posted January 01, 2010 11:04 PM            

I haven't been coming here for many months and I don't intend to come back any more, so I just thought I'd come by to say goodbye and wish everyone the best, cause I've had some fun times here and "met" some really nice people
(I hope they still post here and see this!)

I gave up astrology a few months ago after being as deep into it as you can get, for about 6 years. I still consider astrology to be a potentially powerful tool (depending on how well you interpret things) for knowing and understanding what stars can tell about our personalities/inner world (natal charts), emotional experiences and lessons (transits) and relationships (synastry and composite).

The reason I decided to give it all up, was simply because all this "knowledge", which gives us a partial sense of "empowerment" and "understanding" of reality, was closing the door to something greater, that has been making me far more happy and a better person throughout these last months: Faith.

Not knowing anything through the stars has made me want to communicate more with God and not knowing/understanding certain things has allowed me to develop a certain sense of "letting go" and trust that God's love will find its way to my heart and life if I so want, ask and wait for and that I'll understand things that need understanding, when the time is right.

This new path has lead me to become a better man and a more loving human being. It's been bringing confidence where I have insecurity and anguish, humility where I have arrogance/vanity, hope where I have despair, compassion where i have anger.

Sharing my joys and pain with Jesus Christ on a daily basis and not looking for answers anywhere else is changing my life. The answers don't come through words and sometimes I have to wait a while, but I feel a strange dialogue through prayer inside my heart, when I take time to be silent. This path has been making me love people more deeply for no justifiable reason and opening my eyes to the love that exists in them and in small things out there, anywhere.

I no longer feel the need to know how I'm going to match up with this or that person through a composite, what my week or year is gonna be like. All I do now is try to be the best person I can be and trust everything is gonna be allright, no matter the battle life brings and no matter how favourable or unfavourable it looks at any present time. I know as long as I fight it with the best side of my heart, Jesus will always be there for me and I'll never walk alone. (Actually, He's there for me even when I'm doing it all wrong)

God bless you all, whatever your religion or spirituality (or atheism) and I'll see ya around

posted January 01, 2010 11:26 PM            

I didn't speak to you all that much but you were so cute wiht the wrod scarbmilng!

Remember my peanuts thread? (ex nicks: CoralFrequency & Lauren) You probably don't.
You mentioned Kamots the wolf.. it was such a touching story.

Srory to haer you are laevnig, atlhuogh I undresatnd the ipmulse to laeve cnotorl at the door setp and see wrehe lfie taeks yuo.

posted January 01, 2010 11:54 PM            

I guess that I can partially relate to your post. I'm not really religious (I guess that my beliefs in these matters are agnostic - although I do want to believe in the existence of something greater), but I feel that sometimes, my use of astrology blocks me from achieving evolution due to my obsession to have everything in control. Astrology helped me to achieve a deeper self understanding, as well as about my relationships and psychology/life, but I need to learn how to let go of control, let things go naturally and accept to understand things when the right moment comes.

posted January 01, 2010 11:54 PM            

I liked what you said. I understand what you mean about astrology's absence giving you a richer, more immediate life experience.

quote:

---

This path has been making me love people more deeply for no justifiable reason and opening my eyes to the love that exists in them and in small things out there, anywhere.

---

Well said. A problem I have with astrology is that it can be used to kill the mystery in all of us. The mystery of who I am, you are, and who we are together. The mystery of what life is.

We can't really know these things from natal or synastry aspects. We can't write our life from a transits report. We can't know the deepest layer or the final outcome.

There's something inside us that's more true than all this, a life spark that's free and more powerful than any aspect or sign placement. It's a joy to live from there, and to greet that place in others. And from that place, our charts come alive in their most fulfilling, beautiful ways.

Astrology can distract us from that spiritual power, but it doesn't have to. It really doesn't. So for selfish reasons , I hope you someday decide astrology supplements rather than detracts from your experience, since I'd really like to have someone like you around here. But if not, all the best to you.

posted January 02, 2010 03:10 AM            

...

TAKE CARE

posted January 02, 2010 05:37 PM            

Good luck to you, wherever you decide to go.

posted November 07, 2012 02:29 PM            

Almost three years have passed since I wrote this goodbye thread, which I intended to be my last post in Lindaland.

And it is with great joy and gratitude that I now read the kind words so many had for me. I wish I could have seen them back then, just so I could say ‘thank you’ and ‘no, I did not forget you, nor the conversations we have held here’.

