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The Astrological “I” Redux: Anecdotal Overdose?

by April March 5, 2010 Professional Astrology
Back in 2005 I wrote an article called The Astrological ‘I’: Putting the Self Back in Astrology, which argued for the use of personal stories in astrology. What a difference five years make! These days, astrology blogs (not to mention Facebook accounts) abound that offer seemingly endless insights into the astrological minutiae of daily life.

And … I’m getting a little bit tired of reading them. I’m not sure why. Is it the fact that most people’s daily lives are pretty boring? That most people don’t write very well? That there’s just too dang much of it?

I still support the concept of auto-ethnography as a valuable tool for astrology writers.  Done well, and grounded in good astrology, it brings astrology down to earth and helps us understand ourselves – not just the author – better. And there are some astrologers (though fewer than I would have imagined) who insert themselves into their astrology writing gracefully and effectively.

But the more astrology I read online, the more I find that there’s an awful lot of “me-centric” astrology that’s coming across as simply … well, self-involved. Not to mention rife with the awful syntax that Lucy (I think – on Twitter, maybe? Why can’t I find this now? Someone help me out here) recently lamented, stuff like “I (Sun) jogged (Mars) to the store (Cancer) and bought too many Twinkies (Venus/Jupiter)”.

Thoughts? I mean, if you’re reading my blog, you obviously don’t hate self-referential astrology writing too much. But how much is too much?

7 comments to " The Astrological “I” Redux: Anecdotal Overdose? "

  • Reply
    Michelle
    March 5, 2010 AT 12:34PM

    I think that stuff like “I (Sun) jogged (Mars) to the store (Cancer) and bought too many Twinkies (Venus/Jupiter)” can be helpful in breaking down the astrology associations for readers. I don’t mind it.

    The me-centric stuff doesn’t bother me- however- I usually just skim those blogs because they’re not relevant to my life or what I’m interested in at that moment.

    How much it too much? It depends on what the blogger’s goals are. Some people want to build a readership, and some people just want to write.

  • Reply
    Amy Herring
    March 5, 2010 AT 12:55PM

    Being guilty of the ‘awful syntax’ myself, perhaps I’m not objective (is anyone?) But I wonder if it’s less of a function of what you’re reading and more about how much of it is constantly pouring through the 15 open spouts that we all have now thanks to Facebook and the like. We feel we have to be in the race, but we’re living our lives one snippet conversation at a time. Many people are frustrated with the sound byte way of communicating, so I wonder if whatever any given person’s pet peeve is is merely being stepped on many more times a day than ever before?

  • Reply
    April
    March 5, 2010 AT 1:15PM

    Ironically, the hyperlinks for commenters’ names don’t seem to be working right now! So I’ll see about fixing that.

    Amy, don’t worry, I (Sun) do it (Mars) myself (Leo!) all the time (Saturn). 🙂 You’re right about the excessive open spouts… I think I’m going to have to sternly limit my FB time (and Twitter is another rabbit hole I’m trying to avoid falling all the way into). And of course, with Mars in Virgo I’m always looking for something to be peeved about!

    Michelle, do you think the “me” stuff builds readership (for instance, Elsa writes about her life quite a bit and has a huge readership) or do you think it falls more in the category of people just wanting to write? I guess I can look at it either way.

  • Reply
    elizabeth spring
    March 5, 2010 AT 3:22PM

    I’m very much in favor of content based blogs and sites–maybe even too much so… (my blog is NorthNodeAstrology.blogspot.com) and I feel that the writing/content always comes first, but I still would like to be more interconnected with other bloggers! The blog has certainly helped sell my book, and I’m thinking of starting a new content based blog to preceed the next book…on Neptune! But perhaps Neptune has other ideas for me….!

  • Reply
    Larry Fowler
    March 5, 2010 AT 5:35PM

    Hey, guys, I shouldn’t comment here because I only read a couple of blogs – yours and Elizabeth’s, but personal content does have it’s place if it’s not egocentric. It’s difficult to separate yourSelf from the millions of astrological aspects happening in your sphere and no one is really capable of doing that.

    The best we can do is try to simplify what we are correlating and trust our Muse to get the message across…

    Elizabeth: Wow, with all that’s happening in your 12th house and Pluto exactly conjunct your midheaven your Aries moon wants to go, go, go! I think you should but be ready for Neptune and all the others to bring up stuff that’s been hidden,especially with Pisces intercepted.

    Everything good can come of all this but I’m sure you know there’s a complete transformation going on. I’m going to love watching… 🙂

  • Reply
    LB
    March 6, 2010 AT 2:34PM

    Speaking as a reader, I love it when an Astrologer shares their personal experiences, either through examples of transits (like your 2005 story about transiting Mars square Mercury), or of their life as it relates to their natal chart and aspects. I also love the blog sites that encourage readers to do the same, since my own experiences during recent professional consultations have led me to believe that many Astrologers don’t engage in much of a mutual exchange with their clients, either because of practical time constraints or lack of interest. I read your previous 2005 article, and I can tell you that my own unique experiences seldom fit the “cook-book” descriptions.

    For instance, I just commented (on a post having to do with Pluto) that my 12th house Pluto square 9th house retrograde Gemini Mars played out once as a huge bear chasing me while on a family vacation, far from home. I’d been on my bike, but left it upturned, with the wheels spinning in the dust, since I could run faster than I could peddle (LOL). I shared that experience as a one-of-a-kind illustration of how the various planetary energies/aspects/houses (12th house rules large animals) can manifest in real life — I hoped others might find it interesting, from an astrological perspective. Not everyone with an afflicted Pluto in the 12th projects their “shadow” material onto others. Human beings are infinitely more complex than that, which is why it’s so worthwhile to share with and learn from one another.

  • Reply
    Tess
    March 12, 2010 AT 3:24PM

    April, as usual I arrive late and a bit flustered. But I just wanted you to know that I love your “personal” touches. It kind of helps get me immersed into the “what does it all mean?” thing far more quickly than when at the generalised or abstract level.

    Have always been in two minds about the perpendicular pronoun, as too often it can become “it’s all about me” –while it is delightful when it is more like “in my experience”

    So sister of my heart – I love your words and all they convey.
    Love and hugs

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