Astrology

(Revision as of 04:45, 5 Nov 2004)

Categories: Systems

Part of the Magick in Theory & Practice series.

Astrology (from Greek: αστρολογία = άστρον, astron, "star" + λόγος, logos, "word") is any of several traditions or systems in which knowledge of the apparent positions of celestial bodies is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting and organizing knowledge about reality and human existence on earth. All are based on the relative positions and movements of various real and construed celestial bodies, chiefly the Sun, Moon, planets, and lunar nodes as seen at the time and place of the birth or other event being studied. A practitioner of astrology is termed an astrologer, though they are sometimes referred to as an astrologist.

Many of those who practice astrology believe that the positions of certain celestial bodies either influence, or correlate with but do not influence, people's personality traits, important events in their lives, and even physical characteristics.

For many astrologers the purported relationship between the celestial bodies and events on earth need not be causal, nor even scientific. Although there are astrologers who try to put astrology on sound scientific principles, for many more it is a technology and an art that merges calculations with intuitive perceptions. Some believe that the core principles of astrology are based upon the ancient Hermetic maxim: As Above, So Below. The famous astronomer/astrologer Tycho Brahe also used a similar phrase to justify his studies in astrology: Suspiciendo despicio - "By looking up I see downward."

Description

In past centuries astrology often relied on close observation of astronomical objects and the charting of their movements which might be considered a protoscience in this regard. In modern times astrologers have tended to rely on data drawn up by astronomers and set out in a set of tables called an ephemeris which shows the changing positions of the heavenly bodies through time.

Central to all astrology is the natal chart (other names for this diagram in English include horoscope, natus, nativity, astrological chart, map, birth chart, cosmogram, or simply chart). This is a diagrammatic representation in 2 dimensions of the celestial bodies' apparent positions in the heavens from the vantage of a location on Earth at a given time and place. Interpretation of a natal chart is governed by:

• astrological aspects: the positions of the heavenly bodies relative to each other,
• their positions relative to the astrological signs of the zodiac,
• their positions relative to the horizon (the ascendant), zenith and nadir, and in one of the systems of astrological houses.

Common traditions of astrology include Western astrology, Chinese astrology, Jyotish (Vedic astrology) and Kabbalistic astrology. All of these can be subdivided by type, such as natal astrology (the study of a person's birth, or natal chart), horary astrology (a chart drawn up to answer a specific question), and electional astrology astrology (a chart drawn up ahead of time to determine the best moment to begin an enterprise or undertaking). Mundane astrologers believe correlations exist between geological phenomena (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.) and astronomical phenomena (the movement of celestial bodies in relation to Earth). Political astrology has existed for thousands of years as well, while some astrologers use ancient methods which are supposed to be able to predict the weather and weather-related phenomena (storms, floods, etc.), which is collectively known as meteorological astrology.

Astrology has had an influence on the English language. Influenza was so named because doctors once believed it to be caused by unfavorable planetary and stellar influences. The word "disaster" comes from the Latin "dis-aster" meaning "bad star".

A few Western but all Jyotish (Hindu) astrologers use the sidereal zodiac which uses the true astronomical positions of the stars. The majority of Western astrologers base their work on the tropical zodiac which uses a view of the heavens as seen 2000 years ago.

The Cases For and Against

Astrology is a controversial subject with many voices speaking both for and against its recognition as a valid field of study. The case for and the case against astrology are presented here:

The case for astrology

Astrology provides a direct link to some of the longest held human beliefs. Its continued appeal may rest on its ability to link an individual's life to the wider cosmos and so give a feeling of uniqueness, meaning and of connection to the totality of things. Astrology also makes use of basic, archetypal qualities found universally throughout humanity, and some people find it a useful intuitive tool with which to describe themselves, others, and the relationships between them.

Anyone can set themselves up as an astrologer, so there is a wide range in ability and approach. Some serious astrologers may be members of a society that tries to maintain standards of learning and conduct; others may be lone hobbyists.

