Understanding Astrological Predictions
Opinions about astrological prediction are generally divided: "Mysterious! Magical!", say some; "Nonsense!", reply others. In fact, both views are based on a misunderstanding of the nature of how astrology really "works". In this article, I will use a story to show both the true value of astrological prediction, as well as its limits.
Let's imagine that a girl named Ellen goes to an astrologer, who, after studying Ellen's natal chart in relation to this month's planetary positions, tells her that next weekend she will meet a fine young man with whom she will begin a relationship. And that's exactly what happens. Ellen exclaims to Sue, a friend of hers: "It's magic! Everything happened just like my astrologer predicted!" Sue, impressed by this, makes an appointment with the same astrologer. In her session, she is told that yes, she will indeed find that job she's been looking for, and will have it by May. Sue, delighted, goes home and waits for a response from the company to which she had applied, yet May comes and goes, and she doesn't receive a call from them. "What a fool I was!", she remarks when she sees Ellen, "I should have known: astrology is nonsense!"
Which one of the two girls is correct in her opinion? One might say that they both are, since after all, astrology seems to have "worked" for Ellen, yet not for Sue. Yet I think it would be more correct to say, on the contrary, that neither girl was correct in her conclusion, since in each case, that conclusion was based on the acceptance of a faulty idea of astrology, that idea being one which many people, both "believers" as well as "sceptics" share: namely, that astrology indeed purports to be able to reliably predict what will happen in the future.
At this point, many readers, both the believers and the sceptics, will be disagreeing with me: "Well, astrology DOES INDEED claim to predict the future, doesn't it?", you may say. And you are right in a way: many astrologers do say that they can tell you what is awaiting you in the future. This is a claim which no "true believer" would ever dispute, and one that no self-respecting sceptic would fail to criticize, or even ridicule. Opinions on the subject thus would seem to be hopelessly polarized. The solution lies in distinguishing what many astrologers CLAIM from that which in fact astrology can really DO.
More than twenty-five years of experience as an astrologer has convinced me that
- astrology cannot make precise predictions about your future
- astrology can indeed reveal the tendencies of your future
And what is the difference? Well, if an astrologer tells you that next Tuesday you will be walking down the street, and will accidently trip and fall, breaking your left wrist as it cracks against a fire hydrant, that would be a pretty precise prediction, wouldn't it? But no astrologer I've ever known makes predictions of such a nature. More likely, an astrologer would say: "There is danger of an accident next Tuesday; try to be more careful than usual!" This is not a precise prediction, but a statement, based on astrological techniques, about an increased probability of a certain type of event occurring. This is the real strength of astrology: not to tell you what is going to happen (since that is beyond its capabilities), but to inform you about the probabilities of certain types of events happening.
Those of you who may be seeking to know just what's going to happen in the future might be disappointed by that last sentence, though you shouldn't be. After all, if the future were totally predetermined, and if it were possible to predict future events exactly, what would be the point? If something unpleasant were predicted for you, you'd have to be living in constant dread, and if a positive event were foretold, you might just sit back smugly and wait for it to happen, and would thus be robbed of that sudden, wonderful sense of amazement that you would have felt if you hadn't known it was going to happen!
The true value of predictive astrology is to show you the probabilities so that you may take full advantage of the fortunate times in order to fully prosper, and take special care during the more unfortunate periods, and thus have a better chance of avoiding mishaps, overcoming negative thoughts, making the best out of unpleasant situations, etc.
Using astrology to find out when to expect the "ups and downs" of life will not only give you concrete advantages in many situations, but above all, it can help you achieve a greater understanding of the intimate relationship which exists between our lives and the cosmic forces which are continually shaping them.
