Introduction

The twenty- first century is the Age of Energy. Yet as the nations of the world race to develop the best sources of renewable energy for vehicles, homes, and industry, most of their people grow ever more weary. Technological achievements will be useless unless we also develop our ability to renew the energy in our own bodies, minds, and spirits as we confront this time of constant stimulation, information overload, and too much to do with far too little time in which to do it.

We have entered not only a new age but also what we call the “Now Age,” a time when everything seems like it has to be done now!

As spiritual counselors with decades of experience using the psychological language that is astrology in our advising people from all walks of life, we can tell you that lately almost everyone seems to be suffering their own version of burnout. Far too many people are exhausted yet unable to sleep and too disheartened at perceived “failures” to do what must be done to achieve reasonable goals.

After decades devoted to pursuing the most effective techniques for living a life of quality, health, and meaning—and along the way developing many of our own techniques—we’ve written Astrology for Wellness to share what works for us, as well as simple yet effective techniques for developing and increasing an inner power supply. Our program has helped our clients to reclaim their personal power, heal, and rejuvenate.

We are not doctors, of course, and this book is not intended to be a substitute for the care and advice of any licensed practitioner you have researched and found to be someone whose advice you respect. We are, however, two people whose lives work well for ourselves, who are reasonably healthy and attractive for our ages, and whose dedication, life decisions, and energy levels have enabled us to produce a prodigious, sustained creative output over our more than forty happily married years together—output that could easily seem to be beyond what two people could produce in several lifetimes. It’s a living. And an important part of our way of living is sharing our secrets for doing so with you.

We have crafted what we call “personality profiles” that can help you understand your unique traits so that you can incorporate our suggestions to create your own successful wellness habits.

The information in Astrology for Wellness is arranged so that it will first help you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Once you determine the vulnerable areas of your body, mind, and spirit, you can take measures to protect, nurture, and build them up.

We offer you tools, guidance, and energy exercises to create awareness, jump- start needed changes, and outline healing modalities, cell salt recommendations, aromatherapy, and lifestyle guidance that meet the personal needs of each Sun Sign.

Once again, we are not doctors, and you should not do anything or put anything into or even on your body before first asking your licensed physician about it. We are each unique beings and that uniqueness extends to what we are strengthened by, weakened by, and possibly allergic to, especially if we are already taking prescribed medications or even food supplements.

The useful practices in this book have helped us to lead a life of quality and meaning, and we are sharing them in the hope that they can help you, too, stay mindful and enjoy the journey on your own unique path. While wellness used to be confined to supplements, food, and fitness, these days the movement has expanded to embrace a more holistic vision of well-being that includes our emotional and spiritual health, not just our physical states.

As astrologers since the mid 1970s and authors of several internationally best- selling and influential metaphysical titles, we are delighted that the worldwide movement seeking optimum well- being now includes astrology. Astrology for Wellness contains simple, enjoyable—and what our many clients and we consider to be perceptive—tips that enable the reader to make small changes to their regimen and in their stream of both common and cosmic consciousness.

Our goal is that your mind, body, and spirit will feel renewed, preparing you to face the rest of your day without the extra burdens and worries that would otherwise deplete your vital energies. We believe that our spiritual energy is our core source of mental strength, and that tapping into that energy is the key to living a joyous, mindful, loving, and successful life. We have done it, and we know beyond doubt that you can do it!

We’ve packed these chapters with simple teachings that can produce powerful, life- changing results. We have learned many of these lessons from our years of astrological observations, personal readings, and psychic studies. Astrology for Wellness is our attempt to pass along information that has proven useful to us on the most practical level possible—teachings that have helped us to deal with life’s inevitable problems, to enjoy life more, and to find health, love, and prosperity.

The practices in this book are like the pearl in the oyster, created and discovered as a reaction to the irritants we experienced. I, Monte, practiced astrology professionally when I gave up the musician’s style of living after it threatened my health and marriage in 1981. This, the most difficult period in my life, put my metaphysical belief system to the strongest of tests. But I know now that these painful times, as well as the teenage years I spent poor and homeless, were also some of the most valuable experiences of my life. It was through facing and dealing with the many problems of these times that I saw daily proof of how astrological and metaphysical theories put into practice could actually have very positive, practical, physical results—even repairing what many might have thought irreparable. Astrology for Wellness is based on what we’ve lived through, studied, and practice.

One of the many fortunate results of my metaphysical investigations and practices was my being asked to take a job as a production assistant for a public television production in 1983. One job led to another, and soon I was a location scout and, on occasion, in charge of security and even a bodyguard working on feature films, TV shows, and commercials. My years in this fascinating business were made even more interesting by my advanced astrological knowledge. I was able to have astrologically oriented conversations filled with insights into the many interesting people, both famous and not so famous, with whom I worked closely. As I’ve often told my young clients, if you want to really have fun at parties and do well socially, don’t learn the guitar like I did when I was your age, learn astrology and how to read tarot cards!

