Home Teens
Find Your Astro Twin Moon Facts
Amanda's Bio
Lucky Stars
Lucky Stars Excerpt
What is Astrology and What is
a Sun Sign?
Find out about astrology, destiny, and free
will
The following questions were asked of Amanda
by thirteen-year-old Kim Kaufman as part of a school project investigating
professions.
If you have any questions, email me:
ask amanda
1. Explain your occupation.
As full-time astrologer I provide a variety of astrological services. I have a home office, so people come to see me at my office or consult with me by phone. I have many clients who live in other states, so we do those sessions by phone. My main service is called a personal consultation. People come to see me when they want to find out more about themselves and to gain understanding and perspective about what is presently occurring in their lives. In this 1 ½ hour session I also talk about what will be coming up in the year ahead. The term for this is “predictive astrology.” It doesn’t mean though that I see anything psychically. I simply examine the cycles that a person will be experiencing and then tell that person what he or she can expect.
Before I set up an appointment I need the date, time, and city of birth. With that information, I can construct their astrological birth chart, which is a map of the sky from the viewpoint of their birth location. I have a software program that does the calculations for me. This map shows me that person’s life pattern. It’s like a blueprint of life. It tells me all of the patterns, themes and issues they are working with in their life. It doesn’t tell me what someone will do with those patterns, it just tells me what they are working with.
I also teach classes for a variety of adult education evening programs, which are 10-week courses called “An Introduction to Astrology.” And I teach an on-going Monday evening class for experienced students of astrology in my home.
I lecture for a variety of astrology groups and other organizations. I also go to parties and conduct shorter readings for the people at the party.
I write articles for astrology magazines and I wrote the book Lucky Stars.
So, as you can see, a full-time astrologer does a variety of things from helping people in personal or relationship consultations, to teaching, to writing, to having fun at parties. It’s a fun job that is always different because people are so different. My job changes from day to day, which makes it always interesting.
2. What was your first day on the job like?
The first time someone came to see me for an astrology consultation was back in 1985. It was very exciting because I was doing something I really loved and found interesting. I had studied astrology for 10 years before I did my first professional consultation.
3. How does astrology affect your life?
Learning astrology has had a profound affect on my life. Knowing my own astrology chart has helped me to understand myself, has helped me to make more use of my strengths and gifts and has helped me to work out and heal those parts of myself and my life that have been difficult. Astrology provides a totally non-judgmental view of yourself and your life. Because of that it becomes easy to look at all of the different parts of yourself.
I also use astrology for timing. There are times that are easier and feel more supportive and other times when it is very difficult to succeed at something. Sometimes, no matter what you do, it seems as if the world and people are not cooperating. Other times, it’s like you have a green light. Astrology shows you when those times occur. It’s kind of like having an organized schedule that you can read and make use of.
4. Explain the difficulty of your job.
Nothing in the job itself is difficult. The only difficulty is that so many people don’t know what astrology is and have biases against it – even though they don’t know what astrology is or what an astrologer does. The reason for this is clear. Most people’s perception of astrology comes from the daily horoscope columns. These columns are very general, based on a Sun sign only. They don’t represent what astrology is all about because they use only partial information. It’s kind of like going to the doctor who only takes your temperature when you want to know everything about your health! The doctor will only be able to tell you about the information she or he has received from taking your temperature. Obviously, there will be many other things that the doctor will be unable to tell you about. Many astrologers try to educate the public about astrology to help people understand the complexities of this system.
5. Why does astrology interest you?
I find astrology interesting for so many reasons! Its sheer mystery fascinates me. How does astrology work? How can it work? Although no one knows why astrology works, it does.
6. What sign are you and how are horoscopes usually true?
I am a Gemini, which means that I was born when the Sun was traveling, as viewed from earth, across the zodiac sign Gemini. As mentioned earlier, horoscope columns because they use only the Sun sign, can be inaccurate. Sometimes they are accurate. It depends on the astrologer who is writing the column. Some people, like in any profession, are better at it than others.
7. How popular is astrology?
Astrology has increased in popularity over the time I have been studying and practicing astrology. Many magazines and websites regularly include horoscope columns. There is so much astrological literature available today that whole shelves in bookstores devoted to this topic. When I first started studying astrology in 1974, there were few books on astrology and what books existed were shelved between books on flying saucers and astral travel! Back in the 1970’s the people interested in astrology largely consisted of hippies, musicians and actors, those interested in metaphysical subjects and others who were not really in the mainstream of society. Today, people from all walks of life consult astrologers. My clients include doctors, investment bankers, teachers, people in government, and others who are not usually thought of as using astrological information.
