Person-to-Person Astrology

In one sense, it would seem that these are pretty lush times for astrology. The internet is full of websites, webinars and YouTube videos on astrology. People can learn astrology sitting in their bathrooms with a Ipad balanced on their knees. There has probably never been a time in history when knowledge of astrology was more accessible to people all around the world.

On the other hand, old style astrological organizations are struggling. One local group, near where I live called it quits this month. A national organization to which I belong published plea for donors to provide badly needed funds.

Local groups, like the one that just disbanded, provide a place for people interested in astrology get to know one another. They also provide a means for established astrologers to augment their incomes by traveling to different cities and giving lectures. Meanwhile, national and international groups, like the one to which I belong, hold conferences in which astrologers of all sorts and all nationalities can come together. This not only provides astrologers with a sense of community, it helps assure standards both in the practice of astrology and in the ethics of practicing astrologers. Now, those institutions now appear to be in danger.

We could just chalk this up to changing times. We no longer have to go out to a meeting or a bookstore in order to find information. It’s all available to us on our various devices. And, of course, there is also an economic factor. People, particular young people, and even more particularly young people who might be interested in an oddball subject like astrology, are often too busy making a living to attend meetings or conferences. They work two, maybe three jobs. They work nights and weekends. If they have free time, they’re unlike to spend it sitting in an overheated basement listening to someone drone on about eclipses.

There is no denying that all of this is true. The times are changing. But people are not. People need person to person contact, and no digital convenience is going to make up for that.  Studying astrology alone in front of a computer eventually becomes a hollow experience. You need to talk to other people. More important, you need to listen to other people.

Also, I would submit that knowledge that is easily gained is also easily forgotten or misconstrued. We need to work a little bit for understanding. We have to remove ourselves from our comfort zones. Sitting in a room full of strangers might be stressful, but it can also be exhilarating when you recognized that all these people, with their human bodies and human minds, are fascinated by the same thing as you are.

So, I want to encourage people to use whatever device they are using to read this blog to now use it device to search out a astrological group near where they live, and to explore the various national organizations that are out there (like the I.S.A.R, the N.C.G.R. and the A.F.A.). Astrology has flourished on the internet, but it needs the in-person gathering of like-minded people to maintain and expand its strength. Be a part of that strength.