A beautiful canvas of life and harmony, the magnificent piece of artwork which is the universe, envelops us, permeates us, nurtures us in our development and spans the multidimensional aspects of space far beyond our sight. The life force that is the universe flows through our entire bodies just as blood pulses through our veins. The harmony of its function is part of that hidden wisdom that is simple by nature, yet hidden from our eyes. This harmony is reflected in its mathematics and expressed as scientific law, yet our eyes simply see such expressions as the beauty of the stars, the tides rushing into shore, or the glory of the sunrise. Yet equally as beautiful, and functioning under the same harmonic laws are those things we humans see as chaotic and potentially destructive, such things as wild electrical storms, the power of water during flood and storm, the supernova and the explosion of a volcano. These same harmonic principles and scientific laws, which man has learned to harness to his own advantage, govern everything.

One only has to turn their eyes skywards to realise the nature of the harmonics and uncover the deep, yet simple, secrets of the universe and life. Partially, this was how man gleaned the secrets of atomic power, for better or worse, as well as codified the basic principles of energy. We all know from our schooling that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but recycled and transformed from one energy state to another. As we watch the eternal cycle of the seasons, related to earth's perpetual orbit around the Sun, it becomes obvious, as it did to our ancient forebears, that life is eternal too. The same laws and harmonics that govern the physical universe also govern our lives, and us for we are not separate from the universe. The universe is within us and we are in the universe. Thus it is that man, who also fits in very nicely with modern scientific law of energy conservation, first grasped the principle of reincarnation. So too, by watching the patterns of the universe can we perceive the next logical pattern in the eternal sequence of human events and lives: this is called Astrology.

Some of our greatest minds have been astrologers. It was theorised in the sixth century BC, by the astrologer and mathematician, Pythagoras, that the earth was round because the Sun and Moon were round, a notion long suppressed by the temporal powers of religion. In the third century BC, another Greek astrologer, Eratosthenes, calculated the circumference of the earth. The great works of astrologer-scientists Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton followed. Yet an inability to seek the truth for fear of the answers, held back scientific progress for centuries. Galileo was tried by the Inquisition and was under house arrest for the last eight years of his life. The same hysteria, which impeded the progress of science for so long, also cast a veil over the value of astrology. Even as Rutherford although not an astrologer, worked on his model of atomic theory, many academics of his time looked upon his work as a vestige of medieval alchemy.

The supposed conflict between fate and freewill is an illusion created by an incomplete grasp of the whole picture, and an argument fuelled by misguided zealots. We are all masters of our own destiny and are propelled along the pathway of fate by our own freewill. As individuals who are unique manifestations of the universe, we are born into circumstances which educate us and give us the experiences for which our spirits crave. Experience gives us the feeling of being alive whilst inactivity is like death to natural intelligence, which is also an aspect of the universe. We are born into circumstances to which we belong at that point in time, and thus encapsulate the universal energies at that point in time, and place in space. We can choose to do nothing with the gifts with which we were born, or to do something with them. Because we are born into the patterns of the universal energy, the logical sequence from that point of time can be deduced: and this is the nature of astrological predictions. The sun, moon and stars are simply part of our environment to which we are synchronised, but they contain the seeds of inner truth and guidance. Just as ancient mariners used the stars to guide them across vast expanses of water, and our pioneers of aviation used the heavenly map to guide them across the skies, so too astrologers use the patterns of the stars to guide us on our path in life.

It is true that there are some things over which we have no control and these are the parameters of the game we play: the game called life. The universe that spawned us set these laws. We cannot change our identity, for there is no greater truth than "I am who I am". But equally, there is a prolific number of choices to be made throughout our lives: a game that produces heights and depths of emotions and an endless range of experiences; a game that make us feel alive and helps us to develop to our full potential as manifestations of the greater intelligence. It is always easier to make choices about our lives with knowledge at our fingertips, whether this is an awareness of our environment obtained through current news and weather forecasts; gaining an education that gives us a grounding for our future career and releases us from the fearful bonds of ignorance; or gleaning astrological guidance from the stars. If early civilised man stumbled upon scientific truths with inspiration from the heavens and used it as a guide, then so too can the logic of the stars guide you in your personal choices.

I have been asked as to how these sun sign readings can apply to everyone. The celestial bodies are a part of our environment, to which we are synchronised. The general trends within the environment affect us all to some extent, dependant upon our proximity to the event. This is also true of astrological phenomena, and the impact of the various trends is very much dependant upon the proximity of the current aspects to important factors in the natal chart. An appropriate analogy would be if we imagined the world to be a big pond in which an event is compared to a rock being dropped in the centre of it. Those closest to the event would certainly have a much stronger impression of it than someone who is at the edge of the pond. The fact is, the event still happened, and we viewed it in different ways with different levels of intensity. Some may view the event as a disaster whilst, to another, it may be a godsend. The information is certainly more relevant and vital to those in the thick of the foray, because at least we have a very good idea as to how long the difficulty will last or the window of opportunity is open. When times are tough, it is always reassuring to know how long we must wait before the tide turns in our favour, in much the same way that a woman in labour, although in agony, at least knows the duration of pain is limited and that awaiting the cessation of pain is the joyous miracle of life and her new born babe.

Whilst our perspective of life is totally unique because no one can walk in our shoes, there are people with common backgrounds or experiences who will view or experience the event in a similar manner, with their views being different from all other groups. It is quite obvious that the various nationalities watching the Olympic games certainly have different impressions of the event to every other nationality, even though they were all watching the same event. The spirit of the games unites us all, but Aussies will barrack for Aussies, Americans for their countrymen and so on. Subjectivity always colours one's perspective; and because we can never totally be separate from our environment, a degree of subjectivity always colours our outlook on life. As astrology mirrors the environment, so too are these different perspectives captured in the imagery of the twelve zodiacal signs.