To make a living as an astrologer is not easy. Probably because of this some practitioners try to attract clients by giving them the impression that Astrology is a magical science that through supernatural means can tell the individual everything regarding his past, present and future. In reaction to this, some people go to the other extreme of denying and ridiculizing Astrology altogether.

Neither one, nor the other. Astrology works, but not by magic. In contrast with Christianity, astrological dictums do not arise out of personal divine revelation but through the rational study of the Cosmic Cycles. These truths, therefore, are in continual revision. Astrologers all over the world are investing millions of dollars in computers, calculation and statistical analyses software, telescopes and many other tools they use to verify and refine the theoretical and practical concepts inherited from over 4,000 years of astrological tradition.

Each day that goes by the science of Astrology becomes more exact and specific. The certitude of an astrological analyses, however, faces a limitation we must always take into account. One of the basic axioms of Astrology, parallel to a basic Biblical truth, is that the stars incline but do not oblige. Each and every human being has free will. At any given moment he has the capacity to choose one way or another, even thou his choice may go against all social, cosmic or even divine will. In such cases the astrological interpretation would be wrong in the sense that it would be unable to correctly predict the course of action a given person might take.

Thus, if behavioral forecasting were the only function of Astrology, we could conclude that its utility would be limited to statistical analyses. But that's not so. Hand in hand with the principle of free will there is also the basic Biblical principle of the Heavenly Kingdom we are called to obey. This celestial kingdom exerts its authority upon us through the cosmic cycles. From the very beginning [Genesis 1:14-19] God has clearly indicated that he expects us to study the cosmic cycles and organize our personal and social lives in harmony with them.

[Genesis 1:14-19: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the Earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the Earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.]

Some of these cycles are fairly obvious. Others are more subtle, and a collective effort is require to discover and understand them. Some are meant to rule a broad area of our lives; others rule more detailed and specific areas. All, however, are important and the Biblical mandate is for us to study them all and organize our lives in harmony with all of them. God, nevertheless, has given us free will to choose if we shall obey Him or not. In this, as in everything else, we may choose not to obey Him; but them we'll have to face the consequences. If we choose to live in resonance with the cosmic cycles, the primary cosmic life-force will be with us; empowering us to reach the goals and develop the life style God has established for each one of us. But if we choose to antagonize or ignore these cosmic cycles, them the cosmic life energy would not be with us; leaving us powerless to fulfill our individual and/or collective agenda in this Earth. The end result would be that no matter how much we may do or obtain we will never feel truly realized.

Even though we may store great riches here on Earth, if we don't fulfil our spiritual agenda when we return to the spiritual world we'll be poorer. Considering that this physical stage is but a moment in our eternal existence, we should use it primarily to advance our eternal purposes. Even if it causes us temporary discomfort. The Natal Chart gives us a clue to what we came to do here on Earth, what are the skills and abilities at our disposal, and the cosmic and spiritual forces that may act upon us during this short, yet critical sojourn on the physical world.

The Natal Chart, therefore, is not necessarily a picture of the individual as he is, but of the cosmic forces and drives that will operate or influence him throughout his life. Knowing the characteristics of these cosmic drives and the way the individual has reacted to them in the past, is possible to make a fairly complete picture of the "Personal Identity" the individual has developed up to now and how this Identity may develop in the future. Knowing his present identity, having a general idea of how this identity is developing, and knowing the cyclical cosmic drives he will face in the future, an experienced astrologer is in a position to prepare a fairly accurate forecast for the individual. This forecast would be based on the premise that the individual continues in his present path of development. Whether it be a "positive" or "negative" forecast would depend on the attitude of resonance or dissonance the individual presently has with regard to the Cosmic Life Energy.

Thus, Astrology helps us to see in advance the path we have before us, and the possible consequences of our actions; but it does not determine whether we'll be "good" or "bad", successful or unsuccessful. This path, furthermore, is in terms of inner development, not necessarily outer accomplishments or vocational selections. Astrology, therefore, do not deny or limit human free will. On the contrary, it empower us to exercise this free will by giving us a complete picture of our own inner identity and the external forces that will influence us. It is then up to each and every one of us to walk up that ladder of inner development and outer accomplishments. As the song goes: "Caminante no hay camino/ se hace camino al andar." [Traveler, there is no ready made path / the path we make it as we go].