Should the ‘discovery’ of the new 13th zodiac sign cause an identity crisis? That star (Sun) signs DO NOT determine your character nor determine whether or not you will meet the love of your life today is in itself a major reason why you shouldn’t be concerned; that aside, there is absolutely no reason to give the 13th zodiac sign, bandied about by irresponsible media and half-baked astrologers, another thought.

The debate of free will is an age-old one and the study of astrology clarifies this in a tangible and certifiable manner: if something is not allocated potential in the birth chart, it cannot manifest in the life. While many people struggle to come to terms with this in today’s age of relativism and modernism, astrology proves it quantifiably.

It is thought that modern man is completely removed from the traditional astrological realm, yet our language indicates otherwise. Many of the aphorisms we use today in common speech are derived from astrological language: if we could invest time in pondering the origin of these words and their true meaning, we could begin to reclaim the understanding of the cosmos and its hidden beauty, which is able to assist us with our daily lives and relationships.

The recent 2010 FIFA World Cup provided a wonderful opportunity not only for astrologers, but for all and sundry who ply their trade in the predictive realm, to show what they were made of. Anyone engaged in this pursuit, provided they are of an above average intelligence quota, realises that when it comes to predictions or forecasts, there is always room for error. When you are delving into areas unknown, any level of skill or aptitude needs to bow in reverence to greater powers, and to concede that whilst trapped in our physical bodies in the mundane plane, we will never know it all. I am confident that Paul the octopus knows this too, as he incorrectly predicted the outcome of the European final, citing Germany to beat Spain.

Confusion exists as to what the definitions of the different disciplines and their fundamental differences are; it is commonly believed that traditional astrology is the ‘old stuff', almost like a vintage car. Medieval and traditional astrology are also viewed as synonymous when in fact they are not; in principle medieval is part of traditional astrology as it stems from a time period within the Tradition itself.

Throughout history, end-of-the-world movements missing their mark number in the "hundreds of thousands at the very least”, says Richard Landes, historian at Boston University and director of its Centre for Millennial Studies. But people eager for the world to end are not to be denied, and this time, of course, all will be different.

Man, for some strange reason, often appears to be more interested in when his planet and the human species will end, as opposed to nurturing it (and others). We do not have the power to save the planet nor to end its life, but we most certainly do have the power to make our stay here more pleasurable, meaningful and educational. The frenzy that surrounds prophecies, theories and conjectures surrounding the end of the world is as old as the species of man, one can only wonder why this is as it makes no rational (or spiritual) sense at all.

Many people, even those who know very little about astrology, appear to have knowledge of their Sun (star) sign and their Ascendant (rising) sign. Great emphasis is placed on these two snippets of information and as an astrologer, you are expected to smile knowingly and then burst forth into a rendition of astrological psycho babble, when presented with this information. I have addressed the star sign misconception in one of my previous articles; we now turn our attention to the rising sign. 

All of the 7 planets, not only Saturn, travel through the zodiacal belt and along the ecliptic at their own individual speed. Depending on the speed of the individual planet, it will regularly return to the same degree and minute as it is in the birth chart – this aspect is known as a conjunction as the two planets are then joined together as one. The other two of the five Ptolemaic aspects to be aware of while the planet traverses along its path, are the opposition (180 degrees from the place of that planet in the birth chart) and the square (90 degrees away). When the planet in question connects with itself (and even any of the other 6 planets) in the birth chart during the course of its travels, this can be significant.

The Moon is Void of Course if she does not perfect another aspect before leaving her present sign or if there is a great distance to travel to perfect an aspect while still in her current zodiacal sign. We limit Void of Course to the Moon but it is really applicable to any planet, and mostly we mean that it doesn't perfect another aspect before leaving the current sign.

Much hype surrounds the Void of Course Moon and its symbolism. The ancient texts tell us that when a Moon is VoC, matters go hardly on and today, the word ‘hardly' is synonymous with ‘scarcely'. This is a corruption of meaning. In the past, hardly meant exactly what it says. It is the adverb formed from hard, and so meant ‘in a hard way'. What Lilly says about the void of course Moon is ‘things go hardly on'.

