Just some thoughts...
The interaction between two people is to help both people balance themselves. The interaction between an astrologer and a client is no different, with the added advantage of money changing hands.
I don’t do readings, but as I learn more about astrology and other things, I get to observe how things play out. Sometimes, I know what is happening and why a person is feeling a certain way and deciding to go down a certain path. Sometimes, I am there at the right time at the right place to say the right thing. Sometimes, there is nothing I can do about it. Those times are the most important to me as I get the chance to learn about and change myself. As I change myself, and if an interaction is still happening, I get to see slight changes in the other person - their own insight breaking through, them answering their own question, a new path suddenly appearing where they could not see any before.
Occult sciences are about going beyond what is concrete reality, and to implement the changes in that other world so that the changes can be seen in the concrete world. We are so focused on changing others, when it is not our job to tamper with their energies, and it backfires on us.
I think it is more about setting the thinking mind aside. The interaction is between energies, not people. The client is already in thinking mode. They can’t see clearly. If two friends are discussing things, they are open to each other and a harmonious flow is happening between the energies. If there is a separation with ‘I know more because I am an astrologer and you should listen to me’, then the energy is not flowing freely because there will always be a barrier in between.
How often do we listen to others? Sometimes, it takes years for a particular advice to sink in. If we have trouble listening to good advice from friends, family, employers, employees, teachers, and so on, how can we expect others to listen to us, especially since they are the ones who have paid us to talk about what we have learnt?
An interesting study to undertake is to figure out what about us is causing the other person to not listen to us, and where we are falling short of getting through.
With respect to the original questions asked in the first post, I think it depends on what a person’s own outlook is on the matter that will affect the results. If there is conflict in the astrologer’s mind about a particular way of going forward, then it needs to be resolved as it can affect the outcome. If an astrologer has done their due diligence, then the results should be positive. It is the difference between a good doctor and a bad one - one causes the patient to end up healthy, while the other might cause their demise.
When it comes to making negative predictions, I tend to stay away from it when doing readings because I have this underlying thought constantly running through the background of my mind of: Who am I to tell this person that something bad will happen in their life? I'm not God, so what right do I have? It could be my Jupiter + Rahu or afflicted Venus, but I don't like giving people bad news. In fact, the last time I did a reading where I did attempt to give negative predictions, I became really ill and had to rest for weeks afterward.
@kam Sounds very wise. But it´s very different off course to predict a concrete bad thing to a person, than to warn them and suggest a better option: "You have a choice, either you start giving..." or "... hardship will catch up, why don´t you invite it in a healthy way?" (for example physical exercise, pilgrimage, sweatlodges, anything that takes an effort). (That´s more of a Cards of Truth-advice perhaps; I tend to read the tough spades in that dual way.)
I have a friend who has King of Spades coming up in his Saturn card soon. Black clouds on the horizon. Of course I´m not going to tell him unless he asks for a reading for his year. And if I do, I´ll refer to his 10 of Spades Ecliptica in his natal sprad; "here to deal with hardships".
Mattias
@kam Sounds very wise. But it´s very different off course to predict a concrete bad thing to a person, than to warn them and suggest a better option: "You have a choice, either you start giving..." or "... hardship will catch up, why don´t you invite it in a healthy way?" (for example physical exercise, pilgrimage, sweatlodges, anything that takes an effort). (That´s more of a Cards of Truth-advice perhaps; I tend to read the tough spades in that dual way.)
@meyes I'm more inclined to use language like "You may find that you're experiencing things in this way..." or "You could try this instead of this." I generally try not to speak in finalities or give ultimatums, if that makes sense. I have a lot of Diamonds in my spread and not much Clubs, so concrete tends to be the first thing that I see, or a lot of black or white. Luckily though, I've got the 3 of Clubs in my Neptune card and the 8 of Clubs in my Moon card, so my knowledge and understanding of the cards has expanded pretty rapidly, and of course my readings are in a different style for every one that I do because it's all about trial and error and experimentation for me when it comes to doing readings for other people.
@kam Oh of course, I was simplifying a little, and also it´s probably harder where you live to convey the idea of voluntary vs unvoluntary offering/sacrifice, then where I meet most of my clients, in Mexico. Here it´s a very long and deep tradition to do your offerings. One can do it humbly, kneeling and looking towards the sky, or you can have things taken away from you.
Mattias
Just like @kam, I have Rahu-Jupiter conjunction and I too have trouble having, giving or listening to pessimistic views. It sucks all the energy out of me, and there are times when my throat literally closes down. I think Rahu-Jupiter are the best people to help others see the silver lining in the dark cloud ????