I now wonder how many of you will read this new post. Part of me wishes that you still do, just so you get to know that I didn’t forget about you and that remembering you brings me a sincere heart warming feeling. The other part of me wishes you won’t read this, because that could possibly mean that you too, decided to let go of astrology. It with a certain difficulty I am writing these words, as I know that what I am about to share with you might bring more discontent and disbelief towards me, than the sort of friendly words I got last time. But still, for the sake of trying to protect others, I will leave this personal testimony:

The transition that I made three years ago, from Astrology and the New Age spiritual movement, to Christianity (after unexpectedly having “met” Jesus in my journey) was not a peaceful one at all.

Soon after I abandoned everything I previously had my faith in, from many years of practice (astrology and other occult arts; reiki; theosophy; crystals; shakra healing; multidimentional healing) and slowly started to put my full faith in the Christ alone (which is what he asked of me), I began experiencing intense episodes of physical, emotional and spiritual pain during the night, that me and my colleagues could not justify with psychology (I’m a clinical psychologist). After months of intense pain and distress, I realized I was undergoing spiritual oppression and ended up understanding that it was due to all the spiritual bonds I had made all those years, with these practices. These bonds took time, prayer and faith in Jesus, to be broken.

Contrary to my previous beliefs, what I went through ended up showing me that after all, there is such a thing as an adversary of God. Even if we may not believe that there are spiritual forces working behind occultism it doesn’t mean they can’t be there, hidden and invisible. And unknowingly binding with them and then leaving them will bring consequences, just as you would if you got in a gang in New York and then left it one fine day.

The thing is these spiritual paradigms and practices come to substitute a potential love relationship with God and ultimately, leads you to believe you are divine yourself, through your “higher self” and through the many abilities and “personal power” and intensive “knowledge about everything” you develop along the way. The paradigm of the New Age believer is that of the “Jedi”, who uses “the Force” according to his will and intentions, becoming a “Master” along the way. The paradigm of Christianity is that of the “Child of God”, who slowly opens his/her heart to a simple, intimate, loving, personal relationship with a Father, whom you allow to use you, to share that love with those who need to feel they are so special and loved by someone out there, that this being decided one day to become a simple human being and show you that His love for you knew no boundaries and would endure all adversities the world could offer.

I have found other personal testimonies out there, similar to mine, so you might want to investigate this issue a little, before dismissing it. It was important enough to me, to make me come back here and warn you about it.

Affectionately,

posted November 07, 2012 05:16 PM            

Randall too.

posted November 07, 2012 05:27 PM            

I feel an urge to ask more questions, but for now all I will say is that while my experience was not as intense as your own, I have had a friend bring to me the attention of the side-effects of occultism, and it followed me over into my dreams. There are indeed times when I can't sleep at night, and when I told her about a particularly vivid dream, she told me that such studies are not compatible with the teachings of Christ, and anything that does not present itself in the light of God is clearly against Him.
I am still trying to let it set in, but I just wanted to thank you for sharing, and if you have any links to those similar stories, I'd love to explore and read them.

posted November 07, 2012 07:21 PM            

Former Astrologer Marcia Montenegro http://www.thetruelight.net/personalstories/mmontenegro.htm

Ex-New Ager Warren Smith's Testimony (author of "The Light that was Dark") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCldsyeZQgs

Former Wiccan/Spiritist http://www.christiananswers.net/q-esp/esp-wiccans.html

What is the occult? http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-occult.html

(but I recommend in the meantime that you google relevant keywords, such as "christian converts from occult" or "danger ocultism Christ")

The reason why most of you here have never been through any episode of spiritual oppression is because YOU NEVER LEFT the occult/new age for Jesus Christ, after being heavily involved in it for years. Hence my "New York gang" metaphor. You gotta jump ship for this to happen. Drop it all to put your full faith in Christ alone.

While you are in occultism/new age, you're "safe" from harm (because you are unknowingly connecting to the hidden spiritual forces at stake and serving them whenever you make other people interested in occultism)... until the day you die of course.

“put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11-12).

@Geea: loved your post. Jesus is indeed the only religious figure who gave His life for those He loved (all of us). Talking about love is common. But God incarnating and living and dying with His arms open, facing all adversities that make love dificult, no one else did, in any other religion or spiritual thought. As for astrology, it is a tool of power. But what exactly does it do in our life and why is it so fascinating? And do people realise they could share all their questions/fears/need for comfort or hope or security with God (who loves us) intead of finding answers in these instruments (who become alternatives for this relationship)?