Reading Your Questions: Astrology, Politics & Current Events

Hey, everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology, and today, I am going to read some of your questions that you have submitted through YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, and email. Occasionally, I've been doing these Q&A episodes over the past couple of months, and it's been a nice way for me to get to know you guys, what's on your mind, what you want to learn more about, as well as allowing you guys to get to know me you guys have asked some great questions Ashley came on recently, we talked a lot about, you know, spirituality and marriage and being business partners together. People had a lot of questions about that. That was really cool. Today's questions all revolve around, and I've gotten dozens of these over the past couple of months.

The question basically is, I've noticed that on your channel, you don't really make any overt or regular connections between the astrological transits and things happening in the world. Current events, politics, and the collective isn't something you seem to address in your astrology content. Is there a reason for that? And some people kind of fired up about it, some people thinking like, this is what you ought to be doing. Why aren't you doing it? And some people more along the lines of I'm just curious why you don't do it? Either way? I thought it was a great question. So, I'll take some time to answer, and I'm gonna give you five reasons that I don't personally focus on current events or politics in my astrology.

I want to say, first and foremost, that it doesn't bother me if people choose to use their astrology in that way; I don't have anything against it. So the first and most basic thing I'll just tell you guys before we even get into it is that you're free to disagree with me, and I think that there are a lot of different kinds of astrologers and a lot of different ways in which we can talk about astrology and I think it is totally valid and beautiful for people to take time to make meaningful connections between astrological transits that are unfolding and current events.

In fact, there are some astrologers whose content I will occasionally take in that do address those things, even though I don't personally. More than anything, I just want people to get good astrology and feel like they have something of spiritual worth; in the way that I create content and in the way that I talk about astrology, you're getting that I think it's a win. If you don't agree with some of the rest of, you know, the way I see the world or the way I do things, I genuinely hope we can still be virtual friends, you know, so I'll keep it like that.

But before we get into it today, don't forget to like and subscribe. Share your comments in the comment section with your own reflections and insights or opinions on the matter. I'd love to hear from you guys. It's really cool to hear your thoughts. This is a little bit more potentially divisive subject, so be kind to each other. You know, sometimes a subject like this, I've noticed over the years, will tend to create more, you know, contentiousness, and that's evidenced by the fact that half of the emails were just curious to hear my response and half were really like angry that I don't talk about these things. So again, the topic itself can be kind of divisive.

So, anyway, you can find a transcript of today's talk on the website nightlightastrology.com. When you're over there, be sure to check out the upcoming program, Ancient Astrology for the Modern Mystic. It is our first-year program. It is a foundational course in ancient Hellenistic astrology. Click on the first-year course program under the Courses tab you scroll down; you can learn more about it. We talk a lot in this program about the why of things.

Why were there ever houses, planets, and signs? Where did these things ever come from in the first place? Why do we say the things that we do about the houses, signs, and planets? Where does the if you're only ever working with, you know, like, if you don't understand the why, let me put it this way, if you don't understand the why, then all you have are techniques and methods.

If you understand the why, then you understand automatically where the techniques and methods come from. But then you're free; you can use those techniques and methods more intuitively and intelligently, and as a result, you can be creative. I don't want to say you can invent totally new things because I don't know that happens all that often. But within a reading, you can be highly intuitive. You can be more like an improvisational jazz player, okay, and it's something like learning musical theory to enhance your ability to play.

There's not one way to learn astrology, don't get me wrong. But this is to me, the reason that I love ancient astrology so much is because it gave me the why. Once I had the why, I realized that the structures that were taught come from a place where you're in touch with those things from an inner knowing. Gosh, you just become a way better astrologer.

So anyway, the program really attempts To get into the why of things, and once we understand that we move into working with live clients, toward the end of the program, we have a lot of live clients, we have a lot of active chart practice, and that's really going to give you that, you know, hands-on experience that no amount of classroom learning can ultimately replace.

