Reply to Chris Brennan: Sun sign astrology is astrology

This is a reply to Chris Brennan’s article about how to learn astrology, posted in his current Horoscopic Astrology blog.

It’s unfortunate that this article begins with a swipe at Sun-sign columns. I recognize that most of them are not well done, but through history some of the very best astrology has happened in Sun-sign columns. Dane Rudhyar wrote the first one in the United States. Patric Walker did astrology that I have yet to see surpassed by anyone — Sun sign writer or not — and all he did was write astrology columns. Sun sign columns are only as good as the writer who is creating them. If the writer is a generalizer, the columns will reflect that. If the writer has insight into both astrology and human nature, the writing will reflect that. This is true of the creative products of anyone.

Some �proper’ astrologers question the validity of writing short blurbs that people read in a newspaper. What they forget is that most people hear about astrology through newspaper columns. This is a reason for astrology to put its best writers and most skilled practitioners in this vital public relations position, instead of anyone else. For those seeking to learn astrology, interpreting daily or weekly, using one chart to come up with ideas for all 12 signs, is an excellent exercise. You will learn about some very helpful traditional practices, such as rulerships and whole sign houses. Anyone who has ever written a Sun sign column knows how much interpretation you need to use, in order to do it well.

In an article a few years back on StarIQ.com, I explained that Sun sign columns are rooted in the most traditional form of astrology currently in common practice — horary astrology. Here is the link.

To Chris’s list of things to do to become a good astrologer, I would add, at the top of the list: write about astrology. This will provide a focusing lens so that you can figure out what you know, what you don’t know, and then determine how to learn and apply it. Few things will clarify the ideas in your mind like writing and sharing them with other people. You will create a kind of notebook, through your writing. It will accelerate your pace of learning like nothing else can.

To his suggestion that you read voraciously, I would add: take what you read with a grain of salt. Not every astrology book comes from a sane or soulful perspective. Some have agendas that don’t fit your agenda. Others are wildly outdated, or ignorant of the many developments of the 80s and 90s, such as Project Hindsight’s many discoveries, or new planetary discoveries, or for that matter, your specific chart; your particular reason for getting involved.

Keep an open mind! As someone at the beginning of your journey as an astrologer, you don’t have to pour concrete around such things as what house system you use, or what rules you follow, or even why you are doing astrology at all. Astrology is more than anything an encounter with the unknown. It is an approach to the mysteries, which by definition are larger than us.