A person suffering a cold will try their grandma’s cold recipe. If that doesn’t work, they will ask for advice from friends, family, close circle. When that doesn’t work, they will start looking for doctors. If that doesn’t work, they will visit a specialist.
Similarly, people usually question their choices or look for support when they reach an important turning point in life. The first call is always to friends, family, acquaintances, to sound out their own thoughts. It is when they are not able to shift either way, do they start looking around for other more ‘knowledgeable’ support.
It is the way that an astrologer or a doctor or a specialist understands and puts forth that same answer from a higher perspective, so as to break through the consciousness of the querent or patient, is what they are getting paid for.
And of course, God’s will plays a part in it. I wonder how much of it is through the bad avasthas of the astrologer, and if it works better if that play of the avasthas is minimised.
At first glance, astrology feels like an easy thing to study. This planet here, that planet there, this sign, this house, mix it all together, this is what we get, and this is what we put forward to others. But what does it really mean? Easy questions get easy answers. But what about the tough ones? How does one answer them?
People spend a lifetime studying astrology. Somewhere in his videos, Ernst suggests spending at least 11 years studying the system. I don’t think he included the time needed to study the mathematical calculations. The number of years is remarkable, as it is almost a complete cycle of Jupiter’s revolution through the zodiac.
Just like @kam, I have Rahu-Jupiter conjunction and I too have trouble having, giving or listening to pessimistic views. It sucks all the energy out of me, and there are times when my throat literally closes down. I think Rahu-Jupiter are the best people to help others see the silver lining in the dark cloud ????
That's a great way to look at it ????
I think all of that negativity and pessimism is Rahu giving the results of Saturn. It feels a lot like having a starved Jupiter in that sense. I believe Ernst described it as the feeling of being "dead inside" in the Saturn starving Jupiter video.
This is a huge question that would take a few years long course to teach, but I can answer the question now. Anything we say to a person only matters in the context of what gets stuck in their subconscious mind and what supports what is already in their subconscious mind. So if you tell a person a bad prediction whose subconscious mind is full of confidence, enthusiasm for life, courage, it impact them badly. If you tell a person a good prediction whose subconscious mind is full of fear, poverty consciousness, lack of love, anxiety, etc etc. the good prediction won't give them any comfort - we get mostly these as an astrologer and not the former case. So basically, it hardly matters what we tell them. Negative minded people will find something to support their negative beliefs and the problem of being an astrologer is that we attract many of these types who want assurance from an astrologer - and they will never get it to a satisfactory level and so they ask another... As healers we do not want to support the negative patterns of the subconscious mind. This does not mean we do not want to give a negative prediction! Sometimes we don't want to, and sometimes we do. If done in the right way, giving a negative prediction can help tear out a negative pattern from the person's subconsciousness - and learning to do that, well that is a high skill and so why teaching the most healing centered thing to say in a reading is really a course in practical psychotherapy with NLP - which is not what most astrologers want to do.
In general, to make it easy, the best thing to do is give to speak about their mars, your moon, your venus. Venus will struggle in a realtionship next year but if venus does this, it will work out... say that rather than, you will struggle in a relationship next year... talk about the planets, this gives the healthy outlook on their lives. Just speaking about them in this context can be very healing.
Ernst
This is a huge question that would take a few years long course to teach, but I can answer the question now. Anything we say to a person only matters in the context of what gets stuck in their subconscious mind and what supports what is already in their subconscious mind. So if you tell a person a bad prediction whose subconscious mind is full of confidence, enthusiasm for life, courage, it impact them badly. If you tell a person a good prediction whose subconscious mind is full of fear, poverty consciousness, lack of love, anxiety, etc etc. the good prediction won't give them any comfort - we get mostly these as an astrologer and not the former case. So basically, it hardly matters what we tell them. Negative minded people will find something to support their negative beliefs and the problem of being an astrologer is that we attract many of these types who want assurance from an astrologer - and they will never get it to a satisfactory level and so they ask another... As healers we do not want to support the negative patterns of the subconscious mind. This does not mean we do not want to give a negative prediction! Sometimes we don't want to, and sometimes we do. If done in the right way, giving a negative prediction can help tear out a negative pattern from the person's subconsciousness - and learning to do that, well that is a high skill and so why teaching the most healing centered thing to say in a reading is really a course in practical psychotherapy with NLP - which is not what most astrologers want to do.
In general, to make it easy, the best thing to do is give to speak about their mars, your moon, your venus. Venus will struggle in a realtionship next year but if venus does this, it will work out... say that rather than, you will struggle in a relationship next year... talk about the planets, this gives the healthy outlook on their lives. Just speaking about them in this context can be very healing.
Ernst