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You go to a conference, you've never, you realize, oh, I don't get to talk astrology with people a whole lot. Like in my everyday life, I've talked to people online, I see people in person, and I can talk to them about astrology; it makes me realize I love this language. So, if you're one of those people who loves this language, invest the time and energy to learn more about it because it will do nothing but enhance your life in so many ways. I'm very passionate about it, obviously, but it's because I believe it's true.

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Okay, now, let's get into your questions. Now, in I'm not, I'm not going to read everyone is, there have literally been dozens of questions that have come in that I've just placed in this category, and it goes something like this. Why don't you spend more time talking about current events? In astrology? Why don't you spend more time talking about politics and astrology or various? You know, let's call them mundane events like global events, things that we should all be concerned about as a world that is trying to live toward our highest good. Shouldn't you be addressing some of these things? That's that's the basic thing.

I would say if I had to boil it down, it was more like, why don't you talk about current events and politics with astrology? Like that's the basic question. So, there are five reasons that I don't personally focus on current events or politics.

Number one, it's just not my interest or concern as an astrologer. As a human, outside of doing astrology, I have my own interests and concerns. For me, I have had to create a boundary between elements of my when it comes to, like, how I'm oriented socially, culturally, politically, et cetera. There are some ways in which it's just inevitably going to carry itself into the way I talk, the way I think, the way I do everything. We're political animals; I think it was Aristotle who said that maybe it was Socrates, but I can't remember.

So we're political animals. Don't deny that. But I would just say as an astrologer, as someone who teaches astrology and works with clients. I meet with clients every day of the year, you know, and I'm 1000s and 1000s of clients over the years that are coming from so many different backgrounds, religions, political affiliations, countries, first and second languages, gender sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, you know, with all different kinds of pains and sorrows and traumas that, you know, I see these things every day.

So when I see that, what my orientation is like, where I feel I've been called is to hold space for people with astrology, using the language of astrology, to hold space for and offer validation for the pretty wide range of human orientations, experiences, blessings, curses, sufferings, joys, wishes, dreams, illusions, disappointments.

For me, it's just I think my orientation and the way that I teach and talk about astrology has primarily come from the fact that since day one, I've been a very busy counseling astrologer and so on. Having a, like, a loaded client practice where every day you're just, you're holding space and listening to what people are experiencing and where they've been and what they're going through and seeing that time and time again, it is the simplest of things that my clients really need.

You are loved, you are beautiful as a soul, you know, maybe needing an experience an embodiment, even if just for a few minutes from another human being of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, non-judgment, right, and I believe that a lot of therapists and counselors, you people who are listening to this right now, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I don't think that that space is at its best when it is oriented in any way by my own religious, political, like bias, you know. I would say, with, with religion, what I mean by that is to say, like, if I'm a practicing Quaker, or, you know, if I'm practicing bhakti, yoga, or whatever, it's not my job to try to help a person by giving them the same tool that I'm using, even if I think it's an effective tool.

I had a lot of people that would sometimes, you know, say, I'm really interested in the yoga you're doing, could you tell me more about mantra meditation or something like that, and like, sure. But the the actual holding of space for people, for me, has very seldomly throughout my career involved giving people any kind of therapeutic benefits of what I have to give people have not come from my political orientations or my specific religious orientations.

I don't think it's bad, to have political to have passionate political perspectives or religious ones. But for me, because a lot of my space as an astrologer, the way that I've developed as an astrologer has come through holding this kind of neutral space of listening and acceptance. It's really, really hard for me to think about anything with astrology in terms of its, like, when I'm making content, and I'm imagining what audiences out there, I imagine the same, like, the diversity that I see in my practice. Do you know what I mean?

Like people from all walks of life, all kinds of suffering, all kinds of beliefs, all kinds of political orientations, and when I imagine the audience that's out there listening, I really imagine the same diversity that has somehow come into my counseling practice. Like, that's what I that's who I know, those are the souls that I don't know, they've come into my sphere of service, and so it hasn't been my interest or concern as an astrologer to make a lot of connections between astrology and current events in any direction.

