Astrology and AI

People will sometimes ask me if I am worried that AI will take over my job as an astrologer.  And my answer is always an assured “No”.

Having to explain the basics to people so they have a context for their consultation is not the most interesting part of my reading with them. It’s material I have explained so often, I more or less do it by rote. I can hear the clock ticking while people listen and try to absorb what I am saying, all the while waiting for me to get to the good stuff. But I feel it’s important for a client to know a little bit about the planets I’m talking about (especially the inner, personal planets) and what the hieroglyphic’esque picture they are looking at kind of means. I keep the explanations as short & sweet as possible because there is only so much you can “take in" during a consult and I don’t want to burn up a bunch of brain cells on Astro 101.

For this reason, it is a time saver when clients come to me with a bit of an understanding of astrology- the larger picture. And this is what astrological websites, apps and AI are really great for! There are so many free platforms that people can pop their data into, and have a look at their charts. Plus, AI provides excellent explanations of things like what a Sun Sign, Moon Sign and Rising Sign means. I’ve been asking Google AI all sorts of things and am impressed by the responses it gives complete with overviews and breakdowns (though I hear AI is the number 1 environment killer currently- UGH).

I remember the first time I got onto astro.com and the hours upon hours I would spend clicking on my chart and reading about all the things! This is the BEST free website out there folks.

Astro apps and software programs have only gotten better at the basics, up to and including doing a little bit of composite chart work where you can compare your chart to another persons chart to check your synastry. There are holes- let me tell you, there are big holes. But these programs are so much better than the Glamour mag-books that used to tell you who you are compatible with and who you should avoid like the plague based on something as basic as your Sun Sign!

The first time I did a reading for a professional astrologer, I was very nervous. What could I tell this knowledgable person who knows their own chart inside out and is aware of all the same techniques that I am? But it ends up that reading for professional astrologers is one of my favourite things to do! Because you get straight into what you are seeing happening with their chart. And professional astrologers have their favourite techniques, which are always a bit different.

For me? I am a modern astrologer. I love the work of Richard Idemon, who was one of the first astrologers to blend psychotherapy with astrology. Other faves are Steven Forrest, Liz Greene, Mark Jones & Mary Fortier Shea. The elements, qualities and orientations the clients planets are in really stand out for me. & I am currently obsessed with the larger life arcs the Progressed Lunation Cycle brings and how Evolutionary Astrology affects the souls purpose.

Many popular astrologers have returned to Traditional Astrology and Whole Sign houses. Some newer astrologers are loving up the asteroids. Other astrologers are digging down into Zodiacal Release and Arabic Parts or using Hellenistic Profections and Time Lords in Solar Returns. And then there’s the Fixed Star crowd…

I’m telling you friends- one of the top reasons I love astrology is because the subject matter is endless. It’s an ancient field of study dating back to Babylonian times. Many societies have their own form of it, such as Vedic, Chinese and Western. There are different house systems to chose from and some work better for different points of inquiry such as the Regiomontanus house system for Horary Astrology. These different systems are just like schools of philosophy or religion. To my mind, like languages, all are equally valid.

There has always been the age old question of “Is astrology an art or a science?” and my personal answer is- both.

There are mathematical and astronomical parts to a chart that are arrived at by calculation. I am old enough that I used to have to figure out these things by hand, using the Tables of Houses and formulas to calculate the ACD (Adjusted Calculation Date) for progressions and we absolutely had to learn how to read The American Ephemeris to determine a clients transits. The math/mapping was my least favourite part of completing my diploma with the CAAE but, if I didn’t have to learn it, I likely wouldn’t have (let’s be honest).

But back to AI and software tech. Which is obviously great at the calculation side! Bless!

Once you have all the science out of the way with a plotted chart, you have to get into the interpretive part of giving a chart reading which is called Delineation. This is where the art comes in.

Synthesizing the various parts of the chart is “the work” of the astrologer and it’s where people who have a passing interest in astrology will usually leave off their study of the subject. Because learning to read a chart for someone beyond your self and family & friends is hard and if you don’t have a knack for it, which honestly- some do and some do not (I didn’t)- it takes a lot of practice to become proficient in chart synthesis.

