Traditional understanding of astrology most often reduces it to a predictive system. Astrological forecasts are typically divided into favorable and unfavorable ones for the person asking. The querent themselves is usually perceived as a passive subject, helplessly standing in the wind of intense astrological influences, hoping that unfavorable conditions will pass and a period of favorable planetary configurations will arrive.
In astrology, stressful aspects, the influence of the Black Moon, so-called malefic planets—Pluto, Uranus, Saturn—as well as retrograde planets and critical degrees are generally considered “bad.”
We have not yet fully parted with the astrological habits of the 2000-year yin era of Pisces, in which the central theme was submission to fate and fatal acceptance of external adverse factors as inevitable.
Everyone is familiar with the utopian belief in the good king—the hope that some external force will fulfill a parental role, protecting us from all misfortunes. Yet even today, people often expect that important changes creating a comfortable life can come from outside, beyond their own efforts. This is called infantilism: a person has grown up externally, but remains a child inside—that is, someone unable to independently overcome external difficulties, improve their own life and that of their loved ones, and take responsibility for it.
Unfortunately, most astrological interpretations of challenging indicators in a horoscope tend to reduce to the astrologer, upon seeing these “bad” signs, simply trying to shield the person from them by giving advice such as: “Stay quiet, be cautious, don’t do anything important, because now is not a blessed time.” At one time, the famous medium and astrologer Edgar Cayce said, “Anyone who refuses to experience life must suffocate their desire to live—in other words, they must commit partial suicide. Are astrologers not committing partial suicide by trying to avoid unfavorable planetary influences?”
Sometimes clients come to me frightened after a consultation with another astrologer. Particularly questionable and futile is the recommendation given by such a would-be astrologer: “For the next 2–3 years, stay quieter than water, lower than grass, and don’t take any important actions.” Such recommendations are typically given during transits of planets of renewal and transformation (Uranus and Pluto) in stressful aspects to natal planets—precisely when a person receives what may be the only chance in their life to radically change and renew their existence! And if they follow such advice, they will miss this opportunity and may even develop a cluster of psychosomatic illnesses resulting from unexpressed yang energy sent to them for radical external change.
All such astrological interpretations, oriented toward passive perception of external yang planetary energies as adverse factors threatening stability and comfort, must be left in the past.
The coming new 2000-year yang era of Aquarius grants humanity the right and opportunity to consciously utilize yang energies of stressful aspects, to bring the light of conscious creativity into the unstable energies of Lilith, to constructively experience themes of planets in critical degrees, and more.
Our perception of cosmic-astrological factors must shift—from the position of a passive participant in one’s own life, or a child, to that of an independent, conscious individual, spiritually mature and ready to actively participate in the creative process of their own life.
To do this, first and foremost, we must accept the fact that in astrology, as in life, there is nothing inherently “bad” or “good,” but only “easy” and “difficult.” Moreover, difficulties are always an opportunity to become stronger, to grow spiritually, to transform the level of life—ultimately, through constructive use of stressful planetary influences, leading to improved quality of life and a sense of spiritual and physical fulfillment.
Generally speaking, viewing life as a sequence of favorable and unfavorable periods is fundamentally incorrect. It creates the impression that if a period is unfavorable, it is somehow “empty,” and one must simply wait it out, hide, and temporarily cease to live. But life is a continuous continuum. There are no breaks or waiting rooms. At every moment, energetic interactions occur; life develops creatively and constantly. Therefore, the astrologer’s task is not to “cushion the fall,” but to point out the possibilities for radical change offered by stressful indicators in the horoscope or in temporary charts. By consciously and constructively using the energy of stressful aspects, critical degrees, Lilith, and others, we can live life to its fullest, feeling alive and passionately engaged until old age.
Human beings are immanent to life. They are not external subjects in relation to it, but an inseparable part, existing in its image and likeness. “As above, so below,” states the fundamental principle of Hermeticism. And humanity must learn to live in accordance with inner cosmic rhythms.
Stressful astrological indicators can and must be used for self-improvement and full self-realization. Like a surfer, a person can and should harness chaotic yang natural energy for acceleration, full living, and self-actualization.
Therefore, such indicators must be interpreted as opportunities to change and improve one’s life or specific areas of it, to reach a qualitatively new level, to access inner resources, and to become stronger and more refined.
Hence, the task of the astrologer in the Age of Aquarius is not to merely state or predict certain future events in a person’s life, but to indicate new opportunities and challenges that a person can realize through the prevailing astrological configurations. By losing the opportunities given by the yang energy of stressful indicators, we risk living our lives at less than full capacity, missing important life themes, and dying with the feeling of having missed something vital.
To summarize our reflections, paraphrasing a well-known phrase by a famous German philosopher—
“Astrologers have so far only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it!”
© Natalia Perestoronina
