Management of Measurement Constructs

New-Year Hopes

Every year since the beginning of this website, here in the Forum, I’ve made some hopes and wishes known for times of learning ahead. I do so again at this year’s end. –And let me promise you that these hopes are not idle whimsy or chatter; they are concrete blocks with which to build your skills as astrologers, perhaps more than you’ve been building them over recent time, and to expand our learning.

1. Astrology is no longer a game, a hobby. A glib, flip, jocular quip about this or that in our work demeans others’ regard for astrology. The world is watching the Forum (over 30 countries) to see American astrology at work, often at its best. A “Ha-Ha” or a “Hee-Hee” doesn’t fit the image of a mature discipline and eloquent body of knowledge. Telling the world that you’re rushing (in order to excuse an incomplete presentation); or that you’re late for this or that; does nothing but diminish our stature. Posting on the Forum carries with it a rich responsibility to do the best one can.

2. Practicality Just think how impractical so much of our Astrology can appear to be! Asking questions tethered to petty personal situations and linked to fragmented knowledge (they tend to go together) puts Astrology into very shallow water. This and that in astrology rarely –and I mean RARELY— captures a specifically individual life experience; much more dimensioned information is required, about the astrology and about the life. Horary questions addressed to many thousands of readers over ten time zones will produce nothing. An exorbitant number of measurements related to something –including some extraordinarily outlandish links with measurement references many of us have barely heard of—will not guarantee anything but befuddlement and –often—embarrassment. Being supposedly all-inclusive does not necessarily support insightfulness.

3. Clarity of Presentation I have said so often (and the situation has improved over the years) that the planets like to have their name begin with a capital letter! Signs do too. Not only does this help our eyes understand what we read, but reveals as well an orderly mind at work. Along the same line, we simply must learn that “ / “ means Midpoint; that “ – “ connotes connection. Then, putting the major measurements first within the presentation soon shows us that so many of the peripheral “nervous-jabbering” measurements that normally follow are unnecessary. Lean and mean should be the rule. It works. –Measuring is not meaning. Interpretation is.

4. Routining Personal Study I so hope earnest astrologers will found their own individual “Book of the Month Club”! Can you imagine reading one book (or more) each month: what you will learn so quickly! Seventy percent of those books perhaps should be non-astrological! Learn about life. Put life into your astrology.

5. Something New every Week Let’s work to learn something incisive about our astrology every week! We can begin with the quarter-million words in the three essay departments here … pick out an essay and learn something. Learn it thoroughly. Learn it cold. Take a week to learn it, understand it, practice it; no matter how grand the concept or how surgical the technique. Put it to work. Make it yours.

6. Use what you learn; what you know By using what you know in an orderly fashion every time you address anything astrologically, you are building your astrological style, which becomes how you are known professionally. –Try it; you’ll be proud of yourself! [Tyl: Guide to Astrological Consultation is very helpful.]

7. Bring four new people to the Forum I think we’re all proud of the Forum; on its best days, it is world-class. If we spread the word about the Forum, we introduce new minds and topics to all of us. We grow together, and American Astrology can only benefit and mature.

Thank you for listening.

And most sincere appreciation for your cooperation with learning, with courtesy, and with growth.

Noel Tyl

Next Update: April 1. In the meantime, please know that immediately following this essay is an archive of some 70,000 words, over 70 essays in this department that should earn your interest