waybread
Well-known member
I think only a truly experienced professional astrologer (like Alice) with a seriously good record of "practice" predictions-- not involving real people with real questions-- should engage in death prediction for clients. In other words, no.
There are multiple ways to predict death, and have been for centuries. It was a big preoccupation in ancient times, because people didn't live very long. In fact, astrologers might do a death prediction when a child was born, as there was no point in predicting the child's future if he would be claimed by the then-high rates of infant mortality.
Astrologers throughout the ages have had different methods of death prediction, and they don't all agree. The different methods lead to different answers.
Moreover, you have to look at basic demographics. The average American woman today will live into her 80s, based upon current life expectancy data. Yet the different death prediction methods, when summed up and applied to a large sample of charts, wouldn't show that over half of the American women today would live so long. Then most of these American women would be dead in their 90s just based on mortality rates-- a very compressed period for death prediction.
A similar cohort of women born in Afghanistan or AIDS-afflicted southern Africa today would show much more disparity in average death rates and life expectancy. Yet their birth data would be comparable to the Americans'.
You can't read death transparently off the 8th house.
Richard Houck published an entire book, The Astrology of Death. Unfortunately he got his own date of death too late by many years, as well misjudging his manner of death.
The problem is, you do see astrology learners frightening their friends with death predictions. Stuff like, "Your moon just progressed into your 8th house, so your mother is going to die."
Obviously the really good astrologers wouldn't write something like this, but they can inadvertently give encouragement to the wannabe seers, in implying that death prediction is a reasonable activity.
There are so many moral issues involving the power of suggestion. What if a poster or client is suicidal? I have seen one poster claim that an astrologer told her she would die by suicide!
What if a financially troubled son wants to know when his ageing Mummy is going to pop off, as he has power of attorney over her bank account and access to her credit card?
I have looked at a number of death and medical astrology charts. While I claim no expertise in traditional astrology (where this work began) with my intermediate level of modern astrology background, I don't think you can see why one person dies of an illness and another person recovers.
The argument is sometimes made that a death prediction will help a client get her affairs in order or say good-bye to loved ones. Well, shouldn't our papers always be in order, and shouldn't we always be in touch with people we love? We don't need an immanent death prediction to do this.
There is so much good and worthwhile astrology to practice that can help people, instead of frightening them.
There are multiple ways to predict death, and have been for centuries. It was a big preoccupation in ancient times, because people didn't live very long. In fact, astrologers might do a death prediction when a child was born, as there was no point in predicting the child's future if he would be claimed by the then-high rates of infant mortality.
Astrologers throughout the ages have had different methods of death prediction, and they don't all agree. The different methods lead to different answers.
Moreover, you have to look at basic demographics. The average American woman today will live into her 80s, based upon current life expectancy data. Yet the different death prediction methods, when summed up and applied to a large sample of charts, wouldn't show that over half of the American women today would live so long. Then most of these American women would be dead in their 90s just based on mortality rates-- a very compressed period for death prediction.
A similar cohort of women born in Afghanistan or AIDS-afflicted southern Africa today would show much more disparity in average death rates and life expectancy. Yet their birth data would be comparable to the Americans'.
You can't read death transparently off the 8th house.
Richard Houck published an entire book, The Astrology of Death. Unfortunately he got his own date of death too late by many years, as well misjudging his manner of death.
The problem is, you do see astrology learners frightening their friends with death predictions. Stuff like, "Your moon just progressed into your 8th house, so your mother is going to die."
Obviously the really good astrologers wouldn't write something like this, but they can inadvertently give encouragement to the wannabe seers, in implying that death prediction is a reasonable activity.
There are so many moral issues involving the power of suggestion. What if a poster or client is suicidal? I have seen one poster claim that an astrologer told her she would die by suicide!
What if a financially troubled son wants to know when his ageing Mummy is going to pop off, as he has power of attorney over her bank account and access to her credit card?
I have looked at a number of death and medical astrology charts. While I claim no expertise in traditional astrology (where this work began) with my intermediate level of modern astrology background, I don't think you can see why one person dies of an illness and another person recovers.
The argument is sometimes made that a death prediction will help a client get her affairs in order or say good-bye to loved ones. Well, shouldn't our papers always be in order, and shouldn't we always be in touch with people we love? We don't need an immanent death prediction to do this.
There is so much good and worthwhile astrology to practice that can help people, instead of frightening them.
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