Astrology Courses

 

May 27, 2005

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/may27.html

 

Hi Eric:

 

Last year I completed first year of an astrology course, which I found to be interesting, but expensive. Is there a course you can recommend that is not going to cost me thousands of dollars? I await your reply.

 

Regards,

Margaret

 

 

Dear Margaret:

 

An astrology course? You are reading it right here -- and it's free.

 

I know that this column did not start one year ago with a systematic overview of 'these are the signs, these are the planets, these are the houses' -- but there are good books for that. Follow along with these weekly editions and you'll get the gist of the changing seasons, the movements of the planets, and the problems people take to astrology. And if you read through the archives, you will find a little of everything you need; you just need to put the pieces together, which you would need to do with any astrological training program anyway. Then, the next step is you need to begin applying and communicating about the knowledge in real life situations -- the sooner the better.

 

(But hey I have nothing against being a little organized, so if there is anyone in the reading audience with a talent for sorting out, selecting and editing tons of information into something presentable as a book, you are invited to get in touch!)

 

I don't believe we need astrology school to learn astrology. Please, nobody throw a tomato at me. I have nothing against astrology school; some of my best friends teach in them, and even Jonathan Cainer graduated from one, demonstrating that it's possible to succeed in a highly unusual way once you've done so.

 

I just think that we can learn a lot many other ways, and prepare ourselves as professionals quite effectively. Ongoing study -- one is never finished -- is a critical part of the process. But more important, what we really need to do is 1. Get involved in the work; 2. Find a dependable mentor or two (in person, on the Net, and/or a writer or two whose work we really resonate with); 3. Start working with people -- soon. Cast their charts and talk to them. Then you will discover that life and life experience is astrology school there is.

 

One hang-up that many people have about reading charts is that they feel they have to 'tell people about themselves', and many feel like they are inadequate to do so. I suggest an entirely different approach. You only need to look at their chart, speak with them sincerely about their life, while getting a feel for their astrology and how they experience it. While you do this, I suggest you study and work with as many charts of people you respect (such as famous people, whose data and charts are readily available online, and your friends).

 

I also suggest that if you have any aspiration to working with people as their astrologer -- any at all, no matter how slight -- you get yourself into therapy for a few years. This will help you understand your own issues a little better, so you will be less inclined to project them onto others. It is true that we always learn a great deal about ourselves working with people, and that we heal in the process of helping others heal. But at the same time, it's important to know at any point in a discussion whose issues are whose, and for that, therapy is very helpful, even vital. The concentrated quest for self-understanding is deeply important to any kind of healing work, a category for which astrology qualifies.

 

I know of no astrology program that teaches astrology by actually working with people from a relatively early stage in the work -- which is how I do it when I teach. But in actual fact, this is how people learn astrology, no matter what school they go to or what books they read. It is learned by a combination of theory and practice that is about one third of the first and two thirds of the second.

 

Here is our How To Begin Learning Astrology collection from this column.

 

Here is an old article of mine from The Mountain Astrologer, and the German journal Meridian, called When Astrology Listens.

 

Also, some of the most excellent books currently in print are written by Melanie Reinhart.

 

You might want to know about The Consulting Astrologer's Guidebook.

 

Catch you next week!