Choosing A Written Astrological Interpretation Wisely

In recent years, written astrological interpretations have proliferated dramatically on the Internet and elsewhere. The nature and quality of these written interpretations vary tremendously from one interpretation to another. Many times, such interpretations are prepared using computers. In some such instances, a computer is used to produce a partial product, and then a person revises that output, turns it into a finished product, and delivers it to the customer. In other instances, a computer is used to produce the final product. What is generated using a computer is what goes to the customer.

Not surprisingly then, when an astrologer offers a written interpretation, potential customers often ask whether it is “computer-generated.” Typically, what they want to know by asking this question is not whether a computer was used to prepare the interpretation. Instead, they often want to know whether the astrologer truly thinks about the symbols in the production process. For some customers, having a general answer to this question suffices to help them decide whether the interpretation in question is what they want. Other customers want to know more information before making that same decision.

Me, For Example

For example, I offere written astrological interpretations. Do I use a computer to prepare them? You bet I do. Are they computer-generated? Well, that depends on what you mean by “computer-generated.” Having an accurate understanding of the nature and the quality of these interpretations can help you make a more informed decision about whether it is what you want. Do you want to know specifics about how I produce them? Then read on.

I will explain, blow-by-blow, the process that I use to prepare a written transit reading. I use a similar process to prepare other types of interpretations, both other written readings (such as birth chart and synastric interpretations) as well as readings that I do live, online.

Picking and Choosing

To start the production process, I use a computer to generate a list of the transits to your natal chart that will be in effect during the period to be covered in your reading. I pick and choose which transits to include in the reading. Then I outline the order in which I will discuss them.

After that, I check my computer to see which of these transits I have written anything about in the past. (Some I have written about previously. Some I have not.) If I have saved something that I wrote previously, then I start from that, editing it and adding to it so that it properly reflects your particular natal chart. If I do not have anything saved from my previous writing, then I start from zero.

Writing for You in Particular

Now, the material that I include in my readings is a little like comparing two people to each other. Take any two people. Compare them. When you do, you will find both a lot of similarities and some very significant differences between them. Likewise, in some respects, the material that I include in your reading is very similar to what I might include in a reading for another person.

For example, Saturn represents many of the same processes and issues regardless of whose birth chart I am talking about. The third house represents many of the same issues and activities, regardless of whose chart I am talking about. A square aspect represents many of the same issues. So does Scorpio.

At the same time, those same symbols also represent very different issues in many respects, from the reading for one person for another, and these differences are quite significant. To work efficiently while still addressing these differences adequately, I draw on my previous writing to prepare your reading. It saves me time in talking about what a planet, sign, house, or aspect represents in general. However, I also consider what those same symbols represent in your case. I write as needed to reflect this when I prepare your reading. Whether I start from something that I have written previously or I start from zero, I make a conscious decision about what to leave in, what to leave out, what to say, and how to say it.

Additional Factors That I Consider

Sometimes when people come to me for a transit reading, they are not familiar with what the various parts of their natal charts represent. Since I cannot assume that they are familiar with the natal symbols (at least not in terms of choices available to them), I often spend a fair amount of time in transit readings going over what the natal symbols indicate.

As I go through writing about each of the transits in your transit reading, I gradually try to give you a sense of what one transit might mean in light of another one that I talked about earlier in the reading.

For example, suppose that you are experiencing two major transits during the same period of time. Suppose further that the first transit triggers your natal Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Midheaven (in other words, some part of your chart that represents something that pervades your life in a very fundamental way). That transit is a long-lasting one, and it involves a planet either moving over the natal point, or moving opposite it, or moving at a right angle to it (conjoining, opposing or squaring it).

Now suppose that the second transit is different in one of these respects from the first transit. Maybe it is shorter-lasting. Maybe it is a stimulating angle (sextile) or a flowing angle (trine). Maybe it involves your Mars or Neptune. When I talk about the second transit, I try to help you understand what significance it has in light of the first transit. The first one has more significance in the long run than the second. The first transit colors and modifies the second transit.

Choose Wisely

As I have explained here, then, I use my computer as a tool to prepare my written readings. While I do use a computer to calculate astrological charts and other information, and to save time on the clerical aspect of preparing readings, I think about the information and interpret it myself. I use it to work efficiently. At the same time, I also strive to provide high-quality interpretations. After all, it is ultimately in service to you my client that I offer the interpretation.

If you are considering whether to get a written astrological interpretation, and you want to know the role that the astrologer plays in producing it, then I encourage you to ask exactly that. Do not ask whether it is “computer-generated.” Some written interpretations are better than others, but knowing only whether a computer was used to prepare them will not suffice to allow you distinguish a low-quality product from a high-quality product. Knowing that may not tell you what you really want to know. Ask what you really want to know. Written astrological interpretations can serve as a useful tool for you, if you choose them carefully.

by Brian Habit

Last updated on February 18, 2017 at 5:03 am. Word Count: 1168