posted November 14, 2002 11:36 PM              

what does everyone think about the rule concerning charging for astrology? linda says that astrological readings are the same as teaching someone of esoteric truths and therefore no money can pass from the hand of the student to the teacher. she mentions that astrologers must earn their daily bread in some other way and do readings in their spare time... i can assume this also goes for any psychic readings, the throwing of tarot cards etc... she also says that by charging money, the 'teacher' will lose his/her ability to 'see' and consequently no longer be sought after by the 'students'.

has anyone had experienced with this or witnessed this truth in their lives? do many of you do astrological readings as your livelyhood? and does anyone know if linda really followed this precept herself by helping people in her 'free' time?

posted November 16, 2002 04:18 AM              

i guess my plan is to let my taurus sun run a nice business involving commerce of healthy and earth friendly goods and let my virgo moon serve and help people without asking for anything in return.

posted November 17, 2002 08:41 PM              

i still wonder how everyone feels about that, because i plan to learn how to do astrology, and in school i am focusing my studies on a mixture of spirituality and psychology- and with that too i want to help others. my ideal is that i will be able to help people regardless of their financial standing, that i will have to make money as an entrepaneur and do my 'real job' aside from this... i will have to see how this works out, i've always been one to adapt to my circumstances, so we'll have to see where i end up in a couple years

posted November 17, 2002 10:14 PM            

I used to tutor in grammar and literature on a one-on-one level, and while I never charged specifically, I had no qualms about accepting a gift. Upon reading Linda's works, I had to meditate on that one. I mean ... an extra $10 worth of appreciation now and then hardly paid the bills, but it sure was nice.

At first I simply thought, "Hey, I do feel better if I do it for free." But we could say that about EVERYTHING, and it certainly doesn't pay the bills.

Then I thought, "Well, the energy feels polluted as soon as I charge a fee or accept money." However, this thought was far too vague for someone like me who happens to resonate quite strongly to the numbers one and five. I needed to define what I was thinking ... at least for myself.

Labor of Love ... if we perform it and give unto the universe, will not the universe provide back? Why then can I not say that this money coming back is the Law of the Universe fulfilled?

No! No, no no! The universe does not pay this back in coin, gold or little pieces of green paper. It pays back in dividends of knowledge and experience of another life that we can take into ourselves.

In teaching, how often do we hear that the very best teachers are the ones that learn and seek to learn from their students. The universe repays the teacher. The crossing of palms with monetary gain upsets this balance, and places the teacher on an unnatural pedestal. Cults are started this way.

In order to make money, the Universe requires an middle-man, an intimediary. A teacher will work for the school which pays the the teacher for his or her education, experience, ability to communicate, and even for administrative duties. A writer will work through a publisher and an editor. An astrologer will work for a newspaper, or for a parent company that perhaps he or she created.

To some, it may seem silly that "The Universe" would require such juvenile semantics in our day to day life. Goodness, why does "The Universe" not get so worked up in a tiz when I put a little money in a street magician's hat?

I can't really offer a concrete reason (which I suppose makes my post more senseless drivel from everyone's friendly neighborhood grasshopper). But I do propose that if your labor of love falls under the umbrella of teacher or astrology or so on, and if you go inside that quiet place we all seem to have, you will instinctively "feel" why the universe is so finicky for some of us and not as much for others. And THAT is as ambiguous or abstract as 5 and 1 guy (which equals 6 for labor of LOVE) cares to get.

posted November 24, 2002 12:51 AM              

Also, most astrology you get asked to do is not especially spiritual - when to buy a house and so on. Maybe astrologers could ask for a donation for anything spiritual they do.

posted November 24, 2002 02:04 AM              

http://www.alabe.com/freechart/

these fabulous folks from Cape Cod, MA will graciously let you use their website (read: hog their bandwidth) for your chart. You should spend years just studying the info you get on this reading alone, and until you know what is here like the back of your hand, you are simply not ready for more. Yeah, so you know your Venus is in Gemini. Yeah, and? Yet it will take you years to understand what it means, even if you think you know what the paragraph you get for free means. And several more years to use it wisely and graciously and not harm anyone with it; that is, to transcend its less desireable qualities and to maximize is positive ones...yeah, years.

