Waybread, the way you write your posts gives an unsaid assumption that every astrologer who believes death can be predicted - predicts death routinely. Probably gruesome and imminent death, and likely within the first five minutes of seeing a new client.
Please do not spin what I write. Nothing in my posts implies such an unwarranted assumption on your part.
Incidentally death prediction is forbidden on the Astrodienst forum. Many professional astrologers belong to astrological associations with codes of ethics that expressly prohibit their members from frightening their clients or making unequivocal forecasts for the future.
https://geocosmic.org/about-ncgr/code-of-ethics/ (See secs. A.2 and A.4.a, C.4.a, C.5.d)
http://www.isarastrology.com/images/EthicsV5.pdf (See secs. A.2, A.9.b, A.9.d, D.3b,
From ISAR's sec. B.2.d:
"Astrologers are mindful of the limitations of
predictive accuracy and avoid the use of universal
qualifiers such as
every, always, never, for certain,
any, no one
, or other such blanket statements that
imply definite, concrete outcomes. Clients are
informed that it is impossible for astrology to be
absolutely certain about personality profiles or future
events."
I. 3.c: "
Horary astrologers are extra cautious about questions
that pertain to life and death and are aware that the
answers they provide may have an affect on the
outcome in question. If at all possible, such questions
are not accepted."
Self-fulfilling prophesies are a real danger of predictive work: refer to Steve Judd's video (linked above) and the woman who was told she would die of fire.
From Australia: http://www.faainc.org.au/code-of-ethics/
"No member of a member association will claim to be infallible in the prediction of particular events using astrology or to be a fortune- teller."
So here's the problem, Oddity. A death prediction doesn't work in generalities. It has a major ethical dimension. It has an enormous potential to frighten clients, or to become a self-fulfilling prophecy in some way. People who consult an astrologer may be extremely fragile emotionally. We see posters on this forum who are terrified about some transit or other. The ethics get really muddy in the case of 3rd party questions. You don't know whether the querent has power of attorney over granny's finances, including her credit card.
That doesn't happen. It just doesn't. Will some charlatan do it? Probably, but they're not practising astrology, they're practising scamming, or maybe power-tripping.
As Steve Judd pointed out, the charlatans are power-tripping, and when they call themselves astrologers they give the legitimate astrologers a bad name.
Do we have enough evidence from the past and charts done since the traditional revival to make a good case that death prediction can be accurate? Yes. We do.
Seriously? I've read this claim, but nobody seems to offer hard evidence in support of it. Possibly you're familiar with Jonathan Swift (aka Jonathan Swift) and British astrologer John Partridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Bickerstaff
More historical examples provided upon request.
But even if I somehow took your point about historical examples for the sake of this debate, we don't have the same demographics today in most of the developed world that obtained prior to the 19th century. The life expectancy in Japan is over 80. Life expectancy means that
half of the people born at the same time (by year or decade) will still be alive at the forecast age. Astrologically this just doesn't work out, no matter what methods were used in traditional astrology's past.
As I've also mentioned, it's difficult, and as I mentioned in a different post, most of what you term 'death predictions' are actually 'trying to keep you alive as long as possible' predictions. You see something (several somethings) looking pretty dodgy in a chart, and you know something could happen. So you caution your client to take care about whatever situation. Sort of like a doctor seeing that both your parents and all your siblings have diabetes might suggest some dietary cautions.
Shall I take it that you dismiss modern methods for death prediction? That's at least something
contra the folks who think a moon-Pluto hit and a couple of quincunxes tells the story. I have no problem with cautions about sensitive times that are not death predictions.
There are times when it is appropriate to talk about actual death and death predictions (and no, I don't mean 'it is your fate to die of gunshot wound by your jealous ex-lover next Tuesday evening at 9 pm!').
It doesn't work that way. But people get injured, people get old, people get sick, and it is certainly legitimate to have a rough timeline to sort out your affairs, go to see your ailing parents, and what-not - if you ask to know about those things. If you don't, then the astrologer has no business bringing them up first.
It is not legitimate to play God. Astrology does not confer omniscience. Note how the NCGR warns astrologers against definite time-based predictions precisely because they could be mistaken.
Look, Oddity. Regardless of our life expectancies, you or I could die at any moment. Ailing parents could die at any moment. If our parents are living and not ailing now, they could phone up tomorrow with bad news from their medical tests or get hit by a bus.
So don't wait for an astrological forecast. Get your financial and personal matters sorted out now. Phone up Mom tonight and tell her you love her. It is the height of cynicism-- or gullibility-- to have one's life in disarray, imagining that a length-of-life forecast gives you sufficient time in the future to fix everything and visit ailing parents that were lonely for years.
It is not something to be approached insensitively, or lightly, or for someone you barely know on an internet forum.
Agreed.
With all that, I can only control what I do and how I treat people in my practice. All you can do is to control how you act, and how you treat your clients. I can understand a small bit of your concern, but you seem to be coming to this like a debunker who knows nothing about astrology at all and hates it anyway - 'oh yes, they'll say and do anything to terrify people to part them with their money!'
I am a committed amateur, Oddity. I have no clients and have never accepted a penny for my work, although I have been offered payment for some of my readings. I read a lot of charts for people on line. I've been seriously studying astrology for over 25 years, including its history and different branches. I have a personal astrological library of over 150 books and articles.
Apparently you just cannot help spinning and misrepresenting my actual posts, in the mistaken belief that this gives you some kind of leg-up in a debate. Perhaps you could consider what in your horoscope leads you to misrepresent me so blatantly.
