The Responsible Use of Astrology
by Tem Tarriktar
D uring a recent weeklong spiritual re-
treat,1 I realized that, although natal
astrology is admittedly a sophisticated system
and can be very psychologically revealing, it
is only helpful up to a point. The astrological
birth chart is a unique picture of our predis-
positions and many of the influences we are
likely to encounter in our lives. It is mostly
useful for discerning (1) the health, energy
level, and activity patterns of the body; and
(2) the desires, urges, beliefs, reactions,
and thought patterns of the mind.
It’s not that Granted, knowing more about these
conditioned tendencies is useful. When
astrology we are made aware of them by a good
doesn’t work. astrologer, we can use this knowledge
to help us notice knee-jerk reactions
It’s that when they occur and to lessen their grip
what astrology on us. Knowledge of astrology is also
beneficial for young people who are try-
works on ing to establish themselves in the world
isn’t me. and understand the dynamics of their
relationships. Astrology definitely has
value and can serve as a wonderful tool
for personal growth. But after a mature adult
has developed a reasonably functional psyche
and understands the mind’s conditioned ten-
dencies, an overreliance on astrology can put
a conceptual cage around the spirit, espe-
cially if astrology is used, as it often is, as a
defense mechanism against change, against
the unknown.
Another way that the knowledge of astrol-
ogy is misused is as a mechanism to avoid
directly experiencing life. For example, think
of some recent problem you’ve had with the
behavior or attitude of someone you know.
Think of how your knowledge (and use) of
astrology has contributed to this situation. If
you knew the chart of the offending person,
16 Mercury Direct
did you quickly analyze it to find the “prob-
lem” in their chart, rather than experiencing
the uncomfortable feelings generated by the
situation? Only the most mature astrologers
avoid the pitfall of using cosmic knowledge
this way. After all, if our astrology charts can
explain everything, then there is no need to
look any deeper and no motivation to directly
investigate2 the problem to see what it really
is, or what gift it offers us.
We may ask: If astrology describes only
the body-mind system, what else is there?
This is the essential question, isn’t it? Who are
we, in reality? Does astrology touch who we
really are? My experience is that who I really
am, at my core, is totally free of astrological
influence, even as I observe astrological ener-
gies accurately describing my mental habits,
life circumstances, and actions. It’s not that
astrology doesn’t work. It’s that what astrol-
ogy works on isn’t me. Who we are is the pure
awareness which observes everything that
happens in time, everything that astrology
can describe.
Forgetting the Future,
Embracing Now
The investigation of where astrology’s
influence really is may raise the question of
whether things are predestined or whether free
will exists. Even if events, life circumstances,
and behaviors are, to some degree, predes-
tined, we discover that we are timelessly free
when we place our attention on the Here and
Now and open ourselves to the present mo-
ment.3 In this expanded state of Being, there is
no separate identity left to have free will. This
shifting of one’s attention to “the Now mo-
ment” is essential: although past and future
seem substantial, only Now is real. Eckhart
Tolle, in his book The Power of Now: A Guide
to Spiritual Enlightenment, says it beautifully:
Have you ever experienced, done,
thought, or felt anything outside the Now?
Do you think you ever will? Is it possible
for anything to happen or be outside the
Now? The answer is obvious, is it not?
Nothing ever happened in the past; it
happened in the Now.
Nothing will ever happen in the future;
it will happen in the Now.
What you think of as the past is a mem-
ory trace, stored in the mind, of a former
Now. When you remember the past, you
reactivate a memory trace — and you do
so now. The future is an imagined Now,
a projection of the mind. When the fu-
ture comes, it comes as the Now. When
you think about the future, you do it now.
Past and future obviously have no reality
of their own. Just as the moon has no light
of its own, but can only reflect the light of
the sun, so are past and future only pale
reflections of the light, power, and reality
of the eternal present. Their reality is “bor-
rowed” from the Now.
The essence of what I am saying here
cannot be understood by the mind. The
moment you grasp it, there is a shift in con-
sciousness from mind to Being, from time
to presence. Suddenly, everything feels
alive, radiates energy, emanates Being.4
We practitioners of astrology tend to be
attracted to the apparent security we get from
knowing where the planets are and where
they’re going. We can predict with certainty
where, say, Saturn will be five years from now.
After all, if we have an early warning of what’s
coming, we can brace ourselves for the future
(or open ourselves to it, if we think something
positive is coming). Psychologically sophisti-
cated astrologers who see themselves as non-
fatalistic may still fixate on future astrological
events in order to anticipate the energies that
will arise (to try to create what they think will
be a positive outcome). My point is that our
impulse is to insulate ourselves with a layer
of preconceptions about what is imagined as
coming in the future, because we feel that the
future cannot be trusted (when it gets here)
and needs to be controlled. This tendency is
not unique to astrologers, but we stargazers
are particularly devoted to it. More than that,
we rely on it to keep clients coming. Forecast-
ing the future is our business as long as clients
expect it of us. The future is the “bait” with
which we hook most new astrology clients and
students.
Many clients come to see an astrologer in
the belief that the astrologer, the designated
seer, has a better view of the future than they
do. Unless the astrologer is way out in left
field, the client, to some degree, adopts the
version of reality presented by the astrologer.