Why? Because there are seemingly a million bits of information contained in one individual chart. It’s a giant heap! Getting a computer print out of the basic information contained in one birth chart from an astrological software program will give you upwards of 100 pages.

There are layers upon layers of information and some of the pieces are contradictory so you have to understand what wins out and has hardened meaning in a persons chart, and what is not of great import. There are some rules for this such as knowing about chart singletons and how they function, the difference between wide orbs and exact orbs for the aspects and what aspects have more oomph. You need to understand the condition of a planet in a chart based on its essential dignity in different signs and houses. There are configurations that happen in charts that sometimes have keys found by other planets making fortuitous aspects to one of the planets contained therein. And sometimes the configurations are locked up natally, so you have to wait for a progression to give you a way in… and in the meantime- work the hell out of that pin you swallowed at birth and have spent a lot of energy trying to hack up or get settled. (I speak in metaphor a lot. Can’t help it.)

In terms of forecasting, you need to pay heed to the rule of threes which means that you need to see a certain planetary transit/progression/arc happening in a few places to know that it will be making itself known. Because there is always so much being activated in the natal chart. If you were to try to comment on everything it would just be a huge mass of confusing overwhelm. Importantly- the transits that are happening to the planets in the natal chart have to be referred back to what the natal promise of the natives planetary placements are all about. The natal chart does get activated and events cause shifts to happen, but the “natal promise” is a constant throughout the persons life.

If a person has a planet that has a difficult placement in the chart, they are used to living with that difficulty and have likely found clever ways to function with it. At the very least, they are inured to “the burn”. Therefore, as an astrologer, when someone has a difficult aspect being made to a certain planet in their chart, I can let them know if this is going to be hard felt or if it’s something they have already achieved a certain level of expertise with!

This is something that I can never see a computer learning. I mean…. it could if it was continuously fed all the observations made by all the good astrologers over time and it was able to understand the intricacies of chart delineation. But even if it could… You can only go as deep with a client as you have gone with yourself. If you haven’t plumbed your own depths, you cannot expect to be able to plumb others.

Most professional astrologers I have spoken to about their process will say there is an intuitive element to it. Once you have all the knowledge (because this has to come first) you look at the chart and do your brain computations. But then you “sit” with the chart, and let it speak to you.

I used to spend upwards of 20 hours prepping a chart for a consult. Minutes before seeing the client, I would still be cramming information and wishing for them to be struck by lightening because I didn’t feel ready. Lol! But after doing hundreds of charts, my process sped up a lot. Still, I always allow myself 24 hours between looking at a clients chart and delivering the consult because somewhere in the back of my brain the chart is perking. I won’t even know I’m thinking about it and then there will be an “Aha" moment in the shower or walking in the ravine.

There is a divine element in the consult as well, which is about the interaction between us two humans. I try not to make any “decisions” about the client so I am as open as possible to meeting this person who is coming to me with their own host of experiences, a family history I can’t really know, epigenetics at play and their own inner disposition. Meeting a client for the first time is always a wonderful epiphany. Up to and including why they are really coming to see me which they will sometimes hide for fear of vulnerability.

In my opinion, understanding the myriad quandaries of being human is the thing AI will always be missing. Unless it sticks around for a very long time, many lifetimes, deliberately choosing to experience human sentience. This seems to be what most artificial life forms in books and movies want to do, but is that realistic?

What AI would want to sign on for being stuck in the incredibly frustrating ways that we humans get stuck. With change coming so glacially and often not at all. Annoyingly riddled by unnatural fears and insecurities and getting pulled into relational quagmires that you have to desperately fight your way out of. I mean, in many ways it’s great being human but the struggle is sometimes A LOT.

And this is where we really need each other. Human to human. To help each other to understand we are not alone. To share our stories and insights and any level of expertise we glean on this human experience. To counsel, illuminate, mirror and assist a person in connecting to their deepest most complicated self, for their own fulfillment and betterment. 

To me- this kind of soul work is something AI can never replace. For kinda obvious reasons… 😉

xoxo,

S