Frequent Questions
What you need to know before your session…
How accurate are the readings?
We call the planets currently orbiting the Sun transiting planets. When a transiting planet arrives at the position of where a planet was when you were born, the planet in your chart gets activated by that planet.
We call geometric angles between planets aspects. Activation can also occur when a transiting planet makes an aspect to a planet in your chart. Important aspects that we look at are 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 degree angles. The impact is greater when those same two aspecting planets, the transiting planet and the one in your chart, are aspecting each other in your birth chart.
For instance, let’s say you were born on the first day of the sign of Gemini. The date a sign begins varies a little from year to year, but is usually around the 21st through the 23rd. If you were born at the beginning of a sign, the Sun was at zero degrees. In this instance, zero degrees Gemini. Also, on that day, the planet Saturn was at zero degree Gemini.
I will call the Sun a planet even though it is a luminary. So these two planets, the Sun and Saturn, were both at the same degree of the zodiac. When two planets are together at the same degree, we say they are conjoined. This is what was happening on the day you were born.
Now, let’s imagine that the planet Saturn as it is transiting (orbiting) the Sun, reaches zero degrees Aquarius. That transiting planet, Saturn, is making a 120 degree aspect (angle) in relationship to where the Sun was when you were born.
Because the Sun and Saturn were next to each other on the zodiac wheel, both being at the beginning of the sign of Gemini, this will be a very pivotal time as transiting Saturn will strongly activate the Sun and all the arenas it rules in your chart along with activating the planet Saturn in your birth chart, and all the areas Saturn rules in your chart.
In the process of interpreting the transits, a particular number of degrees are allowed before the planet comes into an exact alignment or a precise angle with a planet in your chart. The number of degrees between the two planets is called the orb.
Most astrologers use varying degrees for different planets and different aspects, such as eight degrees for a conjunction (when the two planets share the same degree or are close in degree). That means the astrologer starts predicting possibilities as to what can occur as soon as the transiting planet gets within 8 degrees of the planet it is aspecting in your chart.
The fewer the degrees taken into consideration, the tighter the orb, which means the fewer things there will be to talk about during a session, but what does get talked about is going to be a lot more accurate in timing.
Our interpretation policy is a 1 degree to a 1.5 degree orb. The orb is the distance to either side of a planet. That distance defines the window from the beginning of probability to the end of probability. This means that we are focusing on windows of time that are much more likely to happen, but the actual experience may happen sooner or later than the precise window of time we gave you.
Why was my friend's reading so amazingly accurate in every detail, but mine was not?
This topic comes up a lot at astrological conventions.
Over the years we have found that the few clients who felt that there was very little relevance or accuracy in the predictions usually come back to us at a later date wondering why the predictions took so much longer to manifest.
Did the stuff happen as predicted? Yes. Did it happen according to the time frame predicted? Yes and no.
In retrospect, those clients can see how things were in the process, but too subtle to detect.
In looking at their charts for explanations, it appears that some progress was realized at the time things should have culminated, but the actual manifestation didn’t happen until later when Saturn (the planet of manifestation) made an aspect to those same planets.
If this consistently happened, we would just typically take time in the session to look up when Saturn hits. If you have experienced this delayed phenomenon in readings with other astrologers, tell us so that we can factor this in.
Your reading is rooted in your birth chart, which depicts the life you planned for yourself so that you could experience all of your soul’s desires and choices. This life plan was made prior to your physical incarnation.
Humans are delightfully creative and often exercise free will by choosing a different course than the one they chose prior to birth. The astrological chart reflects what is possible according to your original chart. If you like what you birth chart holds, then your reading will help you come back into alignment. If you do not want the positive manifestation described by your birth chart, then another form of spiritual direction is a better choice for you.
Why do I need my birth time to book an appointment?
Your astrological reading appointment is not truly confirmed until we have your date of birth, time of birth (from your birth certificate), and place of birth. If you have to guess at your birth time, we can still book the reading with the disclaimer that the astrologer’s predictions may be seriously off if your birth time is incorrect.
The chart changes at least every four minutes, so an accurate birth time is crucial.