Because there's something about that, for me, interferes with my ability to hold a space so that anyone listening, coming from any perspective, can have something of spiritual substance to work with, given wherever they're at, even if they're in a place that I fundamentally disagree with politically, for example, or something else.

Now, where did I get this from? So what I mean it isn't my interest or concern; I don't mean that there's something in particular in the news; it's not my concern. I mean, connecting astrology to politics doesn't feel like the lane I'm in, you know what I mean? I don't know that. That's the only way I know how to put it. Instead, it's been holding this kind of ecumenical space, like a sanctuary for any soul to walk into and feel safe and like the message is applicable for them.

You know, in that way, I don't want the way that I share astrology to be divisive, divisive. I'm gonna be thinking about this whole time. Anyway, where did that come from? For me, you know, I grew up a preacher's kid. My father, though he had his own strong political, he had a lot of convictions about things. But he was he was really unique in that. He was a uniter of people and he did a really good job with us. In fact, he received his promotions in the United Methodist Church, in part because he was very good at this, and he's an Aquarian, and I think that there's something about that this fundamental understanding of how ideas can instantly alienate, you know, someone will feel alienated by a strong idea, right? There's always someone.

So you're never going to escape the potential that what you say or the way you do things will be alienating or polarizing for someone. My dad was very aware of that, and he's a full moon; by the way, Leo-Aquarius. He is a Leo Moon Aquarius, sun. But I'm thinking of him at, you know, as a kid in church, but he held a space that was really like, in here, we're talking about these eternal, timeless teachings that are applicable for all of us, you know, for all of us and, and so in that way, my dad created a sanctuary space that was welcoming in our community.

I'm not kidding you; the church communities I grew up in had staunch Republicans, you know, passionate Democrats, LGBTQ people. I mean, it was truly diverse, and by that, I mean it contained within it a safety that allowed people to co-mingle even though they had, in many ways, polarizing worldviews. I believe that there is a need in the world for spaces like that, as much as there is also a need in the world for spaces where people have like-minded beliefs and convictions get together and in some ways have to, you know, sort of duke it out in the social arena of which ideas are going to carry us forward and I have my own orientations in that world.

But for me, this space is a space that is it's a, it's a soul space, it's here for I want the space to be something where Astrology can be talked about, for any soul coming from, you know, any perspective. So I try to keep, you know, the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing, and so I like to keep the main thing about the archetypes, and about their multifaceted combinations and how they apply to, like universal human experiences of joy, of suffering, of fear of creativity, of love of loss. That's how I feel like I can best serve. So I hope that answers it.

Number two, I'll be honest with you. I don't I don't watch. I don't bury my head in the sand or, you know, I'm not trying to be willfully ignorant, but I don't watch the news. I had a realization some years ago; I think it was around the last election cycle, that paying attention to the news was making me irritable, angry, and at times self-righteous and just agitated and, you know, through therapy, and some really hard, honest conversations with myself, I was just like, this isn't good for me, and it was funny, because as soon as I realized that, it was like, it doesn't matter if someone else is like, well, you ought to be watching the news, you ought to be paying attention, you ought to be involved.

I was like, No, I don't have to be if I don't want to be; you can't coerce shame, guilt me into something that makes me feel sick, and sick in the mind, sick in the heart. That does not mean that I simultaneously reject or think less of people who do. That would be very close-minded of me. So, if some people are called in their heart and soul to be civic warriors, political activists, politicians, news anchors, or to be people who are journalists, or to be collective trackers of astrology, I honor and celebrate people who have that calling.

It was as simple as realizing that that is not my calling and that if I try to do that because I feel some kind of pressure like I ought to, I feel sick, so I don't do it. So that's it.

