Question: “Well, I guess the obvious first question should be: ‘What’s your sign?’”

Evelyn Roberts: (Laughs) “I’m an Aquarian Sun, I have an Aries moon, and Sagittarius rising. These are however only three of about fifteen points I personally use. I myself am predominantly air and fire elementally, but that is a gross simplification of a much more complex picture. Every birth chart mirrors, through it's endless layers, possibilities and dimensions, the human life it represents.”

Question: “What made you want to become an Astrologer?”

Evelyn Roberts: “Ever since the very first time that I heard anything about Astrology, when I was very young, I just felt this “recognition”. And Aquarius , you know, is ruled by Uranus, which is the sign of Astrology. So I had an immediate affinity with the 'language'....and my whole life I've been really interested in it. I was self-taught for years but as time went on, it got more intense; it started to develop a lot more depth and significance in my life. I actually started my own Astrology groups; I started to bring together people who were interested in Astrology; this was at the beginning of the 90’s. And then I ending up going to Montana and doing a 10-day course with Zip Dobyns and her daughter Maritha Pottenger. They’re highly renowned, wonderful American Astrologers. I spent 10 days studying with them and was in heaven. And it gradually evolved from there. I literally woke up one day and knew I had to make a powerful commitment to this path, and that’s when I left to study in England for 2 years.”

Question: “What made you decide to get formal schooling?”

Evelyn Roberts: “I felt that I couldn’t legitimately call myself an Astrologer until I had intensively and formally studied not only chart interpretation, but also the history, mathematics, and Astronomy. To me it would have been like calling myself a doctor without having studied any anatomy. I felt the need for an apprenticeship. Astrology is such an ancient tradition, I feel that we are part of a lineage, and I have deep respect and awe for the men who birthed it out of primitive times, without the aid of any technology whatsoever. There are, of course, practising Astrologers who know barely any Astronomy, and nothing of the history, and their Astrology is just fine. This was a personal desire and decision on my part... based, I might add, a lot on my own Astrology. I have Saturn in the 10th house, which can indicate a strong need to be traditionally trained and qualified in one's chosen field ”

Question:“It seems there are a lot of ‘self-taught’ Astrologers out there.”

Evelyn Roberts: “I would say, probably the majority of Astrologers in this country are self-taught; there are countless books, and a lot of information out there to be gleaned. Now that computers are so popular, you can take on-line courses, and before that there were correspondence courses. The schools in the past were mainly in Europe, but that’s changing - Kepler College, in Seattle, has a program that’s in it’s third year, where you can actually work towards a Masters or a Bachelor’s degree in Astrology. This is the first time, ever, that you’ve been able to get a formalized degree from a recognized, accredited college. So, it’s changing.... it’s really changing.... and definitely for the better in really exciting ways.”

Question: “Do most Astrologers use computers?”

Evelyn Roberts: “Almost everybody does now. I know of a couple of people who are still doing charts by hand, and I learned to do charts by hand as well, but even if you’re really mathematically inclined and fast, it takes at least a couple of hours to do one chart. So if what you’re doing is working with a whole series of charts, it can take an excruciatingly long time, whereas it takes literally a second to bring up a chart on a computer.“

Question: “How does Astrology relate to religion?”

Evelyn Roberts: “Well, historically all the popes, and much of royalty, consulted with Astrologers, and the three wise men were Astrologers. This is even acknowledged in the New English Bible. They were Babylonian Astrologers who were aware of a particular alignment.... Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Pisces, representative of a profoundly significant new cycle. As history tells it, they followed those 'stars' to a particular location... and we all know the rest of the story! My feeling is that their knowing was far more finely honed than ours (another reason why I feel there is endless wisdom in the old teachings, and that through our technological arrogance we are in danger of missing a lot of the subtleties and deeper meanings). Pisces is the sign of the fish, and a well-known symbol for Christ, bearing it's roots in this significant pairing of planets around the time of his birth. So in the past, there was no separation at all between religion and Astrology, and this relates to the other world religions also. It was in the "Age of Enlightenment" when man became more intellectually focused that he started to question and then ultimately deny these correlations, because they could not be 'scientifically' proven. Many of the Astrologers I work with, especially those in England, are Christians. There aren't any discordances or conflicts in the basic philosophies whatsoever."

Question: “What about the fundamentalist Christians who feel that Astrology is sinful?”

Evelyn Roberts: “Well, fundamentalism is a whole other subject. Astrology is really about knowing yourself and being fully accountable, and it’s about acceptance and tolerance. And if someone’s particular religious leanings don’t support those philosophies, they will reject it. The church accepted Astrology until Galileo (the 17th century Astronomer) proved that the earth revolves around the sun. This went against everything the church believed and taught - until then it was assumed that everything revolved around us - around the earth. When it was scientifically proven that this was not in fact the case, the church turned it’s back on Astronomy and Astrology and not only discounted Galileo’s findings, but brought him before the Inquistition and forced him to retract them...and he had to do it... or risk his very life. In the 1600’s, the English Astrologer William Lilley (who wrote the book; 'Christian Astrology’) accurately predicted the Great Fire of London. However, when the fire actually happened, he was arrested because the authorities thought he must have started it. Sometimes you just can’t win... especially when ignorance, and suspicion based on fear are in the drivers seat.

At essence, I believe Astrology recognizes the little piece of God that each one of us contains, a concept that demands the ultimate in personal responsibility and accountability....a very threatening thought for those who base their whole belief system on the fact that there is someone else out there calling all the shots. It also leaves no room whatsoever for self-righteousness."