Should We Believe in Astrology?

To reiterate, I’m not a fan of fatalistic thinking; I prefer free will. That may come as a surprise considering that I’m an astrologer and astrology is supposed to predict our fate.

If I tell you that you’ll never have a happy married life, or that you’ll get fired from your job in July, how will that help you? You’ll most likely give up trying to improve these problem areas of your life. Why bother? Since your fate is carved in stone, simply sit back and try to enjoy the miserable ride!

I believe that we can trust astrology only if it has the opposite effect on us. Astrology, I believe, should help us engage our will, not paralyze it.

To quote Sri Yukteswar, guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, “The message boldly blazoned across the heavens at the moment of birth is not meant to emphasize fate—the result of past good and evil—but to arouse man’s will to escape from his universal thralldom. What he has done he can undo. None other than himself was the instigator of the causes of whatever effects are now prevalent in his life. He can overcome any limitation, because he created it by his own actions in the first place and because he possesses spiritual resources that are not subject to planetary pressure.”

A prediction doesn’t presume fate, although that’s how people interpret it most of the time. A student asked me, “If humans really have free will then the possibility of predictive astrology getting falsified becomes strong. I feel the concept of ‘free will’ and the ‘doctrine of predestination’ does not go hand-in-hand. Will you share your opinion on this?”

How I see it is that fate and free will are interwoven. A prediction is a likely forecast, like a weather forecast. It assumes a relative degree of probability.

Free Will Versus Fate

If you’re driving at 60mph and are six miles away from New York city, you can easily predict that you’ll be there in 10 minutes. However, you are free to take an exit and change your course at anytime, so the prediction may not hold true. That is free will.

But if the last exit is only 100 yards away, then the car’s velocity may make navigating that final turn difficult, and often, impossible. That is fate. The speed of the car represents the karmic momentum and based on that you can gauge the likelihood of someone being able to choose a different path.

It’s like in the blockbuster movie Titanic, when the captain realized that there was no way that the ship could be navigated around the iceberg. The momentum was too much to overcome. There was nothing left to do to change their fate, except pray for a miracle.

Why You Should Not Trust Astrology Blindly

Most astrologers, in my opinion, jump the gun and make negative fatalistic predictions far too readily, often inciting great fear and scaring people into buying expensive astrological remedies. Such astrologers cannot be trusted.

Giving a prediction in the context of free will with a relative degree of likelihood is a more balanced approach. For instance, last year I gave a reading to a couple who were expecting their first child and were hoping to hear that all would be okay with the birth of this baby. I predicted the likely date range of delivery, and also said that there was a possibility that the child would be born via C-section surgery. They, of course, wanted to avoid the surgery, so I encouraged them to take certain dietary precautions and herbal remedies, etc. After they gave birth they sent me this email:

“You are so amazing! You told me and my wife, that the baby will be born between April 5^th and 25^th via possible C-section surgery. And here she is on the 7^th of April !! And she had to get a surgery after two days of pain. How do you do that?!”

Of course, it’s nice to be told that the prediction was accurate. But more importantly, during the six months before the child’s birth, the mother benefited by making concerted efforts to optimize her health with the intention to avoid the surgery. Had I made a fatalistic prediction that she would have a surgery, she would’ve probably resigned to the fact and wouldn’t have taken the extra effort. The prediction of the delivery date also worked to the couple’s advantage because it helped ease their worries about a successful first birth.

Astrology Is Meant to Empower

The bottom-line is that for you to be able to trust astrology, it should be helpful. It should empower, not weaken you. I believe that the ancient sages who brought forth this great science intended this. “There is no better boat than a horoscope to help a man cross over the troubled sea of life,” wrote the sage Varahamihira nearly 1500 years ago.

Related Reading » No Fault in Our Stars

Astrology is a tool, a map for navigating through time, similar to the physical map we use to navigate through space when we’re lost. As such, it should help us engage, rather than disengage, our will in the battles we face. It’s like Captain Picard in Star Trek commanding the crew to “Engage!” and put the ship into warp speed [high gear], or Krishna admonishing Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita to fight the battle of Kurukshetra. Our growth lies not in the end result but in traversing the journey. Being engaged ensures that we don’t miss the opportunity to grow, no matter what the final outcome.

The great psychologist Carl Jung said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” In other words, history tends to repeat itself—even personal history. It’s by becoming conscious of our karmic patterns, which we are unconscious of, that we learn to make better, empowered choices and navigate our karma intelligently. Only when predictions are made in the context of free will can we trust astrology to be helpful and instead of being fatalistic. Then astrology becomes a guide that helps us reflect and apply the wisdom to make the desired changes.

Conclusion

Ultimately, astrology should serve as a compass, not a cage. It’s meant to empower us by offering insights into our karmic patterns and the probable outcomes we might encounter, but it should never strip us of the freedom to choose our path. When used wisely, astrology becomes a source of clarity, encouraging us to engage with our challenges and make conscious decisions, rather than surrender to a perceived fate. In this way, we can trust astrology—not as a prophecy of doom or destiny, but as a guide to help us shape our own futures with confidence and awareness.

A version of this article was first published in the June 2016 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

Last updated on 20^th September 2024

The post Why You Should Not Trust Astrology Blindly: A Vedic Astrologer Explains appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

It’s not just the question of belief. Many people dismiss astrology because they consider it a pseudo science. Not me; I don’t question its validity—I confess that I don’t know enough to pass such a judgement.

Astrological Treatments Prevent Spiritual Growth

My reasons for not seeking the help of the occult sciences such as astrology, numerology and palmistry come from an altogether different space. I have come to view problems as necessary for my life experience. I have learned that all growth — physical, emotional, spiritual — is the result of facing and overcoming challenges. Without them, my life would be lackluster and devoid of any meaning. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I rejoice when I face obstacles, or invite them on every occasion. But when they do appear, I know that they have come with a purpose — my growth. Then, if I try to use astrology to eradicate them, I give up this wonderful opportunity to grow.

I have come to view problems as necessary for my life experience

I often observe people who transmute their struggles into success by working sincerely and diligently and yet they credit their astrologer or palmist for their well-deserved success. In doing so, they give away their power to them. I ask them to consider the possibility that their belief in the treatment made it happen, not the treatment itself.

Don’t Strike a Poor Bargain

Having said that, I understand why so many of my friends and loved ones seek out astrologers to resolve their life situations. When pain becomes unbearable, the thought of relief is tempting.

I can say this because I too have succumbed to such temptations in the past, when I erroneously believed that my path should be free of troubles and pain at any cost. But eventually I reconciled that impediments are meant to be crossed, not removed. That’s when I resolved to meet my share of challenges without anyone’s help. This is because I realized that by trying to minimize the impact of ‘destiny’, I may succeed in improving the circumstances of my life in the present — but the price I pay for it is very high.

When I trade in my opportunity to grow in exchange for an easier life, I strike a poor bargain. In my view, ‘ease’ should be the outcome of growth, not a substitute for it.

Conclusion: Why I Leave the Stars Alone

So now I allow the stars to do what they were meant to, while I do what I am inspired to. And when I look upon the night sky, I sense that everything in the cosmos is perfect — even the great challenges and problems that I encounter from time to time. Here’s a secret: these days I notice that the stars appear to be twinkling much more — perhaps they’re winking at me in agreement.

The post No Fault in Our Stars (Or Why I Don’t Consult Astrologers) appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.