QUOTE(☞Tomber☜ @ Jul 10 2012, 08:41 PM)
Vagrant, I think your idea of calculating charts for a specific outcome is really amazing if you can make it work. Constructing a chart would be easy for specific goals. Obviously the problem with making an "artificial" chart for someone to be perfect, is that there is no perfect. Someone could make a warrior, a thinker, a worker, a homebody, an artist, a businessman... almost anything, but this world isn't perfect and there is no perfect chart. Period. In my experience it is more about what an individual will choose to do under certain stresses (aspects), than what they are born with. On the other hand, it's all about "the cards you're dealt".
Oh I agree - and I think one of the telling elements of astrology is that no matter where you put them, the planets will always produce, or represent, strengths and weaknesses, challenges and tools. As a potential cosmological template it informs us, it would seem, that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
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I know Bardon claims that the magician controls the stars, not the other way around, but I unfortunately totally unsuccessful with this personally, and have never seen anyone ever who actually achieved that amount of power or influence. I suppose I'm just not at that level... some of the people on these forums might be though. For anyone who can claim that they are no longer under the direct influence of the stars, due to their wills, I would love to talk about how you did that. It would be an incredible achievement.
There are hard aspects in my chart that I have specifically sought to overcome. For some this has worked out - for others, it is still an ongoing process. But I do believe that the reference made was intended to convey that a magician should not have to wait until this and such auspicious moment - that through his will, the celestial forces should be at hand as the magician requires them. It is however something worth noting that if one is to view their chart as a specific challenge - here are these problems, here are some tools, be the best human being that you can be under the circumstances - this not only sounds a great deal like Karma, but also gives astrology a very utilitarian element towards self-growth that is really not focused on much, at least in the books that I have read. Granted, they are mostly information on how to read charts, not what to do with them; presumably such books do exist. And as with Tarot, I've had basically no interaction with astrologers in terms of reading my chart with an aim to get something utilitarian out of it.
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By the way, how is the astrology consultations through your website going Vagrant? Any interesting charts?
I only took two astrology consultations which turned out to be very brief interpretation with long talks about the philosophy of astrology, there were a LOT of questions about astrology itself rather than their chart specifically. It started both times with something approximating "I just don't get how it could say that, it's crazy! How does that work?" Both clients were pleased with the outcome though, and came back for tarot readings. So, good, I suppose, 2 for 2, if not entirely constructive. Not particularly interesting in the kind of outlier way you probably mean, however. Over the last couple of months I have had mostly custom project requests, enough that I haven't had time to produce anything else, and so haven't spent much time maintaining the site, and haven't been taking consultations online. I have been reading more at the office, which I was initially worried about but it doesn't seem to have hurt business and in fact I've had several clients ask for readings that I would never have expected! At some point I'll master organization and utilize my time more judiciously, but for now the extra work is fun and profitable, if a bit... unique, I suppose, at times. Nature of the beast, I think.
peace