If you've ever had a good chart done you would've probably wondered how on earth a complete stranger could've pinpointed your inner self so well. Perhaps there will never be a real explanation (one that everyone can agree on) as to why astrology is able to come up with accurate character descriptions and predictions. However if you yourself notice it's accuracy...there would be little point in denying it's usefulness.
Even psychology is given a bad rap in many circles because they are often just simply generalized as Shrinks or Quacks - with Astrologers in tow being seen as out and out Whackos - yet both are still used all over the world with great effectiveness.
Psychologists and Psychiatrists often nick-named shrink, likely because people feel exposing your inner self to a complete stranger appears to shrink the ego somewhat. Psychology's aim however is never to shrink a patients ego, but to build him or her up again. Astrology's character descriptions are used in the same way. It exposes character traits, holding them up to the light, so that they can be used to build oneself up.
Using everything in your arsenal to improve yourself should be goal number one, if you're serious about fine tuning your personality.
Now I must add that there is a fine line between improving oneself and becoming self absorbed. That line can be crossed quite easily if a person is not careful - especially if that person is in a vulnerable state of mind to begin with. It may take time to know the difference for some, while others approach self analysis with a healthy balanced approach beforehand.
Signs that you're becoming self absorbed would be a tendency to berate yourself over small flaws, or worrying excessively about how you appear to others. That would the perfect time to temporarily put away all of the self analysis books, or cut down somewhat on your astrology or psychology visits. If you can find your balance point you're well on your way to using these resources as they were meant to be used.
Now, by no means would I advocate not seeing your psychologist if you're in need or in a crisis. I simply meant that if you're at the point where you are out of a danger zone and you feel saturated when talking about yourself - your instinct is probably right and you may need a break. Same thing goes for astrology, you can only read so many interpretations before you'll have a full picture of yourself. It's up to you afterwards to use it for something great! Now astrology predictions are somewhat exempt because they focus on what may transpire. The only time you should to back away from those is if you find yourself fearing an upcoming trend. Astrology is certainly not very useful if it induces fear!
Predictions are only meant as a subtle guide as to what conditions may lie ahead for you. It's accuracy is somewhat blurry too, but it can give you an idea of what may happen. Same goes for Tarot cards and palm reading. Which is pretty good considering that not much else in this world can give you that except perhaps a gifted Psychic of course. I have to admit, I've yet to see an Astrologer that is as accurate as a truly gifted Psychic.
Enjoy your journey - just don't overdo and you'll full reap the benefits of working on yourself!
Lee-Ann Pauly - has been studying Tarot Cards, Palmistry and Astrology since she was a child.
The more she learned about Astrology the more fascinated she became with how planetary positions play such a vital role in shaping people's characters and futures.
She now simply sees Astrology as a subtle reflection of ongoing events.
You can find Lee-ann on the web at: astrologybeat.com