Lately I’ve seen a lot of discussion about when is it okay for an astrologer to start charging for their services. It is hard to feel validated that you are good enough and to be ready to start putting a price on what you have to offer. How do you decide when you’re ready? What kind of credentials do you need? Is there a certain level of experience, years that you need to study, or certain certifications that you need? I will try my best to answer these questions from my point of view. I will say that I think that self doubt can be crippling and why waste time that could be spent helping people?

You do not need to start off by charging much money, but the energy exchange of the client paying the astrologer is extremely important for both parties and it also gets both parties more invested. A client that is paying for a reading will inherently open up more because they will want to “get their money’s worth”. An astrologer that is getting paid will do more research for the client and will gain confidence from the fact that they can call themselves a professional.

Are You Adding Value?

I think the biggest question that you should ask yourself as an astrologer is are you adding value to your client’s life? Are you helping them? I personally believe that astrology’s main purpose should be for healing oneself and for better understanding how to get along with others. Once we really learn to know and accept who we are we can work to use those qualities in the best way possible. Every sign, planet, house, and aspect can have a negative manifestation–but the same is true that they can all be used in a positive way as well. Are you helping your client to better use their own energy? Are you helping them to understand why things may have manifested poorly in the past?

What is Your Demeanor Like?

In my opinion the best way to do a chart reading for someone is face-to-face (in person or over video call) with a back and forth dialogue. The astrologer can then see into a person’s soul to be able to better understand them and to actually be able to help. When the client is with you it is extremely important for you to understand what energy you are showing up with. Ask yourself if you are someone that you would want to open up to? Are you a calming presence that makes others feel comfortable? Showing someone your inner workings in the form of a birth chart is a very vulnerable thing to do and talking about your sensitive placements is not an easy task. I believe that a good astrologer is both calm and excited to meet and help the client. I also believe that they need to be a good listener, as some clients will want to talk more than listen, and if that is how they want or need to spend their session then so be it. Listening to your client often times can help to bring their birth chart to life for you, which will better allow you to help them when they are ready to listen.

Are you a positive person who can spread joy? I think if the answer is no, then you should not be giving chart readings, at least not at this point in your life. There is enough negativity in the world. Energy IS contagious! If you do not feel good, you will not make your client feel good. The worst thing that an astrologer can do is make the client feel bad about themselves or instill fear in them about future events. All fear does is cause anxiety and that negativity can become a self fulfilling prophecy. If someone is trusting you enough to bear their soul to you then you need to show them the way to raise their vibrations and work with the energy that they have.

Qualifications

I have met many astrologers who are too afraid to charge because they have only been studying astrology for a few years. My answer to that is that it really depends on how intensively you study and how much of an intuitive person you are. I think empathy goes a long way in this business. Memorization alone will not make you a great astrologer. For me personally, when I understand an energy I feel it. It is something in my gut that lets me know that I REALLY understand it. My favorite thing for understanding and teaching are analogies. For example, the energy of Uranus is like lightening striking, the light switch being flipped, or the internet in general. Another example, a conjunction of Mars and Saturn is like driving with your foot on the gas and the brake at the same time. Being able to paint a picture for your client is a the qualification that you need and I cannot put a time limit on what it takes to be able to do that.

I myself, am a self taught astrologer and I am quite proud of that fact. I have learned everything that I know from books, articles online, and Youtube. I have cemented that knowledge by looking at hundreds of birth charts from my friends and family and seeing how the same placements in different people manifest. Years ago when I was learning astrology just for fun (before I ever dreamed of becoming a professional) I kept a diary of people’s placements and when I would watch a video on a certain placement I would think of the many people that I knew with that placement and I would laugh–CRACK UP– at how the people I knew were so similar in ways that I had never realized before. I would then watch other astrologer’s videos on the same topic to get different perspectives on the same topic. Every person sees and experiences the world differently, which is why it is so important to source your information from many different places and keep the things that resonate with you the most. For me, I judged what resonated by how much I was laughing.

I think that it is wonderful that there are so many astrology courses offered now days! I think a course is a fantastic way to take a deep dive into astrology and have someone to help you with what they feel is important. BUT keep in mind that this is what they, individually, deem as important. There are many, many different types of astrology and when you look into them they will give you contradicting information. You really have to decide for yourself what feels right to you and what has been the most reliable to you in your chart readings. For me, I had a big AHA moment when I realized that I preferred whole sign houses to Placidus, and made the switch just a few years ago. (I still occasionally use Placidus and still see value to it but whole signs work better for me. You can read my article on this topic here.) I also have spent a lot of time researching Hellenistic Astrology. I’ve gained a ton if insights from this form of astrology, although some of it is not for me as it tends to be extremely fatalistic and negative–deeming certain planets as bad or challenging (Mars and Saturn) and the same for certain houses (the 8th and 12th).

What my point is here, is that a good astrologer is open minded and has looked into other methods of study with enthusiastic curiosity. Obviously when you are a beginner it is too confusing to learn different systems all at the same time. Another note for newer astrologers is that I think it is incredibly important to admit when you do not know something. There is no shame in telling someone that their chart has stumped you and that you are excited about doing some more research on that topic for them. This is how you learn, and how you convey to your client that they can trust you when you talk about something that you do feel like you are an expert on.

A Great Astrologer

A great astrologer helps. A great astrologer reflects back to the client what the client says and asks them the necessary questions to help them understand the things that they might not see. A great astrologer is patient and kind and pushes their client as far as the client is ready to be pushed. A great astrologer is more so a spiritual healer who helps the client understand themselves and their impulses and shows them the possibilities for making different and better choices in their own lives. A great astrologer should be more effective in helping someone than a licensed psychologist (in my humble opinion) because they are not solely reliant on self reporting from the client. They have a map, the birth chart, that will help them get to know the client so much faster.

Best of luck to all of you who wish to become great astrologers! And for those of you who might already be great astrologers, maybe this is your sign to start putting yourself out there! Please reach out if you would like to schedule your chart reading with me as I would love to be a great astrologer for you.