Minderwiz
This is a very interesting discussion. I think there are two key issues here. The first is the nature of astrological prediction and the second is the efficacy of rectification in terms of producing an accurate birth time.
Taking them in order: Astrological prediction has been around for three thousand years, starting in Mesopotamia. The use of omens, such as comets, the ease of the sighting of a New Moon, the colour cast of planets, led to predictions about subsequent events. But omens are not causes; they are signs or indicators that an event will probably occur. This approach fed into the horoscopic Astrology that has been with us for two thousand years. Horoscopic Astrology introduced a second view of prediction. That planetary configurations are not just a sign that something will happen but a primary cause of something happening - the observed planetary configurations determine the outcome which is 'inevitable'. Which you go for depends on your philosophical outlook. Many of the Stoic Astrologers in the early period took Astrology as a cause and that events were determined by the planetary configurations in your chart. The best you could do is to learn to accept yourself as you are and live with what fate has dealt you.
These two approaches can be found in modern Psychological Astrology, recognising and accepting yourself for what you are is the first step on the road to living your life. Alternatively it can be seen as the basis for attempting to change learned behaviour to produce better outcomes. The question here is whether we can change those outcomes by our own actions. Even if we take Astrology as 'signifying probable events, rather than determining those events, (whether psychological events or 'real' events), change can be difficult, as there's not just Astrology at work but genetic and social factors. But marginal or incremental change may well be possible but life can and does close down certain options by making their achievement highly improbable.
So you might well be able to make certain changes to your behaviour patterns but you can't totally reinvent yourself and become a totally different person. There's always something of the old 'you' left, even if it's suppressed. The argument comes down to the freedom of movement that you have when negotiating your way through life. You may achieve some change, you may fail to achieve some other changes, and of the changes you do achieve, some may be temporary, others may last the rest of your life. Whether events are determined or not, we still have to live with our basic selves. That basic us, is not determined by our chart, in the sense that if we change the chart we change ourselves. Rather an erroneous chart will fail to indicate certain tendencies or events. So if your chart suddenly changes, as the result of new information, you don't change, though you may learn something new about yourself and decide that would like to change it, or even build on it. It's your attitude to life that counts.
On the issue of Rectification; the first thing you need to realise is that the result may be a more useful chart, but it is not necessarily a more accurate birth time. The aim of rectification is to enable you to have a better view of who you are and make any necessary accomodations. You will notice that the program requires you to give dates for certain events in your life and attempts to allow for the possibility that those events still lie in the future. That's because the process attempts to use those events to fit the chart to your life. However, if you're fairly young many of those events won't have happened and so the chart is fitted to a smaller set of events. It might be very accurate in showing the recent past and the present but it might break down in the future. Rectification isn't a one off event, you might end up having several rectifications as new events don't quite fit. The aim is to be as near to as many of the major events as possible over the period of your life. That means that at certain times there will still be differences between forecast and actual events. Rectification is not a panacea.
I too have a birth time supplied by my mother. I've rectified it to a time some twelve minutes earlier and that seems to fit quite well. But I know it's not the actual time I was born, though perhaps a better estimate than my mother's. Birth is anyway a longer process than we give it credit for.
Work on those changes that you feel you need to make but remember that whilst some people can turn their lives around, most people can't. You might well manage enough change for a long enough period to make life more enjoyable or at least more bearable.
Taking them in order: Astrological prediction has been around for three thousand years, starting in Mesopotamia. The use of omens, such as comets, the ease of the sighting of a New Moon, the colour cast of planets, led to predictions about subsequent events. But omens are not causes; they are signs or indicators that an event will probably occur. This approach fed into the horoscopic Astrology that has been with us for two thousand years. Horoscopic Astrology introduced a second view of prediction. That planetary configurations are not just a sign that something will happen but a primary cause of something happening - the observed planetary configurations determine the outcome which is 'inevitable'. Which you go for depends on your philosophical outlook. Many of the Stoic Astrologers in the early period took Astrology as a cause and that events were determined by the planetary configurations in your chart. The best you could do is to learn to accept yourself as you are and live with what fate has dealt you.
These two approaches can be found in modern Psychological Astrology, recognising and accepting yourself for what you are is the first step on the road to living your life. Alternatively it can be seen as the basis for attempting to change learned behaviour to produce better outcomes. The question here is whether we can change those outcomes by our own actions. Even if we take Astrology as 'signifying probable events, rather than determining those events, (whether psychological events or 'real' events), change can be difficult, as there's not just Astrology at work but genetic and social factors. But marginal or incremental change may well be possible but life can and does close down certain options by making their achievement highly improbable.
So you might well be able to make certain changes to your behaviour patterns but you can't totally reinvent yourself and become a totally different person. There's always something of the old 'you' left, even if it's suppressed. The argument comes down to the freedom of movement that you have when negotiating your way through life. You may achieve some change, you may fail to achieve some other changes, and of the changes you do achieve, some may be temporary, others may last the rest of your life. Whether events are determined or not, we still have to live with our basic selves. That basic us, is not determined by our chart, in the sense that if we change the chart we change ourselves. Rather an erroneous chart will fail to indicate certain tendencies or events. So if your chart suddenly changes, as the result of new information, you don't change, though you may learn something new about yourself and decide that would like to change it, or even build on it. It's your attitude to life that counts.
On the issue of Rectification; the first thing you need to realise is that the result may be a more useful chart, but it is not necessarily a more accurate birth time. The aim of rectification is to enable you to have a better view of who you are and make any necessary accomodations. You will notice that the program requires you to give dates for certain events in your life and attempts to allow for the possibility that those events still lie in the future. That's because the process attempts to use those events to fit the chart to your life. However, if you're fairly young many of those events won't have happened and so the chart is fitted to a smaller set of events. It might be very accurate in showing the recent past and the present but it might break down in the future. Rectification isn't a one off event, you might end up having several rectifications as new events don't quite fit. The aim is to be as near to as many of the major events as possible over the period of your life. That means that at certain times there will still be differences between forecast and actual events. Rectification is not a panacea.
I too have a birth time supplied by my mother. I've rectified it to a time some twelve minutes earlier and that seems to fit quite well. But I know it's not the actual time I was born, though perhaps a better estimate than my mother's. Birth is anyway a longer process than we give it credit for.
Work on those changes that you feel you need to make but remember that whilst some people can turn their lives around, most people can't. You might well manage enough change for a long enough period to make life more enjoyable or at least more bearable.