To err is human

Prediction is an ancient practice. We have all heard the tale of the Roman emperor Tiberius, who if unsatisfied with an astrological prediction, had the astrologer thrown from a cliff. Only one astrologer, Thrasyllus, was spared this fate. So prediction, is, and always has been a precarious business.

Astrologers, myself included, are often employed to look ahead. People are always curious, particularly in time of crisis, to know why they are encountering such difficulties and are eager to know when and if the current crisis will pass. Innocent enough. Usually it is pretty easy to pick out the trouble maker and clients are always relieved to hear when the planet concerned will ease itself out of the picture. But as always one must excercise caution in this area. I occassionally encounter a sad soul who, having been told twenty years ago by an astrologer, that their life would change significantly when they were forty, have somehow gotten lost by the wayside. Believing everything to be written in the stars some people will hang their destiny on the words of an astrologer. The voluntary surrender of personal responsibility for one’s lot in life is a tragic thing indeed.

So the astrologer must err on the side of caution or risk the dreaded self fulfilling prophecy.