Astrological addiction
Is there any room for astrology on the spiritual path?
Many traditions (including mine) emphasize the need to LET GO of the future. Let go of your little ego, worrying about what's going to happen to you, or what did happen to you. And they emphasize focusing on the present. NOW is where it's at. NOW is the key.
And I do my best to live in the NOW. But I still find myself fascinated by predictions about my future. Every Thursday when Vancouver's free daily comes out, what do I do? I take one out of the sidewalk box, flip to the back page, read my five-line horoscope, and then put it back. Goings-on around town be damned: I want to know about ME. And then on the first of every month, it's off to Astrology Zone for the full-on detailed update.
Astrology, fortune-telling, psychobabble, the whole shebang has been the purview of spiritual types since the beginning. Although in the last millenium or two the monotheistic West has attempted to make a break with this tradition and relegate such practices to "black magic", the appeal survives, and in this age of religious pluralism it is flourishing like never before. And in the East - as detailed in the fascinating read, "A Fortune Teller Told Me" - the tradition never stopped.
Why this pull? Why do even supposedly "highly enlightened" beings seek out and engage in these practices? Can we not dance with the cosmic mind as it happens, rather than trying to anticipate where it is evolving to?
Many traditions (including mine) emphasize the need to LET GO of the future. Let go of your little ego, worrying about what's going to happen to you, or what did happen to you. And they emphasize focusing on the present. NOW is where it's at. NOW is the key.
And I do my best to live in the NOW. But I still find myself fascinated by predictions about my future. Every Thursday when Vancouver's free daily comes out, what do I do? I take one out of the sidewalk box, flip to the back page, read my five-line horoscope, and then put it back. Goings-on around town be damned: I want to know about ME. And then on the first of every month, it's off to Astrology Zone for the full-on detailed update.
Astrology, fortune-telling, psychobabble, the whole shebang has been the purview of spiritual types since the beginning. Although in the last millenium or two the monotheistic West has attempted to make a break with this tradition and relegate such practices to "black magic", the appeal survives, and in this age of religious pluralism it is flourishing like never before. And in the East - as detailed in the fascinating read, "A Fortune Teller Told Me" - the tradition never stopped.
Why this pull? Why do even supposedly "highly enlightened" beings seek out and engage in these practices? Can we not dance with the cosmic mind as it happens, rather than trying to anticipate where it is evolving to?
posted by Dr. J at 18:36
4 Comments:
Obviously the great danger with Astrology is of self-fulfilling prophecies. It's best to steer clear of it in my view!
I have always had a very negative attitude toward astrologers and fortune tellers. The gifts we receive, the talents we are given on the path are given to us for the purpose of truly helping others, not for personal gain and not for parlor games or for self agrandizement. Should someone have those talents and mis-use them, I believe they are lost to that individual, who then has to rely on a good knowledge of human nature and the abvility to read the face, posture and voice of those they read for.
Predictions that come true because of the person's belief in the fortune teller, store up karma for the fortune teller to work off in future life times. That is a responsibility I would not care to carry, or a debt that I do not care to incur.
Because we have free will within the road map we are born with, it is not possible to predict events with any kind of certainty, only to glimpse the possible consequences of following the road the client is currently on.
...Z
Zareba,
I read recently that fortune-tellers can only see "shadows of what might be." I've had too many strange and seredipitous things happen for me to just dismiss it all, so I like this portrayal. Are "psychics" picking up on something? Yes, at least the good ones. Is it set in stone? No.
I agree, Dr.j. The good ones do pick up on something. Unfortunately, it is so often a trap for the Ego and they lose the ability they had to perhaps help people to guide their lives on their individual road maps.
I too, have had far too many experiences to dismiss it as nothing, but I do refuse to either read or be read for. I find that my connection to the All provides me with guidance and answers when I listen. I try very hard to simply carry a lamp to light the path and a mirror to reflect each person's own truths.
My statement here is a bit clumsy but I am having a hard time finding the words with just the right shade of meaning.
...Z
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