Tips On Astrology Interpretation
This essay was inspired by a question posed by one of my students, who asked for advice on interpretation in astrology. Aside from the technical question of knowing the range of meanings of the planets, houses and signs – which I will address later in this essay – there is the wider question of what constitutes clear and useful interpretation. I want to spend most of this essay on that point.
Here is some advice for learning to do clear and useful interpretation in astrology. In a larger sense these are all useful rules for ANY human communication.
It was a useful exercise for me to write this, as it helped me clarify my own thinking on the subject.
Avoid Jargon
First and most obvious: be careful of over-using astrology terminology.
I need to be careful about that myself. When I am reading for an astrologer – which in my case happens very often since I am an author and teacher – I often talk technical astrology as part of a session. However, I also try to make sure I include clear and concrete non-astrology interpretation. Still, after all these years, it is far to easy to fall into speaking astrology terms without taking the effort to translate them – and, I know from experience that you will not realize if you have a clear interpretation until you do this.
It is very useful to try to speak and write as if the person in front of you knows absolutely nothing about astrology. It helps to find a friend that knows nothing about it and run your interpretations by them. The effort you will need to make to clarify your communication will also help to clarify and sharpen your thought. It will also help you to realize where the use of jargon is masking a lack of clarity in your thinking.
There are other kinds of technical jargon that are worth being aware of and avoiding.
Avoid psychology jargon, especially Jungian or Freudian. Avoid talking about ‘ego’ or ‘repression’ or ‘transference’ or ‘projection’ or ‘archetype’. Whatever you do, avoid describing anything as being “unconscious” – the person has no way of verifying the truth or falsity of such a statement, and you have primed them to go looking for evidence of a problem that may not exist in the first place.
For instance, and this is a real example, I have a friend who was told by an astrologer that she was sexually abused as a child and has repressed all memory of it. Given that it was ‘repressed’ she has no way of denying that statement which I think comes off like an accusation. This is setting a person up to go looking for signs of trauma or damage within for an incident that she has no way of confirming. In this case I think that astrologer’s statement is damaging, thoughtless and unethical and is a kind of astrology malpractice.
Avoid spiritual jargon. Most spiritual language, especially for modern, new age style spirituality, is so vague as to be meaningless. It can mean nothing or anything. Avoid talk of becoming more spiritual, or more evolved, or raising your consciousness, or realizing your evolutionary intent. Avoid describing other people as more or less evolved; I find that to be a kind of elitism. (If you would enjoy checking out some good examples of what I mean, consider amusing yourself with this New Age Bullshit Generator.)
Avoid Political Agendas
I think this is very important:
Keep your own political agenda out of your astrology work.
Part of the reason for that is that you will likely get people with a wide range of political opinions, and you need to be open-minded enough not to impose your agenda on your client. If you see a Saturn-Uranus square you don’t want to go on about smashing evil patriarchal and capitalist structures, only to find out your client is a banker and lifetime Republican. (Yes, that does happen.)
This raises another point that is worth thinking about – Would you truly be open-minded enough to deal with a client whose political views are diametrically opposed to yours? I’ve had clients who were hardcore progressives, and clients who were MAGA supporters – and I have had good and useful sessions with both. I need to be open and respectful enough to allow them their convictions. My job is definitely not to change their minds, or lecture or reprimand them, or attempt to “raise their political consciousness”.
I find that most astrology groups tend to skew heavily to the progressive side, and it is easy to get into using that jargon when talking with a lot of your astrology friends (depending on who you hang out with, of course). If you carry that habit over into your practice you are going to be in for some nasty shocks.
If your astrology is subservient to a political agenda you’re going to limit the usefulness of your work with your clients. Frankly I also think that is an abuse of astrology, and is unethical and disrespectful.
It is far too easy to project your own political opinions into your chart interpretation. I see that constantly as a teacher, in the papers I receive from my students. I need to walk the fine line of allowing my students their convictions, while at the same time letting them know if I think their work isn’t astrology so much as a political broadside.
Contrary to at least some modern astrology, the planets and signs do not have political alignments. Saturn is not conservative republican, and Uranus is not progressive democrat, and yet you will see a fair amount of astrology talking about those planets as if that were indeed the case.
Astrology is far bigger than politics; respect that.
The Chesterton Test
I call this the Chesterton Test; I have quoted it before and I will quote it again. You have no idea of how useful this is to clarify thinking until you try it.
