Astrology is a science, a philosophy and an art. As a science it precisely calculates the cyclical movement of the sun, moon, planets etc. As a philosophy it acknowledges that there is a meaningful relationship between the movement of these celestial bodies in the sky and human life on earth. The relationship is not causative. The celestial bodies are not responsible for causing events to happen or human behavior to occur. Instead they reflect human behavior and events here on earth. This reflection is what Carl Jung referred to as synchronicity.

“Synchronicity is the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.”

We know that the earth and all heavenly bodies in our universe revolve around the sun but from our perspective here on earth, the sun, moon and planets appear to revolve around the earth. All calculations in astrology are based on this. As the heavenly bodies revolve they move through the 12 signs of the zodiac. The signs of the zodiac represent different universal archetypes that describe fundamental human experience and energies. The position of the planets, etc. at the time and place of one’s birth describe the archetypal patterns of the person’s life and character.

Think of the birth chart as a snapshot of the sky at the exact moment a person takes their first breath. This snapshot serves as a map for the astrologer to decipher. But it is only a map and not the actual territory. Human life is a beautiful mystery and the map that is the individual’s astrological chart simply describes possibility and potential.

The art of astrology has to do with the astrologer. Artists are interpreters of life’s energies. They feel into things, listen deeply to what is wanting to be revealed and then skillfully give those things form. Good astrologers must also feel into the symbolic patterns in a chart, listen deeply to their own intuition and to the person in front of them and skillfully interpret the symbols to match the person’s experience. Archetypes have a myriad of ways in which they express themselves depending on a person’s level of consciousness. The birth chart does not indicate levels of consciousness. It is up to the astrologer to make that determination through listening and having a dialogue with the client.

Evolutionary Astrology recognizes that human consciousness is evolving and that the process of evolution can be identified in the birth chart. It places importance on an individual’s emotional and spiritual growth as being paramount to the evolution of consciousness and it recognizes that emotional and spiritual growth takes a very long time; longer that just one short lifetime. Therefore one of the main tenets of Evolutionary Astrology is reincarnation. When we speak of reincarnation we are no longer talking about just the personality but the soul of the person. In Evolutionary Astrology the birth chart reflects the soul’s current life circumstances, purpose and intentions. At the same time the birth chart also reflects what the soul’s experience, purpose and intentions have been in the past that has led them to the current set of circumstances and experiences. An Evolutionary Astrologer can see what gifts, talents, strengths, and challenges the person brought with them from previous lifetimes and what lessons the soul will likely face in this life that can help further their evolution.