The Ethics of Forecasting

Astrologers use an ephemeris to track the future positions of the planets and can, with astronomical accuracy, see where they will align days, months and even decades from now. It is with this data that an astrologer can begin to forecast the future.

For the novice astrologer, looking ahead to see what the future will bring can be an exciting time.� Your friends and relatives now look to you to see what kind of insight you can give them on questions about love, happiness and money. As you hone your skills in the art of forecasting, you begin to realize that the ability to transcend time comes with heavy responsibilities.� You have the car keys to the future and just like observing the speed limit signs on the roads, you now see that you must be very careful about the information that you provide for others.� An astrologer telling someone that they will meet the love of their life in two months because the planets Venus (love),� Mars (desire)� and Jupiter (expansion) are partying in the person’s seventh house (marriage) touching off that person’s own natal Venus and Jupiter etc. is simply put, unethical.� First of all, an astrologer does not possess the ability to forecast any event with complete accuracy. A student of the stars can gather and analyze all of the data but when it comes time to forecast, it is merely a best guess.

In his 1988 memoirs, President Reagan revealed that his wife Nancy regularly consulted an astrologer about his schedule.� �Nancy Reagan had hired an astrologer, Joan Quigley, who provided insight on which days were best and the one’s that should be avoided for certain presidential duties such as meetings, speeches and important document signings.� I mention this revelation about astrology in the white house to show that despite the scandal and press this stirred up at the time, the use of astrology to provide insight in this particular example was not unethical.� Astrology used to show trends rather than absolutes like a meteorologist forecasting the weather is the proper use of forecasting.� A weatherman saying with unfettered certainty that it will be sunny tomorrow will look like a fool returning to work the next day after the worst hail storm in history.

An astrologer should never say with certainty that any event will occur or not occur.� Telling an individual that they will never get married because the person does not have any planets in the house of marriage in their natal chart or ruling planets of that house in any notable configuration is not only unethical, it shows the inexperience of the astrologer.

Unfortunately, anyone can call themselves an astrologer without receiving any certification or training. The best astrologers will always let an individual know that forecasting is for entertainment purposes only.� If some predictions come true, that is more along the lines of winning the lottery particularly if the prediction was that the individual was going to win the lottery. (wink)