19-08-2015

Stone Soup

At Wikipedia you can read a version of the folk story called Stone Soup:

"Some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all."

The story came to my mind, when I read a review about an astrology book, "Using Astrology to Create a Vocational Profile" by Faye Cossar. You can read the full review here.

Quote #1: "This book presents the approach to astrologically-informed career counselling that Faye has developed over more than ten years. It was influenced at the outset by her work alongside career counsellors, and she has subsequently developed it through her work with clients. The central thread of the book is the vocational profile (VP), also known as a personal career profile (PCP). The PCP is a document which an individual creates for themselves, with input from a counsellor or astrologer."

Quote #2: "The approach that Faye presents here has two specific advantages: it equips the astrologer to address career issues with a style that dovetails into contemporary expectations and practice (as she says, 'we need to market our services better' - p.25); and, it presents a way for the astrologer to work which involves the client doing a good share of the work, and which should therefore be vivifying and affirming for them."

Quote #3: "The last point is worth dwelling on. Faye repeatedly asserts that 'ASTROLOGERS DO TOO MUCH WORK FOR THEIR CLIENTS!' (p.10; cf p.25, p.27). In her approach, 'the client does all the writing, note-taking, research and anything else required' (p.10). Also, wherever possible, the client kicks things off by writing an autobiographical sketch which the astrologer can evaluate before the first session."

It is amazing that the story about Stone Soup, which dates back to medieval times, is still relevant in our modern times. Confidence tricks seem to always follow the same patterns, no matter how they may appear. But I am sure Faye Cossar's clients are satisfied, just like the villagers in the tale were happy with the soup.