And that's another thing: you get it for free, it doesn't mean that much, even if you thank the person profusely. Pony up a few bucks and you will listen on the edge of your seat to what the astrologer tells you. Which would you prefer? You pay so that *you yourself* have something of value! And to think that the person providing it should have no reasonable compensation is selfish, nothing more, nothing less.

Other than that, enjoy the Cancer Moon weekend, my fave Moon when it falls on a weekend And to anyone thinking of bartering for your next astrology service or altar cloth, please think again, whether you do haggle or not, please think about what I am saying. This is something I have worked with and experienced, for years now. Did Auriel do her astrology for free on the former Linda Goodman site? Hell no, she got about $20 grand for it! She and I had several phone conversations and met in person to discuss it. She did not consider doing it for free. Yes, it's one thing to contribute some comments to someone's post here on the site, yet to do a complete workup on someone or on some relationship takes a lot of time and energy. And that is why you will not get it for free, no matter how much you may brag that you did...you should be ashamed in my opinion. You left the astrologer spent of her time and energy so you could get something for nothing. Pat yourself on the back for it and you are certainly no friend of mine. Any Freddy the Freeloader can kiss my black ass! Well, even if I am a white guy, you get the idea You want to play, you will pay, it's a fact of life, and a fact of your life too...unless of course you are fortunate enough to marry one of us fabulous ass-trologers

posted November 24, 2002 02:46 PM            

"It's unfortunate, for example, that there are no churches to support astrologers. They must "earn their daily bread" in some other manner, and perform their astrological counseling during their precious free time. It's unfortunate, yes, but not so much as when astrologers charge for their readings, since the ancient teachings say that one who heeds not the warning forbidding the exchange of money between teacher and student will soon lose the "gift of perception," and consequently no longer be sought by the "students."

We all certainly have the right to agree with Linda or disagree with her, but this is exactly what she said in her own words.

posted November 24, 2002 03:26 PM              

So based on this logic, the astrology college Kepler College should be out of business by now, since it charges students like any other college. Please explain why it is still in business and thriving, and if you are so inclined, tell me when they will be out of business.

Yet the issue here is not "teacher-student". And my post was certainly not an essay, just a good ol' fashioned rant

Using the astrological career guide to lead you to your own "labor of love" is helpful knowledge, but there's no avoiding the fact that it's all linked to success, which to most people means money or financial security - an association difficult to escape in our present society. One can't be much help to one's self or to others in this day and age by walking barefoot down dirt roads, or preaching and teaching along the seashore. Even a sleeping bag and bowl of soup for the homeless requires money. In addition to your personal necessities and heling the homeless, there are also those organizations dedicated to saving the planet on which we all live from annihilation. Achieving that miracle likewise requires money.

~ Linda Goodman, Star Signs

I would rephrase it thus:

Achieving that miracle, and others, likewise, without question, requires M-O-N-E-Y, ya heard?!

posted November 24, 2002 05:12 PM              

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1103-02.htm

And it is okay, of course, to dream, as Linda did. Perhaps that particular dream of hers will be realized one day, I certainly hope so. Yet in an imperfect world, we all need to keep a roof over our heads. Auriel told me clearly that she would love to be able to support herself and her children with her astrology, and I am confident that it is still a goal of hers. Yet money must flow, however it does so. Whether it is through the fiction of investment, non-profit status, donations, rerouting money to our folks who set up a trust for us or write a check in their grandchilren's name, etc, the Truth is it must and in fact will flow, despite our hopes and dreams and arguments to the contrary. Hopefully it flows in a loving manner. Yet to expect something for nothing is an offense to the Laws of the Universe in my opinion. You do what you love and the money will follow, they say, Linda included. Yet one can't be much help to one's self or to others in this day and age by walking barefoot down dirt roads, or preaching and teaching along the seashore, or do you disagree with that? Even a sleeping bag and bowl of soup for the homeless requires money, someone's money, somewhere. Talk is cheap, and bandwidth is expensive, yet a well-done chart is invaluable. If I could afford to live in a box down by the river and use solar power to operate my laptop so I could serve the world with my astrology, I'd love it! Maybe the day will come Wait, I take that back, I still want to live in a house in Malibu or somewhere in wine country. Is that so wrong? I didn't think so

posted November 29, 2002 01:34 PM              

but i can see how involved astrology readings, especially concerning mundane daily affairs, should be charged for, because it IS very mathmatical and completely different from the type of information i was seeking in the above story. im not sure if this info would have been so directly given when paying a great sum of money for an extensive astrology reading, because i've yet to find an astrologer i know and trust enough to fork over the dough...

