[QUOTE=elucidator]
Here. Practiced for about ten years, taught, wrote, the usual. I will try to be informative, but I am not here so that somebody can preen their worldly skepticism at my expense. Already taken enough shit about this, thank you very much. (Not directed at you, IW, just fair warning because, sure as shootin’, somebody will want to show off how much smarter they are, been there, had that done to me, gets old in a big ass hurry…)
Does it work? Somewhat. The amazing thing is not that it works so fabulously well, but that it works at all. It shouldn’t, of course, it flies in the face of all reason that it does. But there it is.
Is it scientific? Of course not. There is no possibility of creating an experiment that would conclusively prove much of anything. Not everything is science, science is what it is, and a marvelous thing it is, too. But it isn’t the whole ball game.
As noted above, astrology is distinct from tea-reading. It is not simply a vehicle/focus for psychic capacity of the “reader”, it has certain rules, and you have to know them to deal correctly. Some people do use it as one might use tea leaves, and there’s nothing “wrong” with that, but it seems hardly worth the effort, since whatever psychic talents are, they don’t seem to require anything in particular, a chart might as well be a sand pattern, crystal ball, whatever. If you are going to rely on psychic ability, why bother with all that math.
How does it work? Haven’t the foggiest, got a bunch of crackpot theories.
How well? Not very well, sometimes, and sometimes so well its spooky. When I taught, I tried to steer clear of the “supernatural” aspects and treat it like a phenomenon that is interesting, but ill understood. As I said, it shouldn’t work at all, the fact that it does (strictly a matter of my own observation, you understand…)is one of the most interesting things I’ve seen in this life.
I have no truck, none whatsoever, with attempts to predict the future. The future does not exist as a fact, therefore its characteristics are equally non-existent. I absolutely refused to advise on decisions, that kind of karma I just don’t need.
So what good is it? Not much. Not practical. Damned interesting, and if that’s enough for you, cool. If not…whatever. Doesn’t mean shit to a tree.
[/QUOTE]
Not to be the persnickety skeptic you wrote about in the beginning of the post, but if it only works sometimes, doesn’t that suggest to you that it may be random chance? If I say, “four years ago, something important happened to you, it involved water.” Your mind goes searching for something to fit.
Isn’t it possible that you mistook an occasional lucky shot for the presence of actual supernatural utility?
Back on topic, I knew an astrologer when I sold timeshare vacation homes years ago. I forget his name, but he had a PhD in Psychology and had created a system that supposedly allowed him to chart an organization like an individual. IE charting the US from its “birth date” to see when ups and downs in the countries good fortune will come.
I remember he was talking about it to me and wanted to show me more and I told him that I wasn’t really interested. He replied, “I can’t help you if you want to live in ignorance.” I honestly almost punched him. In any case, he really believed.
