Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:03:50 AM

 Let me tell you about the inner working of astrology. It is true, like you noted, that astrology and religion are separate things in Christianity, but in Hinduism religion and astrology are still part and parcel. Many Indians (not all) take it seriously and regularly consult a priest or full time astrologer for direction in their life. Mostly they want to know about money and relationships, etc. In short they want to know the future.

Like you I have always been curious about astrology, so one day I decided to study it in detail. I spent about seven years studying it. Now people come to me regularly for a reading. I do it because it is part of the job of a Hindu priest. If I wanted, I could easily make it a full time profession. What I have found is that the rules of astrology are so wide and open to interpretation that it is possible to see just about anything you want in any horoscope. At the same time I have often seen an amazing correspondence between a given chart and a person’s life. I think astrology can work because of the power of “ambiguous specificity,” so I like to use astrology to help people understand their potential, get over their fears and think about their life situation. However, the business of predicting the future is foolish so I stay away from it.

I say that astrology can work because human psychology is extremely complex. There is something in the human heart that allows astrology to work. It is not because of the stars and planets, but because of the amazing nature of the human being. For this reason astrology can be very helpful and at the same time very destructive. If I tell a person they have a real problem in their chart and that bad things can happen, then it puts a kind of curse on them. This tends to lead to a self fulfilling prophecy. In the same way, if I tell a person they are capable of things beyond what they ordinarily think they are capable of achieving, then they tend to achieve higher than they might ordinarily achieve. I have seen this.

The workings of astrology are purely psychological. And it has everything to do with the relationship between the client and the astrologer. A good reader can do amazing things. If I tell you that wearing coral or a pearl will help your life, then it probably will because you will feel better about yourself if you wear it. I am empowering you to empower yourself. Is the coral or pearl actually increasing your power? No, It is what you think about yourself when you wear the coral or pearl that increases your power. In addition, when people see you wearing jewelry they think better about you. Similarly, if I drive to someone’s home to perform a religious service in an old beat-up car they will pay me less than if I drive to them in an expensive new car. Believe me, I have personal experience of this. In dealing with people psychology is everything and you have to deal with different people in different ways. Therefore the rules of astrology are so flexible that they allow the expert astrologer (psychologist) to adapt to any situation.

So now you know the inner workings and secret behind astrology. I hope I have not ruined it for you by taking all the fun away.