November 7, 2024 – Eli Gomez
How much do you think you know about astrology? Where did you get your information from about the subject matter? Perhaps Twitter (I refuse to call it ‘X’), the newspaper, other tabloids, friends, family, etc.? You may know your ‘star sign’ or how all your exes were Libras and therefore you should never date a Libra again…ever, or else you will find yourself eating out of a tub of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream on the couch watching Sex and the City for the umpteenth time all over again. Do you believe that this is truly what astrology is? Do you really believe that the reason why your ex cheated on you is because she/he was a ‘star sign’ that was the same as your annoying next-door neighbor? I am writing this article today to reveal to (or remind) you what astrology actually is, what ‘pop-astrology’ is and why it sucks, as well as introduce you to the type of astrology that I practice.
Before I get into what astrology actually is, let me preface with what astrology is NOT:
- Fortune telling
- Talking to demons
- Talking with dead people
- A religion
- Witchcraft
- Anti-Christian
- A party trick
If I got a penny for every time I was asked by someone who knew I was an astrologer, “guess my ‘star sign,’” I would be richer than what Donald Trump claims he is. Astrology is not a guessing game. It is not a penny-for-a-prediction machine.
There is no definition of astrology that I have found that I feel accurately encompasses what astrologers actually do. Therefore, I have created my own:
“Astrology is the study of the correlation and reflection of planetary and celestial bodies with events, people, places, things, and collective behavior on Earth.”
You read that right! My definition of astrology does not claim that the planets and celestial bodies CAUSED you to forget to turn in your homework last Tuesday. In astrology, the planets simply are a reflection of what is happening on Earth, within each person, or whatever point of view a chart is being cast for.
Because astrology is not a standardized subject as is biology, history, statistics, etc., each astrologer creates their title based off of what their purpose in astrology is. My astrology teacher, Laurie Rivers whom I have studied under for two years, titles herself an Observational Applied Progressive Evolutionary Western Tropical Astrologer. This title was created by her to convey to others a general idea of what type of astrology she practices. My title is Academic Observational Applied Progressive Western Tropical Astrologer. This is not to say that Laurie is not academic in her astrology or that I do not view Jeffrey Wolf-Green (Evolutionary) as an astrologer I learn from, I simply do not apply the same title to myself because I am not a clone of Laurie’s and neither is she a clone of Robert Hand’s or Joanne Wickenburg’s.
You may have noticed that Laurie and I, as well as myriad other astrologers, consider themselves ‘Western Tropical Astrologers.’ You may be wondering what the hell Western Tropical Astrology even is. There are two main types of geocentric astrology (from the Earth’s point of view): sidereal and tropical. Both are valid, neither one is incorrect. They are just different methods of measuring the correlations of heavenly movements with earthly happenings. Sidereal astrology uses the exact placements of the zodiacal constellations to measure their correlations. Tropical astrology uses the cycle of the seasons to measure their correlations. Within each of these main branches, there are many subbranches. Western is the subbranch of tropical astrology that I practice. For the sake of simplicity, I will leave this particular complex subtopic off here but will write more about it in future articles.
Now that I have given a broad and general overview of what astrology is, let us now get into some of the myth busting. One of my favorite myths about astrology is that astrologers talk with demons. This is quite literally the most insane thing that I have ever heard. First off, usually this argument comes from a fundamentalist Christian-centered point of view that has no shame in calling everything they disagree with demonic. Not all the time does this come from that particular demographic but me being living in the American South, this is the kind of bologna I have to deal with on a regular basis. Astrology is not a science because it is interpretive, however it uses scientific principles and data to arrive at conclusions (i.e. Sarah, Josie, and Mark each have Venus and Uranus conjunct in Pisces and they share X, Y, & Z in common). Nowhere in this process did I ever summon a demon to conversate. Another myth that I hear often from people is that astrology is talking with dead people. This is also quite ludicrous because there is a completely different practice that does, which would be mediumship. If you come to me asking me to talk to your cat that died when you were four, I’m sorry for your loss but I cannot help you. Go find a medium (not a psychic, an important distinction that I will direct you to a supporter of mine from Australia and friend of Laurie’s, TheRealMediumMatilda). Astrology is also not anti-Christian. I know more astrologers that practice Christianity than I know that do not, however every single astrologer that I know respects and cares about the words of Jesus (or Yeshua). One astrologer in my local area who practices sidereal astrology is an active member of a church and sings in the choir. Many astrologers, including myself, have separated themselves from the church because we did not feel like the church collectively was in alignment with the nature and intentions of Jesus. It has nothing to do with the fact that we wanted to be anti-Christian and wanted to talk to demons.
Before I conclude, I also want to address my sarcasm at the beginning of this article about ‘star signs.’ I actively avoid using the term ‘star sign’ because there are twelve star signs in the tropical zodiac and all twelve are present in every single chart. Yes! You heard me! EVERYONE HAS ALL TWELVE SIGNS IN THEIR CHART! Remember your exes who just so happened to be Libras? Well, their sun signs were Libra. You too also have Libra present in your chart. Below is a picture of a natal chart that shows that all twelve signs are present in every chart.
I hope that you now have a better understanding of what astrology actually is and what type of astrology I practice. I will try to publish an article regularly to help you all get to know me as well as astrology in general. My next article is about ethics and astrology and why I pride myself in having very strong ethics in my practice. I know this week was topsy-turvy but hang in there. The full moon on 11/15 will blow open a whole other can of worms regarding the presidential election. Rest assured though that Trump will not be president in the oval office!