So this girl that I work with approaches me the other day and tells me that she needs my help. She is obviously distressed about whatever the matter is, and for some reason she thinks that I can do something to help her. I asked her what the problem was, and she basically said, in more words than I would like to repeat here, that she was having relationship issues. She was panicked that this guy that she has been seeing for quite some time was going to break up with her later that night. So, she asked me to look at her chart and to tell her what the astrology said was going to happen that night. Basically something to the effect of “is he going to break up with me tonight?”
So, having done some work on her birth chart previously, I happened to have it handy, so I pulled it out, and began looking to see what fate had in store for her in the near future. As it turned out, that evening looked like it would be rather smooth and unproblematic for her, but as I looked further into the month things got a bit more problematic. I saw that she would probably get depressed towards the end of may, and then some sort of emotional outburst would occur towards the beginning of June. All of this troubling stuff in her chart culminates in the middle of July, when Saturn opposes her Venus, the ruler of her 7th house, and her relationship, it would seem, would come to an end.
So what do I do? The relationship was not going to end that night, so I could confidently answer the specific question which she had asked me. But it did not seem that the relationship itself was not meant to last, and that it would in fact end within two months time. Did she need to know that it wouldn’t last at that time? Or does she need this experience in order to grow and learn in some way? Am I obliged to tell her what I see and possibly influence her “free will”? Is it better to know the future or is ignorance really bliss?
After an hour of looking at her chart, she came back over to the table that I was sitting at in the coffee shop and sat down.
“What’s the verdict?” she said eagerly.
I hesitated for a moment, and then said
Everything is going to be just fine.
4 replies on “Ignorance Is Bliss”
I wrote this a few years ago on my Myspace blog, and I thought that it was interesting because some of the issues that I was having back then are still relevant to me today. The prediction about my coworker turned out to be true, and they did break up exactly two months after she asked me the question.
Hello Chris,
When I see transiting Saturn line-up with natal Venus- I like to tell the client, the structural integrity of their close relationships will be challenged, and if the bond is basically solid, they may be committing or recommitting to the relationship. And if things are shaky- Saturn with Venus represents a make it or break period. Context is clearly important in these matters.
Cheers,
David
Dear Chris,
This is brilliant and illustrates nicely the dilemma we often face as astrologers. As it was, the question she asked “will we break up tonight?” tells you the information she was looking for, and i think as an astrologer you answered that well.
I have learned the hard way not to answer questions that aren’t asked. If she had said “will this relationship last a year” that would have been one thing. But that she was only concerned for the day (as it were), and so you did the “right” thing.
Sometimes when a client asks me a big question like “will i have a relationship in the next year” i will often ask them “are you sure you want to know? What if the answer is “no”, how will you feel?” This gives the client a moment to reflect on whether they really want an answer. Most do, but on occasion the person decides against it. I have saved myself a lot of grief by following this simple but compassionate procedure.
By the way, i am loving your blogs.
All the Best,
C-I 😉
This thread reminds me of a gay friend I had, who had a penchant for going after men who were not interested in him. He would occasionally ask me to do a horary chart for him to see if he was going to ‘meet someone’ this month or year or whatever. The answer was virtually always ‘no’. One time he became annoyed at me and said, ” cant you at least just give me some hope?”. I told him, ‘i tell you what I see in the chart, if you want someone to tell you what you want to hear, go see Madame Fatima down on the Boardwalk’. He calmed down and said, “yeah, I know”.
It’s been several years, but to the best of my knowledge, he’s still single.