Cathy Bednar is a realist when it comes to others' perceptions of her avocation.

The Monroeville woman practices astrology, or the study of the planets and their effect on humans, and she knows the closest some people come to observing how the stars and planets affect their lives is by reading the horoscope in the daily newspaper. Others dismiss the whole thing, saying astrology is nothing more than pseudoscience.

	John Heller, Post-Gazette Cathy Bednar in her home in Monroeville. Click photo for larger image.

But she disagrees. Ms. Bednar is scheduled to teach a class in astrology Saturday at the YWCA of Westmoreland County in Greensburg, and she hopes that, by doing so, more people will gain some insight into why astrologers do what they do. She has also given talks at Whole Foods, the East End Co-op, Carnegie Library and some bookstores.

Ms. Bednar has a bachelor's degree in education from St. Francis College and a master's in industrial relations from Slippery Rock University.

"It's not destiny. People can choose," Ms. Bednar said. But she said the alignment of planets in relation to a person's birthdate does affect what type of career a person should choose or what he or she should look for in a life partner or even friends.

Learning the practice of astrology is thousands of years old, she said. It was once believed to be a practical application of astronomy.

Fervent believers have included Carl Jung, Nancy Reagan and other famous people.

Though Ms. Bednar started reading about astrology in high school, she, like many other astrologers, learned from a mentor, and she didn't meet him until later in life.

Ben Pette, who died in August, was well-known in the Pittsburgh astrological community.

"He was very insightful," she said.

Through him, she learned the nuances of planetary alignments and what they mean to people.

She's had her "chart" done several times, and the results answered a lot of questions for her. A chart shows how the planets aligned with a person's birth and gives a trained eye a means of analyzing what effects these alignments will have.

"I know what I want in life," she said.

Through the help of computers, doing a study of a person's birth chart isn't the long, time-consuming task it once was. There is now software to help.

But who wants their chart done, and for the going rate of $75?

People who want to know if they will meet someone, people who want to know why they keep making the same mistakes or parents who want to know their children's talents and interests, Ms. Bednar said.

She's done charts for just about as many men as women, people from different professions and people who received consultations as gifts from someone else. Everyone is different, even twins, she said.

Even cities can have distinctive personalities, astrologers believe, though Ms. Bednar's never done a chart on Pittsburgh.

Although she's taught cooking classes featuring natural and organic ingredients and loved the swing dancing lessons she gave at the Y, she's put aside those interests for now.

"Astrology took over," she said.

And so Ms. Bednar scoffed when the scientific community downgraded Pluto from a full-fledged planet to so much space debris.

"[In astrology], Pluto is still a very powerful planet," she said.

The YWCA of Westmoreland County can be reached at 724-834-9390. Ms. Bednar's Web site is www.astrologicalinsights.org.