posted November 29, 2002 04:06 PM              

Yet you know...it could have been anyone, right? It could have been a psychic, or a shrink, or some homeless guy who appraoches you at the train stop. It could be anyone! So how do we tell when?? I don't even spend my energy trying to go there. When the Time is Right, period...only when you are ready - and oh no, not in your estimation but in the Universe's - do you get the Answer, to anything in particular or in general for that matter...so you must have been ready at precisely that time, and, personally, I don't see it as essential to inquire as to why. Oh, you can do so all you want, and everyone does, yet it's prolly easier on ours-elves to just go, "Heh, guess it was just finally my time...yep, knew it was coming one o' these days, yep," and then to move forward with our new understandings, rather than ponder what often are truly imponderables. So good for you!!!

Regarding getting {{{riffs some Dire Straits chords}}} "your money for nothing, and your birthcharts for free"...accept what you like. As a professional astrologer, I have my opinion, and all my clients who pay, do so happily and get great results.

You know, another funny quirk of the Money Mystique...I was a car guy for about six years, stuffed a lot of people into cars, brokered a lot of shiny, fast metal. One thing I always saw was the person who paid the sticker price always loved his car, and would tell us when he came in for service...no complaints, just total bliss with his purchase, or so it seemed. Yet the people who haggled over every last dime, coming in with stacks of Consumer Reports under their arms, you know, the real smart ones who think they are so cute and are going to buy this car for $1.00 over invoice and grind away all afternoon for a razor-thin profit deal...*always* unhappy and so vocal about it, nothing right with the car, and we'd spend our mornings sometimes just dodging them, and hiding behind the plants and cars in the showroom to avoid those people when they would come in afterwards for service. Oh no joke yo, we were like ninjas, honest...so what is the idea here? It's just funny car biz anecdote regarding the Money Mystique, yet it never failed, I saw it over and over. For a reason?

So you never know. Yet if someone states they have a fee, you should never grind and haggle when it is sensitive information...as a general rule, you smile, pony up the dough, and say, "Geez man, what a bargain...I mean, how can they do that?!?" as best you can, since, you can probably be sure, the person isn't gouging you, she just has to feed the kittens her cat just had or something...who knows...it is none of your business or mine what they use it for...chose your practitioners carefully yes, yet, yet when you select a professional at anything, remember that they see it honestly as a profession, something they do, hopefully happily, to provide for themselves and their families. And if that means spending it on some better chart software, great, then you have served the person too with your payment, especially if it is generous and you tip well, and the world is served thus also. Some will see it as seemingly minor, yet I say it's a highly significant, contribution to the Aquarian Age...Knowledge for All...so we all win And *you* did that! Good show!

posted November 29, 2002 04:37 PM            

Trippy, most of the curbside psychics (palm readers and Tarot readers) are charlatans. Still, the Uni-verse can use them to relay a personal message or answer.

posted November 29, 2002 05:15 PM              

"You can't please all of the people all of the time, yet you can try!" used to be my good Virgo motto, it really did. As I get older, it's more like "oh puh-lease, give it up, spaz, I'll tell you how it really is, geez, and how could you even think that..." Doh! Just kidding...yet I do realize that there are times when I could lighten up, and times when I could be more serious...yet my me-of-me is speaking to your you-of-you, and no matter what you or I think, they are understanding each other just fine

posted December 01, 2002 08:56 PM              

carlo: yeah i know you're right, its just hard to be so patient for the answers we seek (even for this !)

hey, i've got a great idea! -a way for you to do sum phree astrology work just for the warm fuzzy feeling and the good karma! could you take a glance at my chart and tell this questing girl about some of her blind spots and possible pitfalls? PLEASE! you want to, it'll make you feel nice inside, and i'd love to hear some of your work.