GROUND RULES FOR ASK THE ASTROLOGER QUESTIONS
DOS AND DON’TS
Do:
Ask a question on your own behalf that can be answered based on your birth chart and yours alone. For the purpose of this feature, I do not answer questions that require the birth information of anyone other than the letter writer. If you want to ask about a relationship, see Relationship Astrology, below the dos and don’ts.
Ask a question that is reasonably specific. Just, “What do you see in my birth chart?” or, “Tell me about my life/future/career/marriage prospects/etc.” isn’t specific enough. If you know anything about your own birth chart, you can ask for clarification. For example, “I have a t-square, what does it mean?” Or, “I’m a Taurus, but I’m not really stubborn, why?” You can also ask for clarification on a life issue. But do not ask for hard and fast predictions (see the second of the “Don’ts,” below).
Understand that submitting your question gives me permission to publish it and your chart, and that this is a public website. Everything posted here will be available to all internet users as long as this website exists. Don’t say anything so personal that you won’t want it public forever. If in doubt, leave it out, or ask me to leave it out before I actually publish it. If you fail to do this, I am not responsible for the outcome, whether the outcome is you feeling embarrassed or anything worse. (Your name and birth information will not be published.)
Understand that if I answer your question, it will be an astrological interpretation lite. Quite possibly, it will leave you with more questions. If you would like to schedule a full session to follow up, contact me, or if you work with another astrologer, go to them.
Understand that I will not answer your question if it doesn’t follow the ground rules and cannot guarantee an answer even if it does, although your question is more likely to be used the sooner it’s submitted. While I make the effort to at least acknowledge every submission received, and I *might* be able to answer all questions when this feature is still new, provided that they follow all ground rules, there might come a time when I’m getting more questions than I can answer or even acknowledge. In that case, a response will not be guaranteed.
Don’t:
Don’t ask anything that involves another person’s birth information or chart. See the first “Do,” above.
Don’t ask a “Will x happen?” or “When will x happen?” question. Unless “x” is an astrological event, like, “When will Saturn conjunct my sun?”
I can’t tell you when or if you’ll get married, find a job, have a baby, or whatever else you hope will happen. So much of that depends on you, your personal circumstances, and the choices you make.
Astrological conditions may be particularly favorable for certain things at certain times, but what you do with those astrological conditions is up to you. An astrological prediction is like a weather report. The forecast can tell you if tomorrow’s weather will be favorable for a picnic, but it can’t tell you if you’ll go on one. That part is your choice, and other factors besides the weather will also affect it. Astrology works the same way, only with many more variables than meteorology. Imagine the response if you called your local weather station and said, “Tell me when I’ll go on a picnic.”
For that reason, I will not even attempt to tell you what will happen in your life when. If you really want to know whether or when you’ll find a job, get married, etc., then let’s talk about what that means to you. I can address the question behind the question, using astrology.
Don’t ask a question that requires any of these types of astrology:
Medical astrology: Medical astrology is a highly specialized skill, and it is not my skill. There are astrologers who can, while not outright diagnose a disease, offer some clues as to what’s going on with you medically, based on astrology. I am not one of them.
Horary astrology: I am not a horary astrologer. That is also a highly specialized skill, and not my skill. (If you don’t know what horary astrology is, you weren’t going to ask a horary question anyway, so don’t worry about this don’t!)
Relocation astrology: I don’t use it. If your question is something like, “Which city should I move to for the best possible love life?” or, “Would moving to New York be best for my career, based on my relocated MC?” I’m not going to answer it. But, like with a predictive question, we could talk about what it means to you, and address the question behind the question. (If you’re not familiar with relocation astrology, don’t worry about this don’t.)
Rectification: While chart rectification is very helpful if you don’t know your time of birth, it’s much too complex for an Ask the Astrologer question. It is also not my skill.
Above all, don’t take my word as the be all and end all. If my answer to your question doesn’t ring true for you, trust yourself. Interpreting a chart is an art, not an exact science. Sometimes the astrologer misses the mark. If you feel my interpretation is wrong, please give me feedback: astrology practice is lifelong learning, and being wrong can be a greater learning opportunity than being right.
RELATIONSHIP ASTROLOGY
Because an Ask the Astrologer question and answer is a public post, I will not use anyone’s birth information without their consent, and I will not accept third party consent. The person whose birth information it is has to give me their consent directly, not have it relayed by someone else. Absolutely no exceptions.
That eliminates most relationship questions, because they usually require the birth information of both parties, and the vast majority of the time, only one of them is asking the question, without the involvement of the other. (I do address these questions in my practice, although even there, if the other party in the relationship isn’t present, I do not say anything about them or their chart that isn’t directly relevant to their relationship with the client.)
I am willing to consider a relationship question if it’s about relationship patterns. For example, “I can never stick with a relationship longer than two months, why is that?” or, “Most of the people I’ve dated have been Cancers, why?” That kind of question can be explored through the individual’s chart, with no need for anyone else’s.
I am also willing to consider a relationship question that does require two people’s birth information if it meets all of the following requirements:
Both parties in the relationship must contact me, from separate email addresses, making it clear that they are in a relationship with each other and the question is coming from both of them, and each individual must submit their own birth information. I will need to confirm with both parties, by email, before addressing the question.
Both parties must be equally able, in the context of the relationship, to meaningfully consent to participate in Ask the Astrologer and have their birth information used. While most relationship questions are about romantic relationships between equals, which do not raise this concern for me, they can also be about friendships or familial relationships. If this is a familial relationship, and the nature of it creates a power imbalance--for example, parent and underage son or daughter--I can’t be entirely sure that both parties are giving meaningful consent. If the relationship is between a parent and non-dependent adult child, or siblings, friends, spouses, or romantic partners, and I’m hearing from both of them, I can be reasonably sure.
It has to be an established relationship. If you’ve only recently started seeing each other, it’s too soon, in my opinion, to bring astrology into it. Get to know each other, not the roughly drawn maps to each other. Astrology may be useful later on, after you’ve been in the relationship long enough to know from experience what it’s really like.
The question has to be about something that’s already happening. Don’t ask about potential problems if you’re not experiencing them in real life. “What might go wrong in our relationship?” is not a question I’m willing to answer. “We can’t seem to communicate about x, how can we handle that better?” is. I’m also willing to give a second opinion if you’ve had your relationship assessed by another astrologer, even if--and especially if--what the other astrologer told you doesn’t match your actual experience, and/or made you worried.
The last two requirements are also requirements I have for addressing relationship questions in my practice. The first two do not necessarily apply in private consultations, although I still avoid unnecessary discussion of people who are not participating in the consultation themselves, and I still do not give interpretations on behalf of anyone who cannot or does not give their direct consent.