I’ve never really had a personal blog before – one in which I’m not opining about astrology – and I’ve been wondering how transparent I want to be.
It is a given that anything one publishes on the internet is nowadays more-or-less permanent. Therefore, one must think about one’s reputation. The thing is, whom do I want to feel positive regard towards me?
Of course, I want to be liked by everyone. But in reality, I need to care about two things: future employers, and future girlfriends. Right now, I’m married and am a struggling self-employed person – in which case, I don’t have to worry about a prospective boss or date googling me. However, anything can change at any time. I could divorce, or my blog could fail and I’d need to find a job, if only to pay my basic expenses.
Transiting Uranus is making its final conjunction to my natal Venus on February 9 of this year. My Venus is in my 7th house of partnership and rules my 10th house of career. So, basically just about anything could happen in my career and/or love life this winter.
But does a writer hold himself back out of fear of some future state of affairs?
Jeffrey Kishner is publisher and editor of Sasstrology.com and TechCoquette.com. At different times of his life, he has been a psychotherapist, an astrologer, and a WordPress enthusiast.
Sometimes I wish I had held back, in case I ever have to go crawling for a job again (please, God, no). If I were not self-employed when I started my website I would almost certainly have used a pseudonym for my writing. On the other hand, while I write a lot about personal stuff, there’s not much I’d be embarrassed for a potential employer to read. Though they’d find out soon enough that I’m kind of cranky and most decidedly *not* a “team player” – so it would take a very particular kind of employer to look past that.
But really, the problem is not anything I’ve written per se, but the huge prejudice against astrology itself. My involvement in it would instantly disqualify me in the minds of a great many employers. But that ship has sailed, and there is nothing I can do about it now. The only option would have been to not pursue this career, and at the time it’s what I very much wanted to do. So even if I turned my back on professional astrology tomorrow, I’m stuck with it as part of my Permanent Record.
I will never date again, so that’s not a problem. The only way I’m going to end up single is if my husband leaves first (one way or another), and if that happens, no way in hell am I starting out from scratch with another one.
Good luck with your transit, Jeff.
Such a good question. I write about personal stuff a lot too, but like April, I don’t think I’ve written anything I’d be wary about a future employer reading. As far as astrology goes, I feel fortunate to live in an area that is open-minded about all things spiritual/New Agey. It would be impossible for me to separate the spiritual dimension from my personality so if I moved I’d still be the same person and that aspect of me is what it is. Besides, I find that most people are either curious or indifferent; very few hold it against me.