Preparing for the prediction in astrology
Of course, different astrologers have different approaches to the prediction maps. Some spend a significant amount of time for training, others prefer to look at the map "in cold blood." The irony is that the more activities are becoming an astrologer, the less he had time to use a variety of techniques. I know a few professional astrologers who look only at the transits, while I (the other extreme), consider solar (and sometimes the moon) the arcs, secondary progressions, transits to the natal chart and map of relocation and patterns of eclipses in the relocation map. That always works for you, is the best. (I have the Sun is in Scorpio in the sixth house, in exact sextile with Saturn in Virgo, so I'm certainly inclined to detailed analysis.) The idea is that you need to be familiar with various techniques of prediction, experiment with them and select one that works best and most practical for you.
I extensively use computer program for generating data, and it's good and evil of modern astrology. Computers make it possible to more easily and quickly obtain accurate data in a variety of techniques, but also simply to be showered with sea littered with papers, and numerous details. When you become more experienced, you learn what techniques to use and when to discard the other. Another disadvantage of using computers is that people tend to lose contact with the ephemerides themselves and can easily be overlooked when the planets are going to be fixed or direktnymi where the birth occurred near the eclipse, etc. Except for newborns cards, I usually make a full prediction for one year, rather than considering a broader spectrum of life. I see these predictions almost as well as annual medical checkups. As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed, and annual prediction allows the customer to see the major turning points and strenuous factors of the year. That in itself is helpful, but not enough. Work is also an astrologer is to help the customer to understand the various ways of dealing with each planetary energy.