Thank you, Thorn. That is what many people just don't get about astrology. They seem to think that the planetary positions *cause* behaviors, and excuse them. This isn't true. The planetary positions are indicators of conditions that seem to predispose the person to certain tendencies and behaviors, which the person must take responsibility for overcoming (if they are negative) or making best use of (if positive).
Exactly. planetary positions dont "cause" behaviors. I AM an astrologer, and I never say well the planets made me do it. What people forget, is that even with astrology, every thing is still subject to free will. Nothing is set in stone. Like I have said before, the more you know your chart, and work with it, the less it fits you. Okay, say Saturn is going through your 4th house of home in your natal chart, that can mean several different things. It could mean loss of your home. It could mean something could go wrong with your home. It could mean an older person (like a relative) moves into your home. It could even mean making a place your permanent home. For instance, you could wind up doing improvements on your home, because you are making it permanent. Saturn is a teacher of responsibility. You could use the energy positively, and make it a time to plant trees, pay off a home, or buy a home for instance, or use it negatively, and wind up moving around a lot for the next two and a half years. It is up to you. What level of responsibility are you ready for? When saturn went through my 4th house for instance, I temporarily moved back in to the home I grew up in, a family home, a saturn characteristic. It was temporary for while saturn was transiting that house. After that, I wound up moving out of it, and it was sold. A reflection of saturn's energies, to be sure. But not something you would think of happening when you saw saturn in the 4th house! I do use a chart as something of a divination method, I will admit. There are several things associated with each sign/house/planet and you have to be able to tell which things are being reflected in each particular scenario. Figuring out which things are showing up prominently is where the intuition comes in. The planets and signs indicate trends, and energies, how we use them is up to us.
What it boils down to is this. People who use astrology for an excuse for certain things, are like people who say "the devil made me do it". It is someone being juvenile, immature, and irresponsible. Either that or they truly have no real clue or concept what astrology is all about.
Having said that, I truthfully cannot say why it works or how it works. I also dont know how several other things work either, but I do know it DOES work, at least when I do it

Gina