Thread by @UnlockAstrology

Yup. No one has said that we must become Astro-CNN for the world. My mental health has improved greatly.

https://twitter.com/oneskyastro/status/1671118720813375490

A rant to follow up on this cuz it's a Mars day, and I've thought a lot about this. I see many new astrologers stressed and burned out often about keeping a daily social media schedule with astrology. So, I want to say a few things. They may be shocking & piss off some folks.

But what else is new for me.

First, I think many rush into starting an astrology practice. I don't believe there's any particular time span on when you start studying & practicing astrology. But I think there are some important things to consider.

For starters, I always wonder about the nature of someone's astrological education. Many of us are self-taught, and that's okay. But one problem with being an auto-didact is you might need to learn how much you don't know. That's why some classes or certification tests are useful

It's good to push your learning with astrology. You can't just go by what you see on the internet or social media. There's plenty of astrology education that's not on the internet for free. And if you think that you've learned "enough" astrology for free off the web, then...

...chances are you don't know as much as you think. Astrology is also meant to be lived. It's one thing to read things online or in books, but it's a whole other thing to know from experience...or someone else's experience, like a teacher. This is important.

Related to this is that once you go into practice, it becomes harder to carve out time for your continued education and that does need to happen. I know a lot of astrologers who just stopped learning. They practice what they know and that's it.

Oddly and surprisingly, there are some basic things they don't know, like the primary and secondary motion of a chart. Some of this is due to how astrology operates in different time periods. But another part is just getting set in your ways.

So, be careful about rushing to get out there with your practice, especially if you're young. You'll have even more to share over the years. And there's a lot to be learned from practicing with yourself, friends, family or friends of friends, etc.

This leads me to the key part of this thread/rant: once you're out there, you likely will find folks who are into your stuff and that's awesome. Here's the downside: many of them will care more about your content than you or your life.

Fans are never to be confused with friends. Friends are invested in your life; fans are invested in your content and what you can do for them, especially at a discount or even free.

You got one job in this life: to take care of yourself, especially if you want to help and take care of others. You can't stay in the game of life, if you're not taking care of your playing piece--your body and mind and, by extension, your soul and life.

You're reminded of this every time you get on a plane: you must put your oxygen mask on yourself before you can help anyone else. Same applies in other areas of your life.

So, as you work long hours on editing the perfect video on a Venus transit, or write spools of copy for your horoscopes, keep in mind that you must take care of yourself AND seek to enjoy what you're doing.

But if you're doing this because you want people to love you, because you want to have a big brand, because you want a big following like XXX, then balance that with tending to your life, needs and relationships.

Cuz, I repeat, many of your fans and readers DON'T LOVE YOU! They love what you do for them. You are in a consumer-based civilization. You are part of a constellation of "fixes" for people who will be off to the next thing when you're gone or burned out.

I saw this for myself with Susan Miller was sick several years ago and couldn't get her horoscopes out on time. Many of her fans complained and even ridiculed her for being out and about to get some food at a restaurant.

Someone wrote, "If that bitch can be out eating, she could be writing my horoscopes." That stuck with me. Remember this. No, this is NOT everybody. But it's enough to remind you that you better take care of you.

Decades ago, astrologers would issue predictions and commentary about once or twice a year in an almanac or periodical. Now, there's this idea that we need to comment on everything happening in the sky. Fuck that. Speak about what's in your heart & sparks your inspiration.

You will notice that I don't talk about astrology a lot here. But I do astrology, in some form, every day, and I stay reading astrological material. Twitter has long served as a safety valve FROM astrology.

I realized that no one dubbed me an Astro-anchor, especially when I felt like I always had to be "on" doing something. This extends to personal relationships too.

If someone makes a transition from client or student to friend, I make it clear that I'm not a casual astrology source. That I won't be thinking randomly about their chart & some transit as they're talking to me about a personal problem.

Want an astrologer as my friend? Hire me. Or, if I'm so moved, I'll talk to you about what I feel with the astrology. But, again, I do not have to be an astrologer 24/7.

A potential dating partner cut me off a few months back cuz she couldn't understand how astrology was work. She kept saying, "It's a delight to know more about oneself." Chick, that's great for you as a consumer. But it's still work like anything else.

Doesn't mean that it's not an honor and delight to be an astrologer. But you were a person before you were an astrologer. Tend to your personhood along WITH your astrology. It's not an either/or proposition. #RantOver