The moment we admit that planetary placements have an influence on our lives, the question of Free Will enters murkier philosophical waters. I see free will as a expression of the right to choose, or the choice to make a decision in the first place. We choose how we engage with a certain planet’s energy and whether we even engage with it at all. The farther you get spiritually, the more choices you appear to have – but at that point, you’re looking at Beings like The Buddha, Christ, Kwan Yin, and so on.
Personally, I hope that we all move towards that point of absolute freedom – and collectively enter an age in which astrology will be wholly obsolete.
If anything, my work with astrology is designed to help people understand the challenges and strengths of the Natal and Progressed Charts. And then to transcend them entirely… But back to the discussion at hand.
In some cases, people can actually be hindered by astrology as they decide that their lives are determined by the planets. They forget the freedom of choice and stop looking at astrology as a powerful guide-post. It’s when ‘the planets made me do it’ becomes a legitimate and acceptable response to tell yourself why you are the way you are, why people in your lives behave the way they do.
When people come to me for the Soul Portrait Masterclass, or when they ask me the ‘why is this happening’ question – my approach is to take them inwards. And that’s where the rich / deep / dark work comes into play.
I believe that the soul chooses its parents and its time of emergence into the world, and therefore the chart/karma we work through in this lifetime. From that perspective .. our choices appear to carry far more weight than we traditionally ascribe them to have.
So when I’m working with a client, I do not accept the ‘planets made them do it claim’ and look at different features of the chart that show them how and why they’ve made certain choices that play out in certain ways through the planets as conduits, or expressions of energy.
That is, quite often, something that people do not want to hear or acknowledge. Because the language of choice is so often conflated with the language of ‘blame’. It takes a certain level of awareness to separate the two and I do my best to assess whether a prospective client has that level of awareness before agreeing to do a session.
It gets tougher when people have internalized the words of spiritual healing and awareness, but their energy does not reflect the rhetoric. No one wants to be told that .. they’re not quite where they think they are yet. (When I get readings for myself, I find the kinds of readers who would assess me in a similar way, point-blank – so it’s not something I exempt myself from)
A good astrologer will tell you what is in your chart, a great astrologer will help you understand it. Understanding the planets and how they manifest in your chart is something that takes a rare degree of courage, or ‘wanting to look in the mirror’ with honesty and integrity. It is a discipline that goes into the depths of the psyche and looks at the soul expressed through the natal chart.
And that, irrespective of how so many us in spiritual circles speak about ’empowerment’ or ‘enlightenment’ or ‘en-anything’ – is actually something a lot of people do not want to do. The talk is there, but the walk is lacking.
Because it’s scary. And it’s human to not want to look at the skeletons in your closet, or to acknowledge your deepest wounds.
That’s when it gets pretty deep, rich, dark and .. yes .. internal as astrology holds up the mirrors to all parts of the self. The stuff you love, you hate, you project, you hide, you valorize, you dismiss – everything.
In other words, a process that the conscious ego-mind is utterly terrified of. Honest, self-exploration and recognition.
You will of course find people who take astrology in a different vein, and by all means go to the readers you feel most comfortable with.
As for reading with me, well … I’m happy crafting the mirror, but are you willing to look at the reflection it casts?
PS – And yes, the title is a Batman reference 😀
Image: Selected Portion of ‘Beautys lot LCCN95513714.jpg’, By British Cartoon Prints Collection [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Post © Bairavee Balasubramaniam, 2015. All rights reserved.
Dr. Bairavee Balasubramaniam PhD: The Sky Priestess 