I wish I knew who wrote this, it’s unattributed in this article.

Astrology is one vehicle for the stream of living wisdom which alone can heal the results of the dualistic and rationalistic preoccupations: mankind in disjunction from his deeper self, the natural environment and life as a whole, Alienation, in a word.

Today much grassroots astrological work is psychological in orientation, although the knowledge of life and human nature embedded in astrological motifs predates psychology as we know it, by thousands of years.

Unlike reductive psychology, however, the astrological view of the individual psyche does not pathologize the quirks of human nature, but seeks to examine how particular energies are manifesting in a given individual life, also exploring possible alternatives to distorted or troublesome expressions.

Additionally, astrology sees individuals not only as unique in themselves, but also as reflections of the larger whole in which they live, being simultaneously embedded within it, relating to it and co-responsible for its creation. Indeed, our very bodies contain elements which also comprise the substance of the stars.

The planets symbolize spiritual energies that form the subtle fabric from which the visible universe is woven. Their expression is found within human life, in the individual psyche, at the core of which is the unknowable mystery of Being.

The movements of the planets are like the ripples and the astrologer interprets these never repeating patterns through knowledge of astrology’s symbolic language; this information is in turn applied to the situation at hand.

At birth we surface into the pool of our individual life; our horoscope represents that moment, our portion of the universe, the centre of a web whose pattern represents the energies which will seek expression through us. In this way, the horoscope portrays destiny. Thus astrological factors (signs, planets, houses, etc) describe the intersection of linear clock time – life incarnate lived on earth – with the eternal realms of the soul and beyond. The forces of Wyrd are the winds and tides…If they are known, the sailor can trim his sails to adapt to them. Life can be in harmony with the forces and their power. But he can not change them…We can not control our lives, because we too are inseparable aspects of Wyrd and express its will. But that is not the same thing as saying our life is determined.

Rather, it is saying we live like an ocean voyager, trimming our sails to the winds and tides of Wyrd as we skim across the waters of life.

Astrology can be used for many applications forecasting weather changes, answering questions, predicting the outcome of elections, deciding the best time to do something, or gaining insight into individual psychology. The common factor in all this is man’s connection with the universe, its cycles and patterns. In applying this understanding astrologers use a very simple base planets, signs, houses and aspects.

Planets of the solar system represent different symbolic energy sources, or models of behaviour. The zodiac signs describe the way the planets express their meaning. They are like lenses through which the planets ‘see’ and ‘act’. The twelve Houses are locations or fields of experience. The experience can be an outward/material/rational experience; or an inner/ psychological/emotional ones. Understanding how you are creating your own future right now is often more useful than trying anxiously to ward it off with fore-knowledge. In this way, knowledge of astrology can be empowering, and by providing a framework of meaning, it can help us engage more consciously with life. It also serves to remind us of the limits of our human knowledge and understanding.

The term “wyrd” as used here likely refers to the forces of fate and the interconnectedness of time: the past influences the future, and the future has a similar effect on the past. In Nordic mythology, the Tree of Life, the Yggdrasil, is nourished by the Well of Wyrd. Dew from the branches drips into the well, then providing nourishment for the tree.

I am particularly fascinated by the concept that the present influences the past. On a psychological level we are able to heal the past through the actions that we take in the present, and this of course changes the outcome of the future.

Astrologer from the Tower print, by Newell Wyeth