Most serious astrologers scorn trivial horoscope predictions supplied by newspapers as nothing but a way to entertain readers. All popular astrology in which people are labelled on the basis of their sun sign alone is seen by serious astrologers as frivolous and not worthy of defence. The sun sign is regarded as but one of many factors which must be taken into account when interpreting one's horoscope.

An individual astrological reading by a skilled astrologer - or by the individual himself or herself if he or she is well-versed enough in astrology - is thought to provide a way for the individual to divine his or her own feelings about the present, and to better understand his or her own personality. This can give the individual the opportunity to understand those feelings and patterns of behavior which may be barriers to possible futures, and so change their actions in the present to bring about a desired future. In this respect it is more closely linked to tarot, I Ching and modern psychotherapy than to astronomy.

An individual is always seen as the ultimate master of their destiny, and given sufficient will and purpose, as being able to overcome the most adverse astrological indications. However, the degree of struggle necessary will depend on the astrological circumstances in which they enact their project.

Most astrologers make no claim to be practicing a science and see their skill as an art which gives a structure to a dialogue with their client. An astrologer's success would need to be measured in terms of the happiness and well-being of their subjects rather than the mechanical prediction of events. Astrology has, however, taken on new astronomical concepts as they have been discovered and added its own symbolism to them. Thus the outer planets discovered since 1781, because of their slow movement across the zodiac, sit in the same position in the charts of whole generations. They have been assigned a role in interpreting the processes of large groups; of nations, institutions, ideas, beliefs and the generations themselves.

Many people use the fact that there are 13 constellations along the modern-day astronomical ecliptic and not twelve to try and discredit or otherwise disprove astrology. Of the 13 modern signs of the zodiac (constellations of the ecliptic), Ophiuchus is the only one which is not counted as an astrological sign because Ophiuchus was only added to the astronomical zodiac by the International Astronomical Union in 1930 when it based its zodiac on the 1875 equinox. The constellations were hastily redrawn in 1930 to include a very small portion of Ophiuchus on the ecliptic, possibly in an attempt to try and discredit astrology and astrologers, though scientists at the time claimed that the redrawing took place for the sake of simplicity. According to the official boundaries of constellations first set out in 1930, the ecliptic now also passes through a thirteenth constellation, Ophiuchus (Serpent-Bearer), but before 1930 the ecliptic never passed through this constellation.

The 12 (equal) sign astrological zodiac has been in place for well over 2000 years and is still used by most Western astrologers, while Ophiuchus has only been located along the astronomical ecliptic for the past 75 years or so. In astrology, the size of the actual astronomical constellations is a non-issue because most Western astrologers use the tropical zodiac, where the ecliptic is divided into 12 equal portions exactly 30 degrees each to get the 12 astrological signs. (12 signs x 30 degrees each sign = the 360 degrees of the ecliptic) The beginning of the astrological year is the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere (the vernal equinox) and not when the Sun crosses an arbitrary dividing line drawn up in modern times to denote where the sign of Aries begins. See also the First Point of Aries.

The case against astrology

Astrology, like other forms of pseudoscience, tries to lay claim to the prestige of science without submitting itself to the discipline of the scientific method. The key is falsifiability. Some believers in astrology consult a horoscope published in a newspaper, which claims to make predictions for the coming day. Newspapers often publish horoscope columns with the title "Astrological Forecast," implying that they should be considered on the same footing with weather forecasts. However, astrology has failed carefully designed empirical tests of its predictive claims,[1] (http://home.wxs.nl/~skepsis/astrot.html) unlike meteorology, which, although not always correct, has been proved to be statistically more accurate than random guessing.

As is often the case with pseudoscience, the practitioners of astrology respond to such disproof either by changing their claims, or by refusing to accept the scientific method as a valid test of their claims. As an example of changing their claims, some astrologers may say that astrology is only useful when the astrologer can have personal contact with the client, in which case the newspaper astrology columns should be abolished. If, on the other hand, the scientific method is to be rejected entirely, the problem is that astrologers do not agree on any alternative method of determining whether a particular astrological method is any more or less correct than any other.

