layering on the symbolic meanings of the planets and houses in your chart. (Not hard.) As you know, there is never just one thing that’s happening in your life, and there’s never just one planet, house or transit that will explain it all. You look at each planet and listen to what it has to say. What sign describes it? Where is it in your chart? Then you’ll contemplate the highest expression of how this planet, or transiting planet, can be optimally played out, and let that influence your decisions.