About The Author
David Bolton, astrologer, harpsichordist and language teacher, is co-creator of "Omnicycles" astrology software, that creates personal graphs showing the future trends for many areas of your life. Get your free demo at: http://www.omnicycles.com
 Google News Updated : Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:13:38 GMT Hillary Clinton's Staff Looking to Avoid Embarrassing Anti-Obama ... - FOXNews
FOXNews - Hillary Clinton's staff is trying to avoid an embarrassing anti-Obama demonstration by her supporters during the floor vote at next week's Democratic convention in Denver. Clinton Will Attend Fund-Raiser for Towns Clinton for VP? She Says Ask the Obama Campaign Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:15:16 GMT GM to Invest $500 Million To Build Chevy Cruze - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By KATHY SHWIFF General Motors Corp. will spend more than $500 million in the US to build the Chevrolet Cruze, a next-generation compact car. GM announces $500M investment for small car GM to invest $500 million in small car plant Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:10:12 GMT IAC Officially Breaks Up - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By DAVID BENOIT and KATHY SHWIFF IAC is left as a collection of more than 35 Internet companies -- including search engine Ask.com, dating site Match. IAC: And Then There Were Five Diller's IAC Split May Fail to Boost Investor Returns (Update2) Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:17:40 GMT Marlins let one slip away in San Francisco - Sports Network
Sports Network - San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Marlins reliever Kevin Gregg's wild pitch in bottom of the ninth inning scored Emmanuel Burriss to send San Francisco past Florida, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series. Giants walk off on Gregg's wild pitch Giants beat Marlins on wild pitch in 9th inning Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:33:45 GMT Microsoft's Photosynth wilts under pressure - Computerworld
Computerworld - By Gregg Keizer August 21, 2008 (Computerworld) Within hours of its launch, Microsoft Corp.'s new photo-stitching service went dark, overwhelmed by demand, the company said Thursday afternoon. New Microsoft photo site spends first day offline New Microsoft Tech Converts Photo Soup Into 3-D Image Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:28:59 GMT My Super Sweet 16: The Miley Cyrus Edition - E! Online
E! Online - Miley Cyrus is about to show up all those spoiled brats on My Super Sweet 16 who think they're cool being flown to their party by helicopter or when they're carried in like a princess by a group of hot dudes. Miley Cyrus to Celebrate Turning 16 at Disneyland Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:21:48 GMT UPDATE 1-Microsoft enlists Seinfeld for ad campaign--source - Reuters Reuters - By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will star in a $300 million marketing campaign for Microsoft Corp aimed at burnishing the image of its computer operating system, a person familiar with the effort said on Thursday ... Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates to star in anti-Apple ads Seinfeld to be pitchman for Microsoft Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:27:28 GMT More Web Site Traffic |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Let's trace the number of Chinese characters from Han Dynasty... Read More Many people collect Inuit art as investments. Inuit art is... Read More Firstly revealed by the fable Dr.Dre, and then debut of... Read More Silver is the most common of the Precious Metals. It's... Read More From an early age my Mother sent me to the... Read More FRANCIS DRAKE: - It is my perspective that history has... Read More The history of earrings is a varied history indeed. And... Read More In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have nearly... Read More Feng shui handles five main elements in order to achieve... Read More The cow is a mother to mankind whom we should... Read More I had become too sick to live in America.Even with... Read More I doubt Marilyn Monroe was anything but a confused star-struck... Read More "Ouvea is everything you'd expect in a South Pacific island.... Read More This is one entry in my Heroes and Villains Volume... Read More There are many ways to interpret the symbolism found in... Read More I cannot emphasize enough the dearth of information, or the... Read More Egypt has long been the source of countless conspiracies, ranging... Read More "Game" TheoryThis article was inspired by Mick Napier's book ?Improvise:... Read More First rate art is in danger of being left behind... Read More ZORRO:Timon of Athens. But most often they wrote in code... Read More "Bohemian Grove is 'the greatest men's party on Earth', according... Read More With western eyes we tend to view a tribal mask... Read More The emerald is probably the most rare of all precious... Read More Psychic readings can be an invaluable tool for obtaining answers... Read More Our Self is the true center of our being and... Read More
Adsense
websites
How Many Chinese Characters Are There?
