Spiritual Thinkers: Susan Miller

A gifted astrologer

Internationally acclaimed astrologer, Susan Miller, believes that challenging planetary influences build character. "If times were always easy," the Astrology Zone® creator says, "we would never get to flex our moral muscles and we wouldn't be able to learn about ourselves and what is truly important to us."

The New York native certainly discovered that fact early on when a personal crisis changed everything. Just before she turned 14, Susan Miller, who would become a renowned astrologer as an esteemed columnist for New York Daily News, was hospitalized with internal bleeding in her leg. Since birth, she had suffered from an intermittent, debilitating leg disorder that baffled her doctors. No one knew what was wrong with her. She disclosed these details of her young life in an interview with bookstore Barnes & Noble in 2004.

A fateful time
One doctor had suggested the problem was all in her head. This time, however, the attack was much worse. Finally, a diagnosis: Severe malformations in her left leg had caused the hemorrhage. Surgery was needed. A series of surgeries, as it turned out. Miller was hospitalized for nearly a year, an eternity for a teenager.

Amazingly enough, her mother had predicted this dramatic turn of events. She was a "closet" astrologer. Frustrated over her daughter's painful illness, she had analyzed Miller's chart before the last attack and concluded that the problem would be resolved during her 14th year. She was right.

Meanwhile, with time on her hands recuperating, Miller was terrified about her fate. She wrote to Dell's Horoscope magazine to find out if she would ever walk again. To her delight, the magazine printed and answered her query, saying that she would fully recover. By then, Miller says, she was "bitten with the astrology bug." At 15, she became her mother's apprentice and would go on to write monthly features for publications like InStyle, CosmorGirl, Vogue (Japan), Eve (UK) and W (Korea).

Apprentice astrologer
Miller had been intrigued but skeptical about astrology as a child. She would watch her mother analyze the charts of her friends and family members. However, her mother held back from satisfying her curiosity, saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. She didn't want her daughter to take astrology lightly. She said she would need at least 12 years of study and research before even attempting to read the chart of someone she knew.

This philosophy enabled Miller to hone her analytical skills and develop a balanced perspective about astrology. Her mother taught her that "we ultimately determine the course of our lives," says Miller.

But the road to becoming a professional astrologer wasn't a straight line. While continuing physical therapy, she enrolled at New York University and earned a B.S. degree in business. She went on to work for several magazines and later became an agent for photographers. In the meantime, with her mother's blessing, she began to read the charts of people she knew.

Fame and good fortune
Another turning point came in 1995. With the encouragement of a friend who was impressed by her astrological skill, Miller wrote her first book, The Astrology Book of Days: An Illustrated Perpetual Calendar, published by Warner Books. Later that year she launched her website, Astrology Zone®, which features her immensely popular monthly forecasts (by sign). It was a feat of technological savvy at the time. Since then she has written numerous astrology books, magazine articles and syndicated columns.

In a strange twist of fate, Miller has become famous for what her mother had studied in secret, afraid of what the world would think of her interest in astrology. Like her mother, Miller believes that the best use of astrology is "to shape a happier, more productive life," she says, so we can explore life's possibilities.

Please note: Susan Miller is not affiliated with California Psychics.