Anyone have an authentic non-money grubbing astrologist to recommend, and why?

Thanks for the advice, but it isn’t what I was seeking. Obviously, this was the wrong venue to ponder the question, yet it is one arena reasonable to seek an answer.
I had an amateur astrologists tell me compatibility issues, money issues that were uncannily correct – that’s why.
And, he is very busy, makes enough money on other things to deal with me.

[Mod says:] Folks, the question is not about the legitimacy of astrology. Please try to keep your posts helpful (i.e. recommending an affordable astrologist) and on-topic. I’m sure a discussion about beliefs in astrology would be quite interesting and informative, but this question is not the place for it. Thank you!

First of all, I don’t think it’s off topic to warn the OP that many people feel that the phrase “authentic astrologer” is an oxymoron.

But let’s take it at face value that it’s not an oxymoron and let me ask this. The original post asked, “I have just been awakened to this esoteric knowledge in the last several months.” It would help people to answer the question if we were to understand what this “esoteric knowledge” is.

Am I allowed to ask for that to be clarified.

[mod says] If you don’t have a recommendation for an “authentic astrologist”, do not answer the question. If you’d like to debate the legitimacy of astrology, please ask a new question about it.

I mean “esoteric” in the sense that astrology predates astronomy, and that ancient cultures relied on it heavily, like the Chaldeans and Persians; they placed alot of value in the knowledge they gained from the heavenly bodies and used it as a predicative tool from agriculture, marriage to war. Even middle age England persecuted people for practicing it, as it was relied on heavily by aristocracy, I can definately see how this could be after writing this question.
Yes, if I could have rewritten the question, I would not put authentic as an adjective-it does make me sort of cringe reading it.
Basically there are tons of astrologists out there, and whether you choose to believe it or not, is not the question; but rather to hear from someone who has had there natal hoposcope done from someone that they found to be insightful and accurate.

OK. Let me try again. If you want a good astrologer, go to people who have had good experiences and get recommendations. A good astrologer is an expert at cold reading. If you like, I can get you references as to what cold reading is and how it works.

[Removed by Fluther]

That said, Astrodienst has a lot of free stuff on the site and it seems to be pretty decent. You can work up your chart there for free. Risa D’Angeles is an astrologer that I’ve been following for well over a decade. Her columns are very interesting; the first part, she talks about planetary movements vis-a-vis global current events and the second part is a weekly horoscope, which is usually pretty interesting.

@MissAnthrope “she talks about planetary movements vis-a-vis global current events”
Can you give an example of this?

@Garebo You say “esoteric” astrology predates astronomy. You said you “awakened to this esoteric knowledge”. What does this mean, and how were you awakened to it? What exactly were you awakened to?

Awakened as to there is more than meets the eyes. Like I said earlier, I was put in a very uncomfortable state much like here, by an individual who I dearly respect for his profound intellect and energy who read me like a book. The brief analysis he gave me after I presented him with my date of birth, location and time-it was a conscious shock for me because it became so clear as to my previous life experiences and my present situation.
How, well he described me to a point that lets say was very uncomfortable, but true. I know that a good magician, psychologist or con man can do the same, but they have never before and I have flirted with all of the above, that’s why it was so special and makes me yearn to learn more.

@Garebo Here is a personal account by a friend of mine who was trained in cold reading. She posed as a psychic to get a job, and the wrote about it. This may give you some answers as to how that astrologist was able to read you so well.
http://www.bad-language.com/psychicskeptic

I truly believe you attract what you believe, therefore it doesn’t surprise me @Rarebear,

I don’t understand what that means at all, but I’ll let it go.

Ok, I think I found my answer, and she has blown me away in for her descriptions about your birth date.
At least mine, and other close friends and family are so accurate it’s scary- try it and see. Hopefully your birthday is listed. Just put your birthday in to your search engine and it will probably refer to Jill M. Phillips with her synopsis-absolutely amazing!
Her initial description that she gives is awesome accurate, but after that I found it to be rather inaccurate. I put in tons of friends and family and found it to be quite accurate.
Let me know what you think, I suspect most don’t care.
Unfortunately, I love the mental masturbation.

Note to mods. I feel this post is on-topic, as the OP specifically asks above for our opinions on this astrologer.

“Let me know what you think, ”

OK, I’ll bite on that one. Here is her profile for Oct. 28, my birthday. Her original is in plain text, my responses are in bold. I then had my husband pick a random date; he chose March 14th. I also analyzed that date to see how well it described me.

Scorpios born on October 28 need to exert authority over others, which can result in continuous power struggles. They are strong-willed, precise, and dedicated to doing a good job. They become disgruntled with themselves if they can’t live up to their too-high expectations. This applies to almost anyone. it’s a typical example of what astrologers often do- use extremely general terms that almost anyone can relate to.

