By Eric Francis
Astrology has been explained using many different astrological metaphors. The usual one is “Uranian,” after the planet Uranus, since astrology tends toward the inventive and scientific and surely qualifies as a bit rebellious these days. Another common metaphor refers to Sagittarius, the 9th house, or Jupiter, since astrology deals in bodies of knowledge, philosophy, international subject matter, and religion and spirituality. (It can also be expansive, expensive, and blustery — all Jupiterian enough.)
These metaphors tell us something, but I would propose that considering astrology from the Pisces–Virgo experience gives us a practical model that we can pass along to less-experienced students, to help them grasp two of the basic aspects of the work we do as astrologers. That is, we work with both intuition and reason in a way that is mutually beneficial and strives for integration.
Maybe you’ve run into the frustration of knowing all the rules and cookbook meanings of an aspect, but you’re unable to interpret that aspect in a given situation. Or, you may have a feeling for what certain astrological significators represent, but you lack either the language to express the feeling or the confidence to do so because of a technical point you want to check before verbalizing your interpretation. In the first example, a dose of Piscean creativity would help to bridge the gap. In the second, a little research that could give you the language you’re seeking would likely do the trick and support your intuition.
That creativity may pose something of an ego risk; the research may require you to pause a session and check a few commentaries from astrologers who have come before us — something many astrologers might not want to do, because it would (in theory) reveal that they don’t know their stuff. But guesses often work, and they’re okay if you remind the client that this is your take on the matter. And I’ve found that my clients enjoy it when I read to them from sources I consider to be reputable or authoritative. Doing this enhances trust and rapport rather than undercutting it.
Virgo and Pisces, working together, offer an opportunity for finding balance in the equal-parts mental and spiritual discipline of astrology.