Number three, I want the astrology I teach to be about what unites us in common human experience. I already said this, so I guess I kind of already covered this, but I like talking about archetypes and the most basic ways in which their interactions affect us and play out, especially in everyday life. You know, I'm a Cancer-Sun in the third house. It's a pretty everyday; it's like Mr. Rogers cosmic neighborhood. I'm interested; hey, how are you doing, neighbor? You know, like, how's your love life? How's work? What are you stressed about? How's your health? How are you sleeping? What are your anxieties like? How are you dealing with that baggage from your parents during your childhood?

So, I have an interest in being more oriented toward individuals. For example, I don't like big groups of people. I don't mind being on the camera for YouTube, you know, probably, I guess, placements in my chart, I could look out for that. But when it comes to actual relationships, I don't like big groups; I like small interpersonal dynamics. A couple of people out for dinner is good for me; get more than five or six, I start getting anxious, and my energy is being drained. I'm a bit more of an introvert, and I like personal storytelling, which is why I do the grabbed series; I like to capture some of the stories that make astrology super personal.

It's not just up there in some realm where Venus and Saturn hang out. What's your story? How did your heartbreak last week? And how did you move through it? You know, that's the that's my orientation. That's what I'm naturally concerned about, and that's what I'm good at. I'm good at that kind of stuff, and I don't think that means you shouldn't try to grow into areas you're not good at.

I've said this already in a few different ways. I feel like there's there are enough astrologers, and there's enough astrology out there. It's okay if some astrologers are going to be really good at talking about the connections between astrology and things happening in the collective. I love Richard Tarnas for that reason. I love the way Richard Tarnas connects the map, you know, the magic of the outer planetary transits like Uranus, Pluto, or whatever it is, with these massive, you know, sequences of historical events.

I love Cosmos and Psyche. It's one of my favorite books ever. It's a mundane astrology text. I take in that content as a fan. You know, like, I listen occasionally, not all the time, but I listen to the astrology podcast. Chris Brennan is a colleague and friend; I love the way that back in the day, Austin, Kelly, and Chris. Now, there are different guests and stuff, but Austin is still there; they often make really magical, dazzling connections between the astrology and current events.

It's just not the thing that I do. You know, and what I'm interested in is the common sort of basic universal experiences of the archetypes and planets, and that comes from, again, the fact that I really, every day when I'm not creating content, I'm talking to individual people about astrology and hearing stories, and I'm a storyteller. I studied memoirs in my MFA program. I like personal storytelling.

Number four, I don't want this subject to become a part of what is most divisive in there I go again, divisive or divisive. Now, you all have to weigh in and tell me how to say the word divisive. Like, that's it. All right. We're gonna have a fight. Wouldn't that be so meta? Oh, my gosh, there's another loaded word. Anyway, wouldn't that be? Wouldn't it be so interesting to see a big fight about how to say the word divisive in the comment section? It just completely illustrates the whole point.

I don't want this subject, the subject of astrology, to become a part of what is most divisive in our world right now. I feel like there's a lot of divisiveness, there's there's a lot of arguing and fighting, and really extreme anger and polarization happening socially, culturally, politically.

It's sad. Well, I feel like here's my experience when, in the past, there was a time when I addressed the connection between mundane current events and astrology, and what I saw was that it became a place where fighting and general division was, thus like, flourishing. Like in the videos in the past, where I would address things that were happening in the collective aside from something like maybe the interest in aliens or artificial intelligence or something that's sort of so big. That Oh, Um, but you know, at any rate, you get the point.

I feel like when certain subjects come up, even if they're related to astrology people, the comments section especially turns into a total battlezone, and it draws out this intense form of vitriol, and really, honestly, just hatred in some cases and this was part of what was adversely affecting my own mental health was that it's like, Man, I can't even look at the comments section after what I like the fact that I brought up something that happened in the news in the astrology today, because everyone's just trying to kill each other in the comment section.

