Training of an Astrologer

October 2022

Copyright © by Judith, 2022

Years ago, I read that becoming a professional astrologer in India requires an eight-year University program followed by a four-year apprenticeship. If this isn’t true, it should be!

Because a vast skill set attends our science and craft, some sort of deep training is necessary. Moreover, in some traditions, the Jyotishi (Indian style) astrologer is expected to adhere to a lifestyle suitable to a saint. This would be wholly unacceptable by Western cultural standards, and, realistically, too much to ask of young astrologers eager to hang out their shingles. However, there is a good reason for the expectation. To spiritually and materially guide others, one’s personal life shouldn’t be messy. Clarity of mind fosters effective reading skills. Wisdom slowly grows in the climate of a calm and centered heart. The psychic sensitivity natural to students of astrology now partners with good psychic boundaries, knowledge, and wisdom.

“Star Knowledge” is a big responsibility! Without some guidance, the young student is similar to a foolish hiker wandering off into the woods without knowledge of either the terrain or the denizens residing there. In this article, I’ll play forest guide.

To begin, the aspirant must decide if they wish to be an entertainer, a consultant, a counselor, or the indispensable village sage - that full-service astrologer who capably assists in all possible life problems from vocational choice to haircut dates. The renowned Renaissance English astrologer William Lilly was such a person, and one of my own role models.

If you want to be a useful, full-service astrologer, this guidance is for you!

Depth, Breadth, and Clarity

These three concepts are so essential to astrological training that they have become The Academy for Astrological Medicine's motto: “ altitudo, latitudo, et claritas”. To this, I would add “balance”, although this disturbs the mellifluous flow of the motto as it rolls off the tongue. Let’s add two more: psychic self-protection, spiritual grounding, and ethics. Below, is a discussion of these now seven concepts!

Breadth

The full-service astrologer needs to know a little about everything. You will receive clients of every possible shape, size, and professional calling. The following suggested studies will prove of inestimable value at your consulting table. You may wish to create your own list, or add and subtract from mine.

World Religions: know the main teachings and goals of as many world religious paradigms as possible. Consulting astrologers have the opportunity to serve clients of many faiths!
Astronomy: learn enough astronomy to know what a chart actually reflects; know how eclipses and nodes function, the duration of various planetary cycles, etc. Know the difference between the ecliptic plane, the horizon, the equator, etc.
Adjunct studies: Palmistry, Handwriting Analysis, Graphology, Numerology, Phrenology. These studies are remarkably handy!
Physiognomy/phrenology: Don’t laugh. This is more useful than you think. Example: It’s not uncommon for certain brow ridges to excel at engineering! When confused in vocational selections and need a good tie-breaker, here you are.
Anthropology: Know something of world cultures and etiquette. This comes in more handy than you can ever know!
Communication Skills: Learn to impart astrological insights succinctly in a clear, readily accessible way. As an astrologer, one must learn to impart abstract concepts in a useful manner to a wide variety of people. The study of languages is invaluable. Also, know what not to say! Learn how to frame difficult astrological “news”, to whom, and when to keep silent.
History: An appreciation of how we got where we are today, is pertinent to the craft. History broadens one’s understanding of our life and times in manifold ways. Learn astrological history as well as the history of everything!
Business: Astrologers are not always great business people. Basic bookkeeping and other small business skills are essential to running a successful small business of any kind.
Biography: As astrologers, we study people! The study of significant lives is quite instructive, especially with a natal chart in hand!
Medicine: Know something about the human body, physiology, and etiology. Gain a basic comprehension of how these relate to the natal chart and current transits and progressions.
Writing: Working astrologers are frequently asked to write reports, lecture blurbs, ad copy, predictions, or small columns. Plus, you may have a great book hiding in you one day! And please, please don’t call yourself an “astrologist” (nails on a chalkboard). You are an “astrologer”!
Psychology. Many astrologers offer a form of psychological counseling, using the chart as their guide. It is therefore beneficial to obtain a reasonable level of education in psychology; knowing too, how astrology itself informed some major aspects and approaches of early Western Psychology…yup, ”we came first”.
Music: Astrology and music both involve vibrations - and the harmonies/disharmonies of vibration. Musicians, therefore, have a natural advantage in understanding the vibrational nature of astrology.
Remedials: There is a wide palette of remedials available for the host of human travails you will encounter in your reading room. It’s good to have something legal to offer! For instance, an astrologer licensed to practice homeopathy can be a real asset to their client.

Depth

As Edgar Cayce said, “know a little about everything but be good for something.”

Specialize. There are many genres to choose from. The full-service astrologer excels at them all! A less experienced astrologer is wise to have a specialty. Once you have selected your preferred genre, then become an expert in that genre. Dig deep. Learn everything about that singular field, and practice, practice, practice. Be patient - nobody gains mastership in one year. Below are listed some popular genres to choose from. First, a note on favored astrological techniques paradigms, i.e. “schools.”

