Setting Up a Context
For Clients to View the Chart *

Setting up a context so that clients know what to expect from a consultation is of primary importance. Few people are familiar with astrology or how it works. Even those who are aware should know the perspective of the astrologer giving the consultation, as perspectives can vary dramatically from one astrologer to another. I start my consultations by letting a client know that his chart reflects a picture of his or her life based on his or her date, time, and place of birth.

The chart, like one’s genetic programming, shows the potentials he gets to work with in life. All charts contain both favorable and difficult characteristics, so there is no such thing as a good or bad chart. The good news in this is that people are meant to be the way they are, and the bad news is that they have to live with their characteristics. Free will in this context means a person is free to live the best of his chart or the worst of it, but he cannot change the basic pattern. He is also not meant to do so, or he would have been born at another time. A person’s natural abilities, what he does well without trying, are defined by the whole chart, not just by the favorable aspects. The chart also defines problem areas. While some horoscopes seem as though they are easier to live than others, people who have what appear to be “easy” charts do not necessarily perceive their lives as easy.

The fewer tension aspects found, usually the less ability one has for dealing with tension or problems. The harder the chart the more difficult the experiences one goes through, but the better equipped he may be to handle them. Those whose charts have a preponderance of favorable planetary relationships frequently must learn that life doesn’t always go their way and that a crisis doesn’t necessarily exist because they’re not getting what they want at every given moment. Those whose charts have a preponderance of tense planetary relationships need to learn that they don’t always have to struggle; they can find ways to handle situations more easily.

In either case, the entire horoscope tells what the beliefs are, where the beliefs come from, which are beneficial, and which produce difficulties. Each person’s view is correct in some ways and flawed in others; but it can be hard to see the flaws since the chart is the lens through which one looks at life. Most people are shocked to find that the views of others differ from their own. These unexpected differences become the source of most relational conflict.

The most important point for the astrologer to remember in viewing the chart is that the whole is greater than the parts. The meaning of each component will vary from person to person because it fits into a completely different pattern. All people are inconsistent by nature, and incompatible characteristics defined by the signs, planetary combinations, or house placements do not neutralize each other. Rather, they pull people in different directions. While this is usual, it is never comfortable. To achieve fulfillment an individual must find a way to satisfy the different sides of her nature instead of choosing one side over the other. It’s up to the astrologer to point out these differing needs and help the client to recognize the importance of balancing all of them.

The astrologer in judging the horoscope should view it from the client’s perspective as shown by the chart and not from her own views of life. For one client pursuing spiritual values may be the most important part of her life; for another, work or earning money; for a third relationships; for another making a mark on the world in some humanitarian, or even egoistic, way. The astrologer, as much as is humanly possible, should not impose her own values on her clients. The chart “talks to” a proficient astrologer and tells her what is important rather than the other way around.

Logically speaking, it’s “better” to have certain placements than others; but when it comes to an individual chart, the person does not have a choice as to where his planets fall. The client doesn’t benefit by hearing that Capricorn is a “bad” place for the Moon or that Mars in Pisces is disastrous. After all, this is what that person has to work with. It’s the astrologer’s job to help client understands what their planetary placements mean and how they can best be utilized without making value judgments about them.

The one thing the astrologer cannot tell in looking at the horoscope is the current level of individual consciousness achieved by the client. While the birth chart is the life potential, free will allows people to handle this potential differently. A difficult chart doesn’t necessarily mean a doomed life or an easy chart a charmed one. It’s up to each person to work out his or her potential. Some learn their “lessons” and stop repeating negative patterns. Others repeat these patterns over and over. Some develop their positive traits to their fullest capacities. Others just get by. While the chart itself gives a strong indication as to who will do what, in the end it always comes down to the individual choice of how each person handles what he’s got.