Where Astrologers Work

by Alison Price

by Alison Price

If you have a regular job in an office or a factory then you know where you work.

If you run a daycare or a farm that’s where you have to work.

Many people have to do their daily work in a particular spot and it can be that you are not working if you are not at your desk.

But the group who are self employed like new age practitioners and astrologers can work anywhere.

The internet has made it possible for people who are independent to work wherever they are if there is a computer and an internet connection.

The Home Office

A good place for astrologers to work is the office in the home.

When we lived in Oakville we had a house with a study near the front door. I immediately commandeered it into my “Office” and created a special astrology-only space for my work where clients and students could visit and be secluded and comfortable.

This was the perfect situation as at the time I was teaching classes four nights a week for six weeks after every equinox and solstice. During that period I did mainly teach face-to-face because I had the space.

The room was decorated with astrology themed images and charts and I had a white board for teaching. This room was dedicated to astrology and there were no other things in it like household electricity bills or storage for the kids ice skates that so often creep into the spare room of a house.

The Coffee Shop

The coffee shop is a new space for astrologers to work or at least it has been for me. Now living downtown in the city of Vancouver and meeting clients at lunch time and before work I have found the coffee shop to be an ideal space for research work and face-to-face client work.

But not all coffee shops are created equal. What I am looking for in a working space coffee shop is relative peace (without too much clanging from the kitchen) and high speed internet. I also need a spot with my back to the wall, as it is after all a public space, and you never know who will be there.

Starbucks has some lovely comfy leather chairs and a better clientele because the coffee in Starbucks is twice the price (latte $4.75) of other places. But the downside is there in weak internet. This will not do, so I don’t go there.

Tim Horton’s has better priced coffee ($1.80) and you can stay as long as you like, but again weak to non-existent internet and unfortunately they allow students to rest their heads on the tables and sleep. I find this distracting.

Waves Coffee House is the best choice for me. They have the seriously good high speed internet, the prices are moderate to high (latte is $4.25) and I can find a spot to sit near other people with their laptops open merrily tapping away.

I imagine they are writing the next Harry Potter as JK Rowling did in a draughty coffee shop in Scotland. It is a most agreeable atmosphere and the barista Chris caught my name the first time I went in and has remembered it ever since. A nice touch.

Rent a Meeting Room/Venue

For some client work I have to rent a room in the city. This is always the case when we do our annual Summer Astrology Workshops. We book the beautiful boardroom at the public library. This really good spot is clean and bright with reasonable internet. We use this room for workshops of 15 to 20 attendees as there is a screen and a board table and good seating. Although the daily cost is very high ($350) it is worth it.

My other option for when I have a few students in a class when I teach my beginner, intermediate and advanced astrology courses and the Aspiring Astrologer Master Classes is the meeting room. I like the one at Waves. They used to charge $10 for one hour but now it is that everyone who goes in there has to buy a drink (so tea or coffee) and maybe a pastry, and I do have to book this meeting room ahead of time.

It is a popular spot for general Meetups and get togethers. There is a glass door so you are still in the coffee shop but have some privacy. They have a white board so I can draw the charts on the board (image above).

This feature is crucial for teaching proper classes. The Waves meeting room seats about ten but the most students I have had is five at one time. I call this one “my office”.

The Park

This is a good place on a warm summer Sunday afternoon. I can write and prepare my client work for appointments in the following week and it clears my head. There is no privacy but you get to see men playing chess, children playing and dogs being walked by their owners.

It is not good for computer work but rather for paper notebook and pen writing and note taking. I like to print my client’s charts and take them outside to the park and spend time perusing their information in the fresh air.

This is really only on a Sunday but in fact I could go every day. Where I live there are three public parks with benches, fountains and play areas that are attractive and pleasant.

The Beach

This is the one I’m aiming for next – working on the beach. I know my Aries friend Tamara does this in Ibiza, Spain.

Doing client prep, consultations and other exciting astrology work at the coast sounds fun.

Is it really work if you are sitting on the beach?

Maybe you have to be propping up the bar at the beach tavern, then is it work?

Perhaps, but probably not, and when I get to this spectacular position of reading astrology charts for people on the beach I’ll let you know.

On a Plane

You don’t need a special office, but it is nice to have one and if you do you are lucky indeed.

You can practice astrology anywhere. I once read a chart on a plane from Toronto to Vancouver for the guy sitting next to me that I had met ten minutes earlier.

He asked me what I did for a living as many men do. I told him I was in futures. He said he was too but I think he meant something else. He wanted tips on trading on the big boards (that’s the stock exchange).

I kept it simple with “buy” during the waxing Moon and “sell” on the waning Moon. When we landed we exchanged business cards and went our separate ways but he did sign up to my email list and has kept in touch over the years.

Your Virtual Office

Your virtual office is where you are and you can do astrology work where you are.

Always have your iPad and chart calculation capabilities in your bag. These days I never buy a handbag that won’t fit my iPad. Have your business cards to hand and pass them on to interested folks who ask for them.

This is the world we live in today. You never know where you will do you next astrology reading or for whom or if you’ll be in a bikini.

Maybe I’ll see you on the beach… I look forward to it.

How Much Astrology Prep Time do You Need to Do for Your Client?

by Alison Price

by Alison Price

I was at an astrology event earlier this week which was attended by those who are aspiring astrologers, those who are getting better at astrology and some who are really good at astrology.

You can see what your skills and abilities are astrology wise and where you are on the five levels of astrologers to decide which camp you are in.

Anyway, it was general chit chat at the pre dinner (as is the way with these events) and someone asked me “How you much time do you do in your chart preparation before the consultation or do you just wing it?”

Never just wing it

So straight off the bat I replied “No, I never wing it, you simply can’t.”

The danger of winging it or just reading a chart on the fly with no thought for the intricacies of the dynamic elements in the chart are huge.

If you wing it:

You get it wrong
You diminish your credibility
You get it wrong
You damage your reputation and that of astrology in general
You get it wrong
They want it for free (That’s another story)

Did I say you get it wrong?

Weak astrologers just wing it.

If you are serious about your craft and believe you provide your clients with your best work through your experience, techniques and knowledge.

You owe it to yourself and your clients to give your best. Heck, you have to give more than your best you have to give them everything you have got. It’s that simple.

If you cannot dig deep for your clients then don’t bother setting up as an astrologer.

How much time to spend on each chart

I am often asked by those learning astrology “How much do we really have to do for a client?”

This comes down to, how long should you spend analyzing a natal chart or a forecast before the consultation?

A month, a week, a day or an hour?

There is no exact answer because it depends on your level of astrological expertise and the depth required for the client.

Some time has to be spent in prep work for each and every session.

If a consultation is booked for one hour, how many hours does an astrologer spend in preparation work before the appointment?

Starting out

When I first began as a professional astrologer (that is one who takes money for astrology services), I needed at least a week to plough (I mean work) through the chart.

I would explore all the permutations of the astrology and cover everything I could think of.

Every time I discovered a new technique I would slavishly add it into the list things I did.

There was no end…

These days I probably spend twice as much time in prep as the session is in reality. So, if I have a client booked for a one-hour session I will likely spend two hours analyzing the chart or charts.

If it is their second or third consultation (where we are working through and exploring several themes in their lives) I try to keep it the same. Two hours prep for a one-hour consultation. This is my plan.

It can, and does, overrun but you have to draw the line somewhere.

If I have a client booked in for a sequence of say three sessions over the course of a few weeks I will spend six or more hours preparing their interpretations. It does not matter if it is the first or the third in a sequence of consultations.