8. How old were you and why did you become interested in astrology?
I was 19 years old when I first started studying astrology. I was fascinated by the premise that there was a system that could be learned and used that would help you to know yourself and make your life easier. I decided that if astrology really worked, then I was going to learn how to do it!
9. When is the best time to look at the stars?
Anytime when the night sky is the clearest.
10. What inspired you to write your book?
I decided to write Lucky Stars after being asked countless times for a book recommendation from my younger clients. In the past, astrology books have been written for adults. These books talk about a lot of subjects that aren’t relevant to a younger person’s life: topics like husbands or wives, children, employers. I wanted to write a book that would help a younger person understand something about her or himself. But also I wanted to write a book that would be fun to read! Lucky Stars is really a book for everyone – but I made sure that you could be 13 years old and have fun reading it, too.
11. Describe a certain quality associated with your sign and how it describes you.
I am a Gemini. I call Geminis the messengers because this is the sign of communication. Geminis are data-collectors, are very curious and are interested in everything. Geminis hate to be bored. I am very much like my sign. One of the things I like most about my profession is that I am constantly learning something new. I am never bored. Also, being an astrologer, I am always communicating with others what I have learned. So, in that sense, I am very much a messenger.
12. Why do you think astrology is important to the world?
I believe any system that helps us to understand our self and others can be beneficial. Often people don’t get along because they don’t understand each other.
13. What is your personal definition of astrology?
Astrology is a symbolic system, which can be used as an informational tool to help people better understand themselves. Astrology also provides a system for timing through the observation of planetary cycles.
14. Where is the best place to look at the stars?
Away from the lights of a city and as far away as possible from heavily polluted skies.
15. Describe other books you’ve written if any.
I wrote The Twelve Best Investments You Will Ever Make. I published it myself. It is a book about how to invest in yourself to make your life more enjoyable.
16. Where and when did you first become interested in astrology?
In 1974 when I was 19 years old. I was living in San Jose, California at the time. I was attending San Jose City College and was attending a cast party for a play. I met a woman there who was an astrologer. She talked to me about astrology and I was fascinated by the idea. The next day I went to a special store to buy an ephemeris and a Table of Houses. These two books are needed to mathematically draw up an astrology chart. There were no computers then to do the calculations. I did the astrology charts of friends and family for the next decade and was constantly amazed at how accurate the charts were. But it wasn’t until 1985 that I decided to become a professional astrologer.
17. Describe any statements about horoscopes or astrology that you disagree with.
There are many misunderstandings about astrology. This profession is not regulated, which means anyone can say he or she is an astrologer even if they have not studied astrology or know very little about the subject. Also, people have different opinions about what astrology is and what it can do. Some people think astrology is for entertainment only, a statement with which of course I disagree.
18. Explain how astrology has changed.
Astrology used to be very “fatalistic.” It was a view that came out of the times. This kind of astrology went on the premise that people don’t have any control over their lives. Today, astrology reflects the current times. So, the way most astrologers think of an astrology birth chart is that it is a map of a person and his or her life. That map shows many possible roads that person can take, but it is up to the person through the use of free will to decide which road to travel. In this view, people are thought of as co-creators of their lives. So, you are born with a certain “map,” but you can go anywhere you want within it.
19. What books or movies would you recommend as good resources for this project.
The Astrology Sourcebook by Shirley Soffer gives a wonderful history of astrology along with some basic information. The User’s Guide to Astrology by Bruce Scofield also has some great basic information about what astrology is along with some basic definitions of the signs, planets and houses of the horoscope.
20. Describe how you found the information you used to write your book.
The information I used in the book came from my years of experience as an astrologer and student of astrology. I use many people as examples for the different signs. For information about those people I drew from many sources. I used the internet a lot. For example britannica.com is a great site with lots of links. I surfed the web when I wanted to know more. I have a famous person for each day of the year so everyone could see who his or her birthday twin was. There were countless sources for that information. I hunted everywhere I could! If I was watching TV and someone mentioned a birthday, I wrote it down right away! If I was reading a magazine and there was a profile on someone famous, I tore that page out of the magazine and put it in my files. I spent a year collecting birth dates anywhere I could.
21. Why do you think astrology was invented?
Astrology wasn’t really invented. The study of the relationship between the
movements of the planets and human events was a process that took place over a
long time. Records of people noticing correlations between the movements of
planets and what happened here on earth go back at least 2500 BC. People wrote
down their observations and others who came after them added to that written
record.
Subscribe to my
Free Astrology Newsletter
My astrological newsletter keeps you
up to date with the planetary weather including reminders when my forecasts are
posted, extra information about the week, articles about current astrological
happenings, links to sites, updates on my lecture schedule, and anything else I
decide to include. It's free.
click here to subscribe