By Charlotte Benson
Consciously designing your public image as a practicing jyotishi is important � both to you individually, and to Jyotisha, as a profession. Especially in the West, today, we have the luxury to create our own standards and best practices for our increasingly popular profession.
Conveying the �message of the stars� of Jyotish carries an immense responsibility to our appreciative clients. And to our detractors, as well. Astrology evokes quite a distinct and extreme love/hate response from the general public. Although many polls indicate that the majority of the general public �believes� in Astrology, the loud voice of the influential, but prejudiced, scientific community maintains its bias against it.
I feel that it is our duty, as students and practitioners of the Sacred Science, to be as well-educated, articulate, |  | |
and honorable as we possibly can be. We are the living proponents of Astrology. I've often said that the problem of the lack of acceptance of Astrology is created mainly by the people who claim to be astrologers! This may be the case more with Western Astrology than with Jyotish. But the general public - our future clients - know both systems as "astrology."
As astrologers, we must hold ourselves to a very high standard. We should understand that the useful practice of Jyotish requires a life-long dedication to its study. (The sages even say that it takes several life-times to be a competent jyotishi!) We are fortunate that there are so many high-quality translations of the ancient classics of Jyotish available to us now. And so many excellent teachers, and formal courses of study � literally at our fingertips � online!
I find it useful, when explaining Astrological services to someone unfamiliar with the concept, to compare this practice of that of an attorney, or a doctor. As with these other professionals, astrologers require an advanced education, professional credentials, and much experience to be worthy of giving an informed opinion to a client who will be very much influenced by that opinion/diagnosis/advice.
That brings us to the title of this opinion column. Please don�t refer to the delivery of your hard-won Jyotish knowledge as �readings!� Use of this word has been my pet peeve for decades. If only it were so easy to simply �read� a chart! My suggestion, to bring the perception of our valuable Jyotish profession more in line with those of the other highly-valued professions with which we are on par, is to replace the term �reading� with: �session� or �consultation� or �interpretation� or �analysis� or �conference� or �appointment.� Anything other than the r-word. Unless you are actually a �psychic-reader� or tarot-card reader.
Transiting Mars and Mercury, et al., are now moving through in my natal 9th house. This �candid�combination may influence the strength of my published opinion on this small matter � but there it is! Please let me know what you think.
With best wishes for your professional success.
Charlotte Benson's Biography: |