Many people believe they were born on a “cusp” – that the Sun (star sign to the layman or modern astrologer) at their time of birth, straddled two zodiac signs. The ecliptic is the imaginary/apparent path that the Sun traces out in the sky in the course of a year, against the backdrop of the other planets, which also follow this line closely. This ecliptic has a circumference of 360 degrees and is divided into 12 sections of 30 degrees each. Each section is allocated a name and this is used primarily as a means of locating the planets at any given time.

It is often thought that the study of astrology is a simple and expedient one, and that a 6 week course is sufficient to start delving into peoples' psyches. The amount of short courses on offer, and the number of (intuitive, psychic, psychological, esoteric, etc.) astrologers to be found on the internet, testifies to that. Anything that is worthwhile attaining and that is of great value takes time – one of Saturn's major lessons. The study of this ancient celestial craft takes a lifetime – any astrologer worthy of their Saturnine stripes is not the same astrologer this year as they were last year – and there is a formal path of study which needs to be followed as laid down by the ancient authorities.

Contrary to popular belief, the craft of astrology is not a sacred one. To make it so contradicts the teachings of religious doctrines, as nothing is elevated to that plane except for the Divine. It is this incorrect elevation of various crafts and practices that incurs the wrath of theological sectors. Astrology is a practical craft, it is a language of symbols and it is a tool to be used to determine the lay of the land, while applying a healthy dose of common sense and an abundance of humility. The spiritual aspect is brought to the table by the person practicing the craft; just as any person can incorporate their spirituality into their work, so too can the astrologer. If a lawyer or a banker were to do this, it does not mean that law or banking suddenly become spiritual practices.

The most common misconception is that astrology is all about “star signs”. Astrologers are regularly accosted at social gatherings by those who lay down the gauntlet and declare – guess what star sign I am! My usual repartee to that is that I do not do party tricks. However if the person appears sincere in their interest and has the facade of an above average intelligence quota, I may deem them worthy to receive the astrological explanation of why star signs are completely nonsensical.

As strange as it may sound astrologers are often confronted by clients who believe that astrologers are “gifted”, and as this is seen as Divine inspiration, it is felt that astrologers should not charge for their services. While many astrologers are gifted in their craft, as many people are in any profession, the traits of humility and perseverance are prerequisites to becoming a student of astrology, being gifted is not.

In many astrological circles there is something called “strictures against judgement.” What this means is that certain horary charts, dependant on listed criteria, may not be judged. If we were to apply this, the majority of questions asked of the horary methodology would be deemed unfit to be judged. It is forgotten by the astrological disciplines using these strictures that they are a modern invention, and not one handed down by the ancient authorities. The ancient authorities do list “considerations before judgement” which were developed to protect the astrologer, not the client. Most astrologers in ancient times were advisors to men of extreme power, especially kings, and the astrologer needed a loophole if he saw something in the chart that would displease his benefactor, and thus place his own life in jeopardy. If the charts of the ancient authorities are studied instead, ignoring the considerations before judgement, it is apparent that these considerations were ignored when the client was not someone who could end the astrologer's life with one single order to his troops.

Most people are not quite sure how astrology “works”, and astrologers can explain to you how it works on a technical level, but not why. This is where the philosophy on which that specific discipline of astrology is built (or not) is crucial. It is a God given craft, just as all things on earth are God given, and in the hands of a skilled and qualified astrologer the symbolic language of astrology is an essential tool provided to accompany life. One of the more common misconceptions, initiated by many ancient civilisations to make sense of the correlation between life on earth and matters above, is that the planets have power over us by means of their “energy”. Planets were deified and their namesakes were worshipped – Zeus (Jupiter) Apollo (Sun) Diana (Moon), etc. This concept is nonsensical – the planets have no power over us at all, a moment's reflection while engaging one's brain should make that quite clear to all, and they do not beam their energy onto earth to “make us do things”. They were placed in the sky as symbols and signs, and as we all partake of the same building blocks of hot, cold, moist and dry, when the planets “behave” in a certain way, so does “matter” on earth which partakes of that planet's essence. It is simply a mirror image and a reflection - “as above, so below”.