On the Efficacy of Horoscope Columns, Generally
authored by Pam Frank
Horoscope
columns, also known as sun-sign columns, are a much debated topic among
astrologers and lay people alike. What the two camps have in common is the
tendency to rebuff them based on generalization. Some astrologers fear that the
broad format of sun-sign columns undermines the integrity of the deeper, more
incisive understanding of which astrology is capable. Lay people point out that
a particular horoscope was "off" for them, so the whole field of
astrology must be off-the-wall. Bottom line, whether generalization occurs
before or after the fact, horoscope columns can easily provoke negatively
broad-based views.
In contrast, I
think generalization is the key to understanding the efficacy of sun-sign
columns, because it is in their very lightness that they possibly offer their
greatest gift. So let's explore what horoscope columns provide, acknowledging
some degree of specificity; embracing that they are indeed only the tippy tip of
the astrological iceberg compared to personalized astrology readings; and
admitting that while we are not chiseling very deep, that is not grounds for
dismissal, but a more lucid, even holistic understanding.
Horoscope
columns categorize people into 12 sun-sign types. It's certainly a lot more than
Carl Jung's widely used dual classification of introvert and extrovert, and a
third more than the lesser known Enneagram's nine-point personality system as
pioneered by G.I. Gurdjieff. Based on numbers alone, we can say that astrology's
12 character types offer the public comparatively greater breadth and
distinction, not to mention centuries of empirically-based understanding behind
them.
The emphasis
in horoscope columns on the sun in a particular sign, versus the moon or a
planet, stems from the fact that the sun is the central light bearer of our
universe. In the birth chart, a map of the universe at the moment of the
first breath, light is equated with consciousness. Therefore, the sun in a
particular sign represents the most conscious part of a person's psyche. It
symbolizes their sense of identity, and thus constitutes the obvious single
choice of horoscope columnists in their work. While the sun (
)
is all- important, however, notice below how much more information about a
person is contained in their birth chart, the chief tool used by astrologers in
personalized readings.
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Thus while the
sun is central to a person's sense of self, it represents only one of the many
factors that symbolically makeup an individual as a whole.
When it comes
to prediction, the real hook of sun-sign columns, generalization again is called
for. Astrologers use the same tool of transits, the movement of the planets in
the sky at a particular time, for columns as they do for individual readings.
The difference is that in a column, the whole 30 degree range of a particular
sun sign is commonly taken into account when describing the affect of a moving
planet on the sun sign. Whereas, in a personal reading, astrologers normally
tighten the orb of influence from a 30 degree range to a one degree range.
Horoscope columns, then, can really only address the influence of an
astrological event on a sun sign in relatively diffuse terms compared to the
more poignant understanding articulated in personalized readings.
Houses,
representing environments of life, are distinguished in horoscope columns not by
the time of birth (obviously), as with individual chart readings, but by placing
the sun sign on the first house cusp, with the natural sequence of signs
following numerically. So that if the sun is in Aries, the first house is
associated with Aries, the second house with Taurus, the third with Gemini and
so on. If the sun is in Taurus, then Taurus is associated with the first house,
Gemini the second and around again. These are called solar houses. The thinking
for linking the sun and the first house is that they each represent the self,
albeit somewhat differently, and are thus allied. As the planets in the sky
change signs, they are regarded in horoscope columns as also changing solar
houses, the exact house of which depends on the sun sign being discussed.
So the
mechanisms for creating sun-sign columns are grounded in traditional
astrological understanding of the personality and its moment, yet speak more to
general resonances affecting a part of the self rather than the whole. Given
this understanding, the key to responding to horoscope columns is to stay light
on your feet with them, for it is in their very lightness that you may catch a
glimmer of something more. It's been said that enlightenment has to do with
lightening up. I certainly can't promise you that any astrological tool can
offer you enlightenment, but I can tell you that the lightest one, in focus and
content, is the horoscope column. By its very nature, then, it may be closer to
offering a glimpse of the truth of our oneness than may first be apparent. After
all, there are 12 distinct signs, but only one sun—out there and in here.
Sun-sign columns can therefore serve as doorways to the universal, to that which
is common and thus unifying to us all. In that light, they can be seen as
generally efficacious indeed.
In
modern times, the term "horoscope" refers to a person's entire chart,
not just their sun sign. Thus the term "horoscope column" is a
misnomer, given that its focus is solely on the sun sign. To resolve this
discrepancy for myself, I've named my column "SOLscope" in
acknowledgment of its specifically solar orientation.
Astrology Not
If you want to
consistently engage in lively social conversation, become an astrologer. My
response to the inevitable question "So, what do you do?" almost
always peaks curiosity and opens further dialogue. Often I find myself more in
the role of debunking what astrology is not than characterizing what it is. It's
really quite down-to-earth in its application. It honors the talents and
challenges you've been given in this lifetime and looks at the timing to
identify what part of your life is being stimulated to greater awareness. The
good news, I think, is that you have the power to choose your response,
regardless of what outer circumstances show up. An astrology reading could
therefore never be separate from you or dictated to you, but only co-explored
with you.
Indeed modern
humanistic astrology is "person centered." Its purpose, to paraphrase
revered astrologer Robert Hand, is to help you find where you are within your
own universe, for then you can get back in touch with the creative process of
making your universe work. Hand goes on to add, "...the horoscope seems to
act as a schematic diagram of [your] intentions in life....It is a description
not of what is going to happen (that is, destiny), but of what [you are] and
what shape [you are] going to give to [your] life....astrology is in no way a
retreat from individual responsibility. Rather it acknowledges responsibility on
the highest level."
Simply put,
astrology is a tool for enhancing self awareness so that conscious choices can
be made, often leading to a happier, more fulfilled state of being. The greater
the personal awareness you cultivate, the less outside events need to occur in
order to prompt your attention. Astrology demonstrates, however, that outer and
inner are really one. The macrocosm of the universe mirrors the microcosm of you
because everything in existence is a reflection of the One made manifest to know
Itself. Of course I don't get into that conversation until at least the second
question "What is going on with the planets lately?" - - - Not!
Robert
Hand, Horoscope Symbols, West Chester, PA: Whitford Press, 1981, p. 18.
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Pam Frank
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