Inuit Eskimo Art As Investments
Eminem Slimshady
The Sterling Silver Story
When We Was Kids In Chicago (Part 2)
Sir Francis Drake
Moissanite Earrings, The Modern Brazilian Beetle
From Dynasty to Destiny: Ten Celebrated Inventions of Ancient China
The Five Feng Shui Elements and Their Characteristics
Cosmic Cow
Cant Afford Illness in America
Marilyn Monroe and Mary Jo Kopechne
Return to Ouvea, New Caledonia
Is America Still Racist?
Tarot Cards Demystified: The Suit of Pentacles
Josephine the Merovingian
Conspiracies: The Pyramid and the Sphinx
Game Theory - What Do Game Theory and Improv Theater Have in Common?
Art, Artists, and the Web: Part 1--Why Every Artist Should Have Their Own Website
Zorro
Bohemian Grove
African Masks The Art of Creation
Precious Stones -The Big Five: Part 1, The Emerald
Accurate Psychic Advice
Mythology and Parables in Modern Communication - Part 3
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Tribal Masks
Original Tribal masks are often seen by unknowing eyes as... Read More
Debussy and Gamelan According to a 150 Year Old Man
Hello!If you haven't been transported by the mesmerizing sounds of... Read More
The History of Body Piercings - Ancient and Fascinating Around the World
Body piercings have seen a resurgence of interest in the... Read More
Human Cultural Evolution
If we think about it at this juncture, clearly there... Read More
Arthur Koestler
ARTHUR KOESTLER:Humanitarian, historian and scientist are just a few of... Read More
Rasputin
GRIGORY EFIMOVICH NOVYKH (RASPUTIN):'Hail, Hail, Ras-putin'. This man's story has... Read More
When We Was Kids In Chicago (Part 2)
From an early age my Mother sent me to the... Read More
Masking European Animism
The ancient peoples of Europe were more fond of masks... Read More
Paul Hamm: Did He Deserve Gymnastics Gold in 2004?
What was the controversy all about?In the 2004 Olympics, an... Read More
Michael Jacksons Latest Album Has Flopped
One month after being cleared of sex assault charges, Michael... Read More
Hello I Must Be Going: The Vanishing Twin
They walk among us. By the mid nineties, science had... Read More
History of the Royal Barges - a Timeless Tradition
The history of the royal barges dates back to the... Read More
Synchronized Swimming, Dolphin Cognition and Visualization
As humans become more technologically advanced and are able to... Read More
10 Feng Shui Tips for a Better Life
Ever walked into a house that felt like home? Ever... Read More
A Hidden Oriental Jewel: 100% Chinese Hand-Made Silk Embroidery
IntroductionDo you know what "silk embroidery is? Do you know... Read More
At 60 plus Amitabh Bachchan Rules! - A Vastu Study
No words in this universe are enough to describe him,... Read More
Feng Shui Monsters Under Your Bed
Good feng shui often requires making wise decisions based on... Read More
Progress Versus Perfection
From the creative explosion marking the outset of the universe... Read More
Some Villain Thoughts About a Container Village
Preview: "Shipping containers" have yet nothing to do with "housing"... Read More
Cant Afford Illness in America
I had become too sick to live in America.Even with... Read More
Human Genome Project and Mayan Calendar
HUMAN GENOME PROJECT: - In 1991 Michael Coe wrote Breaking... Read More
Authenticity of Eskimo Inuit Art & Native Indian Art
Both Inuit Eskimo art and Native American art have gained... Read More
Export/Import of Inuit Eskimo Art Sculpture Containing Whalebone or Ivory
The export of certain Inuit sculpture from Canada to other... Read More
Cosmic Cow
The cow is a mother to mankind whom we should... Read More
How to Clean Your Civil War Uniform
How necessary is cleaning your Civil War Uniform?The every day... Read More
Humanities |