In between my movie jobs I devised a simple yet effective tool for using the wisdom of astrology for guidance. I am the author and inventor of Karma Cards, a unique astrology book/astrology flash- card package—a combination of astrology and tarot cards—that has helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world get in touch with the guidance available to them from their Higher Self at the same time as they are having fun. It has been in print continuously for thirty years and has been published in eighteen languages. I have received hundreds of emails from around the world thanking me for inventing a tool that helps people to help themselves by developing their own inner guidance system in such a pleasurable and interesting way. Many have shared their personal problems with me and asked for my advice. Astrology for Wellness is the “recipe” book I wished I could offer to each and every one of them as my answer. It’s my way of sharing the good fortune I have enjoyed.

Devising systems for sharing the wisdom and knowledge that helps me succeed in life is also a way of reminding myself of what I too need to remember; because not only is my life as full of problems to be solved as anyone else’s life, but also like everybody, sometimes I forget what I know truly works for me. That’s why I have always believed, and will repeat many more times in this book, that just as our bodies need consistent, daily exercise to maintain themselves, we all need to exercise our belief systems, what we affirm to be true both with and without question, every day.

But examining, realizing, and experiencing what we believe to be true, though vitally important, is still basically a maintenance- level exercise program. To grow we must experiment. By investigating new ideas that appeal to us or those ideas that have helped others whom we trust and respect, we can discover whether these different ways of believing (be living!) can help us to be healthier, happier, and more successful—even in these most challenging times. Reading and taking to heart the teachings of some of the great sages, philosophers, and teachers of the past and present have helped Amy and me. When something sounded good to us, we tried it out. We knew when something worked because our lives felt better and we felt better about our lives.

Once you decide that there are things about your life that you desire to change, you have to be honest with yourself about fully examining what they are and the reasons you have allowed things to go on as they have. As the philosopher Gurdjieff said, “To get well we must first know we are sick.” You can usually spot areas of your life that need changing because they are sources of pain, suffering, and sometimes, a good deal of boredom for you or for those who are close to you and who care about you. Things related to these areas don’t seem to work well for you, no matter how hard you try. You may even be literally “sick and tired” from “beating your head against the wall.” Words you say to yourself are powerful and have influence over your life.

Our pain can also be a spotlight shining on the areas of our life where our attention and our work are needed. And just like that spotlight, we are going to concentrate our light—the light of our awareness—on those painful areas because that is the kind of light that can heal them.

As you honestly confront those areas of your life that need work, it is very important that you take some of the responsibility for what has happened to you in the past. Taking responsibility for your life is an admission that you had the power to get where you are and, therefore, have power over what happens to you now and in the future.

For example, if your marriage has not gone well you cannot put all the responsibility for the situation on your spouse—even if it appears to be entirely your spouse’s fault! My father was a New York City police sergeant and really saw it all. He warned me that many people told him that they had married their spouse expecting to be able to change them. These people married alcoholics, junkies, criminals, and other kinds of sick, often violent people. But as my father said, we can’t change anybody else. It’s hard enough to change ourselves—the only person we actually can change. Besides, putting all the blame on another person puts the situation totally in that person’s control.

Similarly, if you have been unable to find a partner, you cannot blame your situation on the lack of “good,” available members of the sexual orientation you desire to meet. Your actions and even your inactions, based on what you believe to be true about you and others, have resulted in your present situation and only you can fine- tune your beliefs until they produce the reality you desire to experience. I’ve seen miracles happen and the right partner appear as if from nowhere—but only when my clients were ready for that miracle to happen.

Today, usually under the banner of the much maligned and widely misunderstood New Age, there are many people who think that we each are totally responsible for the creation of every aspect of our own personal reality. I find this theory intriguing and worthy of further study, but I think an idea like that can be very confusing and even hurtful if taken literally at this stage of our development, especially regarding our being born into or otherwise experiencing circumstances that no reasonable person would ever have wanted to create.

The common denominator of all human- caused suffering is poor decision- making. That is how we truly create our reality and our future too. Taking an honest look at yourself through the 5,000- year old lens of astrology can help you make better decisions. Astrology helped us to realize the things that we had brought upon ourselves as a result of our decisions and our beliefs and, equally important, how to work on them, using our strengths to compensate for our weaknesses, rather than worry about our having created situations that appeared to be well beyond the power of individual humans to create or even significantly influence.

And so we must look within and take notice of our inner dialogue, our astrological influences, and our reactions to and inactions regarding any and all situations. Where are we? What is the problem? What must be done to correct it? We must focus on the present moment because the present is the only place where our power is concentrated. The past is beyond our control and the future is . . . well, in the future. But we can affect the future by living and acting in the present moment. By feeling our power to control ourselves in the present moment we can extend that power to affect all areas of our experience. When our spiritual life force is strengthened, we feel more vibrant and can actually achieve a specifically desired shift or life change to our experience of wellness. It is our most sincere hope that sharing what works for us will help you identify and put into practice what works for you. We wish you love, light, and laughter—always and in all ways.