“Long words go rattling by us like long railway trains. We know they are carrying thousands who are too tired or too indolent to walk and think for themselves.
It is a good exercise to try for once in a way to express any opinion one holds in words of one syllable.
If you say “The social utility of the indeterminate sentence is recognized by all criminologists as a part of our sociological evolution towards a more humane and scientific view of punishment,” you can go on talking like that for hours with hardly a movement of the gray matter inside your skull.
But if you begin “I wish Jones to go to gaol and Brown to say when Jones shall come out,” you will discover, with a thrill of horror, that you are obliged to think.
The long words are not the hard words, it is the short words that are hard.”
– G K Chesterton – Orthodoxy
Apply this to your own interpretation, and it will help you realize what you are actually saying – or, if you are saying anything at all.
Apply this to astrology books you read – if your experience is anything like mine, you will find that some astrology books can go on for whole paragraphs and pages without saying much of anything.
Be As Concrete and Specific as You Can
While you are learning astrology it is a really good exercise to take planet and house configurations and come up with the kinds of specific things they could mean.
Take the planet Uranus on cusp of the 7th house – this is some sort of surprise or disruption or shock or fracturing. It could be:
– you find out your partner is cheating on you.
– your partner leaves you.
– your partner is in an accident.
– your partner just told you they decided to change gender.
– your partner wants an open marriage.
Note that I would not recommend using any of these in an actual reading.
In the context of a live reading, unless you have specific context information about the client, it’s usually not appropriate to make specific predictions, but you can clearly describe the kind or class of things that might happen. This is why I often ask a lot of questions in the first part of a reading. The more I know about the circumstances of a person’s life, the more specific and concrete I can be in my interpretation.
As an example, take transiting Uranus on DSC, Saturn in 4th on IC, in square – this comes to mind because I have seen it in a few client charts recently.
Do I predict their marriage is going to blow up? No – because I have no way of knowing if that will happen, and I don’t want to prime their expectations in a negative direction. but without saying exactly what event will happen I can say – you are going to have stresses (Uranus) on your main relationship (Descendant). This can involve surprises, and will likely be disruptive. (That’s Uranus). This is going to shake your sense of security and may disrupt your home life or living conditions. (Saturn on IC in 4th hit by Uranus.)
You can also say this will test and challenge (Uranus) the stability (Saturn) of your relationship (7th) or your trust (Saturn) in the security and stability (Saturn again) of your home and family situation (4th). Here, if it’s appropriate, you could talk about how critical open honest communication will be. Those words are open ended enough to allow for different specific ways these could manifest, but they are still focused enough to have applicable meaning. They are not so general that they could mean anything.
Noticed I’ve avoided saying anything about adding a new revolutionary freedom to your relationship. That “new revolutionary freedom” might mean finding out your partner has been cheating on you – I suppose you could call that “revolutionary freedom” of sorts.
I would not say, “You will discover new, surprising and innovate ways to deal with your relationship that frees you from outmoded and restrictive structures.” That sentence is loaded with all sorts of implied political agendas, and it does nothing to prepare the person to deal with the possibility of disruptive shocks. Not all structures are outmoded and restrictive, and in a primary relationship often stability and reliability is exactly what you want. Uranus is not freedom, Saturn is not oppression.
Stay Simple and Obvious
Stay simple, stay obvious, stay close to the basic meanings of the planets and houses. I have found that the really important things in a reading often just jump out at you. Don’t try to be subtle – or rather, start with the plain and obvious first. Very often that is all you will need.
Often inexperienced astrology students feel like they need to dig out some deep and subtle meaning instead of just saying what is staring you in the face. The longer I practice, the more I find I stay close to basic and obvious meanings.
When you are in front of your client, there can be a tendency to think, well, what I am seeing is just too simple and obvious, so that can’t be it. Go ahead and start with the simple and obvious. More often than not it will be exactly what you need. Also, more often than not, that will be all you will have time for.
Astrology isn’t subtle. More often than not, when it really works it is in-your-face obvious.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask Questions
I always start my astrology sessions asking questions and doing a great deal of discussion.Very often I find the specificity doesn’t come until I’ve dialogued with the client and have an idea of concrete situations they are dealing with.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Dare to Be Wrong
Don’t be afraid to say something definite and to be wrong about it. At the very least you will learn something.
