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A short list of thoughts about sessions in general and my work in particular —
 1. Astrologers are Human
Charts don't talk. They don't "say" anything in English. It's fallible human beings who interpret those symbolic mandalas. Each astrologer has a different set of skills, talents, knowledge, experience, and reality filters (which include biases, prejudices, pet theories, blind spots, etc.). So "objective" astrological interpretations don't exist. Each session is a subjective experience, as different as every astrologer.
I personally know many astrologers whose technical mastery of the system is impressive, even exhaustive. But some of those folks couldn't translate what they know into English if their lives — or yours — depended on it. Their readings are peppered with astro-jargon about this configuration and that one, but it's mostly gobbledy-gook to the client.
Consultations or "readings" from some other astrologers are essentially fast food — like burgers and fries cooked up by some high school kid in a paper hat. You know, essentially a paint-by-number kit.
Sessions with the very best astrologers are more akin to sumptuous meals prepared by extraordinary chefs whose talents and skills have been honed by long experience. I always wanted to be in that latter category, and now I am.
2. The Challenge of Connecting
The challenge of the work I do is not astrology. That's the easy part. The real effort of sessions lies in interacting with another human being in ways that cut through the noise and go to the heart of your life. The challenge is to offer real information that is truly helpful, rather than mere cosmic gossip, endless astro-jargon, or empty theory.
My sessions are always built around who you are, how your machinery works, and what challenges you face — interpreted in light of where you've been, where you are now, and where you're going.
3. Marketing Styles
If you've surfed the web and visited some of the thousands of astrology sites hawking "readings" and reports, you've probably noticed that many astrologers market their services by offering specific categories — an initial session for a natal interpretation, another session for progressions, and still others for relationship comparisons, career readings, health readings, etc.
I don't approach my work with clients that way. In every session, whether your first or your fiftieth, we discuss whatever is important to you at the time. Yes, initial sessions necessarily involve talking about who you are and why you're on the planet. That shared understanding is critical to everything else we might discuss, but every session goes beyond that.
I always prepare your natal chart and five years of major transits (the active cycles in your personal chart moving through time). Natal charts show the basic hardwiring of who you are and why you're here. Major transits reveal a perspective over years of where you've been, where you are now, and where you're headed. To those core tools, I add whatever other astrological techniques I feel are relevant for your needs or wishes in a given session (eclipse data, daily transits, other people's charts, composites, relocation, etc.). I add these other tools on-the-fly during the session.
In addition, I bring many non-astrological tools to each session, such as highly developed verbal communication skills, my life-long studies in history and psychology, my best understanding of human nature, my humor, and my own wonder at the mysteries of life. I use my intelligence and my heart. Those may not be as obvious as my astrological skills, but they're every bit as important in making the session insightful.
4. The Three Biggies—Work, Health, and Relationships
Over three decades and 11,000 sessions as a professional astrologer, I've learned that people are mainly interested in three topics: work, health, and relationships. In the way I'm using those words, "relationships" are more than just a main squeeze or significant other. They include everyone in our lives and how we feel about them—intimates, friends, family, and cohorts. "Health" is increasingly important to everyone as we age. I am not a doctor, and I don't make medical diagnoses in sessions. I can tell you, however, how significant health and illness are on your particular life-path, and whether a given condition of illness/breakdown is relevant to your growth as a human being or just a glitch along the road. "Work" obviously involves career and money, but it goes much further. Work means our lives in the real world, our responsibilities to community and society, our sense of useful contribution, and the rewards we hope to achieve beyond mere financial compensation. (Please Note: If money is your main concern, consult a financial advisor. Some astrologers specialize in that field; I do not.)
Sure, life has an infinite number of possible experiences that we can categorize in many ways, but, finally, most of life's experiences tend to fall under one of those major headings. My sessions are built around love and power as the key elements in balancing relationships, health, and work.
5. Airy-Fairy or Down-to-Earth?
My sense of spirituality is not divorced from real life, so my sessions can be metaphysical or practical. They may involve fantastic myth and metaphor or strictly common-sense discussion and real-life prediction. They could be philosophical or from the school of hard knocks. They might offer a broad perspective over your entire life or be intensely focused into the here-and-now, or perhaps what's coming just around the corner.
All of that depends on you — on your particular chart and life-situation, and on what you want or need to know.
The variation in sessions is extraordinary, not only from one person to another, but from one session to the next with the same person. Life is kaleidoscopic and ever-changing (even as things remain fundamentally the same). Every session goes with the changes, but hopefully rings the bell of invisible permanence beneath those changes. Usefulness requires both.
6. Issues and Problems
The issues and problems that people bring to sessions include every possible circumstance and concern — career, money, intimacy, marriage, divorce, having and raising children, relocation, timing of events, health, sex, fear, hope, anxiety, new possibilities — whatever.
Very few clients request a session without some issue pushing at them, some itch they're looking to scratch. Many people are drawn to astrology in the hope of "solving" their problems. And yes, astrology can help, by providing clarification, perspective, and information about timing. It is not, however, a magic bullet. Your issues won't vanish by having a session with me or with any astrologer.
Issues and problems are an ongoing part of life. While they ebb and flow over time, they never go away entirely. Like the grains of sand that irritate the oyster, our difficulties force us to create the pearl of spiritual awareness.
The bottom line is that a session with a good astrologer can be brilliant in helping us remember who we are and why we're here. The interaction usually confirms that our most intelligent thoughts and deepest feelings are correct, neutralizing those nagging inner doubts that make us feel crazy, confused, or just plain wrong. The relaxation that comes from this can be astonishing. We are then better able to handle our issues and move through our problems.
7. Sugar-Coated or Tell-It-Like-It-Is?
When I started doing astrology to make my living back in 1973, I was a devotee of the "humanistic" school of astrology. The emphasis in that approach is on "working with the planetary energies" by being aware of the full range of positive possibilities for every natal condition or unfolding cycle. Prediction is often seen as overly rigid and judgmental, especially when doing so involves any warnings or possible negativity.
Three decades of professional experience have dramatically revised my attitudes. Awareness and intention seem to have less impact than I formerly believed. I now feel that the best way I can be helpful to my clients is to use my knowledge of astrology and experience as a counselor to describe the energy fields you're moving through now, and how those energies relate to your basic path and life-purpose. If you're on a roll, I affirm that. If your ego is in for a hard time, I acknowledge that, too. I don't pull any punches for the sake of being "positive" when that's not an accurate reflection of where you are.
8. Using the Information
Clients often ask me how they should use the information from our sessions. I usually tell them that I'm in no position to say, since my knowledge of their circumstances is imperfect at best and never as comprehensive as their own. No one knows your life the way you do. This is why advice is so often wrong, whether from a friend or a professional, because we cannot know as outsiders the deep and subtle matrix of factors that make up your unique life-situation.
I try to speak to my clients at the level of their highest intelligence, and I'm confident that they can figure out what they need to do.
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