There are also some specific criticisms about methodology that scientists make of astrologers. Almost all modern astrologers eschew direct observation in favour of specially constructed astrological ephemeris.

• The tropical zodiac system used by most astrologers in the west does not align with the stars they claim to study. When astrologers say a planet is in a particular sign they are not talking about the set of stars which an observer can go out at night and observe, they are talking about a hypothetical position in the sky which once coincided with that constellation 2000 years ago. The precession of the Earth's axis as it rotates means that all stars in the sky have, over 2000 years, apparently moved their positions by 24 degrees when seen by an observer on Earth. While scientists know and understand this astrologers have decided to ignore it. The result is that most of the time when an astrologer says a planet is in one sign, a scientist will know it is in fact in the next one.

• Astrologers who use the tropical zodiac, as almost all in the west do, take an arbitrary point in the past as the basis for their interpretation of the heavens. The zodiac of 2000 years ago holds no special place in astronomy. If we go back 4000 years we find Taurus was the constellation of the Vernal equinox , go back 6000 and Gemini was. Astronomers understand that the view of the heavens continually changes over long periods of time while astrologers use a fixed and inaccurate version of reality.

• Astrologers assume that all the constellations on the zodiac are of equal size of 30 degrees when in fact there is considerable variation from 44 degrees across for Virgo to 20 degrees across for Cancer.

• The constellation Ophiuchus, the serpent holder, was recognised by the ancient Greeks, and lies on the Zodiac. It contains the sun once a year and the planets at various other times. Yet astrologers ignore it.

Astronomers dispute the existence of some and claim others are trivial well-understood relationships despite irrelevance to astronomy. Scientific verification of the existence of astrological influences have yielded negative results in most, but not all, cases. Scientists claim the effect of tidal forces is too weak over a small area, such as the human body, to have influence on biological organisms. Astrologers counter that gravity may not be the mechanism of astrological phenomena, whereupon the opponents dispute the existence of correlations.

History of astrology

See main article at History of astrology

The belief in a connection between the heavenly bodies and the lives of people has played an important part in human history.

For the overwhelming bulk of human history, astrology and astronomy were regarded as one and the same subject, with a distinction being made between "natural astrology" (the study of the motions of the heavenly bodies, timing of eclipses, etc.) and "judicial astrology" (the study of the supposed correlations between the positions of various celestial objects and the affairs of human beings).

Isidore of Seville (d. 636) was one of the first to distinguish between astronomy and astrology. However, astronomy did not begin to be separated from astrology until the 16th century, when, with the system of Copernicus, the conviction that the Earth itself is one of the heavenly bodies was finally established.

The study of astrology and the belief in it, as part of astronomy, is found in a developed form among the ancient Babylonians; and directly or indirectly through the Babylonians, it spread to other nations. It came to Greece about the middle of the 4th century B.C., and reached Rome before the opening of the Christian era.

In India and China, astronomy and astrology are largely reflections of Greek theories and speculations; and similarly with the introduction of Greek culture into Egypt, both astronomy and astrology were actively cultivated in the region of the Nile during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Astrology was further developed by the Arabs from the 7th to the 13th century, and in the Europe of the 14th and 15th centuries astrologers were dominating influences at court.

A most important application of mathematics during the Middle Ages was in astrology; astrologers were called mathematici. Inasmuch as the practice of medicine was based largely on astrological determination of the proper treatment, physicians had to become mathematicians, and thus astrologers as well.

Even up to the present day, men of intellectual eminence have convinced themselves that astrology has a foundation of truth, just as there are still believers in chiromancy or other forms of divination.

There is an obvious tendency, however, for astrology to be employed, like palmistry, as a means of imposing on the ignorant and credulous. The generally established belief of the scientific community is that astrology is either mere superstition or absolute imposture, and that its vogue is due either to willful deception or to fatuous, unscientific gullibility.

