20 - Sunday, December 15, 1991 - North Shore News SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING The lib ~ Astrology, once a respecte branch of science/art in many parts of the world, has been much maligned since the rational cosmology of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler came to us. By Barbara Black News Reporter In some respects, it has been reduced to parlor-game status — people mock each other for being a ‘‘meticulous Virgo’’ or a ‘‘dom- ineering Scorpio.” Horoscope enthusiasts pore over weekly readings, looking for ex- ternal confirmation of their ac- tions and desires. There is a misapprehension that astrology ‘‘contains’’ our destiny, that it immutably defines our character. But North Shore News colum- nist and astrologer-counsellor Robert Aiken sees it differently. Astrology, he believes, is not a fixed destiny. It does not strip us of our will. : “The big danger ...is that we (think we are) somehow affected by something outside of us. A planet doesn’t do anything to anybody. A star doesn’t do any- thing to anybody. If you believe that you are a victim of martyr- sacrifice and you need to ...take responsibility for creating your own reality,’’ says Aiken. Therein lies the heart of Aiken’s approach to astrology — a twist on the usual notion that the movement of the planets and stars “‘determines’’ our fate. Seated in his understated counselling room, dressed from head to toe in orange of varying intensities — a sort of human flame — Aiken explains: ‘‘You’re fated to the extent that you’re ig- norant of the fact that we are creating our reality .from one unique unanticipated, unprece- dented incident to the next.’” But isn’t the prospect of having ultimate responsibility for one’s life daunting? Yes, says Aiken, adding that people are ‘‘power phobic.’’ But, in his counselling sessions, which he likes to combine with astrological chart readings, he emphasizes taking charge of your own life. A conundrum presents itself: If you have character traits that are associated with certain planets and zodiacal signs, how can you ever ‘escape’ your horoscopic per- sonality? The key, Aiken assures, is that ‘it can all be transmuted if you take responsibility for what you do. You can shift to the point where the chart no longer charac- terizes you.”’ in fact, he points out, astrology itself has evolved; its uses and definition merely reflect the col- lective psyche of the culture creating it. ¢ ESTATE JEWELLERY * ORTWCT Ladies Diamond & Platinum Brooch Always purchasing ¢ Consignment welcome 1730 MARINE DR., WEST VANCOUVER 926-7710 | NEWS photo Mike Wakeflaid LOCAL ASTROLOGER Robert Aiken combines astrological readings with counseliing, encouraging people to take responsi- bility for their own lives. Years ago, for instance, people believed that the pathways of the stars were a sort of pictographic language expressing the nature of heaven and the will of the Gods. For the Greeks and Romans there was a mystical identity between the microcosm of the human world and the macrocosm of the universe. “All the meanings projected onto the planets, the zodiacal signs out there, ...what we see out there is our projection. {t all derives from us, it is us.’’ he stresses. ‘“‘When you get right down to the core of it, microcosm/macrocosm — same thing. It’s afl one.’’ In this sense, astrology, rather than being a fixed form of divina- tion, becomes a sort of ‘‘new physics’’ branch, based. on changeability. “Do you know Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle?’’ Aiken asks excitedly. “TI think so,’’ I say with uncer- tainty. 7 Lh SBS The Dobsons of Abbotsford at Panama He walks to a flip chart in the middle of the room and reads: *‘you can never know all there is to know about anything which is scientific proof that scientific proof is no proof at all; so we cannot know everything about anything until we knew everything about everything.” There is great liberation in ad- mitting you don’t know, says Aiken. I heartily concur. “‘Therefore,’’ he says, while flipping the chart, ‘‘we all have the teachings to complete libera- tion within our own hearts.”’ This is part of what he conveys in his cocnselling sessions. The astrological chart that Aiken does for a client, although it reveals character traits, is not a record of what will happen to that person. He defines it as ‘‘symbolic of your intentions. Astrology...helps disclose your real intentions.”* This is the last in a series on divination and self-knowledge. at The Peak Begin 1992 ~ of Vancouver Tuesday, December 31, 1991 7:00 pm- 2:00 am $75.00 per person Includes: Skyride, Gourmet Dinner Buffet Party Favours, The Nei! James Band in The Loft Disc Jockey in Jumpers Bistro Champagne at Midnight MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS TODAY! 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