Author’s Biography
What image comes into your mind when you think of an “Astrologer”? Some people see an old gypsy lady sitting in a dark room behind a small table. Colorful fabrics, crystal balls, tarot cards, ouigie boards, and other strange items are scattered about the room. The room is lit by candles and the smell of incense is in the air. How about a group of “hippies” traveling around the country following their favorite band? They spread their messages of peace, love, and the wonders of astrology while under the influence of their drug of preference. Or is it an image of devil worshipers in the middle of the woods by a large fire.
I do not like any of the above images and would prefer not to be thought of that way. I consider myself somewhat of an astrologer yet I am quite the opposite of the above. In this chapter, and throughout this book, I’m going to tell you a little bit about myself in hopes that you see a little of yourself in me. Hopefully that will help you view this book and astrology from a different perspective.
I grew up in a large middle class family in the Metro Detroit area. I am the seventh of my parents’ eleven children. My dad and eight of my siblings are mechanical engineers. I would describe my family as being conservative, critical, sarcastic, and a bit cynical. The old T.V. show “Archie Bunker” is a good representation of my family except my parents had a lot more children and therefore a wider range of personalities. We are not a very affectionate family. Hugs, kisses, and someone saying “I love you” are rare occurrences in the immediate family. You never have to ask for anyone’s opinion in my family because they are quick to volunteer it. They usually do not bother to candy coat it either. In spite of these factors, we are a very close family and see each other often. My conservative, critical, and cynical upbringing made me approach astrology with great caution. I tend to keep my mind open, but I always consider in the back of my mind that astrology could be wrong.
My large family gave me plenty of test subjects for astrology. My siblings have a wide variety of personalities, but yet all similar. I have often wondered how eleven kids raised by the same parents could be so different? I am the quiet one of the bunch. I was always content to just sit back and watch what was happening around me. This trait came in handy when researching astrology. When researching astrology, I encourage you to look at your own family because they are the people that you know best.
I have always admired my best friend’s family. He did not have as many siblings and they were much more affectionate than my family. I have often watch his dad come home, give the kids hugs, kiss his wife, and then have a glass of wine while talking about the day’s events. They seemed very happy from an outsider such as me. I have always thought that was the type of marriage that I wanted. The big question was “How do you find a mate that is so perfect for you?” I later found out that astrology could help out with that. My best friend’s parents happen to be perfectly suited for marriage by astrology standards.
Around Ninth Grade, I made friends with a boy whose parents were divorced. That was the first time that I have even heard of divorce, let alone saw the effects of it first hand. He lived with his mother and saw his father maybe once a month. My friend seemed to get away with murder. He missed school often, didn’t get good grades, and seemed to get what he wanted. This did not seem like a good situation to me and I began to appreciate my parents more. My parents were together and they disciplined me. Divorce became one of my greatest fears in life. I did not want my future kids to go through that. Once again, I later found out that astrology could help me avoid that situation.
Around this same time, I was in an organization called Civil Air Patrol. It is an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. One of its missions is to develop kids into leaders through an interest in aerospace. It was kind of like a boot camp or basic training for kids. We wore military uniforms, practiced military drills, and had a similar organizational structure. We had a few different commanders in the time that I was in the organization. It became apparent how some personalities were good for command and others were not. What makes some people good commanders and others not so good? Astrology has answers for that also.
When I was younger, astrology was that silly horoscope in the newspaper. It never seemed very accurate to me. Besides, how could 1/12th of the population have the same fortune? My brother showed me an astrology book when I was in high school. It concentrated on the personalities of the different signs. The personality of my sign, Pisces, seemed relatively close to my personality but on the same note, it was very general. What was I going to do with this information anyway? It was too general to apply to anything. I hope that this book is more useful to you in those respects.
When I first started college, a girlfriend and I picked up an astrology book that dealt with how couples born under different signs are compatible with each other. This book showed me how astrology might be useful, but how accurate could it possibly be? I compared the results that I read with people that I had known for a long time like my best friend, family members, and even my best friend’s parents. The book seemed pretty accurate. I still wasn’t completely sold on astrology, but I saw enough potential to take a closer look.
I started buying more books on astrology. I found that most of the astrology books didn’t specifically indicate who you should and should not get along with. It also seemed that not all of the books agreed with who you should and should not be compatible with. I found myself having to read between the lines, compare the various books, and most importantly observe people. I was able to eventually put the pieces together and come up with a pretty good understanding of astrology as far as relationships go. I began to notice how well I got along with certain people and in turn how well they got along with other people. I was amazed by how accurate astrology seemed to be.
The bad part of my astrology knowledge was that I did not date very much in college. I was a lot more particular with who I dated. I had a lot of friends that were girls, but I kept them as friends because astrology helped me see how there might be problems in a love relationship with them. I did not want to be in a marriage that would end in a divorce.
I found it difficult to meet people that were of a compatible sign. Only two out of twelve people that you meet are compatible with you astrologically. No wonder why the divorce rate is so high. Even when I did meet people that were astrologically compatible, there were still other factors to consider. It is important to remember that astrology is just a small part of someone’s personality.
My friends, the female ones in particular, started to point out how no one is perfect and I should not be so picky. I did eventually give in and married someone whose astrology was not good for me. She was a Pisces, the same sign as me. We had two wonderful kids together, but we ultimately got divorced. My ultimate fear was realized.
I see my children a lot more than most divorced fathers, but my kids are still growing up the products of divorce. It made me think that I should have waited until I found someone whose astrology was compatible. At least that way I could have had more on my side when going into the marriage. I eventually got remarried. My second wife’s astrology is much more compatible with mine and I’m much happier with the marriage.
Throughout my college years, I concentrated on how astrology could help in selecting mates or friends. When I entered the workforce, I found out that astrology was helpful in selecting a career path. I found that most astrology books do not cover this aspect of astrology very well. However, I personally have found it to be one of the most important aspects of astrology. This really stood out when I starting working for my brothers’ company selling engineering software. A lot of this book will concentrate on that aspect of astrology.
My observations in astrology have always concentrated on the sun sign. I did this for three reasons. First, the majority of books on astrology concentrate on the sun sign, so it was easier to research. Second, it is very easy to find out someone’s sun sign. The third reason is to simplify things. People fit into one of twelve categories by looking at only the sun sign. If I looked at the sun and the moon signs together, that would make 144 categories! You can see how that adds a lot of complexity. I will explain what sun signs, moon signs, and other aspects of astrology are later in the book.
I have decided to write this book to make it easy for other people to understand astrology as it applies to relationships and let people know the ways that they could use it in their everyday life. A lot of people have a vague knowledge of the personality of their Zodiac sign, but few seem to understand who they should get along with best and what career types best suit them. I have been somewhat disappointed with a lot of the astrology books on the market and this is my attempt to do a better job.