I personally do not follow astrology.  I now there are a lot of unusual things in this world that we cannot explain and this may be one.  But at the same time people tend to hear what they want as part of their belief system.  I see this on a daily basis as I also post on other forums.  Often what happens though is I will post a response, which often gets ignored, as well as other people.   But the original poster will ignore the posts that do not fit what they want to hear and thank the one person who confirmed their belief.  To a large extent astrology is not any different. People latch on to what they read or hear that fits their view.  Let's say the person's horoscope says they will have a surprise at work that day.  Well that is pretty vague, so the person expecting that surprise will find something in their day that surprised them that day, even though this may happen every day.  Or let's say that a horoscope profile says that Capricorns favorite color is blue, their favorite food is lobster, etc.  People by nature will latch on to what they hear that is true to them while dismissing anything that does not fit their view.  This is the entire basis for the newspaper horoscopes and similar media.   The horoscope can be 99% wrong but people will still latch on to the accurate 1% and say " wow, they can really read me". Again a lot of astrology plays on simple human nature.

My wife complains that I always pick movies where everyone dies in the end! This is ironic, coming from someone (she) who was proclaimed death in 2007, by a real Indian Vedic master and astrologer, respected worldwide! C’mon baby – it’s only a movie!

So, I would say that your friend was very lucky to find a Vedic astrologer that is full of good news… For the most part, they have a fatalistic perspective about life and a “know-it-all” attitude… and they do love to predict death!

I have been studying astrology/cosmobiology for more than 30 years and met some of the best in the field. I’ve done it manly for pure intellectual pleasure. If one feels inclined to go beyond “astrology 101” and the usual milky ways, there’s a lot in the subject to stimulate our neurons for several reincarnations!

Below is my own Graph of Ephemeris, from the year I was born till now. There are a lot of aspects (angular contacts) that one can use in astrology. Here, I’m using only a single one – the conjunction from a moving point to a natal (stationary) point in my natal chart. Even without introducing house references or additional aspects, that single contact (0 degrees) by Direct Arc can tell enough to a novice with a minimal understanding of the astro language. In fact, the analysis would be highly consistent (pointing in the right direction) for anyone using a textbook for Solar Arcs and midpoint pictures - see the links for great book references (not for novices) regarding Solar Arcs and Midpoints).

http://books.google.com/books?id=oPbxPBxKOnkC&lpg=PP1&dq=related%3AISBN156718...

http://books.google.com/books?id=0EGKj-BH65wC&lpg=PP1&dq=don%20mcbroom&pg=PP1...


The Graph




The horizontal lines belong to the natal planets and points while the crossing oblique lines are from the moving planets/points. The yellow dots show where they cross.

From the left to the right: The first yellow line signs a major event in 1973: That’s when my dad returned home, after spending all his adult life living and working abroad. The moving planets making the contact are Uranus conjunct the natal MC-Pluto-Node and Neptune crossing the Ascendant.

The second yellow line (1978) shows the Sun crossing natal Mercury. This is when I own the first price for a writing contest launched by a music magazine.

The third yellow line (1980) shows the Moon crossing Uranus and Jupiter-Saturn crossing the Sun. This signals my entrance at the University.

The 4th yellow line (1994) shows Mars crossing the Moon and the Moon crossing MC-Pluto-Node, plus Jupiter-Saturn conjunct Mercury. That’s a big event: I left my job, family and girlfriend and moved to the United States. I met this girlfriend in 1991 (see the isolated yellow dot for Mercury crossing Venus). Additionally, with Mars crossing the Moon, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. See also Jupiter-Saturn crossing Mercury - I worked there as a newspaper editor.

Finally, the fifth yellow line shows the Sun crossing Venus in 2008. Now, that’s a burning message of love – it signs when I met my woman!!!

Fascinating, eh?