Certification Overview

Ensuring astrological excellence worldwide

Ensuring astrological excellence worldwide ISAR is known worldwide for its certification program and exemplifies the highest standards in our profession. Since its inception in 2003 it has been continuously developed and upgraded into the premiere program it is today. Once completed you will have earned the CAP designation (Certified Astrological Professional) that you can proudly put next to your name. The four components are: Ethics Awareness Training & Exam, Consulting Skills, the Competency Exam and 500 hours of education in astrology from our Affiliated Schools (https://isarastrology.org/affiliated-schools). Students are also free to mix and match different Affiliated Schools and to earn 500 hours in their own way! That means that a student doesn’t have to necessarily finish a complete education offered by one school, but can choose instead to complete different smaller parts at multiple schools and in that way meet the criteria of at least 500 hours of astrological education.

Ethics

To be ethical is at the core of our human experience and is at the core of all the helping professions. Ethics and ethical practices are guiding principles in the field of astrology and within ISAR.

The Ethics Awareness workshop is the cornerstone of our certification program. This enlightening workshop is also valuable for anyone who aspires to practice, teach astrology, or be in a helping relationship profession. The first step to becoming a credible professional astrologer is to become aware of ethical issues confronting professional astrologers, such as “citing references and sources versus plagiarism,” “client confidentiality,” “social or sexual relationships with clients,” “discriminatory versus non-discrimination issues and attitudes with colleagues and clients,” and many others.

Consulting Skills

This experiential training teaches a repertoire of skills that makes working with astrology clients personal and more effective.

Due to the nature of the consulting relationship, we are placed in the position of giving information and insight regarding the client’s concerns. Listening can become a secondary activity when there is so much astrological information to convey. This training puts the client in the center of the consulting relationship, allowing the session to tune into the client’s thoughts and feelings. A client-centered approach and an information-centered approach are stylistically different modes that can coexist in an astrological consultation. Both are valid approaches and styles, and the goal of this training is to give you the techniques to recognize and alternate between the two.

Competency Exam

Those seeking to be a CAP (Certified Astrological Professional) must demonstrate competence in astrology by passing a rigorous exam.

It is an open-book test and you can use whatever texts or materials you think you will need, but it is timed. Questions are a combination of true/false, multiple choice, short-answer and in-depth essay. The exam covers many areas: history of astrology, an understanding of the various applications of astrology, basic astronomy as applied to astrology, symbolism, knowledge of chart calculations, forecasting skills including secondary progressions, return charts, transits, eclipses and lunations, synastry and relationships including chart comparison, family patterns, miscellaneous relationships and group dynamics.