As an astrologer, I know that love is a crucial concern for most of my clients. Career and money are important, but they're just not in the same league - which has always struck me as being strange.

Having enough money to buy food, and put a roof over one's head, is logically a lot more important than romantic trivia, especially in the context of a global recession. Yet few things in life are logical, and there are times when we need some psychological insight to work out what's going on.

If we take career and money, our success and failure usually come down to our own decisions. We know that someone with good business skills will do well for themselves, regardless of the economic climate. We also know that there are many ways to make money, whether it's working fourteen hours a day or gambling on horses. It might be tough, but where there's a will there's a way.

However in love it's a situation that's much more difficult. If there's someone out there that we're crazy about, it's possible that there's zero chance of winning them over. They might be interested in someone else, happily married or, heaven forbid, they might find us unattractive.

When we're faced with this situation, it's difficult to know what to do. Logically we should give up and focus on someone else, but very often our emotions refuse to let go. We might then decide on desperate measures.

For example Magic. That's right, using spells and other weird stuff to win someone's heart. And that's where the astrologer often comes in. A lovestruck client might think that they're seeing an astrologer so that they can understand the future, but in reality they want the astrologer to change the future.

The client believes that by predicting romantic bliss I can actually create it. So my prediction is rather like a spell, that can bring two people together.

Which is ridiculous. Can a weather forecaster make it rain by predicting rain? Can an economist end a recession by telling the world that next month's factory output will increase? Yet that's what my clients want, and when I don't provide the goods I sometimes get an angry reaction. Me, the selfish magician, doesn't want to help!

I suppose life would be easier if I really was a magician. Saying the right words, or maybe even making talismans or performing rituals. A magical energy would be created, and my clients would be happy.

However aside from practicality, there's a problem of Karma. Love spells might seem harmless, but arguably they're a form of black magic, for two reasons. Firstly one's using spiritual energy to satisfy one's desires. Secondly, one is attempting to interfere with another person's free will.

Of course there is an assumption here that magic works.

A lot of people do believe that spells and charms can create real changes, and you don't have to look very far to find people offering their occult services. Yet if magic does work, there must be an element of emotional detachment.

If you're obsessed with someone, and you're desperate to win their heart, then the strength of your feelings will probably kill the magic. After all, the golden rule of magic is that you do the operation and you then forget about it. Which means that a love charm is more likely to work if it's made by a third party - the village witch, a voodoo priest, the internet wizard.

Not surprisingly the chances of love magic working are very slim, especially if you do it yourself. This is a good thing. If you, or the person you hire, creates a genuine effect, then the Karmic price could be huge. You're tying yourself to dark and debased forces, that could drag you down into a deep pit, for years, decades or even life times.