Jewish astrologers emphasize free will
'Westerners ask about marriage; Israelis ask how to make money,' says one Jerusalem astrologer
Astrologer Sara Tal says she would not have agreed to an interview in a Tel Aviv café recently if she had gone about it strictly according to astrology.
She says she decided to come, even though Mercury is in retrograde, which suggests communication problems.
“Today I had a choice,” Tal says, to illustrate how Jewish astrology emphasizes the role of free will.
Tal - a religious woman and mother of seven who immigrated from the United States 30 years ago - cites the Jewish patriarch Abraham as an example of changing one’s destiny. According to one interpretation of the Torah, God responded to Abraham’s prayers for a child by moving the star of Jupiter, thus changing his fate.
Free will emphasis unique to Jewish astrology
“That’s the whole of Judaism – prayer, mitzvot, repent,” Tal says. “You can change your destiny.”
Yaron Livne, Ynet astrologist and author of "To Touch the Stars" (Hebrew), says this emphasis on free will is unique to the Jewish brand of astrology. According to Greek astrology, for example, Achilles died in battle through no fault of his own.
“The stars dictated it,” Livne says of the Greek take on Achilles. “This eliminates free will from the equation. But Judaism isn’t prepared to let astrology harm free will. According to Judaism, the stars aren’t guilty.”
The primacy of free will in Jewish astrology can be seen as the influence of Judaism’s basic tenets on astrology, as well as an attempt to achieve some level of accommodation with them. However, mainstream Judaism’s reluctance to reconcile a single, all-powerful God with the influence of the zodiac’s 12 signs has kept astrology on the periphery of Jewish thought.
Mainstream Judaism sees astrology as a threat
Mainstream Judaism is wary of astrology, Livne says, because it views astrology as a threat.
“Judaism is afraid the simple person will become a slave to the stars and won’t understand that the 12 (astrological signs) are a creation of the One (God),” he says.
Mainstream Judaism also fears that Jews who engage in astrology will eventually worship idols or the signs themselves, he says.
Astrologer Yakov Kronenberg, a religious Jew from Brooklyn now living in Jerusalem, says religious Jews do not seek his advice, because they mistakenly believe Judaism forbids it or would rather get such advice from a rabbi.
“If you can go to a rabbi for free, why go to an astrologer?” he says.
Kronenberg, who has practiced astrology for 25 years and launched his own astrology website two years ago, occasionally receives emails from religious Jews arguing it is forbidden for an Orthodox Jew like himself to practice astrology.
But Kronenberg says he is unmoved because rabbis have told him he may practice astrology, and because most Jews do not even know what astrology really is.
Orthodox Judaism’s resistance to astrology is one reason Tal advertises her practice only by word of mouth.
“The religious community is still wary of astrology because of the negative connotation it has received over the past centuries, but hopefully, with time, they will realize that true astrology is not in conflict with Judaism,” Tal says.
‘The problem isn’t with astrology, but with astrologers’
Rabbis tend to be hostile to astrology because they want to protect congregants, Kronenberg says, not because they necessarily are opposed to astrology itself.
Kronenberg cites Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, an elderly Kabalist in Jerusalem identified with the ultra-Orthodox Shas movement: “Kaduri said, ‘The problem with Judaism and astrology isn’t with astrology. It’s with the astrologers.’”
People seeking advice from astrologers are vulnerable, because they have more serious problems today and want a miracle worker, Kronenberg says.
“There are a lot of charlatans out there. Most astrologers do not really know astrology,” he says.
An elder astrologer once advised Kronenberg to ask first-time clients, “Why didn’t you come sooner?” shortly after they arrive. The reason: Almost everyone who comes to an astrologer has considered the idea for some time before actually going through with it. Such a statement gives the client the impression the astrologer already knows something.
‘Westerners ask about marriage, Israelis ask about money’
People usually come to astrologers in times of crisis because too much in their lives is simply not working out, and more traditional ways of coping are not working, Tal says.
“That’s when they come to me,” she says, “because they want to understand what’s going on.”
Tal describes her work as deciphering a person’s astrological code based on date and time of birth. The more evolved a person is, the more control he has over the map.
“I chart a map, but you do the course,” she says. “I’ll try to give you the right tools for when you go into the wilderness.”
Awareness of the map and its influences can help the individual make more informed decisions and better understand the tests in life.
“The future may be foreseen,” Tal says, “but nothing is fated – since you have the choice of how to deal with life’s circumstances.”
Most of Kronenberg’s clients are American Jews. Those from Israel who seek his services tend to be immigrants from America and other Western countries. Most questions concern relationship issues, such as whom to marry or whether to divorce.
“The Westerners ask about marriage,” he says. “The Israelis ask how to make money.”
The science of astrology
Serious astrologers describe their work as a science. Appropriately enough, many professional astrologists use computer programs to generate a client’s astrological map.
Kronenberg says astrology is a science, but not an exact one, because of the role of free will.
“People have the power to change their destiny and who they are,” he says.
In addition, astrology affects different people in different ways. Two people born at the same time on the same date will not be affected in the same manner.
“There are forces coming down from the sky,” he says. “Everyone takes them differently.”
The impact of the stars would be different for a Palestinian in Jenin as compared to a Jew in Jerusalem, Kronenberg says. Like a dream to a psychologist, the stars can have multiple meanings for different astrologers.
Tal says it is here, when there are multiple meanings, that an astrologer’s intuition can play a significant role.
“Astrology is a code,” Tal says. “Manifestations of a certain planet on another can be interpreted in different ways. Here is where my intuition can come in, but not as someone who can see the future.”
Ynet’s Livne says Jewish astrology is the most precise type of astrology because it takes both the lunar and solar calendars into account unlike other forms. However, this does not mean it will yield accurate results all the time.
“I don’t expect 100 percent accuracy. I hope for 70 to 80 percent,” says Livne, who has been an astrologer for 20 years. “If you want 100 percent, then leave it.”
Astrologers see themselves providing a service that differs little from other consulting professions.
“Just like different attorneys, doctors or advisers, you’ll get different answers from each astrologer,” Livne says.
