"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards".

It's hard to dispute the premise that we learn from our experiences. Our past experiences help to color how we look at current situations.

Experience can encourage us to repeat past behaviors that have led to satisfying outcomes. We could draw an analogy to the rat learning to navigate a maze that leads to food. We can quickly learn that if we follow the same path there is a predictable reward. Few real-life scenarios, however, yield such inevitable results.

We can learn from negative experiences as well. Again using a lab animal analogy, if a monkey is shocked each time he chooses an incorrect response, he learns that while a correct response will not necessarily be rewarded, at least it is not punished. These experiences could be qualified as learned behavior or conditioned reflexes.

Particularly early in life, much of our experience is a result of trial and error. Over time, we learn from our mistakes the predictable effects of gravity, of touching something hot, or of flushing a toy down the toilet.

All of our experiences—whether positive, negative, or neutral—are mentally filed away for future reference to help guide our current choices and decisions. Despite the magnitude of our library of experiences, there will still be many situations where the specific outcome is in considerable doubt. The importance of free will and the significance of our conscious and unconscious decision-making processes should not be underestimated.

An awareness of our inherent strengths, challenges, and predispositions that are suggested by an astrological analysis can simplify the learning process. If we had been made aware of some of these personal traits and tendencies early in life, it would have undoubtedly smoothed out some of our life's roughest situations.

Whatever our age, astrology can enhance self-understanding and thereby make life more rewarding and less puzzling.  As we obtain a better grasp of our psychological needs, there are fewer times when we must resort to trial and error. We can make our choices and decisions more confidently and leave less chance for random results.