OF CLOWNS & COPYCATS

As much as I love sharing astrological knowledge (and will continue to do so), there are things I will absolutely never reveal in-depth because of certain people who think it's okay to just blatantly steal other creators’ content and present it as their own. Not that I fancy myself nearly prominent enough to even have attracted the attention of such people, but who knows. This article is inspired by recent events in my immediate online circle. Actually, not so recent as there is one particular copycat involved that has been doing his nefarious thing for years. I have (thankfully) never had any run-ins with this individual, but would like to offer a personal anecdote that can be taken as an exemplary warning, because these lazy, unoriginal and ultimately painfully insecure people will always, always reveal themselves, eventually:

I'm a trained singer and certified voice teacher (for 15 years now) and I briefly had a housemate who is a singer/ voice teacher, too. This person unashamedly stole a series of exercises from me, and not just the exercises (for which I do not take credit per se, because I have not invented, but adapted and contextualized them). She used the EXACT SAME WORDS that I had used (which I do take credit for as this was my own method and formulated in my very own way, using references and concepts that I have come up with during my own practice and experience over the years). She used the identical, highly specific phrases I had used, word for word, without even bothering to paraphrase them, and posted a video on Instagram where she presented my methods as her own. However, she made a glaring mistake in one of the exercises that proves she never saw me demonstrate it, only heard me explain it as she was eavesdropping. If she had any actual knowledge of how this exercise was intended by me, she wouldn't have made that silly mistake that renders it ineffective. It made me laugh to see her try to copy me and fall flat on her face (and she doesn't even know it). Her video with a whopping 20 or so likes is out there, and so is her public display of incompetence.

Unfortunately, in the so-called occult or esoteric field, there are those who are able to amass huge numbers of followers, unlike my former housemate who is de facto a nobody in terms of social media clout, and whose awkward attempt at making herself look professional will never be seen by any noteworthy number of people. But there are those who have a vast, sometimes almost cult-like following while blatantly stealing from others, which is a terrible thing that I believe should be called out, not because of bruised egos or envy (envying people's follower numbers is inane because these numbers do not equal professional merit or happy, paying clients – as any professional will tell you), but because people put their hard work and passion into something over a long time only to have a pretender take credit for it. To say this is unethical is a huge understatement. It’s absolutely despicable.

Given a recent occurrence, I felt it necessary to shed light on a very, very annoying and potentially damaging reality that is faced by so many creators. Of course, this goes on every day in every field...don't even get me started on pretty much the entire music industry that does this on a gargantuan scale. Just one example that is far from rare: Young, budding artist pitches concept to record company, company declines signing them but gives concept to their signed artist whose career they want to push, leaving the unknown with no record contract, (in most cases) no financial means to sue the company and publicly prove they were robbed, and relegated to watching some inflated “star” reap the rewards for their creativity. Often, the company will also copy the unknown artists’ original musical style and slap it on one of their favored acts. This is just one of many, many reasons why I have turned my back on the music industry, which is beyond unfair and disgusting, but I shall not open this can of worms any further here.

My point with this article is to raise awareness and also to encourage people to listen to their gut, whether it's about a teacher, astrologer, or anyone offering a service (especially if they charge above-average fees for it, in which case you have to wonder what could possibly justify the hefty sum). If someone seems "off" for any reason at all, do not give them the time of day. If you were wrong, so be it, but it's far better to distance yourself from someone harmless than to fall into the trap of a predator. Which, by the way, happens to intelligent people all the time, so try not to beat yourself up about it if it happened to you. Anyone who claims to know something profound or have some special skill must deliver consistently, in a no-nonsense transparent and accountable manner and without self-aggrandizement. If it's all smoke and mirrors presented by a contrived online persona and shrouded in a bunch of convoluted words that bamboozle you to the point where you don’t know what is actually being said (and especially if such a person is incapable of giving straight answers to simple questions and then gaslights or guilt-trips you with phrases such as, “Oh you’re just not advanced enough to understand me yet, keep following/ paying me and my wisdom will eventually be revealed to you”), then you know what's up. But much like my somewhat amusingly clumsy ex-roommate, even the smartest, most sophisticated predator will eventually mess up and fall, no matter how cunning and devious (or outright sociopathic) they are. They all, and always, will fail and reap the karma they have brought on themselves.