Frequently Asked Questions:  

What can astrology be used for?

Astrology can be applied to almost any subject though the majority of people consult astrologers for personal matters - perhaps for reasons of self-knowledge or because they feel at a crossroads in life.   However, a horoscope, being merely a map of a moment in time, can be drawn for the start of anything; the start of a business, a wedding or civil ceremony or simply the time a question is asked.  Indeed, astrologers are often called upon to elect the best time to start an enterprise (Electional Astrology) or to find something that is missing, or answer a question (Horary Astrology). Business astrology, too, is a fast-growing area. Astrology can also be applied to political, financial and medical matters, but the astrologer needs to be thoroughly educated in the given specialist area, as well as in their astrology.  

I always read my horoscope in the Newspaper why would I consult an Astrologer?

Most people are familiar with the sun-sign columns to be found in newspapers, but real astrology is so much more complex than Sun signs, which at best are very general. Newspaper astrology purports to tell everyone with their Sun in the zodiacal sign of Gemini for example, what the week, month or year has in store for them.  In truth this is not possible as  your horoscope is as unique as your fingerprint or DNA.  The Sun sign columnist bases their prognostications on the general characteristics to be associated with the given sun-sign, and since there is some truth in such characteristics, he or she will sometimes strike a chord with the reader.  Additionally, when a columnist writes that X planet will touch Y planet in your chart, for a minority of people this will indeed be happening.  In contrast, your personal astrologer will take your whole horoscope and a vast number of variables into account. He or she, therefore, has the potential to be much more profound, helpful and accurate in his or her dealings with you, and if you have questions about your work, your relationships or, indeed, anything else, he or she will provide a safe environment where such matters can be discussed.  

What is a horoscope?

A horoscope is a map of the heavens for a particular date, time and place. For someone to have the same horoscope as you they would have had to have been born on the same day, in the same year, at the same time and in the same place as you.  Each horoscope or birth-chart is, therefore, unique and is made up of of many parts - zodiac signs, houses and, most importantly, planets and the relationships between all these.  Because the horoscope is so individual and the parts that comprise it so rich, astrology is a serious subject that takes some years to master; hence the various schools of astrology that exist around the world.  Indeed, astrology is so complex that most astrologers, however experienced, would consider themselves to be permanent students of their art.  

If Astrology is true does it mean that I have no free will? Is my life fated?  

Various astrologers might answer such questions differently but most would agree that we have to take responsibility for the conduct of our lives, and for both our successes and failures.  Indeed, we are also to some extent responsible for much that happens around us.  Equally, there is nothing that happens to us, and nothing that we do, which is not reflected as a possibility or likelihood in our horoscope. The natal chart is basically a map of potential. Like a picture on a packet of garden seeds, it shows what we might become.  Perhaps the best way of viewing the fate and free will question is to turn to the subject of maps. After all, the birth chart is quite literally a map for a particular moment. Speaking metaphorically, imagine that you were born with a map of the Kalahari Desert and that your friend was born with a map of Birmingham. One might say that the Kalahari is your fate and that Birmingham is your friend's fate. Your choices and potential are different. Your friend has roads and canals on which to travel up and down, and shops to frequent, but just because all these various features exist in your friend's map it doesn’t mean that he or she will visit them or, if visits take place, that they will occur consciously. In your map of the Kalahari you have different choices: choices of country, choices of game park, choices of whether to keep cattle or hunt wild game, choices as to whether you listen to the weaver birds or notice the acacias. So, both of you have at least some degree of free will, but your choices are circumscribed by the perimeter of your particular map. Such perimeters might be described as your fate.    

How can the planets cause things to happen here on Earth?

Like everyone else, astrologers come from various philosophical standpoints but few, if any, astrologers believe that the planets actually 'cause' anything to happen here on Earth.  Most are inclined to believe that some kind of mirroring effect takes place and that everything in the Universe is interdependent.  The idea that the cosmos is a unity and that all parts of it are interdependent was central to the alchemists of times past and is still central to the quantum physicists of today.  Allied to the idea of unity and interdependence is the concept of macrocosm and microcosm. Stated simply, this means that all happenings, all manifestations in and by the universe (macrocosm), are also reflected inside every individual (microcosm). Science confirms that the material world can be broken down into the 118 elements that comprise the periodic table, so each human being actually contains all aspects of the world around them – including those of the plants, animals, minerals and celestial bodies.    

Is it safe to consult someone who has a Certificate in Astrology...or no qualifications at all?

Perhaps this question can best be answered by another question: would you consult a Doctor, Lawyer or other professional who was not qualified, not to mention inexperienced and uninsured?