Astrology's credibility crisis: The dangers of unrealistic promises

Time of India

30-05-2025

Dr Soham D Bhaduri is an eminent public health physician turned Vedic astrologer and inner change life coach. His works spanning healthcare to spirituality have appeared in several prestigious peer-reviewed journals and national dailies. He has served as Chief Editor of The Indian Practitioner for over six years. An exponent of Existential Monism, his no-nonsense attitude towards astrology stems from years of philosophical self-exploration, which taught him that the cornerstone of spirituality is to felicitously balance both reason and intuition. He sees astrology as rooted in the science of 'complex systems', which must be embraced as an invaluable tool for mapping and steering life instead of being dismissed as mystical fortune-telling. LESS ... MORE
A few days ago, I stumbled upon two impassioned conversations on a popular social media platform which bore testament to the wildly unrealistic proportions an average client's expectations from astrology have assumed. Even worse is how such expectations continue to be indulged and abetted by some astrologers who make promises that are way out of line.
In one instance, an enthusiast claimed that the true hallmark of an astrologer was the ability to make pinpoint predictions from the Lagna chart (the basic chart in Vedic astrology) alone, without bothering to even glance through any of the divisional charts. To this, respondent astrologers thought it fit to nod their heads in agreement. One of them even went so far as to propose that divine faculty is indispensable for astrological prediction. In yet another instance, one astrologer confidently expressed that astrologers must not enquire clients about their problems and questions. Instead, they should be able to perfectly predict what questions their clients must be having on their minds. No one bothered to communicate the true purpose that divisional charts serve in astrology, or the fact that at any point of time, one's horoscope can suggest several problems, many of which may not even be perceived by them as problems to begin with.
Put forthright, as I've discussed in my preceding blogs, the epithet 'cheap, quick, and sensational' characterizes much of astrological practice today. An average client seeks otherworldly levels of accuracy while offering piffling or no money and a truckload of ridicule at the same time. But the decisive nail in the coffin, that which perpetually inflates this dangerous trend, is the way astrologers respond to such demands. Very often, the average astrologer, in a desperate scramble to impress and hook clients, does everything that erodes the credibility and disregards the sanctity of true Jyotish – from being a grovelling Yes-Man to employing sleights of mind and making lofty promises in return for no apparent money. These then go on to fortify the popular public impression that it is only 'fair and normal' to expect astrologers not to ask for rightful remuneration and vilify those who don't oblige. The consequence is unmistakable – little value given translates to little value received, and in the process, credibility of the profession takes the severest blow.
The most important trait for an astrologer to imbibe today, apart from learning not to pander to every unrightful taste of their clientele – is honest, upright acceptance, more so in public dealings. While this might entail some short-term pains, ignoring it guarantees much worse long-term repercussions. As wonderful as astrology is, there exist limitations therein just like everywhere, and it is hence that astrology at bottom is more of a tool to 'guide' than to 'predict'. And astrologers failing to acknowledge these limitations has already dealt irrevocable levels of damage to the field. Drawing connections with ethereal and divine stuff only rubs salt on the wounds by further distancing astrology from accepted notions of what is 'credible'. Those who've followed my previous blogs will appreciate that astrology is embedded in complexity science and deals with arguably the most complex system there is – one which is rarely conducive to anything that is perfectly predictive. While this makes Jyotish a highly useful and one-of-a-kind tool to guide and navigate life, it introduces a prominent, ineluctable element of uncertainty and unpredictability which has to be embraced with an open mind.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.