Born Under a Bad Sign?

 

June 25, 2004

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/june25.html

 

Hi all:

 
I have been a follower of this website and Jonathan since 1999-2000. I have benefited greatly from insights about the energies in my life on a particular day, and during extended periods of time. I have bought charts, called phone lines, and now subscribe to the web service. I still feel I benefit from the services.

BUT, here's what I don't understand (and I realize you must get oodles of e-mails a day)...during 2000 you promised great things because of the line up of planets in Taurus during the spring of that year that was one of the worst summers of my life. Then there was Mars and more grand promises. Now Venus and more suggestions of life finally cutting me a break.

 

Was I just born under a bad sign?

Am I missing something?

Will any of the celestial events actually bring a break in the trauma and shock of divorce, betrayal, theft?

Thanks,

Lorrie

 

 

Dear Lorrie,

I am with you that it's terrible being disappointed by the promises of astrology. It's all the worse because we tend to seek out astrology when we're needing reassurance the most. I remember once, in the middle of a painful break-up with a woman, a daily horoscope I read said something like, "Well, things look rough in a relationship now, but make sure you're around for when things get good."

 

That never happened and in retrospect I'm not sure it ever could have happened. The thing about astrology is that free will is involved. We make choices and so do the people in our lives.

You mention three phases of time where many astrologers got very excited: the Taurus alignment of 2000, not previously seen the past 7,000 years; the closest approach ever of Mars to the Earth last summer; and the first Venus transit to the Sun in 121 years. I do wish that all of astrology would be a little more objective about things it has never seen or experienced. These kinds of events always have what seem like mixed results, except for one thing: intense astrology always pushes us to grow. In the end, we grow and learn. And you could have worse than that, in this life.

You sent your birth data and I will get to that in a moment, but first, let's look at the big picture. If you take a step back from your personal affairs and check out condition of the world during all three of those events, you may notice a pattern. Spring of 2000 brought a stock market crash and the beginning of a recession. Later that year, there was a very messy presidential election in the States that had a profound effect on Great Britain and many other places in the world. The Mars approach last summer came with much violence and tragedy surrounding events in the Middle East (there is a news timeline on my web site). And the recent Venus transit came at another peak of disaster in that same situation, as the painful truth has come out.

These transits pushed each of us in similar ways, as individuals. Not everyone likes to be pushed; not everyone likes to grow; not everyone likes to budge. Not everyone is able to give up the structures that are preventing them from growing and becoming. These were all events with such enormous impact both globally and personally that how they "feel" depends entirely on we respond to them. When astrology works, it often works because we respond in constructive ways to powerful forces. To do that, the first thing one must do is approach life with a good attitude. Or at least, it helps.

Now, you are writing about Jonathan's forecasts for your sign. After reading Jonathan for about seven years, I've decided that the theme of his writing can be summed up in a few words: trust the process of your life. Jonathan does something daring for an astrologer, which is teach people to expect the best outcome, even if things look grim. This is an extremely important life skill. We live in a very pessimistic world, and there are many people whom life slowly hardens into cynics. Thought forms are a habit, and habits are made. I view Jonathan as waging a highly effective one-man campaign against cynicism and negativity. He teaches the habit of optimism.

With that in mind, I suggest you look back at the personal developments you describe and really consider what would have happened had they not transpired. I suggest you look back at everything you lost and ask the question: "In what ways were those things serving me?" Here's another one: "What did I gain and learn from those events?" And then I suggest you ask one more question that might be very daring: "How could those events have gone far worse? Where would I be today, if they had?"

Now you've sent your data, and I've had a look at your chart, just to be on the safe side. I'm going to make a few short comments without any technical comments.

1. Between 1999 and today you have experienced a LOT of Pluto transits, and they are not over. In particular, the events of 2001 and 2002 (remember world history, too) had a direct, focused impact on your chart. This process is still working out and will be for about another year -- but by far, the worst of it is over. You are gradually learning how to do these transits better and better.

2. If you want to get a lot of mileage out of your personal growth work and go far to find your way in life, put a couple of years of energy into understanding and healing whatever happened between you and your mother. You may have already considered this quite a bit. Keep at it.

3. Though your personal relationships are obviously an extremely dominant aspect of your life, these need to be balanced against your much more delicate career aspirations. The two are related because nobody progresses in a career without having relationships that in some way work. Your mission in this regard is to strive for the highest level of integrity in your relationships as possible, which means approaching your relationships as a whole person. You don't owe anyone anything. This is your life.

I hope this offers some insight.