Local Astrologer Can Finally Foretell a Business Plan

I looked at the chart, full of figures and numbers and symbols, and knew that to someone it made perfect sense. In this swirl of information was supposed to be the story of my life.

Enter Ariel Harper Nave, an astrologer who lives in Westminster, and the woman who created and would translate my astrological chart. Nave is not allowed to sell her astrology services in Carroll County. It is against the law. But that all changes Oct. 1.

In April, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed legislation that repeals Carroll County's ban on fortune tellers.

The law repeals Article 7, which states: "In Carroll County a person may not demand or accept payment or a gratuity to forecast or foretell, or pretend to forecast or foretell, the future of another person by:

1. Reading a card;

2. Reading the palm of a hand; or

3. Any other scheme, practice, or device."

Anyone who violates the law is subject to imprisonment in the Carroll County Detention Center not to exceed six months or a fine not to exceed $100 or both.

Harper Nave said she has been interested in astrology since she was 12, and her education has been a process of "sifting." She said she has read everything about astrology she could get her hands on.

Harper Nave grew up in Carroll County and went to college in Canada, where she lived for 25 years. In addition to other jobs, Nave said she started a successful astrology business in Canada. She moved back to Carroll County in 2007 to care for her dying mother and ended up reconnecting with an old boyfriend. Although she now has a life here, she travels to Nova Scotia for part of the year so she can practice astrology.

"Astrology is an amazing tool for trying to get clear on where one stands," Harper Nave said. "It allows you to see where you've come from and where you are at this moment. Astrology is a way of charting what you're doing, based on what is happening in the sky." 

According to the World English Dictionary, astrology is the study of the motions and relative positions of the planets, sun and moon, interpreted in terms of human characteristics and activities. 

Harper Nave said she does not consider herself to be a psychic. 

"If you want a psychic, go see a psychic. I counsel to the best of my ability, but not with the idea that I'm always right. I'm reading a chart, a map," Harper Nave said. 

When I sat down with Harper Nave, she presented to me a chart that was created using my birthdate, birth time and birthplace. Based on that information, she mapped where different planets and stars were at the time of my birth. Those heavenly bodies, in relation to each other and earth, tell a sort of story, which was translated by Harper Nave.

The story Harper Nave told touched on my personality traits (I like to move quickly, but consciously force myself to slow down), periods of ups and downs in my life (I am a graceful loser, which allows me to enjoy the process rather than the rewards) and relationships (I was very close with my mother). My reading took more than an hour.

But it's not a "one-shot deal," Harper Nave said. Your birth chart represents where you were. There are different types of charts. For example, there are "progressions," which essentially means charting where you've been since birth. And then, by mapping what the skies will look like in the future, an astrologer may chart what is to come. 

"It's a little bit like a kaleidoscope," Harper Nave said. "It's the same elements but in different relations to each other all the time. It's complicated, but so are human beings. We're changing all the time."

Harper Nave intends to move slowly in starting her astrology business in Carroll County. She said there is an important educational component that must be taken care of before she can set up shop or move forward with business.

"I don't want to hurt or offend," Harper Nave said. "There are people to whom astrology is a very real threat because they don't know much about it. In Nova Scotia I'm known. I have to build my reputation here. Carroll County has its way of doing things and I have no intention of upsetting that."