Crystal Ball

FUTURE

In the past two years, I have become quite interested, not only in psychology (which has actually been a lifelong interest of mine), but also in astrology.

A lot of people become interested in astrology right around the time an important relationship breaks up. (“Are they coming back? Are they coming back??") The interesting thing about astrology is that, unlike such oracles as runes or tarot, it is possible to see a LOT farther ahead.

Not that most astrologers will do that. Most tarot readers, most people who read runes, and even a lot of so-called psychics, will only tell you about a time frame from three to six months ahead. Any of these folks who are worth their salt will tell you that a lot depends on YOU, and that much can change over months or years.

But with astrology, if you’re desperate enough, you can go to a site like astro.com and buy horoscopes for a date twenty years into the future. This is because where the planets are moving is where the planets are moving, and a computer can tell you where they will be then. And anybody, with enough study and work, could find this out, computer or not. Ah, but the internet age makes this so much easier. Especially if you have enough money.

Oracles are an interesting thing. I’ve noticed a lot of jargon among practitioners, those who work with their runes or their cards or the stars every day for years. They’ll start to say things like, “This planet RULES this, or causes this, or does this.” Or, “This character on this card causes this to happen.” They’ll anthropomorphize cards or planets the way we do dogs or cats. “This Queen is wise and benevolent.” “Neptune is coming to deceive you.”

It’s not really true. Cards and planetary movements don’t cause anything, unless it’s the moon causing the tides. What these things do is REFLECT what’s happening, or what’s likely to happen in times to come.

And when someone you thought was the second love of your life leaves you to go back into a marriage you know is a disaster, with a wife who’s STILL behaving badly, you really really really are, quite desperate to know.

Hence my foray into the future, far future, and future future future on astro.com.

I know that any astrologer reading this is shaking his/her head right now. Bad client. Bad, bad client. You can’t possibly know anything from that.

Turns out, however, that you can, and that you can learn an awful, awful lot by studying oracles and reading and rereading what you’re being told. 

Especially if you grew up with a BPD mom and you’ve studied and studied and studied about that, and you know all about codependency because you’ve read and read and read about that.

If you know what codependency is, for example, and you know the particular “flavor” of codependency that runs the man, who, well, used to be in your life, you know, when you see “Moon opp Neptune” come up in your composite chart and you read enough astrologers' interpretations of Moon opp Neptune, you understand that Moon opp Neptune is reflecting this man’s struggle with codependency, and that it’s telling you how this is going to play out in his relationships. It is also telling you how you got hooked into it, why you got hooked into it, and how your steps in the dance are calling forth—cueing—exactly the responses and behavior YOU DON’T WANT.

And if you’re reading interpretations by Liz Greene, for example, you will see that your transits go back and talk to you about your childhood and his, how the two of you got this way, and what you need to do to stop the madness and Get The Fuck Well.

What nothing will tell you, however, is if you WILL.

            *snip* (some personal information goes on a private LiveJournal posting instead.)

You see, in the grand scheme of life—because it is a grand scheme, and after my research of the past two years, I really do believe it—astrology tells you WHAT’s likely to happen, WHEN, and HOW. And it can give you a couple of weak hypotheses as to why, but it’s not really all that great with the why’s. 

For the WHY’s, you go to psychology. And for the rest of the WHEN’s and the HOW’s, you go to your own personal histories, and how things have already played out in your lives. What’s your pattern? Your own life tells you that.

So…what have I peeked in and learned, and why is it so goddamned important??