RohanMenon
Good points from Minderwiz and dadsnook
that I am thinking about. Thank You both
"Quoting from the Preface of my book, Personal Moon-to-Sun Returns 2, "What happens next? Which choices are best? IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO THIS. Prediction is part of the astrologer's craft, answers are part of the client's needs."
- dadsnook
I have this book (and your older book) and once I finish working through them, I'll post a review here. I completely agree with the above thought. And love the fact that in your first book (I've read only the first few pages) on page 3 you show a Solar Return than does *not* show the event's symbolism. This kind of intellectual honest dealing is quite refreshing. Good work.
"A further factor is the subtlety and variety of Astrological symbolism, especially if house rulerships are considered. Thus If Mars rules the ninth house of higher education through Aries, The Sun will rule the Ascendant through Leo. So what does Mars applying to the Sun through Primary Direction mean for a 22 year old undergraduate? It might signify that they are about to receive their degree or it might signify that they are liable to have an accident, or illness involving sharp stabbing pains. If you foreast the first and it turns out to be the second (or vice versa) you look a fool, yet the symbolism fits both events. I think Martin Gansten uses a similar example in his book on primary directions in which both events occurred. It's not easy fitting the 'correct' event to the symbolism from a chart."
-- Minderwiz.
Good point. Gives me something to think about.
But then the question becomes what exactly the value add of the astrologer is. If an astrologer can't resolve between these predicted events, or pick out specifics from the infinite possibilities represented by Mars, why should the 22 year old undergraduate pay money to hear "you might get your degree. Or not. You might get into an accident. Or not. You might get sick. Or not. You might join the military. Or not." etc. This is fairly useless from the point of view of a client. Maybe the correct lesson for someone in a client position is to only ask for predictions one year out, so he can provide some context as to what is going on in his life, as dadsnook talks about.
Maybe the right answer is that the astrologer should use other tools to narrow down the possibilities. Maybe the Solar Return for that year will indicate a bunch of other possibilities, and only those that reflect the symbolism of both the direction and return chart work. I don't know. In any case, without narrowing down, such a wide prediction is of dubious utility to a client. Prediction must be precise enough to provide guidance and be verifiable.
The above can also be seen as a good motivation for someone to learn astrology to monitor *his own* life because he can see some of these possibilities beginning to manifest and connect it to the ongoing direction of Mars (or ongoing Saturn square Mars or whatever). Then the question becomes what to do with this insight. Dave has a chapter on this in his first book (what to do with a prediction) but I haven't read it yet.
Thank You for this answer Minderwiz. Really made me think.
that I am thinking about. Thank You both
"Quoting from the Preface of my book, Personal Moon-to-Sun Returns 2, "What happens next? Which choices are best? IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO THIS. Prediction is part of the astrologer's craft, answers are part of the client's needs."
- dadsnook
I have this book (and your older book) and once I finish working through them, I'll post a review here. I completely agree with the above thought. And love the fact that in your first book (I've read only the first few pages) on page 3 you show a Solar Return than does *not* show the event's symbolism. This kind of intellectual honest dealing is quite refreshing. Good work.
"A further factor is the subtlety and variety of Astrological symbolism, especially if house rulerships are considered. Thus If Mars rules the ninth house of higher education through Aries, The Sun will rule the Ascendant through Leo. So what does Mars applying to the Sun through Primary Direction mean for a 22 year old undergraduate? It might signify that they are about to receive their degree or it might signify that they are liable to have an accident, or illness involving sharp stabbing pains. If you foreast the first and it turns out to be the second (or vice versa) you look a fool, yet the symbolism fits both events. I think Martin Gansten uses a similar example in his book on primary directions in which both events occurred. It's not easy fitting the 'correct' event to the symbolism from a chart."
-- Minderwiz.
Good point. Gives me something to think about.
But then the question becomes what exactly the value add of the astrologer is. If an astrologer can't resolve between these predicted events, or pick out specifics from the infinite possibilities represented by Mars, why should the 22 year old undergraduate pay money to hear "you might get your degree. Or not. You might get into an accident. Or not. You might get sick. Or not. You might join the military. Or not." etc. This is fairly useless from the point of view of a client. Maybe the correct lesson for someone in a client position is to only ask for predictions one year out, so he can provide some context as to what is going on in his life, as dadsnook talks about.
Maybe the right answer is that the astrologer should use other tools to narrow down the possibilities. Maybe the Solar Return for that year will indicate a bunch of other possibilities, and only those that reflect the symbolism of both the direction and return chart work. I don't know. In any case, without narrowing down, such a wide prediction is of dubious utility to a client. Prediction must be precise enough to provide guidance and be verifiable.
The above can also be seen as a good motivation for someone to learn astrology to monitor *his own* life because he can see some of these possibilities beginning to manifest and connect it to the ongoing direction of Mars (or ongoing Saturn square Mars or whatever). Then the question becomes what to do with this insight. Dave has a chapter on this in his first book (what to do with a prediction) but I haven't read it yet.
Thank You for this answer Minderwiz. Really made me think.