I combine this with questions for a client in the opening part of a session. I have an idea of what the specific meanings are and I test them with the client. If they agree my interpretation fits (which happens far more often than not) then I pursue it further and get more specific. If they tell me I’m wrong then I back up and take another approach. Being wrong isn’t failure, it’s feedback.
My initial interpretations need to be open-ended enough to allow for different specific situations, but specific enough to apply to something.
Combine the somewhat open-ended initial statements with questions and dialogue and and you can usually then get more specific as you go on and develop.
Practice With Specific Concrete Subjects
It is a good learning exercise try choosing specific subjects and apply meanings to that. This is fun to do alone, and more fun to do in a group.
Let’s take as an example, the planet Mars. What would be some specific things that could mean in specific areas like this? I will give sample answers for the first item only.
– if this were food – hot, spicy, sharp tasting, maybe red, maybe a stimulant.
– if this were weather
– if this were a house
– if this were your partner
– if this were a room in a house
Study Traditional Texts and Meanings
This is where I find that traditional meanings are so useful to learn, because they are concrete and specific. In traditional astrology texts you START with the concrete and have to work with them before you can draw out the GENERAL meanings. This is the inverse of how modern astrology is usually taught.
I recommend my book of texts on The Classical Seven Planets.
If you want just one traditional book to start with, I highly recommend William Lilly’s classic text, Christian Astrology. You will find yourself dealing with pages and pages of lists of meanings and attributes. Really learning what the planets, signs etc. mean comes from long work with those lists, and drawing your own connections between them.
Write Down Your Interpretations
This is surprisingly helpful. If you look at a configuration in the chart and leave the possible meanings floating around in your head they will likely stay vague and open. If you take the time to write down your ideas you can look at them in front of you; it helps clarify them, and can also help develop them.
Another advantage of writing them down is that it is an act of committing them, putting them out in the open where they can be seen and judged. If you keep them in your head they can’t be disproved.
Take written notes in non-astrology jargon, even if they are just a few simple key phrases.
Writing down interpretation like this will also help you to see patterns and repeating points.
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For the last few points I need to widen this and talk about language and thought in general.
Clarify Your Own Thinking
this is where use of language in astrology is connected to our general use of language. If you follow these disciplines it will clarify your own thinking. This is part of an overall lifelong discipline of thinking and speaking cleanly.
Define your terms. Do not use words when you are not clear on what they mean.
It is worthwhile to get used to thinking about the implications of words – what they imply, meaning their presuppositions. – It is also worth thinking about what they entail, meaning if this is true what else happens?
One of the beautiful side-effects of this discipline is that it will be much more difficult to deceive, manipulate or mislead you. Absolutely nothing defends against manipulative language like defining your terms.
This means, when you read or write anything, do it with awareness. When you are reading anything, get used to noticing whether it is clear and makes sense to you, or if it feels vague, or if you don’t trust it. Be aware of your emotional and physical reaction to what you read.
Get a Good Dictionary
Start getting used to using a good dictionary – A LOT. It is extremely helpful to get in the habit of defining your terms
My personal favorite, and one of my most cherished possessions, is a facsimile edition of the Webster 1828 Unabridged Dictionary of the English language. It is a treasure trove of meaning and history, and it has clarified and deepened my thought far more than I could describe.
It is also a good idea to spend some time on etymology, the root meanings of words. The Webster 1828 Dictionary I mentioned is especially outstanding in that regard.
Always Tell the Truth
This final point may not be obvious, but this really makes a difference.
In your thinking and your speech, your words and language are your tools. You need to keep them clean, clear, sharp, uncluttered, finely honed and polished.
If you get in the habit of speaking falsely, or of deliberately deceiving, or of being vague and misleading for a purpose – what you are doing is to cloud and confuse your thinking. It gunks up your mind.
As part of my spiritual discipline I made a vow that I would always tell the truth, and never deliberately mislead or deceive. The work I have had to do to live up to that vow has had a marvelous effect on clearing up and sharpening my thinking.
You can also think of your words as having power, and they are powerful only when they are true. If you deliberately speak falsely you are robbing your words of their power, and making them ineffective and insubstantial clouds.
Your mind is a whole. If you get in the habit of lying or misleading in one part of your life, it affects all of your thinking and all of your life; it is like an impurity or infection that spreads.
Your words and your thoughts are your tools, your weapons. Keep them clean, sharp, finely honed and polished.
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Image by Alex Freeman from Pixabay