For instance, how can you get pronounce-
ments like “pay attention to any chest pains
you might have in June” totally out of your
mind? Being given this power by the client,
the astrologer may feel infallible and begin to
make arrogant assumptions about the client’s
limitations, talents, and hidden problems — all
apparently based on the chart. In the worst-
case scenario, the astrologer forgets that the
client is more than a soup of cosmic symbols.
I know that I did all this when I was reading
charts.
The predictive astrologer weaves a story
of the future for the client, a tale typically wo-
ven from a combination of textbook keywords,
memories of previous transits, and the astrolo-
ger’s beliefs about life, people, and the world
in general. The scenario presented by the as-
trologer often has only a vague resemblance to
the actual future experience of the client. The
astrologer knows deep down that he or she is
on shaky ground and may be simply guessing
at what shape the future will take — all to sat-
isfy the client’s expectations.
This “educated guess” may be supported
by years of astrological research and lots of
charts, tables, and graphs. It may be flavored
with a smooth, sophisticated presentation of
psychological terms, astrological jargon, and
so on. But the truth remains: The astrologer
doesn’t really know what’s coming. The future
is unknown.5
Speaking from the Heart
If you are an astrologer, what can be
done? After all, you have seen astrology help
people find the right time to schedule their sur-
gery or start a business, decide which partner
Dec 2000/Jan 2001 17
 The Responsible Use of Astrology
is more compatible than another, and other
practical concerns. How can you use astrol-
ogy to help clients without unintentionally
doing harm? I have some suggestions:
First, tell the truth to your clients (and to
yourself) when they ask about the future. You
don’t know what is coming any more than they
do (unless you are one of those rare, 100%
accurate oracles). Direct them, if possible,
to see what is happening in their lives now;
maybe their next step will become clear to
them. Consciousness of the present moment
is the only place from which one can be truly
prepared for what arises next.
Second, remain fully aware of the present
moment during sessions with your clients. Let
your responses to their questions and concerns
come from your heart — from the energy of
the moment — not from a prepared agenda.
If past transits or past experiences come up,
they will do so naturally to serve the needs that
are present in the session. If clients ask about
some practical matter that looms in their future,
consider asking them what they feel about it
— then simply let a response arise from your
heart in the moment. Don’t ignore astrological
information that comes up, but don’t rely on it
exclusively.
Third, if you use the astrological chart
and its symbols, that’s no problem, but when
you are using astrology symbols, talk from
your own experience with them, not from text-
book interpretations. If you don’t know what
to say, don’t nervously spout off astrological
knowledge just to “perform.” Listen and wait.
Something will come on its own, without effort
on your part. If you want to help your clients,
tell the truth, and speak from your heart in
the moment, without an agenda, without
concern for repeat business, without trying
to protect your clients from the unknowable
future — then you are truly serving them. And
on some level they will know you are offering
them something special.
Finally, the more you can present yourself
publicly as an astrologer who doesn’t predict
the future, the more you will attract clients who
can appreciate your approach. Be as clear as
possible about what they should expect during
the session.
18 Mercury Direct
Although this approach may make some
of your existing clients unhappy, it may also
attract other clients who are more interested in
your true availability than in your knowledge
of transits, aspects, and midpoints. After all,
the world is full of astrology books, computer
reports, and forecast calendars, yet people still
seek out astrologers, hoping to discover more
of who they really are. If we truly want to serve
them, we need to meet them fully, be open,
and tell the truth.
References and Notes
1. Recently, I attended a 7-day silent retreat in North
Carolina facilitated by Gangaji, a wonderful spiritual
teacher based in Northern California. Although I have
attended other retreats with her, this one was particu-
larly powerful for me, and I am grateful for her clarity
in articulating deep spiritual truths (in the lineage of
Sri Ramana Maharshi). Anyone who is interested in
learning more about her can check out the Web site
of the Gangaji Foundation at: www.gangaji.org or call
them at (800) 267-9205 and ask for a catalog, if you
don’t have access to the Internet.
2. By “directly investigate” I mean to put your aware-
ness or attention directly inside the energy (whether it
be a feeling of fear, anger, or despair) that we habitu-
ally avoid contact with.
3. I am not talking here about the concept of the pres-
ent, or a point where the past becomes the future,
but rather an expansive, living present, animated by
awareness (consciousness itself). The Now is a vast,
eternal place, not a pinpoint of linear time.
4. Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual
Enlightenment, Novato, CA: New World Library, 1999,
p. 41. Originally published in Canada by Namaste Pub-
lishing, Inc., 1997.
5. Many Vedic astrologers would take issue with this
statement, because they believe in “fixed” karma and
“changeable” karma. Although only a minority of kar-
mas are fixed, it is believed the events brought about
by fixed karma, which can be read in the Vedic chart,
are certain to happen. The analogy I have heard is a
car speeding toward a brick wall so fast that, even if
the brakes are fully and immediately applied, a crash
will happen. One might still want to apply the brakes
in hope that the crash will not be as severe. Remedial
measures prescribed by Vedic astrologers may mitigate
the problem. And one cannot rule out Divine Grace,
which is capable of anything.
© 2000 Tem Tarriktar - all rights reserved
Tem Tarriktar is the founder and publisher of The
Mountain Astrologer and Mercury Direct. Write to Tem
c/o TMA or e-mail: pcurrents@mountainastrologer.com