This week’s question comes from Jane in Middletown, KS:

My life is a complete mess and I need your advice. I’ve submitted my question to you several times but you never use it in this column. What do I have to do to get your attention?

OK, we admit, this is a fake question. We made it up in order to provide some very important information.

The fact is, we get dozens of submissions, and many of them are very good questions that we would love to address. But we can’t even begin to know what’s going on in your chart if we do not have complete birth data. We have to discard at least 90 percent of the questions we receive for this reason. And while the above question was created tongue-in-cheek, we actually have received e-mail saying this is the second or third time the reader has asked and hopes we will address her question this time.

Complete birth data means this:

Date, location, and time, to the best of your knowledge. If it’s a guess, let us know. We ask that you please spell out the month, because Americans and Europeans flip the dates, and it has happened that we used the wrong one and had to rewrite our answer.

We need to know where you currently are located. This is not optional. We’ve said many times, and we’ll say again, that we do not reveal your birth data in our answer. Occasionally we’ll remark that you share things with others in your generation — for example, if you were born during a significant aspect between outer planets. This could give away your age, but nothing more. Beyond that, if you want us to use a different name, just sign your e-mail with the name you’d like us to use. It’s that simple.

We have received some questions with all of the data and have discarded them anyway, either because they are too broad or because they involve another person. Our column is not a substitute for a complete reading with an astrologer, which is what you need if you feel like your life is completely out of control and needs a complete makeover.

Ethically, it’s not responsible for us to take your husband’s (boyfriend’s, best friend’s, daughter’s) data and tell you why this person is behaving so badly. We can look at your chart, however, and tell you in general if you’re going through a transit in which you are prone to relationship challenges.

We love taking your questions. It’s one of the most rewarding things about this Web site. So please would you follow our instructions for submissions. Keep those cards and letters coming!

Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. You must use this form to contact us, or we don’t get your question. Be sure to fill out all the fields, and please spell out the month of your birthday. If you don’t know your time of birth, indicate “time unknown.” Thanks!