With astrology being all the rave right now, practicing astrology in a responsible manner is important. Astrology is an informative science that offers the potential for great self-exploration and discovery when used to affirm the ability to lead a conscious life. Unfortunately, there are circumstances where astrology is not always used for self-edification and self-awareness. While the planets may have an impact on the human condition, astrology does not and never will take the place of free will and choice.
Responsible astrology is the idea of using and applying astrology in a way that affirms an individual and their ability to make conscious choices. Given that astrology is the study of the effect of planetary energies on the human condition, there are instances where people may believe that the planetary energies completely control who they are and how their entire lives pan out.
While astrology does offer information about the effects of planetary energies that will impact our personalities throughout our lives as well as information on how current transiting planets impact us, astrology does not remove our ability to make conscious decisions for ourselves. This is where responsible astrology comes in because it is important to affirm an individual’s ability to make concrete decisions for themselves while also honoring the impact of planetary energies.
Fate, Destiny, Freewill & Astrology
One of the main arguments against astrology is that this pseudoscience takes away a person’s free will. If there is a belief that certain personality traits and characteristics and even the timing of specific events in one’s life are determined by planetary energies, then it could be argued that people don’t have as much control over themselves and the trajectory of their lives. This may lead some to think that the natal chart and all other astrological interpretations are just simply what they are and there’s nothing that the individual can do personally to move beyond these astrological energies.
However, this is not the case. While some things may be set in stone such as where we are born, where we live, and who are parents are, we do have the capacity to make choices in our lives. We also have a choice as to how we are using the energies that are innate to us astrologically.
Letting the Stars Decide
With responsible astrology, letting the stars decide how we live our lives is actually quite irresponsible. Just because we hold particular planetary energy within our own natal charts or we are experiencing a specific type of planetary energy due to a transit or other experience doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to embody the energy of that particular astrological event and/or energy in a specific manner.
For example, many people have an issue with the Saturn return because it is a time of us being accountable and responsible for ourselves which can be very difficult for many people. A lot of people dread the Saturn return because it’s a time when we have to really be honest about how we operate and finally grow up in life. However, the Saturn Return in and of itself is not a good or bad thing. It’s simply a reflection of Saturn’s energy. We all can choose to embody the energy of being accountable and responsible and taking control of our lives. There’s also the option of us not embodying the energy of responsibility and accountability and reaping the effects of not doing so. It’s totally up to us what we decide to do with any type of astrological energy.
Responsible astrology places the actions and the ability to control the narrative of one’s life in an individual’s hands. The planetary energies are just how things play out. Ultimately, it is up to us how we decide to express and utilize astrological energy. The planets alone do not decide where we necessarily end up or who we necessarily are. You do have a choice because energy is an expression. It is up to us to choose how we harness that energy and express it in our lives.
Astrology & The Issue of “Spritual Bypass”
One of the aspects of practicing responsible astrology is the issue of spiritual bypass. Spiritual bypass is a concept coined by the Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist, John Welwood to explain how people use spiritual principles and practices such as meditation, astrology, numerology, etc. to avoid dealing with the concrete issues and realities of their lives. In many ways, this can be summed up as people using spirituality as a scapegoat or an escape mechanism.
Spiritual bypass makes it difficult for individuals to be accountable and responsible for the happenings in their lives. It makes it so that people can default to various aspects of spirituality and metaphysical knowledge in order to absolve themselves of any type of accountability for their current state. Astrology can also be used in this way because if we give up free will and choice, then we can simply blame circumstances on planetary energies.
For example, let’s take Mercury retrograde which is known for miscommunication issues. It is up to us to decide how to use and navigate the energy of Mercury retrograde. Mercury retrograde in and of itself does not make us necessarily misuse Mercury energy. In fact, the retrograde energy actually pulls us inwards and makes us reflect on information and communication. However, increasingly, people are blaming planetary aspects both in their natal charts as well as collectively due to transits and other experiences for why things are happening in their lives.
What this does is that it removes accountability and responsibility, and it allows people to use spiritual concepts to absolve themselves from taking any responsibility for the situations that they have created in their lives. This is unhealthy. This is one of the main reasons why it’s important for those who do practice astrology either as practitioners or those who are simply applying the science of astrology for their own personal betterment to do so from a place of accountability and responsibility.
While the planetary energies may have an effect on us, this does not remove our own choice of action and response. For example, Mars may be in the sign of Aries, but Mars being in Aries doesn’t give us the right to go out and be physically violent. There may be a lot of planets currently transiting through the sign of Pisces, but that doesn’t mean that we should just all decide to go on a substance binge and/or deceive ourselves and other people. Highlighted Leo doesn’t give us a green light to be egotistical or self-absorbed. Ultimately, it is up to us to decide how we use astrological planetary energy for our benefit.
In the end, the application of any type of spiritual or metaphysical concept is often best done from a practical place where there is a balance of applying the spiritual, metaphysical, and /or astrological in a manner that allows us as individuals to take accountability and responsibility for our lives.
