Why do we attempt to see into the future? Is it possible to do so objectively, while integrating and making sense of the past? Spurred on by a process of human imagination that is as old as our awareness of time; of a higher mind and executive brain function that dwells on consequence, we imagine what may happen in the future based on what happened in the past.
For astrologers, it goes something like this: We observe something and immediately filter it through astrological analysis. Each planet, sign and house have a multitude of interpretations; hundreds when taken alone; thousands when combined, and, although we have a lot of stories to choose from, we choose certain ones based on our experiences. There is usefulness in doing so. Instead of reacting to events and feelings at every turn, we can remain somewhat detached, much like a news reporter.
For astrologers, it goes something like this: We observe something and immediately filter it through astrological analysis. Each planet, sign and house have a multitude of interpretations; hundreds when taken alone; thousands when combined, and, although we have a lot of stories to choose from, we choose certain ones based on our experiences. There is usefulness in doing so. Instead of reacting to events and feelings at every turn, we can remain somewhat detached, much like a news reporter.
The Whole Picture: Moon & Mercury
Mercury represents important elements in this process: rational thought and linguistics; the least emotional aspect of our being; the part that is interested in cold, hard facts, and how we communicate these. However, if we are not aware of why we feel the way we do about the stories we tell, we may not be able to tap into the ‘deeper’ processes at work.
The Moon represents our emotional, instinctual reactions. This has a stronger charge, based on an older, ‘mammalian brain’. One could argue that how we feel about what we are interpreting is more important than the thing itself, i.e., how we feel our life is going is more important than what is happening. There are problems when either reference point is taken on its own, of course. If we are only concerned with how something makes us feel we may not be objective enough to see it clearly, and if we are too intellectual and detached, we may not integrate the experience fully. There is a need to rise above our instincts and rationalize the experience; to be able to talk about our feelings, having felt them fully.
We interpret our lives for the same reason we interpret a piece of art: we wish to make sense of it. We analyse the parts, before synthesizing them into a whole experience. But in breaking it apart we may lose its transparency; the experience of the thing itself.
We are mostly unaware of why we sense and feel what we do, from a much less conscious place of being. The Moon represents a big part of what makes us tick, i.e. our subconscious, operating outside of our conscious awareness for the most part. In his article, Near Enemy #3: Listen to your heart (1), tantrik scholar Christopher Wallis explains, ‘The difference between thoughts and feelings is simply that thoughts are vibrations with a greater linguistic or rational component, while feelings are vibrations with a greater affective charge’. This is the difference between the astrological Mercury (rational thoughts) and Moon (feelings). Of these, the Moon is given more importance in Vedic astrological analysis, as it is considered that how we feel about what is happening is more important than a rational debate about it. The viṁśottarī daśā (2), or ‘planetary cycles’ of Vedic astrological analysis are calculated from the Moon and are used more than any other cycle. We may be able to interpret our lives intellectually, but are we open to the possibility that we are creating our lives from a more instinctual, less rational, place of being? This is not to deny the power of how we tell our story, but we may not always be able to change the way we feel with words alone. We can change the way we tell our stories, of course, from the multitude of astrological stories available. By observing planetary configurations and reading as many helpful interpretations as possible, from a variety of sources, we can begin to reframe our story.
Author standing in front of artwork by Monir Sharoudy Farmanfarmaian at IMMA
Context
Every planetary configuration has a positive and negative interpretation. Most astrologers I’ve listened to give both possible outcomes. But we must be open to the possibility that we are tilted in favour of one or the other, based on certain configurations in our own birth chart; perhaps offering subliminal suggestions that operate under our own radar.
Saturn in the 8th house? Intimacy issues or healthy boundaries? Who decides? Any interpretation must be seen in the context of the whole chart and the individual. The same configuration in any two charts is experienced very differently based on everything else. If I have had a challenging experience with Saturn in the 8th house, based on several other indications along with this placement, I might offer a negative view of Saturn in the 8th house; if Saturn also aspects my natal Moon, for example. But someone else with other factors involved, as well as having a different outlook in general, would have a completely different take on it. Although my experience may be true for me, it is not the truth. It is only my truth. However, our truth is the only truth we have! Our subjective experience is all there is from our point of view.
Understanding our lives is much like understanding a mythological story: we must first read it in chapters, before integrating it into the whole story; to first tell our story as a bunch of short stories. However, we must be aware of the possibility of taking something out of context and misinterpreting; thus, reinforcing a pattern that is no longer relevant or true now.
