This could be subtitled, “Professional Confessional”! I describe my profession as “hidden” because most people who read my writings, or who have never had an astrology reading from me – are not aware of this dimension of my work – which often consumes much of my time. Astrological consultations are part of my service work, as much as writing, publishing and public seminars or webinars.
I have been offering personal astrology readings since 1984, for 35 years. Even today, I am still amazed at how much I do not know, but also the power of an astrology reading – how it describes the in-depth psychology of an individual, and how it can empower them.
In approaching a reading, I always try and align with the soul of the individual in question – or at least to have meditated earlier that day. I find that if I do, my intuition works much better, receiving impressions during a consultation. This is the real art of astrology, to be able to combine astrological knowledge of planets, signs and rays – with the intuition.
In this age of superficiality and taking short-cuts up the mountain, I am often bemused by the pronouncement of some who claim to be astrologers. In my eyes, one can only be an astrologer if they are practicing astrology full time – professional consultations, writing about it, thinking and breathing it. And doing it for decades.
I know that many of my fellow “real” astrologers will concur – and I know they often feel insulted when hearing or reading the claims of other pseudo-astrologers. Reading a few books on astrology or completing a one year course, does not an astrologer make! This is an ancient science and like any other science, takes years of study – and application in the delineation of horoscopes.
It can also be quite a psychological endurance, delving into the deepest parts of a horoscope and talking for up to two hours in a reading – whilst trying to break it down into a palatable understanding for the client. On the other hand, there are some well known astrologers who do very brief, superficial, expensive and ultimately disappointing readings. I know because I have had a few of their clients over the years!
As with any consulting psychologist, the role of an astrologer can be quite arduous and exhausting; yet, very fruitful and satisfying that one has offered insight and guidance to soul purpose, as well as personality integration factors. The difference from psychologists or other astrologers in my practice, is that I rarely consult one-on-one, due to travel and synchronising international time zones for Skype or telephone. Most people are quite happy with an audio file of the reading sent to them, along with their chart files.
However, my readings are always preceded by a questionnaire to the client a few days before, where I ask them to address their most pressing concerns, their occupation, relationships and so forth. This always helps me to go much deeper into the reading and to reflect back to the client how the zodiac signs and planets connect to their life factors. I am also quite happy to do a reading with no questions asked – which helps some of those who might be more skeptical of astrology, or want to see astrology “proved”. Yet, the questionnaire yields the most satisfaction for client and astrologer!
I also rate my readings afterward. If I felt that I really connected with the client and made some good observations, maybe 4 out of 5! On the other extreme, if I found reaching the client difficult, the chart super-complicated, and my approach to chart synthesis difficult, 2 out of 5 – thankfully the latter is rare and most reading ratings are above 3 out of 5!
Readings average 1-1.5 hours, sometimes going to 2 hours if there is a lot to look at. Clients receive a natal chart analysis, followed by a two year forecast of the progressions and transits to their horoscope. Hence, a lot of information is received in a reading.
Clients do not necessarily understand astrological jargon, so part of the art of a reading is breaking it down – so that meaning can be gleaned. A serious astrologer cannot do “fortune telling” readings – like having your palm or tarot read, although of course, some of those practitioners give very good readings in their domain.
I always encourage the client to listen to the recording several times, because what they miss on the first listening, is picked up or realised on the second or third time. I also suggest making notes, creating a timeline of all the transits and progressions, using the dates I mention, plus the interpretation of the transit. I call it the “homework” that they need to do for a few weeks or months – to fully extract the most of their investment in themselves.
Some astrologers book six weeks of consultations around one reading, but I have not ventured into that area. One has to weigh up financial considerations – the fee for some clients might seem like a lot for something not yet received. Psychologists on NYC’s 5th Avenue charge very high fees, so in many ways an astrology reading is a bargain! I have raised the price of my consultations about every 5-7 years, resisting to charge as other astrologers who ask a much higher price. Some people work on the premise that if they pay more, they get better value – this is not true of course.
Often there is a lot going on in a horoscope and the client might have two, three or four transits of major outer planets influencing – in the same or over-lapping time line. This is one of the reasons that clients decide to get a reading – they are often in crisis. I encourage clients to see these planetary movements aspecting the birth chart as “cycles of opportunity” – rather than feeling fatalistic, apprehensive, or powerless about their lives.
My sense is that half or more clients do not bother to do their “homework” designated from their (Saturnian) astrologer – because of busy lives or simple laziness. Some people want to be spoon-fed like a fortune-telling and are not prepared to do any other work on themselves.
Yet most people that contact me are sincere spiritual seekers, who are waking up, have been “woken” for some lives – or are well along the spiritual path. When my documentary The Hidden History of Humanity went viral with over 7 million views in two years, I did receive a lot of clients who had never had contact with the ageless wisdom or astrology before, but resonated deeply with what they had seen.
I was very glad that this had occurred, but it was also where I had a few difficult clients or with whom it was hard to connect. An exoteric reading from another astrologer might have suited them better – but I always try to pitch a reading for the level I think that the client will understand. There is also the art of blending exoteric and esoteric astrology in a meaningful way and I do not always get it right – astrologers have bad days like everyone else, we are not infallible!
Nevertheless, I look forward to each new reading as uncharted territory – full of the potential for discovery – for the client and myself! Often, events going on in one’s personal life are mirrored by a client, or the particular transits that they are going through. Hence, with each reading and with client feedback, I expand my knowledge of astrology.
Astrology is enjoying a gradual renaissance as the Aquarian precessional cycle unfolds for the next 2,160 years – an age of science. The Science of Esoteric Astrology and the Seven Rays is in its infancy – it will take a few centuries for it to develop and establish itself; this will occur concurrently with the gradual merging of exoteric science with esoteric science, the ageless wisdom. Esoteric Astrology has been called “the science of all sciences”, offering us a hint of its eventual role in human development and the evolution of consciousness, of contact with the soul and its ultimate purpose.
