Every week, my inbox receives a fresh batch of messages.
“Sir, just one small question.”
“It will take only two minutes.”
“I cannot afford your consultation.”
“Please help. God will bless you.”
Some of them even add emotional seasoning. Sick parents. Lost jobs. Broken relationships. Court cases. Visa problems. Missing cats. Neighbours possessed by evil eyes. The list is endless.
Apparently, I am expected to solve decades of life’s complications in exchange for a digital “Thank you.”
Unfortunately, my internet provider has never accepted gratitude as payment. My electricity board refuses to deduct my bill because someone blessed me. My web hosting company remains strangely unmoved by heartfelt prayers. Even the supermarket insists on cash instead of karma.
How inconsiderate of them.
People often assume that because astrology is an ancient spiritual discipline, the astrologer should survive entirely on spirituality. Curiously, the same people do not expect surgeons to perform free operations because medicine is a noble profession. They do not ask lawyers to fight court cases for free because justice is sacred. Nor do they ask architects to design houses for blessings alone.
Yet somehow, the astrologer is expected to live on goodwill.
My horoscope software isn’t free. My books weren’t free. My education wasn’t free. Twenty-two years of studying charts, making mistakes, learning from them, and analysing thousands of horoscopes certainly weren’t free.
Knowledge is earned. Experience is accumulated. Time is limited.
Here’s another fascinating pattern. Many people who ask for free consultations own expensive smartphones, pay for multiple streaming subscriptions, order restaurant food online, and think nothing of spending money on entertainment. But when it comes to paying for professional advice that may influence major life decisions, they suddenly discover the lost art of bargaining.
“Sir, please help. I have no money.”
Five minutes later, their social media timeline proudly displays photos from a luxury café.
If you genuinely cannot afford a consultation, I sincerely wish your circumstances improve soon. But not being able to afford a service is very different from expecting the person providing that service to work without compensation.
The next time you feel tempted to ask a professional for free advice, ask yourself a simple question:
Would you walk into their workplace and expect them to work for nothing?
If the answer is no, then perhaps don’t send that message.
And if you still do…
Please understand that my reply may be just as free as the consultation you requested.