We may speak and act in ways that would have long since been discarded if we were not constantly reminded by a planetary configuration that has more of a say in how we operated in the past, which has so little to do with our current experience. We may dredge up things from the past by re-imagining them through a retelling of the story. A highly charged emotional event will leave a deeper impression. When speaking of it, we are reliving it. While there is usefulness in storytelling, to understand and integrate the experience, the question that quickly follows is: Does the story keep us from moving on?
We may reinforce interpretations based on even older stories, i.e. mythological stories, including others’ interpretations of these stories. While there is much to gleam from myth, there are always caveats to consider.
We can be respectful of an original text, written by someone who was probably of a higher mind and sharper intellect, without completely dismantling what would seem on the surface to be an irrelevant commentary in a modern context. Mythological stories are useful if they are interpreted appropriately – and in context.
Astrology: Science or Religion?
The problem with astrological interpretation begins when we try to convince ourselves, or someone else, that there is only one interpretation - our one - as we attempt to solidify our faith in whatever we have convinced ourselves of. If we believe something to be true, whether it is or not, we will find some astrological configuration to confirm our bias. And because astrology offers such a rich tapestry to draw from there is always ample opportunity to convince.
Astrology is a kind of religion for many, despite the claims by some that it should be viewed as purely a science. It clearly has a scientific basis; within the computations and study of celestial alignments and the calculation of the passing of time, but it is not a science in our modern use of the word and criteria. It is most certainly an interpretative art. If you think of it as purely scientific in a modern context, then every single reading of a planetary configuration should have the backing of a study. You wouldn’t be able to say very much about any astrological chart!
What every astrologer does, to some degree or other, is use their experience based on previous charts they have studied, and by referencing old texts if one does not have experience of a certain configuration, either personally or through observing others’ experiences of these configurations. And if you are basing your interpretations on authors who have not done such modern scientific studies - no matter how old the text - you are taking them at their word; as higher minds and ancient seers, yes, but you are using astrology as a religion, in the truest sense of the word and to some degree.
Ideally, an astrology interpretation should just be that: an interpretation. The astrologer, having taken as many interpretations into account, offers his or her most objective interpretation of the truth, knowing that it is not the truth itself. The truth of your experience is yours and yours alone.
OM TAT SAT
The problem with astrological interpretation begins when we try to convince ourselves, or someone else, that there is only one interpretation - our one - as we attempt to solidify our faith in whatever we have convinced ourselves of. If we believe something to be true, whether it is or not, we will find some astrological configuration to confirm our bias. And because astrology offers such a rich tapestry to draw from there is always ample opportunity to convince.
Astrology is a kind of religion for many, despite the claims by some that it should be viewed as purely a science. It clearly has a scientific basis; within the computations and study of celestial alignments and the calculation of the passing of time, but it is not a science in our modern use of the word and criteria. It is most certainly an interpretative art. If you think of it as purely scientific in a modern context, then every single reading of a planetary configuration should have the backing of a study. You wouldn’t be able to say very much about any astrological chart!
What every astrologer does, to some degree or other, is use their experience based on previous charts they have studied, and by referencing old texts if one does not have experience of a certain configuration, either personally or through observing others’ experiences of these configurations. And if you are basing your interpretations on authors who have not done such modern scientific studies - no matter how old the text - you are taking them at their word; as higher minds and ancient seers, yes, but you are using astrology as a religion, in the truest sense of the word and to some degree.
Ideally, an astrology interpretation should just be that: an interpretation. The astrologer, having taken as many interpretations into account, offers his or her most objective interpretation of the truth, knowing that it is not the truth itself. The truth of your experience is yours and yours alone.
OM TAT SAT
Reference and Notes
1. Christopher Wallis, “Near Enemy #3: Listen to your heart,” www.hareesh.org (accessed July 1, 2019).
2. A daśā or ‘planetary cycle’ is a predictive technique used in Vedic astrology. The most popular is called viṁśottarī, literally ‘120’, and is calculated from the natal Moon. An ideal life span of 120 years is divided up between the Sun (6 years) and Moon (10 years), the north (18 years) and south (7 years) node, and the 5 visible planets: Mercury (17 years), Venus (20 years), Mars (7 years), Jupiter (16 years) and Saturn (19 years).
