Take it from an astrologer — it’s not a good idea to stop studying for your exams, even if an astrologer’s reading says you’ll pass them.
A reading will be as accurate as possible, says Soundara Rajan, an Ottawa astrologer. But it should always be used as a guide, not an absolute certainty.
Rajan says she has been studying astrology for almost 60 years and in that time has seen clients at many stages of their lives.
Astrology has been a major part of Rajan’s life since she was a young girl.
Her father was also an astrologer and the way he was always able to make his clients happy is what piqued her interest, she says.
In the time she has worked in astrology, a craft which takes into account zodiac signs, constellations and planetary alignments and their relation to each other at a particular time, Rajan says she has become a specialist in certain areas.
Main requests range from a person’s romantic life to his or her financial investments.
But the question on the minds of some Carleton students is whether Rajan has any true science to her predictions or if she is just telling students what they want to hear during an astrological reading.
“It’s really just the appeal to having all the answers,” says Chris Huxtable, a fourth-year software engineering student at Carleton.
Science doesn’t provide all the answers, but encourages people to investigate, something astrology does not, he says.
Rajan’s clients stand by her craft and predictions.
For many of her clients, it’s not just Rajan’s talents that make her dear to them but it’s also her kindness.
A couple of years ago, Rajan’s client Cynthia Cheng was on holiday in Spain and says Rajan called her to say something was going to happen so she should be careful that particular day.
Cheng says she really appreciated Rajan’s concern.
Rajan has many loyal clients, but her marriage also plays a part in her business.
In the 40 years Rajan and her husband, Raj, have been married, he says he has grown accustomed to the steady stream of clients in their house as he is now Rajan’s office manager.
It’s a passion for her work that keeps Rajan doing what she does because she’s not happy unless her clients are happy, Raj says.
“Each person will have some way of leading their life in a fruitful manner,” he says.
“Something that will give her the sole satisfaction, and this gives her [that] satisfaction.”
In her work, Rajan says she has seen many satisfied clients leave after a reading, whether it’s at her home office or at one of the many astrology conventions she attends throughout the year.
Every now and then though, something goes wrong and if that’s the case, Rajan will ask new questions and do a new reading.
Statistically, Huxtable says, an astrologer is bound to make some accurate statements as well as false ones in a reading, but many of an astrologer’s statements are not falsifiable.
If an astrologer makes 20 statements in a reading and one is correct, a believer in astrology is likely to disregard the inaccurate statements, but “does that mean she’s accurate or it’s probably by chance?” he says.
Rajan says she believes strongly in her work, not as probabilities but as facts, though she says she is unsure of the abilities of psychics.
Unlike psychics, Rajan says astrologers are like professors because their readings are more accurate and their predictions can be proven.
When she does readings for students, there are a few things that they often seek to be proven in their lives.
Rajan says she often has students come in looking to sort out the confusion in their romantic lives.
For the most part, students come in worried and leave happy, which is something Rajan says she takes pride in.
It’s important to take into account that relief of an accurate statement may only be due to astrologers being gifted at reading people, says fourth-year journalism student Lasia Kretzel.
Kretzel, who has had an astrological reading done in the past, says the vague and open statements that astrologers can make in a reading are based on their ability to read a person’s personality based on their surroundings.
Though Rajan recognizes many people are very skeptical about astrology, she says she can’t make someone believe in astrology.
If they’re skeptical, she leaves it up to them to make up their minds.
It’s not up to her to convince a skeptic of the merits of astrology, Rajan says. If she were to do that, she says it would be “blowing my own horn.”
While some students may see astrology as a “pseudo-science,” Rajan sees many university students during this time of year.
Rajan says there’s only so much she can do for students because they can’t just ignore their responsibilities at university.
Rajan is an astrologer with a passion for her work, but she also loves to see her clients succeed, particularly students whom she refers to as “the pillars for the country.”
These “pillars” may have questions about their exams and their love lives and Rajan will continue seeing them because she says her work brings her so much joy.
As a result, Rajan won’t be retiring anytime soon, Raj says.
“People won’t let her quit because they keep on coming. There’s the problem.”