It's really interesting. There's a text written by Firmicus Maternus, who's a Roman astrologer, and in that text, he specifically says to state was as a text to astrologers who were becoming astrologer, like students of astrology, and he said, stay out of politics. Because you'll bring in the warfare of politics, you'll bring it into a sacred science, and if you bring it into the sacred science, like, it'll give it a bad name as people start using it to advance agendas within this, like a battlefield that's taking place and I feel protective of astrology.

I mean, who am I to feel protective of astrology first of all, it's probably stupid. But yeah, I just was like, I don't think that this, I don't want to bring topics in that create a lot of fighting and hurting and harming, around what I believe is the topic that we should be like, we take our shoes off, and we walk in the temple, and we sit down, and we contemplate these archetypes together, you know, so that's how I see it.

Number five, I see reality and divinity because I see reality as divinity. I see reality or divinity as the play of light and dark, the interplay, and if there's anything that I have experienced in my own life, as a soul who is trying to create a mediating ground for the play of light and dark, I believe that's what the soul is, the soul is here to experience and welcome in the play of divinity that you play in me, and through me, let me experience you and divinity is saying, I want to experience you little soul, and I'm going to enter into you says beautiful communion that we share as souls who are divine, but also become mediators for the gods to play, light and dark to play.

There's nothing that changes play into, like war, battle, or polarization, quicker than self-righteousness. That's my experience; that's my realization. You know, you may not agree, but for me, in my soul, when I start becoming like, super self-righteous about anything that I believe or think, to the point where I can justify judging someone else, you know, or harming someone with my words, or losing my temper, you know, in these ways. Man, that's it. That's when I that's when the play turns into suffering.

So I'm careful about the space I keep in the way I keep it because these are my values and, you know, again, like for me, because I believe so deeply that the play of light and dark is divine. It's not that I don't see good and evil in the world. But it's that I don't; I cannot stand in judgment of the way that life is.I will suffer; I will empathize. I will hopefully be an instrument of compassion and forgiveness and good things for myself included.

But I can't stand in judgment, or it doesn't feel good to me when I get into a position of feeling like I have some kind of answer, you know, and to me, the inclusion of astrology and current events and politics and stuff like that is something that pushes me closer and closer toward feeling self-righteous, and so I protect myself against that because it's a weakness that I have.

I believe that a lot of people have that weakness, too. I believe it's pretty common. But that doesn't mean that nobody out there should that no astrologer should be talking about mundane astrology or current events, and so forth.

Again, I think it just comes down to, like, different astrologers will cover astrology in different ways; you come to my channel, it's all about a sanctuary that's really inviting of wherever you might be coming from, and we're going to talk about astrology in a way that's personal, and that gets into sort of universal human experience of the archetypes of the play of light and dark.

I try to hold a space that's nonjudgmental and compassionate, and my space is not one that has felt aligned with talking about current events or politics. So that's it.

I don't think I've ever tried to articulate that as thoroughly as I just did, and I also just want you all to know that I really respect and appreciate the diverse, intelligent, heart-centered people who listen to this channel. It's a real honor and privilege to share this sacred topic with all of you, and I know, at the end of the day, that my goal is to love people more than I need to be right.

I know that's a core belief of mine, and so, even if you disagree with me, like you're wrong, it's like, well, my goal, if we were friends, would be to find a deeper love for each other and to avoid the trap of needing to be right or wrong in relation to one another. Holding space for each other in love is, to me, like great work, and it's a treasure, the opportunity I've been given to do that work in my life for clients and students and all of you with the content I create.

So anyway, that's it. I hope that you guys found this useful. Thank you, guys, for the questions, and if you have more, keep them coming.

You can email questions anytime to info@nightlightastrology.com. There's a submission page on the website. You can throw it into the comment section; we gather them from the comments. If there's a topic you want to hear me talk about, questions you have for me, stuff like that, feel free. It is a little bit of a potentially more divisive or divisive topic, so be nice to each other in the comments section. Alright, that's it. Bye