What Can Astrology Say About the Future? Can It Say Anything at All?

What’s the Point of Knowing What’s Coming?

We can compare astrology a little to meteorology.

When we check the weather forecast, it doesn’t tell us “It will definitely rain tomorrow at 3 PM,” so much as give us a sense of what kind of weather to expect in the coming days.

Let’s say winter is coming and the forecast says the next three months will be cold.

What do we do?

We take out our coats. We check the heating. We prepare our firewood. We might even plan our holidays around it.

Because knowing what’s coming helps us prepare our lives accordingly.

We can think of astrological cycles in a similar way.

How Did Astrology Begin to Read the Sky?

Today, because of city lights, we struggle to see even a handful of stars at night. But thousands of years ago, things were very different.

There was no electricity, no television, no internet. When night fell, the sky was truly the sky.

People could see the stars and planets much more clearly, and could watch the sky for hours on end.

And over time, they noticed that certain things repeated.

For example, let’s imagine they observed that during the periods when the strikingly visible red planet, which is Mars, was overhead, wars and conflicts kept recurring.

If it happened once, you might call it a coincidence.

But if similar events keep appearing alongside the same sky signs, a person inevitably starts to draw a connection.

This is how astrological symbolisms, like Mars being associated with war, struggle, anger, competition and action, took shape, within this long accumulation of observation and experience.

A similar tradition of observation developed for the other planets and celestial movements too. Then stories were written around them. This is also how mythology began.

Astrology is an ancient system of knowledge built not just on watching the sky, but on making meaning out of the cycles within it.

So why is it important to know what’s coming?

Because no period in our lives is ever the same.

Some times make it easier to take action, start new things, and make bold decisions.

In other periods, it may make more sense to finish something, let go, reorganize, or step back a little and reflect.

Sometimes our relationships come to the forefront.

Sometimes our career.

Sometimes money.

Sometimes family.

And sometimes we go through a period where, no matter where we turn, we end up needing to look at ourselves.

The purpose of astrological forecasting isn’t to say, “This will definitely happen on this date,” but to see which themes the coming period might bring up more, and to prepare accordingly.

When the forecast shows a chance of rain, we take an umbrella with us.

Astrology, too, can help us notice which area of life might need an “umbrella.”

Does the same period mean the same thing in everyone’s life?

No. And this is one of the most interesting and enjoyable parts of it.

Even though the sky is the same for all of us, everyone’s birth chart is different.

In astrology, we track the areas of life through the house system. Each house represents a different area of life, and the themes of growth in a person’s life can change over time.

While one person may go through a period where career takes center stage, for someone else, relationships, family, or financial matters might come up more.

Because each of us has different areas to grow, learn, and transform in this life.

Why is change so hard?

Because growth usually requires change.

And a person may not want to change.

The order we know feels safe not because it’s always good, but because it’s familiar.

That’s why we sometimes resist when life forces us to change.

But if we can notice in advance which area needs change, instead of waiting to be caught off guard by it, we can work with it more consciously.

For example, if we know that the coming period carries an important transformation theme in relationships, we can act a little more consciously instead of repeating the same behavior patterns over and over.

If change is needed in our career, we can address it before it turns into a full-blown crisis.

So it’s not about controlling everything life throws at us.

What we can control is how we prepare for the change that’s coming.

What is astrology actually for?

I think, in its simplest form, this:

Not being caught off guard.

Knowing which areas of life will be more active in the coming period, where opportunities might arise, and which issues might call for more responsibility or change, can help a person plan their own life more consciously.

Because the sky doesn’t tell us “you have to do this”, it simply can’t. And an astrologer can’t say that either. There is such a thing as free will in this life, my dear…

It tells us something more like this:

“Look, the weather is changing. What are you going to do?”

And I think this is exactly where one of the most beautiful parts of astrology begins.

If it’s rainy and I still say I’m going out, I take an umbrella with me.

Or I stay home and wait for the rain to pass. Or I collect the rainwater and water my flowers. It’s all entirely up to me.

So whether I walk or not, where I go, and what I make of that rain is still up to me.

May you always find your way to what’s meant for you...

Cheers

Selin Burat