A client writes: “I am an Aquarius and I tend to check the daily and weekly columns in the paper. For some time they have not spoken to me at all. I realize that since each sign covers about thirty days, sometimes the reading is more geared to people whose birthdays are before or after mine. Any thoughts on this?”
This is a great question, and I am happy to address it.
The sun-sign column is a watered-down, popularized version of astrology designed for mass consumption. The information contained in these columns has no validity whatsoever. Why? Because the writers focus solely on the Sun and nothing else, comparing the planets’ positions in the sky now to each zodiac sign as a whole.
This, in effect, lumps together every living person born (for example) between Feb 19 and March 20 and suggests they will all have the same experience on any given day. This is like saying, “All of you blue-eyed people, here’s what’s in store for you today!” Clearly, this is nonsense.
There is vastly more to astrology than your sun-sign. The birth chart is a blueprint that mirrors you, the embodied soul, at birth and over your lifetime. As such it is as complex, multilayered, and nuanced as you are, developing and changing over time as you do. The idea that one's personality is signified by the Sun alone is a gross oversimplification. True, as one of the two lights that power the chart, the Sun is important. But so are the other six planets, for all sorts of reasons.
As well, the technique of transits—loosely used to produce the sun-sign column—is of minor importance in astrology overall. Progressions and solar/lunar returns are the primary techniques astrologers use to understand how a person’s chart unfolds over time.
I know many people enjoy the sun-sign columns and are in the habit of reading them. But as a serious astrologer I must tell you that such forecasts are to real astrology as cotton candy is to a gourmet meal: sweet fluff and of no real value.
If this disheartens you, take comfort: real astrology exists, and it works! Traditional methods are alive and well, albeit not in the mainstream spotlight. Please contact me if this is news to you and you’d like to learn more.
Images above and below are from Pixabay (CC0): https://pixabay.com/
A version of this post was first published March 9, 2010 on silvestreastrology.blogspot.com.
