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Choosing a Written
Astrological Interpretation Wisely
by Brian Habit
February 2003
In recent years, written astrological interpretations have proliferated
dramatically on the Internet and elsewhere. The nature and quality of these
written interpretations vary
tremendously from one interpretation to another. Many times, such interpretations are prepared using
computers. In some such instances, a computer is used to
produce a partial product, and then a person revises that output, turns it into a finished product,
and delivers it to the customer.
In other instances, a computer is used to produce the final product.
What is generated using a computer is what goes to the customer.
Not surprisingly then, when an
astrologer offers a written interpretation, potential customers often
ask whether it is "computer-generated." Typically, what they want to
know by asking this question is not whether a computer was used to
prepare the interpretation. Instead, they often want to know whether the
astrologer truly thinks about the symbols in the production process. For
some customers, having a general answer to this question suffices to
help them decide whether the interpretation in question is what they
want. Other customers want to know more information before making that
same decision.
The Proud Phoenix, For
Example
For
example, The Proud Phoenix offers written astrological interpretations.
Do I use a
computer to prepare them? You bet I do. Are they computer-generated?
Well, that depends on what you mean by "computer-generated."
Having an accurate understanding of the nature and the
quality of these interpretations can help you make a more informed decision about
whether it is what you want. Do you want to know specifics about how I
produce them? Then read on.
I will explain, blow-by-blow,
the process that I use to prepare a written transit reading. I use a
similar process to prepare
other types of interpretations, both other written readings (such as
birth chart and synastric interpretations) as well as readings that I do live,
online.
Picking and Choosing
To
start the production process, I use a
computer to generate a list of the
transits to your natal chart that will be in effect during the
period to be covered in your reading. I pick and choose which transits
to include in the reading. Then I outline the order in which I will
discuss them.
After
that, I check my computer to see which of these transits I have
written anything about in the past. (Some I have written about
previously. Some I have not.) If I
have saved something that I wrote previously, then I start from that, editing it
and adding to it so that it properly reflects your particular
natal chart. If I do not have anything saved from my previous
writing, then I start from zero.
Writing for You in
Particular
Now,
the material that I include in my readings is a little like comparing
two people to each other. Take any two people. Compare them. When you
do, you will find both a lot of similarities and some very significant
differences between them. Likewise, in some respects, the material
that I include in your reading is very similar to what I might include
in a reading for another person.
For
example, Saturn represents many of the same processes and issues
regardless of whose birth chart I am talking about. The third house
represents many of the same issues and activities, regardless of whose
chart I am talking about. A square aspect represents many of the same
issues. So does Scorpio.
At
the same time, those same symbols also represent very different
issues in many respects, from the reading for one person for another, and
these differences are quite significant. To work efficiently while
still addressing these differences adequately, I draw on my previous
writing to prepare your reading. It saves me time in talking about what a planet, sign,
house, or aspect
represents in general. However, I also consider what those same
symbols represent in your case. I write
as needed to reflect this when I prepare your reading.
Whether I start from something that I have written previously or I start from zero,
I make a conscious decision about what to leave in, what to leave out,
what to say, and how to say it.
Additional Factors That I
Consider
Sometimes when people come to me for a transit reading, they are not
familiar with what the various parts of their natal charts
represent. Since I cannot assume that they are familiar with the natal
symbols (at least not in terms of choices available to them), I often
spend a fair amount of time in transit readings going over what the
natal symbols indicate.
As
I go through writing about each of the transits in your transit reading,
I gradually try to give you a sense of what one transit might
mean in light of another one that I talked about earlier in the
reading.
For
example, suppose that you are experiencing two major transits
during the same period of time. Suppose further that the first transit
triggers your natal Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Midheaven (in other words,
some part of your chart that represents something that pervades your
life in a very fundamental way). That transit is a long-lasting one,
and it involves a planet either moving over the natal point, or moving
opposite it, or moving at a right angle to it (conjoining, opposing or
squaring it).
Now suppose that the second transit is different in one of these
respects from the first transit. Maybe it is shorter-lasting. Maybe
it is a stimulating angle (sextile) or a flowing angle (trine). Maybe
it involves your Mars or Neptune. When I talk about the second
transit, I try to help you understand what significance it has in light of
the first transit. The first one has more significance in the long run
than the second. The first transit colors and modifies the second
transit.
Choose Wisely
As I
have explained here, then, I use my computer as a tool to prepare my
written readings.
While I do use a computer to calculate astrological charts and other
information, and to save time on the clerical aspect of preparing
readings, I think about the information and interpret it myself.
I use
it to work efficiently. At the same time, I also strive to provide
high-quality interpretations. After all, it is ultimately in service
to you my client that I offer the interpretation.
If
you are considering whether to get a written astrological
interpretation, and you want to know the role that the astrologer
plays in producing it, then I encourage you to ask exactly that. Do
not ask whether it is "computer-generated." Some written
interpretations are better than others, but knowing only whether a
computer was used to prepare them will not suffice to allow you
distinguish a low-quality product from a high-quality product. Knowing
that may not tell you what you really want to know. Ask what you
really want to know. Written astrological interpretations can serve as
a useful tool for you, if you choose them carefully.
© Brian Habit - The Proud
Phoenix, 2004
(All Rights Reserved)
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