Our policy is to refer you to a different astrologer for the new reading, i.e., if Stephanie did your initial reading with the wrong time, your subsequent reading would need to be done by Diane.
Do you have a cancellation list?
Sheri maintains a cancellation list. Established clients have priority over new clients. It seems to go in spells, i.e., no cancellations for a month and then suddenly a bunch of cancellations. We just figure it’s a result of some planetary transit.
How is the fee calculated if my reading runs over or under an hour?
Please make a note to yourself that you will need to track the length of your reading if you are looking to keep the reading within a particular timeframe.
You can always just ask your astrologer how much time has lapsed and she can check for you. If you are not concerned with how long your reading runs, then your astrologer will tell you when she has covered everything pertinent so that you can ask questions for any remaining time.
Fees are calculated according to the number of minutes lapsed for your reading. The rate for Stephanie is $420 per sixty minutes, which is $7 per minute. When your reading is under an hour or over an hour, the final fee is calculated according to the actual number of minutes.
The rate for Diane is $240 per sixty minutes for psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, archetypal therapy, astrology and tarot, which is $4 per minute.
If you are paying for your reading with a credit card, the charge will appear on your statement as HSC, which is a d/b/a of Higher Self Communications, Inc. Sometimes it appears as Higher Self Comm.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards. You can also pay with Venmo. The handle for Venmo is @Stephanie-Jourdan.
Is the reading recorded?
Your reading will be recorded for you, but the outcome is NOT guaranteed.
Readings are recorded by a digital voice recorder.
At the end of your reading, your recording is downloaded into the astrologer’s computer and then uploaded to an app called HighTail.com.
HighTail is an app that can transmit large audio files. It is a secure site. You will receive an email from HighTail alerting you to the availability of your recording. It arrives as a notice from Sheri that your recording is available to download.
You can then download your reading into your computer, phone or device and listen to it through your computer or burn it onto a CD.
Your recording is typically stored on the HighTail site for five years.
Can I just record the reading myself?
What is your cancellation policy?
There is no charge for canceled readings provided Diane is alerted at least thirty minutes before the reading. For literal last-minute cancellations or no-shows, you will be charged for 30 minutes. If you must cancel last minute for an emergency, you will not be charged.
There is no charge for a canceled reading with Stephanie if you let us know any time before the session … a minute before is fine.
What if I have more questions immediately after my reading?
New information typically generates more questions.
Your natal chart (birth chart) is saved on your astrologer’s computer, but the progressed charts and transits that showed what was unfolding and activating in your life were not saved. This means that follow-up questions require new charts to be run and analyzed.
Follow-up questions are answered by proxy via Sheri. Send her the question or questions by email. She will respond that she has received your message and may need to clarify details. Most questions are more easily answered if there is a date, time and place to observe the planetary activities. Let’s say you want to know whether to buy a particular house. Give Sheri the date, time and place when you first saw the house in person.
If you prefer that your questions be answered by Diane or Stephanie live by telephone, you need to call Sheri to schedule a new appointment. Proxy questions are usually answered within a week or two weeks.
Some clients prefer to book another reading a week after their initial reading to handle follow-up questions. If you do choose to book two readings at a time, know that you can always cancel your second reading the day before or even the same day prior to your appointment time.
Time is clocked for follow-up questions. The astrologer logs in the start time when Sheri begins reading your questions. Then the astrologer runs your charts and dictates the answers to Sheri. She then logs in the stop time. The fee is requested via Venmo or invoice through Paypal or charged to your credit card. If your payment method is not on file with us, your questions will wait until Sheri contacts you for payment info.
What if I have an emergency question?
If you need an answer to a question within 48 hours, we will do our best to get you that information, but the fee may be doubled, i.e., $70 for every five minutes of work. Emergency questions are handled by email or phone at our preference.
What about gift certificates?
Thank you for choosing one of our readings as a gift. Sheri will send you a PDF of the gift certificate for you to print out to give to your recipient or to attach to an email to send to your recipient.
If you prefer, we can send the gift certificate directly to the recipient.
You will be charged for your recipient’s reading at the time you place the order.