Friends and Lovers

October 28 men and women expect their friends to “be there” for them in good times and bad. They can be very demanding. Love rarely runs smoothly for them. They can be critical and do not mince words when voicing their opinions. Anyone who falls in love with them had better expect to take emotional lumps. Again, very general. Who doesn’t want their friends there in good times and bad? Who isn’t demanding sometimes?

Children and Family

October 28 natives spend a great deal of their life puzzling over childhood. Even if they enjoyed a peaceful upbringing, they remember the darker undercurrents. Once they become parents, they’re likely to open up about their childhood. This can help them to understand themselves and their youngsters. Doesn’t describe me at all. I don’t spend much time thinking about dark moments in my childhood at all.

Health

Staying healthy is rarely a priority for these individuals — that is, until something happens to make them question their immortality. Then they begin to take stock of their habits. When young, they are likely to have poor eating habits. But once they make the effort to alter their eating habits, they become habituated to leafy green vegetables and fresh fruit.
Again very, very general and true of almost everyone- eat bad when young, eat healthier after that diagnosis of high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Doesn’t apply too well to me- I have always loved leafy green veggies and I don’t particularly like fresh fruit!

Career and Finances

October 28 natives have a desire to wield power. They don’t need to be in a visible position, nor do they hunger after compliments. What they want is the power to make decisions. Money is seldom a key issue with them, except in the way it gives them leverage. They are careful handlers of money.
More generalities. Who doesn’t want to be able to make decisions? And the leverage of money has very little appeal for me.

Dreams and Goals

October 28 people are tough on others and tougher on themselves. Getting to where they want to go is worth a lot to these scrappy types, but they will not compromise their ethics. They know the race of life is won by long-distance runners, not sprinters. Again, way too general and applicable to almost anyone.

OK, now for March 14th. If this astrology has any validity, I shouldn’t find nearly as much here that describes me accurately.

A Pisces born on March 14 combines intelligence with profound creative insight. They have sexual magnetism and can exert considerable control over others. Prophetic and poetic, they seem to be on another plane of existence. They have a love of illusion and are drawn to the occult and the supernatural. Well, it’s true I am not drawn to the occult (except to debunk it- does that count?) but I do consider myself intelligent and creative. And I absolutely love illusions.I am fascinated by them.

Friends and Lovers

People born on this date don’t make friends easily, but once they do, it’s for keeps. They must feel needed and indispensable or they cannot give themselves to others. They are extremely vulnerable in romantic matters. When they fall in love they fixate upon the object of their affection, investing that individual with all the magical traits of their creative, romantic imagination. Well, it’s certainly true that I don’t make friends easily, but when I do, they are friends for life.

Children and Family

Because of their sensitive nature, it may be difficult for March 14 natives to resolve issues from their past. They may not feel they have what it takes to be a good parent. Naturally reticent, they may allow their spouse to be the stronger influence on the children.
This is pretty similar to the Oct. 28 bit about dark childhoods; perhaps this is a fixation for Ms. Phillips? I don’t have kids, so can’t speak to the second part.

Health

People born on this date are often more interested in their spiritual than physical health, but they eventually realize that each affects the other. They have a sensitivity to alcohol and should not drink.
I don’t drink at all.

Career and Finances

March 14 individuals have an artistic sensibility that is a part of their existence. They are rarely able to comprehend the importance of money. Even if they are financially successful, they may discount it.
This is where my husband and I have some of our biggest disagreements; he thinks I don’t give enough importance to money.

Dreams and Goals

Few people have the pure “art for art’s sake” mentality of March 14 men and women. They need to express their inner drives and needs through an artistic medium. They rarely strive for money success yet are likely to set goals that act as signposts on their journey.
This describes me well. I love my arts and don’t care if I lose money at them.
———————————

So there you have it. The randomly-chosen date actually described me better than my actual birth date.

If you really want to test this, here’s an experiment you can do. Print out a number of horoscopes from this series- some that correspond to your friend’s birth dates, some random. Black out the dates but keep a record for yourself as to which is which. Give the stack to your friends and have each choose the horoscope that he or she thinks fits. See if the results are better than chance.

@crisw Man, I thought about doing that, but then the “why bother” lazy side of me kicked in.

@crisw You’ve done the math! Brilliant! It’s always about the generalities, that’s how astrologers hook people in. There’s always going to be something that they say that is accurate, because generalities are accurate. And the things that are a little further off base can always be turned around and made to “fit” by people who really want to believe.

@Kardamom And that is exactly what cold reading is. Exactly!

@Rarebear

It was actually kind of fun. The last paragraph is the most important. I think I got that idea from James Randi.

@crisw Well, you and I must have gotten it from the same source because I was going to recommend exactly the same thing.

By the way, and totally OT, I’m going to TAM next year.

@Rarebear

We’ve been considering that for a couple of years, but it’s so darn expensive (compared to most other skeptic conferences) and I LOATHE Las Vegas. Might have to reconsider one of these days…