The Prediction of Change

by

Maggie Nalbandian

&

Gregory N. Nalbandian

 Written: March 1994 

     Life is neither fair nor unfair, it is only unexpected.  We like to say there are things in life that are constant, things we can anchor our beliefs in and yet each day brings a new event, a new thought that is totally unexpected that can change our lives drastically.  Birth and death are constant yet they are the beginning and the end of life.  What is constant and dependable during life is the phenomena called change.  Through non-ending change, we grow.  This cycle of change is what astrologer's, both amateur and professional, focus on in trying to map out the coming times.  Is this a helpful thing?  Do we really gain freewill by predicting the Future?

     Most people feel they are the same person today as they were yesterday.  If you truly are that same yesterday person, your life has stopped and is non-fulfilling.  When you awake tomorrow morning take a few minutes to review the past twenty-four hours.  What event, person, or thoughts entered your experience?  One of these, or all of them, caused some change no matter how slight.  It is hard to see this change day to day, however, if you look at yourself five years ago, you can really see the change in not only the physical body but also the mental and emotional bodies.  If we were able to film our lives with stop photography, we might be able to see change that happen, but life is found pushing forward constant, second by second.  Would you truly like to go back to that person you were? -- not if you are truthful.  Granted there may have been events that you wish hadn't happened or you don't wish to repeat; but compare not just the events but the two very different people.  Really look at the differences of what you were and what you now are.  From this very startling realization can now lead to speculation of what/who you will be in the next five years.

     The conscious ego strives to maintain control and remain constant.  We like to believe we are the same person today as we were yesterday and as we will be tomorrow.  We believe this gives us stability and meaning.  It is the unconscious mind that allows change but only as far as the conscious ego will tolerate.  The rate of change can be only minute day to day or drastic due to a traumatic event.  This change can be very threatening to the conscious ego and it will strive to maintain that which is known and controllable.  One of the ways to maintain control is to seek a "fortuneteller"; someone who can tell you what is going to happen so that you can control or prepare for the events.  This is something like knowing what is in the Christmas present before opening it -- you can't be surprised nor disappointed.  Some watch their daily Sun sign horoscope or, if they have studied a bit, watch their personal transits.  The ego says "I have Pluto transiting Mars, so I will control it by just staying under the bed."  Guess what -- the bed falls on them.  You can't stop change by ignoring it, or by having some idea of how the future will be from the present.  We must realize that future isn't -  until it is the present, otherwise we are never living in the moment. 

     All astrologers have clients who want their future foretold.  Some astrologers even try to do this and count an 80% accuracy as satisfactory.  How can the prediction of a loss of a job, divorce, loss of home, etc. be satisfying?  Today's astrologers want more meaning in their professional lives than being a soothsayer.  They are seeking answers to the why of events, the why of life.  Can we give people choices or options in their decision making?  We all have come to crossroads in our lives and made decisions that have changed our lives.  Have you ever wondered who you might now be if you had made a different decision?  What if you had someone look at all the options and their probable results before you make your choice?  Making a prediction gives no choice and ignores all options.  It does not look at why the challenge is even there or what the total picture (life) is about.  The only two things that are satisfied with the results of prediction are the astrologer's ego in being "right" and the client's conscious ego who says I may not like the prediction but I can be in control (by hiding under the bed).  There is also that benign Buddhist idea of just "going with the flow," letting reality unfold before you.  They use the metaphor about being in a boat on a river.  Why waste your energy paddling when the river is always going to take you somewhere.  This is letting life happen, natural, and yet, both elation and trauma are natural.  The metaphor works to an extent, yet looking at astrology in a wholistic way gives us two very important tools.  The ability to steer, (how many rivers do you know of that are straight?),  and a map of the coming turns and twists and off-shoots in the river.

     Now if this same client went to an astrologer who states "I do not do predictions; I look at choices and life cycles," the results of the session would be very different.  This astrologer would begin with the larger cycle (life -- why am I here) to each descending cycle of different periods of life.  This would lead to the current cycles and what are the possibilities/probabilities of the year to come.  This type of astrologer would remain detached, giving no value judgments, and be a true diagnostician.  He/she knows that the person must live their own lives and they cannot live it for them based on the astrologer's values and beliefs.  This, more than anything else, is the reason they must be detached and objective.  This is the true test of a good astrologer.  It can be so easy to tell a person what to do and it is so hard to let a person make a "wrong" choice.  What if that "wrong" choice is needed in the larger framework of life?  Who are we to judge another's values and beliefs?  All we can do really is to present all sides of the situation and allow them to LIVE their lives.

     One of the joys of being an astrologer is to watch a client return each year and observe the changes that have occurred.  One thing I have observed from year-to-year clients is that growth happens more rapidly when the person is conscious of the need for change/growth.  Once they become aware of some stagnation - where change is needed - they become more aware and sensitive to their lives, their environment, their loved ones, their society, their world and their responsibility to all the above.  By seeing the needs or patterns of a current cycle, we can help the client become aware of the "next step" in the growth process.  This can only be done from looking at the now and not by tell the reality of the future.  The future happens now, so the astrologer can only analyze its effect by focusing on the current needs and stagnations as they change towards the future.  Yes , you may have Pluto squaring your Mars in a future, but what is the current state of reality that is going to change.  True astrological guidence can only be helpful if the present events and the current past events are made part of the guidence equation - not just looking at the coming transits.

     Birth and death are constant but the time span between is not.  This time is what we make of it and knowing that we individually, and no one else, are responsible for this life is a very threatening concept.  This concept can put in jeopardy the conscious ego's normal cop-out "It's not my fault, THEY caused this or THEY prevented me from doing that".  Yet this same concept can give us freedom and can allow us to look at life as the grand adventure it is.  We can consciously take credit (or responsibility) for all our successes and all our failures.  Our soul or "God" may have set the stage but we create the dialog and the plot.  We set up each consecutive scene based on the choices of the previous scene.  We are the scriptwriter and the director.  We are also the Star.  An astrologer can be the technical advisor in possible script development.  An astrologer can be a great tool to any exciting production.