thanks everyone for these comments..
kathy i really like what you've said here as it goes more directly into what i was hoping to discuss with some of my comments.. regarding underachievement, i think it's a user defined concept, but i know how the world likes to impose a view on this whereby someone is or isn't reaching their 'true' potential... success to me is a very personal thing which doesn't hinge on recognition outside my own view on it which i believe is the most central.. perhaps though underachievement and achievement can be seen in the chart to a degree with the natal saturn position, a focus on the midheaven, or the opposite and etc... translating artist 'talent' into something concrete is no easy matter either way and thanks for these examples..
i was also thinking along the lines of the example you gave on the solar arcs not necessarily working in the way we might have thought, so thanks for offering those examples as well.. i think anyone who is asked to make a prediction or considers the predictive process realizes just how difficult it is to offer one with high confidence unless it is given in a general manner..
one aspect of what i was hoping to discuss are the many different techniques that are in use today in astrology... many of these techniques have been around for a long time, but some are very new and still in the early stages of understanding and development.. here on the mundane thread i was introduced to the idea of using midpoints- which i have used for the past odd 25 years, but on smaller wheels then the 90 degree wheel which is all that i have worked with... i suppose this is pretty arcane to some here, but i've found the introduction to this worth more attention on my part.. harmonic charts is another area that i think is worth exploring more and i would include age harmonics in this category, although a part of the set up to these makes no sense.. older techniques that are in use, like peregrine for example make no sense to me in light of these same 'modern' techniques that offer so much detail that was never possible back when these type of techniques were in use... i suppose the same goes for the older use of distant stars which may also have been used to fill in many blanks prior to an understanding of solar arcs for example... i see this clash working itself out in the astrology community today in interesting ways, mostly in how one astrologer will come to a conclusion in a very different way then another one would.. perhaps this will be worked out over time, but i am not so sure.. maybe it doesn't matter.. perhaps it is like different tastes in music, some liking classical and others liking rap for example.. the chasm between the two seemingly so great that some might think the rules of music have been turned upside down!
what i notice in the astrology community is a willingness to work with many different techniques to get at the meaning of a chart without necessarily understanding the historical context these same techniques are coming out of or how much of these techniques might be replaced by more modern ones that reveal aspects to a chart that had never been previously considered.. transportation has changed the world in the past 100 years.. is it possible that we can consider how many of the astro techniques introduced in the past 100 odd years or less are changing the of understanding an astrology chart at present? it seems many in the astro community are content to stay firmly attached to the past without considering how the whole astro language or landscape has changed so dramatically.. the idea of questioning these older techniques will never happen if a consideration of newer ones aren't explored.. perhaps i am being too aggressive in stating all this.. i realize this is up to each individual involved in astrology to work out these things out on their own terms, but as an observer it appears as a real clash of values..the only thought i have to get beyond this observation of mine is for those who rely on a particular technique demonstrate how it works in a predictive context to give it more credence...
i like the simplicity of donna cunninghams philosophy which seems to be working with only transits for predictive purposes.. of course it's backed up with many years a long study and observation too... perhaps her work is mostly centered around natal astrology, but i like the simplicity just the same...
i suppose it is once again a case of my own journey with astrology that matters the most... what others do with the options available to them in all the techniques and systems available is up to them.. i think predictive astrology where the reasoning behind the prediction is explained would go a long way to clarifying what does or doesn't work in this area.. analyzing charts from the pov of past tense is all fine and good and necessary, but we need to do more then that i think.. thanks for the conversation here..
