ARTICLE ASTROLOGERS
BOB MULLIGAN «IN THE BEGINNING»
From the Introduction of Bob Mulligans' book «Between Astrologers and Clients»
Margaret Craske was an early disciple of
my spiritual master, Meher Baba. During my
struggle to cross into the profession of astrologer, she mentioned to me one day,
"Undoubtedly you can learn to do astrology,
but can you learn to love your fellow man?"
Her question made a deep impression on
me. In a way, everything I've done as an astrologer has in
some way been an attempt to an answer. Astrology as a
technical discipline is mind boggling. As an interactive healing art it is unparalleled.
When I was new in my career as an astrologer, say maybe
five years into it, a really formative experience came my way
which opened me to another dimension of the question of
loving others as opposed to merely conveying cosmic information. At the time I was living in a big old house which was
split into a number of apartments. It was located just off the
University of Illinois campus. My office was a tiny kitchen
which I had converted into a place to see clients. On this day
a man came to see me for an appointment. He was a big
man, approximately six feet tall, weighing about two hundred and fifty pounds. He came into my small office. We
started talking. I began discussing events that had made
strong impressions on his development. We were about fifteen minutes into the appointment when I said, "Your father's death made a deep impact on your growth." He became silent. He looked as if he was trying to decide whether
or not to speak. Then he slowly mumbled in a low, deliberate
voice, "I killed my dad. Murdered him with an axe. I was
never discovered, and I've never told anyone about it before." I went numb. Quickly I assessed the situation. He was
sitting between me and the door and he was a lot bigger
than I. Nothing in my training or experience had prepared
me for this very loaded situation. My mind went blank and I
have no recollection of how the rest of the consultation
went. I felt in danger and I probably would have said or done
anything realistic at the time to get out of this situation.
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If I had been capable of putting aside all personal considerations, my fear of physical injury,
fear of inadequacy, etc., I would have been able
to really be present for my client. Love and fear
can't live simultaneously in the same heart. This
person had really opened up to me and I left him
hanging. A missed opportunity became a teaching experience.
The need for this book arose that day, as I
tried to come to terms with the missing ingredients in my background. How had I gotten into
this predicament? How could I have prevented
it? How could I have handled it better? What can
I share with my students about the astrologer/
client relationship which could make their lives
happier, easier, and safer?
It is no small task to become a professional
astrologer. It is even a greater task to carry out
your career with any degree of competency and
integrity. During my early years as an astrologer,
so much of my time was completely absorbed in
trying to become technically competent that
how the information was delivered, or what my
relationships to my clients were about, occupied
very little of my thinking. To learn to erect a correct chart and to read the chart with any degree
of insight or accuracy was such a big task, that it
seemed like mastering this was to become an
astrologer. Achieving mastery over technical aspects of astrology is the first hurdle. This aspect
of astrology is so massive that most of us return
to it time and time again when we are honest
with ourselves. Still, mathematical and interpretive proficiency (while being the necessary foundation) is really only the beginning for a professional astrologer.
КАРЬЕРА АСТРОЛОГА | 1 2012