{"id":9079,"date":"2012-07-24T18:29:50","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T22:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/astrologicalmusings\/?p=9079"},"modified":"2012-07-24T18:29:50","modified_gmt":"2012-07-24T22:29:50","slug":"confessions-of-a-horoscope-writer-and-why-im-not-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/confessions-of-a-horoscope-writer-and-why-im-not-one\/","title":{"rendered":"“Confessions of a horoscope writer” and why I’m not one"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"horoscopes\"<\/a>Someone posted this article<\/a> on our astroblogger Facebook group:<\/p>\n

Until recently, I had a dirty little secret. I write horoscopes. Or at least, I used to. Now it\u2019s not such a dirty little secret because a) I\u2019ve just told you and b) there aren\u2019t that many horoscope clients left in my portfolio any more, anyway. But back in the day \u2013 oh yes. I was the BBC Slink teen astrologer for 13 years until the site closed last year and provided daily teen horoscopes throughout that time. \u2026 ; You might think that this was a track record to be proud of. My husband, bless him, certainly thought so and would waste no time in telling people proudly about my various clients while I smiled through gritted teeth and quickly changed the subject. I wasn\u2019t particularly proud; not ashamed either, exactly, but, well, embarrassed. You see, as a professional astrologer. I know better than anyone that sun sign horoscopes are by their very nature generalisations at best and at worst a load of tosh. Telling someone that I was writing them made it sound as though I \u2013 and worse, every other member of my profession \u2013 truly believed that all Scorpios were going to win the lottery on Thursday, but not before their Leo partners had ditched them for the next door neighbour and run off to start a new life on the Costa del Sol. Bracing myself for the \u201cbut you don\u2019t actually believe all that stuff, do you?\u201d question, it was easier to just move off the subject than try to defend *real* astrology and point out that I was just writing horoscopes because it paid well.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The word \u201choroscope\u201d has come to mean those sun sign columns you get in your local newspaper or magazine, but its true meaning is the actual diagram of the planets at a given time and place. There\u2019s no doubt that horoscope writers have the potential for great fame \u2013 Steven Forrest is one of the greatest astrologers of our time, but it was his stint as horoscope writer at Elle Magazine that brought him into the limelight. Michael Lutin is well known among astrologers, but he too became more widely known when his \u201choroscopes\u201d were carried by Vanity Fair and Huffington Post. In the UK Jonathan Cainer has achieved great fame through his \u201choroscopes\u201d in a variety of major publications. And let\u2019s not forget Rob Breszny, whose entertaining Free Will Astrology columns are syndicated worldwide. Astrobloggers report that when they started carrying sun sign \u201choroscopes\u201d their traffic shot up. And frankly, most people become interested in astrology through learning about their sun signs. Still \u201choroscope\u201d writers admit that the practice is more art than astrology. Rick Levine of tarot.com, one of the most brilliant \u201choroscope\u201d writers, has said in interviews that writing daily horoscopes is mostly poetry with a bit of astrology thrown in. Over the years I have had offers to write sun sign columns, all of which I have declined. I suppose I am fortunate that I have another career so that I don\u2019t need the money badly enough to sacrifice my principles. My main objection to these things is that while they are entertaining, they really have nothing to do with astrology. Yet the publications in which they appear carry no disclaimers, and no information that would draw readers to learn more. We are fortunate that the internet gives anyone the opportunity to share their own astrological views with the world. As I write this our astrobloggers group has 172 members, all of whom can put their work out there for the international public to find and enjoy. \"\"There\u2019s also plenty of astrological nonsense out there that isn\u2019t limited to sun sign columns, such as this new publication from Topix. In this magazine you can learn how astrologers analyzed birthcharts to \u201cpredict the future and Expose the Secrets they live with.\u201d You can see which of the Real Housewives is headed to the poorhouse, and whether certain celebrities had a choice whether or not to get plastic surgery. (I snagged the photo from Jeffrey\u2019s review<\/a>.) To put a positive spin on this, the magazine did use real natal charts and not just sun sign astrology in their articles, according to Jeffrey. And if it encourages more readers to inquire into the more serious aspects of astrology and the gifts and magic that it offers, I suppose that\u2019s not a bad thing.<\/p>\n

[related_posts limit=\u201d5\u2033 image=\u201d50\u2033]<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Someone posted this article on our astroblogger Facebook group: Until recently, I had a dirty little secret. I write horoscopes. Or at least, I used to. Now it\u2019s not such a dirty little secret because a) I\u2019ve just told you and b) there aren\u2019t that many horoscope clients left in my portfolio any more, anyway. 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