The Diminishing and Marginalization of "Those Types" of Astrologers Within the Astrology Establishment

A couple days ago, I was urged to share a link to my recent article, "Hurricane Harvey, the Total Solar Eclipse, and This Era of Unnatural Disaster," on a Reddit.com astrology board. Reddit, as most people know, is a public message board site. 

This is not something I normally do. I've actually never posted a link to my articles on Reddit, and I don't frequent the site. Another astrologer kindly posted some of my articles there a few years ago, and I believe I made two comments in total at the site before now.

The link to my article stayed up at the Reddit astrology page for a couple hours. I could see on my StatCounter that people were navigating to my site from the link.

But soon after, the link I posted disappeared from the page.

So I posted it again.

Again, it was deleted.

I thought maybe it was stationing Mercury that was messing with me and asked a friend to check the site for my link. She couldn't find it, either. 

I wanted to know if this was censorship based on the subject matter of the article (which was certainly astrological in nature, involving a fair amount of transit and astrological research) or whether this was a general blackballing of me as an astrologer.

So I tested the waters, posting a link to this other recent article, "The Push for Standardized Astrological Education As a Pluto in Capricorn-Era Control Mechanism." 

In it, I outlined a level of discrimination I've experienced and felt against self-taught intuitive astrology (the type of astrology I practise) coming from the astrological establishment. 

The experience I had after posting this link amusingly (and aggravatingly) illustrates exactly what I'm talking about, which I will share here.

Posting the second article had an immediate large and backlash-y reaction with a few people shit-swarming me in the comments section. This included a couple of the more establishment-friendly astrologers trying to dominate my perspective out of existence.

"Your experience is not your experience because I say it's not and because I haven't experienced that myself, so that means it's not happening." 

(Is this what they call gaslighting?)

I was called "hostile," "skewed," "dogmatic," "objectively incorrect," and was said to be promoting a "narrative that is garbage," among other pleasantries. 

All this because I refused to be brainwashed out of my own 15+ years of experience, and I refused to be bullied into accepting their more establishment-friendly reality in place of my own.

One commenter seemed to be particularly incensed by my article and perspective, launching into paragraphs-long commentary trying to dominate my viewpoint out of existence. In his mind, his experience as a more establishment-accepted astrologer negated my (very different) experience. The classic, "I haven't experienced that, so it doesn't exist" thing. 

It's common for the dominant paradigm to insist that it is the only paradigm - or the only paradigm that really matters. 

This commenter said full-on that he believed it was correct that astrologers whose work involves conspiracy research should be censored from that message board. That was fairly mind-boggling to me. Then in the second breath, he demanded to know what made me think he was more establishment-friendly than I am. (You can't make this stuff up, folks.)

Another commenter turned his nose up at sociopolitical astrology ("exhausting!") and stated his preference that astrology be just a "fun personal interest." (This view, depressingly, probably represents 90% of all astrology enthusiasts these days...)

Excessively-long comment section shitstorm short, it turns out that the guy who was so obsessively trying to force his establishment-friendly views down my throat was the moderator who censored my article in the first place! Ah, it all makes sense now.

Except, he claims it's not censorship and that, again, I am pretty well a wingnut if I think that is the case.

The stated reason for my article being deleted (twice) from the Reddit astrology board:

"Resources that discuss conspiracy theories are discouraged in much the same way we discourage palmistry, numerology, and general occult things like that."

So in a fit of absolute and utter cosmic perfection and beauty, we see a clear example of the type of marginalization of "certain astrologers" within the astrology establishment that I wrote about in the article and that I then reiterated in the comments section of that article. 

As this guy is so vehemently insisting that I'm making all this up and this discrimination/experience/perspective does not exist, he is illustrating the very dynamics about which I'm writing.

The reason the article had such a huge and backlash-y response from these people is that it hit the nail squarely on the head. 

Now, none of the astrologers I know are opposed to palmistry, numerology, tarot, psychic abilities, conspiracy research, etc. It would actually seem insane to us, as astrologers, to be opposed to these things. If we aren't into them ourselves, we're certainly not going to make it our mission to discredit them and stamp them out - so long as they're being legitimately practised by ethical people. And opposing "general occult things?" Astrology itself is considered an occult subject!  

If this is the policy of that Reddit astrology page, they need to make that bias known up front by stating it as a rule on the front of the page. 

As I said in the article on forced standardized education/certification, I don't mind being treated like a second class citizen. What I mind is not knowing why I'm being treated that way. What I mind is everyone pretending it's not going on, pretending everything is so inclusive and evolved, when the reality of how things function is far from that.

This Reddit moderator is taking his cues from the astrology establishment, which believes that it has to distance itself from "those types" of astrologers in order to gain mainstream acceptance (and salaries). 

This type of discrimination against and marginalization of intuitive astrology and astrologers (which, yes, could also involve things like palmistry, numerology, psychic abilities, divination tools, conspiracy research, etc.) is unfortunately far from uncommon within the astrological establishment. 

Well, I'm one of "those types" of astrologers. The astrologers I roll with are "those types" of astrologers. The astrologers I respect are "those types" of astrologers. And we're one potent motherfucking crew. We exist. We practise astrology; we do readings; we write; we teach; we speak; all from that potent motherfucking perspective that only we can bring.

And the astrology establishment is just going to have to get over it. Pretending we don't exist or pretending that we're just "secondary astrologers," marginalizing and shutting out our practise of astrology while pretending this is not going on - it's all so very, very last era.

And it's all very clearly a Pluto in Capricorn-era control mechanism, a power move designed to create prestige and financial reward (Capricorn) for those who play the game while diminishing and shutting out those who do not.

Let's bring it all out into the open, friends. Jupiter in Scorpio is on its way. 

The Push for Standardized Astrological Education As a Pluto in Capricorn-Era Control Mechanism

I only recently learned, after 10 years as a professional astrologer, that intuitive astrology is looked down upon by the astrology establishment.

Honestly, this explains a lot.

I've always known that I did not fit in with this particular crowd for some reason.

All the astrology conferences and courses and schools and lectures - it all costs money I don't have to spend and is therefore inaccessible to me and to any other poor or working class astrologer or student. But even that didn't tell the whole story. There was just something off about me even attempting to interact in that world.

And now I know.

Self-taught astrologers, intuitive astrologers, astrologers who haven't jumped through the particular hoops set out by this astrological establishment, are considered secondary - possibly (possibly) serviceable at what they do, but not among the best and brightest, not members of the Big Deal Astrologers club.

OK, good. Glad to have that clarified.

I don't really mind being considered a second class citizen or being snubbed by the astrology establishment. The thing that bugs me is when I'm treated that way without fully understanding the underlying motivation or reason.

From early on as an astrologer, I picked up on the push for standardized astrological education for practising astrologers. (I'm intuitive, right? You can't get a control mechanism past me.)

Many of the current astrological associations and groups have been built around this push for standardized education. In other words, in order to call yourself a professional astrologer, you have to have certain certifications, take certain approved courses of study, and be tested on your knowledge by certain other establishment-approved astrologers. (And again, this all takes $$$, so it's a pretty middle and upper-middle class-dominated scheme.)

If you don't jump through these particular hoops and learn these particular pre-approved brands of astrology, receiving the piece(s) of paper that says you're a legit professional in the minds of these establishment astrologers, you pretty well aren't welcome in their clubs. You're shut out of "the scene," as well as the many opportunities for professional advancement enjoyed by those in these particular (quite insular) clubs.

Well, to be honest, they can have it.