Schools of Thought and Practice: The Beach Boys once sang “Be true to your school.” This is good advice to the novice. Be true to your school and resist the urge to bounce around, mixing and matching, at least for several years. When you have invested five or ten years in that singular approach, then feel freer to wander. Why do I say this? Each school demands a different frame of mind, and its practice places you in that mental frame. As in a willy-nilly conflation of three languages - the blending of multiple astrological schools too early in your practice runs the risk of mental confusion. This outcome opposes clarity. If you aspire to be a horoscopic astrologer, first decide upon a school: Hellentistic, Classical Western, Renaissance, Jyotish, Uranian, Evolutionary, etc. And, get really, really good, at that.

Genres (for specialization) shortlist

Medical
Electional (date selection for important life events)
Horary
Business and Corporate
Natal
Transit-Progressed (current and upcoming influences)
Psychological-spiritual
Location
World Prediction (astrometeorology, astroseismology, politics, economy, etc)
Synastry and Comparison charts

Clarity

Clarity means “clear”, transparent, as in a sparkling clear pool, or a sharp mirror. The notion that a clear mind is essential to accurate chart interpretation is perhaps not so popular. To avoid being misconstrued, my personal definition of “clarity”, in relation to astrological practice is stated and defined (in clarity) below:

“Clarity” as discussed in this article, is the ability of the reader to:

discern the difference between wishful thinking, fantasy, and genuine psychic inspiration coming through your “radio receiver” - the horoscope.
Identify the arising of one’s own internal opinions and pre-judgment “tags”, and next, know when to set them aside in one’s evaluation of a client’s problem (and when not to do so).
Crystal clear understanding of a client’s concern: a) discerning what questions to ask your client to gain this clarity; b) cleanly and confidently strategizing an astrological path for answering that question.
Discerning what planetary attributes are given by humans based on fanciful extrapolations of mythological associations, vs what the true influences of that planet truly are, as genuine forces (temperature, color, moisture, speed, etc). This requires time and astute observation.

Balance

Star Knowledge, like anything else, has side effects. Astrology is not a toy, and like any spiritual science, requires mental-emotional-physical and spiritual balance.

Various spiritual traditions are well aware of the imbalances that can off-tilt the neophyte, sometimes seriously. Various rules, strictures, taboos, and initiations were once universal. This reminds me of how Jewish Kabbalistic training was, for whatever reasons, exclusively restricted to males over 40 years of age. Today, the public flaunts this rule as Kabbalah is tossed about like a beach ball (talk about cultural appropriation!).

Unbalanced, unguided Star Knowledge, has its dangers. Rather than reveal what the potential side effects and dangers are, I’d rather provide some balancing activities. A balanced life is well protected from the less desirable potentials of “fooling around” with the stars!

Foremost, the aspiring astrologer would do well to engage in an “earthy” practical skill that gets them off computers. Gardening, cooking, baking, farming, building. My close personal students are each adept in one of these fields.

Secondly, work a few minutes a day in “beauty”. Beauty, in this context, is not in the eye or ear of the beholder, (as suggests the old proverb).“Beauty” here refers to harmonies in sound, taste, smell, (or, as in the case of “art”, to shapes, images, and colors), that are healing and helpful to the body, mind, spirit, and emotions of humans - and conceivably of most plants and animals too. As we know, flies enjoy things poisonous to most mammals, so they do not apply!

If you are not an artist, maybe you can enjoy viewing beautiful photographs of gardens or natural scenes. Note how this makes you feel inside! If crafty, you can work in a useful craft, maybe basketry, weaving, carving, metal smithing, or pottery. If inclined to scents, work with essential oils. Daily work in beauty, greatly assists the whole person to balance with incoming Star Knowledge.

Psychic Self-Protection: The astrological aspirant is strongly urged to have an education in Psychic self-protection in the reading room.

Spiritual Path: A solid spiritual path, while not required, is certainly a significant blessing, ground wire, and guide for many astrological students. Most spiritual paths include some form of lifestyle guidance.

Ethics: Some astrological organizations maintain ethics pledges, or at least, suggestions. The practicing astrologer needs to know the ropes here. This article is not the place for a discussion of ethics. However, one essential is “don’t frighten your client”. Before hanging out your shingle, study astrological ethics, consulting ethics, and communication ethics.

Summary

Those aspiring to be great, full-service astrologers after the fashion of William Lilly would be well served to invest themselves whole-heartedly in Breadth, Depth, Clarity, and Balance, plus a solid knowledge of psychic self-protection, ethics, and some manner of spiritual grounding. In the hands of the balanced adept, astrology becomes a noble and venerable profession.

Start learning Medical Astrology 101. This course is designed for the independent student to acquire a foundation in reading the Planetary Health Chart.

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