Relationship to astronomy and science

The distinction between astrology and astronomy was not made until relatively recently (see History of astrology and History of astronomy). Today, astrology is viewed as astronomy's predecessor in the same way that alchemy is viewed as chemistry's. Most scientists dismiss astrology as pseudoscience.

A goal of astronomy is to understand the physics of the universe. Astrologers use astronomical calculations for the positions of celestial bodies and attempt to correlate astronomical events with earthly events and human affairs. From ancient times to the 17th century, astrologers constantly desired more accurate astronomical tables, and for this reason, they instigated and even funded many important developments in astronomy. The role of astrology as an important motivation for astronomical research diminished as the works of Galileo and others solved the problems in celestial mechanics that were of interest to astrologers, and as belief in astrological influences or correlations became extinct among astronomers. The needs of modern navigation and physics became more important motivators for astronomical research.

Many prominent figures in the early history of western astronomy, including Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, were practicing astrologers. It is a commonly held belief among astrologers that Isaac Newton had an interest in astrology. However, Newton's writings fail to mention the subject and the handful of books in his possession that contained references to astrology were primarily concerned with other subjects (and mentioned astrology only in passing.) In an interview with John Conduitt, Newton said that as a young student, he had read a book on astrology, and was "soon convinced of the vanity & emptiness of the pretended science of Judicial astrology" (D.T. Whiteside, M.A. Hoskin & A. Prag (eds.), The Mathematical Papers of Isaac Newton (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1967), vol. 1, pp. 15-19).

There are biological phenomena that coordinate with celestial movements (e.g. circadian rhythms, see Chronobiology). It has been demonstrated that some amphibians are able to use celestial bodies for orientation (source: Encyclopædia Britannica). Some astrologers may attempt to draw conclusions from this phenomenon, but it is more likely these correlations are not completely understood.

Generally Accepted Phrases and Keywords Associated with Each Astrological Sign

• Aries — "I want," action oriented, pioneering, assertive, "me" first, enthusiasm, leader, competitive, selfish, head/brain

• Taurus — "I have," sensual, cautious, acquisitive, musical, traditional, stubborn, throat/neck

• Gemini — "I think," curious, talkative, sociable, duality, mercurial, whimsical, intelligent, superficial, hands/arms

• Cancer — "I feel," sensitive, tenacious, family and home oriented, helpful, nurturing, moody, stomach/breasts

• Leo — "I am," passionate, dramatic, independent, noble, creative, leader, egotistical, heart/back

• Virgo — "I serve," practical, work and service oriented, critical, common sense, intelligent, health conscious, fussy, intestines/digestion

• Libra — "We are," partnerships, balance, grace, charm, cooperative, social, ideas, lazy, kidneys/lumbar

• Scorpio — "I desire," intense, controlling, sexual, compulsive, deep, secretive, mysterious, obsessive, genitals

• Sagittarius — "I seek," philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering, wanderlust, scattered, hips/thighs

• Capricorn — "I build," ambitious, cautious, authoritative, cunning, competent, stable, saturnine, knees/skeleton

• Aquarius — "I know," friendships, cause-oriented, the group, society, progressive, eccentric, aloof, calves/ankles

• Pisces — "I believe," feeling, duality, spirituality, soul growth, suffering, artistic, overly emotional, feet

Astrology and the Classical Elements

Astrology has used the concept of the classical elements from antiquity up until the present. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, and indeed it is still viewed as a critical and indispensable part of interpreting the astrological chart. The elemental rulerships for the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac are as follows:

• Fire — Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
• Earth — Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
• Air — Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
• Water — Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

The Ancient Link Between Astrology and Alchemy

Alchemy in the Western World and other locations where it was widely practiced was (and in many cases still is) closely allied and intertwined with traditional Greek astrology; in numerous ways they were built to complement each other in the search for hidden knowledge. