Fantastic Article about Autism and Astrology!

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Every time I´ve read anything about astrology, it hasn´t begun to describe me AT ALL. I´m an Aries, and the traits of Aries describe describe me somewhat, but not really. Many people are surprised to hear that I´m Aries.

I had heard for years that having a chart done by a professional would be spot on. So, one day I tried it: (it was a time in my life when I was a having a very hard time, and was desperate for the answers that I couldn´t find anywhere)- well, my chart was very disappointing. The woman was supposedly an astrologer/psychic, but everything she said about me was wrong! For instance, she wrote that (in my personality), I was "the sort of person that did so many different things, I couldn´t focus enough on 1 thing"- (a common trait of Aries). However, I am a very focused, "intense narrow interest" person in a BIG way! Not only that, but many, many other things were way off. My sister in law read bits of it too, and said she thought it didn´t describe me at all. Although I find astrology interesting as a concept, I haven´t found any "proof" that it works...definitely not in my life.

Uranus and Saturn were last in conjunction, ( three times in exact conj. ) in 1988, in Sagitarius. Is there anything in the history of autism which might tie in with that date? Before that they were last in conjunction in 1942, as the article stated, ( at 29 ° Taurus ), and previous to that in 1897. I wonder whether the emergence of psychology based on personality traits was around then.

The last opposition was, ( three of them close together again ), in 1965 and 1966. Is there anything in the history of autism which would tie in with that?

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Last edited by ouinon on 11 Jan 2009, 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

Is there any indication that astrology works differently for people on the autism spectrum? In other words, that it shouldn´t be "read" in the conventional way? (Read my last Post, for some clarification). I know many people that swear by astrology. I read an esoteric article somewhere that claims that astrology "doesn´t work" for some people. Well, I seem to be one of those people. I was wondering if the personality traits or chart indications didn´t work in the same way, or need to be interpreted differently. I don´t know....

Personally, I´ve pretty much given up on it, but if someone knowledgeable has anything to add, I would consider it.

I definitely find that I identify more with certain astrologer's approaches/interpretations, that some make much more sense to me, than others. It is always subjective, though stretched across an objective framework, and it does matter, a lot, who you go to , or read.

Some of them provide meanings which are spot on, and others I don't even understand what they are describing; it seems to be about a different world. And I have noticed that it is often the ones with similar charts/aspects to mine, who seem to speak the same language about life, personality etc, who I find most helpful.

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If there is anything in a Uranus-Saturn connection with the history of autism, then the years 1975 to 1985 should have been particularly difficult years for those seen as autist etc, ( and I seem to remember that they were, the papers and TV full of horrible images of autism ), because first Uranus and then Saturn were both in opposition to their ( birth of autism/Aspergers ), natal sign and/or 1942 positions over most of those ten years.

First and second Saturn returns, ( based on "natal" position of 1942 conjunction ), were in 1971 and 2000. These should theoretically have been red letter years for AS/Autism/Aspergers. ... When did childhood schizophrenia get reclassified as Autism? And didn't 2000 see a radical change in attitudes towards it?


Interestingly, precisely during the short period in 1981-1982, before Saturn entered Scorpio, and after Uranus had just left it, ( so neither were in opposition to their natal sign ), Lorna Wing's work led to a re-diagnosis of Aspergers as a separate syndrome from classic autism.

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You make some interesting points, ouinon. It's certainly worth researching!

I find that I don't seem to display the traits of my sign, Capricorn, at all. I don't think that one should go strictly by their sun sign. A complete chart might be interpreted this way. Take the complete chart and count up all the signs found in the chart, and then group them by their elements; earth, air, water, and fire. Then, find how many there are, of each modality; fixed, mutable, and cardinal. For example, I have a most of my planets in the sign that is both fire and mutable. The sun sign that is both fire and mutable, is Sagittarius. This means that I display the traits of that sign more than my sun sign of Capricorn.

I'll resist the temptation to comment on the idea that ass burgers is caused by your anus. I wish they'd come up with a better name for us. A lot of us live in English speaking countries.

But since we got the astrologers hanging out here, there's something I've been wondering about.

I've always been intrigued by the rather strange fact that traditions of astrology were developed independently in cultures all over the world. I've wondered what similarities and differences exist between these traditions.

A while back I spent some time with a star chart and learned to recognize some constellations. Scorpio really does look like a scorpion. Orion really does look like a human with a bright colored belt and a sword. That's about it for resemblances.

The big dipper does look like a pot with a long handle. How it suggests a bear more than anything else, I can't imagine. Same with all the other constellations. I can see what they're talking about when I'm holding the picture in front of me, but it seems any other image would fit the pattern of stars just as well.

I know these people in other traditions also recognized constellations. I'm wondering how many of their constellations are the same as ours.

Same with the traditions of the planets. They all knew the planets were up there moving around independently from the fixed stars. Did they attribute similar qualities to the different planets to the ideas we have in our tradition?

@ Morgana

there are several reasons why the astrology report may not have applied to you. astrologers in general believe the usual reason for it is because clients give them an inaccurate time of birth. some people desperate for their charts and not having their birth certificate handy will just make up a time. while astrology can't even compare with the physical sciences in terms of precision, it is believed to be precise enough that if the wrong time is supplied, some major and minor components will be off.

wrong birth time will throw off your ascendant and moon, which are major, as well as some more minor positions like midheaven and part of fortune. western astrologers tend to agree the 3 most important factors in a chart are sun, ascendant, and moon. if 2 of those factors are even slightly off, there goes your accurate chart - in a huge way.

so true time of birth is absolutely critical. in fact some people feel their time of birth is not accurate and want an astrologer to rectify it for them, based upon the timing of siginificant events in their life - such as marriage and other life altering circumstances - which can ordinarily be pinned down and identified through researching transits and progressions....or the client may have no idea what their birth time is and sometimes an astrologer will make an educated guess based upon the exact dates when those significant events have occured.

another thing is the experience of the astrologer. i am of the opinion that many professional astrologers aren't worth their salt and your friend or acquaintance who doesn't charge anything may give you an even better interpretation (though probably not as comprehensive or in depth). if you mention you weren't satisfied with the astrological report you previously obtained, there are plenty of novice astrologers who will offer to look at the chart and give you their 2 cents worth. in astrology you don't necessarily get what you pay for. obtain as many opinions as you can. however, the people who gain the most from having their charts done are those who make an investment of their time and energy to achieve a rudimentary insight into the astrological principles underlying such interpretations.

***you need to verify your chart has been calculated accurately***

other astrologers don't usually feel this way: personally i don't trust anything the astrological texts give for standard interpretations. i like to work it out from scratch, the hard way. i like proof for everything. although i have to admit that most of the conventional interpretations make sense, i don't necessarily use them. it's risky but i was told the best astrologers do it that way.

when i do a chart, the first thing i look for is repeating themes. those repeating themes are sort of the astrological "signature" for that person. then i fit all other astrological influences into that major pattern or design one by one in order of significance. if the other influences don't seem to fit, i search for alternative interpretations. and most important of all, if i know the person and some interpretations are just plain "off" i will mention them to the person but question if there might be a way we could tweak the standard interpretation, not altering the basic meaning of the energies involved, but adjusting the interpretation slightly. it's like changing your angle of perception. nothing is set in stone and astrologers are continually improving their craft. at least the good ones are.

so.....my advice is to first make sure your chart has been constructed accurately. a good idea is to get the natal chart only (cheaper without interpretation) through several different astrologers (possibly online, possibly free) and compare them. then get several people to look at the chart(s) and give you their interpretation. also you can look up the meanings of aspects and planets in signs and houses in astrology books.

Last edited by alba on 11 Jan 2009, 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

Just a technically, which you may or may not want to hear: it´s actually not pronounced "ass-burgers", that´s just an American bastardization of the Austrian name. The "a" should be more pronounced like an "ah", and the first "e" in "Asperger" is more like the "ei" in the word "their". So it´s really "Ah-speir-gers". That´s the best way I can describe it in writing. Anyway, I always use this pronunciation, even in America. Don´t want Hans rolling around in his grave or something....

However, I did like your pun!

Thank you, alba, for the pointer to Rahu/North Node,

Your references to it were so intriguing I had to go and find out about it. I had never used/plotted/included it before, but having looked it up and examined a few transits to it I discover that it is a significant element at a couple of points in my life not fully, "explained"/reflected by other planetary movements.

Now see why you think Virgo-Pisces axe might be important, ( because the North Node is in Virgo, aswell as Neptune ). It does suggest that Virgo is a crucial aspect of the concept Autism. Which as you say is not surprising, given its geeky aura/implications, ( and its close relationship with Mercury ).
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Last edited by ouinon on 11 Jan 2009, 1:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.

alba: thanks!

How accurate does the birth time have to be? I´m pretty sure mine was correct, but if it´s 1 minute off...or 5 minutes off- does that still make a difference?

No, not really, unless a planet is right on the edge of a sign, or the most important house boundaries are very close to sign boundaries, in which case would need to examine the chart to see which position is the right one; it would usually be obvious.

NB. I think that the best way to pronounce Aspergers is with a soft g as in purge, urge, surge, emerge, etc.
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Last edited by ouinon on 11 Jan 2009, 3:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Does anyone have any recollection of how autism was portrayed back between 2002-2004? I admit at the time I was not at all paying attention to anything since I have busy with a toddler and a newborn. I also went through some personal issues.. so my focus was not on autism (ironically enough because my son was a newborn and had no reason to look into it) and not so much on astrology at the time. The reason I am asking is because Saturn and Uranus were for the most part trining one another (Saturn being in Gemini and Cancer and Uranus being in Aquarius and Pisces). I would think that would have been the time where positive aspects of autism (and more awareness) were brought out. And perhaps would have opened up some new ways to help those under the spectrum to take advantage of their gifts and talents.. Perhaps this was the time where autism was starting to be seen in a new light (for the most part anyway). I know there are plenty of closed minded people out there and the stereotypes are still out there (sadly that won't change anytime soon even with more awareness out there).. but this could have been the time where generally people saw that those under the spectrum had gifts and as a result, early intervention programs may have gone through some improvements as well. My son was born in 2004 and has PDD-NOS, and this aspect could really work for him well!

Trying to keep an open mind, but when it comes down to the specifics...

I'm sure a few dozen other people were born in the same area where I was born, at about the same time. I have a hard time believing we'd have much in common.

What about the big cities, like New York and Hong Kong. How many people are born in those places every hour? Is it reasonable to think they'd all be similar?

I wish it was possible to look people up by birth time and place, to compare notes.

Ten minutes is enough to change an ascendant sign, ( for instance my ascendant is 1° Sagitarius; a few minutes later, [ or is it earlier? ], and I would have had a Scorpio Ascendant ), to significantly affect which houses the planets are in, and to alter the moon sign. That is more than enough to account for many differences.

Those born within ten minutes of each other in one place may well have more in common than those born in a city somewhere else, ( at the same time ), where the ascendant and positions of houses would be different.

But that is why I think with the computer processing capacities that now exist it would be worth someone doing a really big study.

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