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.

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.

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.

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.

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.