Who is responsible for writing horoscopes and general astrology info?

[Arianna]

Hey guys just a few questions that I’ve been pondering and would love and appreciate any help you can give me!

I’ve noticed how popular astrology has been becoming and am interested in who is responsible for determining the characteristics of the star signs and who’s writing the horoscopes? How do they determine this information (i.e. where does it come from)?

Do they have to have any qualifications? And is anyone allowed to do this?

Discussion

[ubudtogogo]

If you’re talking about why which bodies/signs have the properties they do, it’s just been a very very long time of observe and record.

If you’re asking about the horoscopes at the end of the newspaper, they are usually written by non-astrologers/ down-on-their-luck journalists making a quick buck. They are entirely Barnham statements that don’t relate to anything.. how could they without relating to a person’s chart.

[No-Intention-3272]

Anyone can write anything. This is the digital age. It’s up to you to figure out if they are qualified–whether they have a degree, certificate, or work at a gas station.

[StellaGraphia]

Absolutely anyone can start doing horoscopes on youtube, twitter, instagram with zero education or skill. So, very much of what you see on social media is terrible astrology.

But there are really good, well-trained, skilled astrologers also using social media. It’s just hard to find them amongst the sea of junk.

There are no licensing qualifications for being an astrologer, sadly. I wish there were. Not to dictate this system over that, but to ensure a proficiency in the basics, and in the ethics around astrology. There are places that give certificates (almost anyone who calls themselves a school can do that though). But certificates range greatly in their validity. A degree from Kepler College is legit. And if one can pass the certification exam from ISAR (International Society for Astrological Research), that one is respected. Neither guarantee a good astrologer – too many other things go into what the person choose to do after that. But those are good places to start.

There are a few other places that are good, such as the Faculty for Astrological Studies in London. And there are respected teachers that have earned their credentials, such as the podcast’s group (Chris Brennan, Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock). There are others just on social media or have websites that may or may not teach, such as Jo Gleason, Demetra George, Leisa Schaim, Patrick Watson, Acyuta-bhava Das, Carole Taylor, Benjamin Dykes and many others (just doing a quick off the top of my head list here). Those are all solid astrologers. And of course, there’s Robert Hand, and others of his high skill out there.

As for where meanings actually came from, you’d need to dive into the several thousands of years’ history of astrology. You could start with Brennan’s book Hellenistic Astrology. There’s a lot of history in that, and you’d also gain names and resources for further historical investigation. There are many free ancient texts on [skyscript.co.uk](https://skyscript.co.uk), but I’d recommend Brennan’s book first, as there are things to understand about various authors and translations (such as faulty translations that have been since corrected, or missing books that once found and translated, changed things up, etc).

[LuckLap]

Welcome. Good luck in your resarch.

You’re asking us like 15 questions at the same time.

[EverbrightRDT]

> who is responsible for determining the characteristics of the star signs?

Astrologers living in Mesopotamia and Ancient Rome about 2000-ish years ago. This is *technically* inaccurate since the modern conceptualizations of the signs (treating them as character archetypes) comes more from the advent of psychological astrology in the early 1900s, but you can trace some bits and pieces of it back to when traditional astrology was first being developed.

> and who’s writing the horoscopes? How do they determine this information (i.e. where does it come from)?

Depends on where you get them from. Some of the people writing them are just creative writers who know nothing about astrology. Others are astrologers. You can usually tell based on how they write their horoscopes. If an astrologer is doing it and they’re doing it with a purpose, they’ll use ongoing transits and derived houses in their horoscopes.