Management of Measurement Constructs

Guidelines for Consultation Structure

Every symphony, sonata, novel, short story, joke must have form: there must be a beginning, a middle, and an end. The form, the structure of communication, gives it stature, adds to meaning, and helps it to endure in memory. The simplest example is the distress signal SOS: the letters mean nothing; they are derived from the …—… of Morse code (s, o, s), which themselves are meaningful because of THEIR form, three groups of three within a binary medium (dots and dashes). The three-ness is echoed in the balance of the three letters.

It goes on and on: we recognize form, we respond to form, we retain form. Just think of the opening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (Da-Da-Da DA) (G-G-G E-flat); look at its rhythmic form! It became an outcry of war for generations!

There’s a rule in Public Relations and Advertising, in how-to-write-a-speech directives: you tell them what you are going to tell them; you tell them; you tell them what you already told them. Again, FORM.

In Astrology, being conscious of form within the consultation –developed in the preparation work organization—helps enormously to keep astrology away from abject description of traits and bring astrology into dynamic management of a scenario for reality development.

It’s simple: if the mind consciously works to take the first impression of the horoscope (hemisphere emphasis, key measurements like Sat-rx, Nodal axis, etc., rulership dynamics and more) into development of a life scenario, we begin our analytical process securely. The process is the same as when our social sensibility processes first impressions and develops them so rapidly into opinions, evaluations, and anticipations of behaviors.

“This person who is so completely caught up with idealistic projection –taken on defensively during the early times of great paternal neglect and perhaps maternal influence—is probably going to give him/herself away to others so strongly, lose him/herself in the process; that’s what we’ve got to get to when we talk. What other dimensions clarify this? …” Etc. –Immediately in the preparation, exploring astrological guidelines, we are bringing the horoscope TO a life developmental process. We have a beginning.

Presenting that overall general first impression to the client will probably take only 2 to 12 minutes, the more efficient you become with “gulps of synthesis” and techniques or questions and listening and responding.

Summation of the general course of life-development then leads easily into articulation of that life course (and tests of the responsiveness of the horoscope within the client’s reality; and the birth time) by review of key Arc/transit development throughout the life. –The objective is NOT to ‘catch’ everything, BUT to develop a clear theme of development from birth forward to the present time. Here we learn much more detail within the established development theme of the life. Here the client starts to see the repetitiveness of problems, defenses, mistakes, and the emergence of strengths and claims to fame. We have a middle.

The Middle portion of the consultation takes approximately 30 minutes, depending on detail, age, discussion needed. The astrologer must learn to listen only to the point that is necessary for general comprehension; to hear ALL the specific details of an emotional situation through which the client has lived is extraneous to the consultation, for the most part –the general emotions, yes, but efficiency calls for moving on, past the objectively assessed event and on to the next. This ending-projection session, finishing on a strong, supportive, buoyant note –through which the client will not feel alone into the future—usually takes about 12-15 minutes.

This brings the astrologer to the time for summation and tight recapitulation, and to the key question, “Now, what do you project for yourself in the next 6 months to a year?” –This defines a reality perspective that is essential for the reality organization of the measurements already seen for the future. This is the time for art.

Overall then, we have a form outline here that presents a consultation of one hour, perhaps an hour and ten minutes. I recommend the preparation time be one-third that, i.e., 20-25 minutes per horoscope. –This can be a demanding but most rewarding goal for the astrologer’s growth.