Some years ago I consulted with a well known astrologer and he advised me to give away very little and I listened carefully. The idea was you offer a small bit or a tease while withholding anything significant so that you had something to sell. His approach is logical enough, it is sensible but I never could apply it most likely due Jupiter in my chart. More recently the Mechanic who does the technical stuff on this blog sent me a video he liked about internet marketing.
The guy on the video had the opposite approach. He suggested you not only give away as much as possible, you should specifically identify the most valuable thing you have and give that away. He said this grow your business and I fall more in line with his ideas. The reason is because not only is astrology an art, it is very deep.
On the art side, it was John Mayer who got my attention when her first broke on the scene. He was a teenager and he said there was a time he thought he would run out of songs to write, like coming to the end of a tube of toothpaste, it just runs out. He’d learned it does not work that way and I agree. The music (or in my case the astrology) comes through you and because of this it is endless. (Neptune)
On the depth side, it’s like digging a well. You can’t get deeper until you clear out what is on top and there is always, always more layers to clear. The keyword for Pluto is unfathomable and ain’t the truth.
Uranus also factors here. You never know when you’re going to get a “Eureka!”. Astrological insights strike like lightning but you are far more likely to have them occur if you live in a storm.
The storm in my case is created by writing this blog, editing and managing the Astro Dispatch and of course, working with clients. I live in an astrology storm, we’re open all night.
So this is the business model that works for me - Alice’s Restaurant
15 Responses to “More On The Business Of Astrology”
I was just singing “Alice’s Restaurant” at Thanksgiving dinner! Thanks for the nostalgic trip, Elsa.
An old friend of mine bakes dozens of cookies whenever he is going to be involved with some kind of business transaction. It doesn’t matter if he is the buyer or seller, he gives away cookies to anyone in the vicinity at the time. It always works to his benefit.
I met Jay when he created a 12 foot diameter teepee, which was ordered by my sweetie for my 40th birthday gift. Yesterday, I passed it on to new friends, Escher and Stella (ages 2 and 4). Jay still makes tents, lodges and teepees and practices the “Giveaway” tradition:
http://www.sicc.sk.ca/saskindian/a75aug1514.htm
“Indian people do not judge each other by how much money they make or by the amount of things they own, but rather by how much a person gives away. Kindness, thoughtfulness, and sincerity by a person towards his fellow man is shown when prized possessions are given away freely. Unlike the potlatch, receivers of gifts are not expected to give something of greater value in return.”
So there you have it. Elsa is the “Giveaway” queen! (not that she gives “a hoot” 
She simply follows her natural instincts and shows us how this is done.
That’s one thing I never understood about all the restaurants I’ve worked at. Management and owners seem to think the extra five croutons or the comped drink here or there are going to run them out of business. There is validity to that approach but I never understood it as a server and bartender.
An example of this would be one table I had. It was a very, very, very old man with an oxygen tank and his daughter. I think it was his 90th birthday. The guy ordered a salad which came with one roll. When I went to check on them later, the guy asked for an extra roll or two. Thinking it would be no problem to just give this guy some more rolls, I went back to the kitchen and asked for them. The executive chef ended up making me charge the guy 3 extra dollars for 3 extra rolls. To say I was mad would be an understatement. I ended up having to punch in the order so it would ring through to the kitchen then have a manager strike the charges. I probably shouldn’t have done that but the guy was 90! He just wanted a roll! I always operated under the assumption that the more you gave away, the more you got back in the long run.
Anyway, I have Jupiter conjunct Sun in the 6th house which probably explains that.
Yea, Elsa….
this idea is one I too have struggled with. I agree that to give a great deal away is empowering and ultimatley the thing that we, as astrologers, are to do! Keep up the good work.
I have a Jupiter ruled chart and could sum up my life philosophy as “There’s more of that where that came from”
I like your business model, Elsa. Thanks for sharing it with us. And thanks for sharing your knowledge too. You’re a very generous person.
“Give and you shall receive”. And definitely not ‘in order to’ receive — doesn’t work that way. Jupiter in the 6th, trine MC.
I definitely believe that giving freely of your skills and expertise is an important part of running the kind of business I want to have.
I also know that the people I’ve helped oftentimes do end up supporting what I do one way or another. But even when they don’t, I know I’ve used my skills to help others the best I can, and that’s how I want to live.
You have to do both - public service and work for pay. But when you use energy to support and uplift others, often they want to reciprocate and support your work, too.
An artist whose work is to give away money: http://moneyactions.org/
I think of my own semi-professional transactions partly in terms of wampum, which is difficult to define within our cultural context, but is generally a shell-beaded belt which serves/served as symbol for an agreement to be carried out, such as a marriage or a political treaty. I would consider things like the sharing of a meal or the shaking of hands as being more like wampum than the exchange of money.
Jupiter is big on my chart as well.
I have a tendency to go “big picture” with philosophical concepts too fast and they just go over people’s heads, even if worded succinctly.
I do not agree with hoarding either but measuring doses is a valuable skill i need to learn.
Alice’s Restaurant is the only 20th century pop/folk song that mentions Thanksgiving.
song writers note there is an opening for a Thanksgiving song for the 21st Century.
Jupiter …… El Gordo …. is combust with my Sun and Antares. There is so much to give. Does a tree decide who picks the fruit? On the other hand why waste precious time? There has to be some value in your work for someone, and I used to tell the customers to pay me only if they were satisfied. By that standard, our initial interview to see if I could help them set the customer’s objective expectations and questions to be answered. Also, I let them leave with something in their hand.
,Daniel
I like this concept (and I LOVE John Mayer!)
We will never run out and I think I might just take on board this Jupiter idea - given the Piscec ASC and Sag MC in my chart. K xx
Kind of strange…my mother wanted to call me Alice but my father…Monica. I let u guess the end of the story.
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Very cool perspective Elsa.
I completely agree we have an endless flow if we don’t stop-it-up by thinking it is limited and allow ourselves to feel we need to ‘hoard’ what we get, out of a fear of ’starvation’, in some form.
I just finally got by this one recently..got it right for me I think.
It was really nice to see you post this today. Thanks!!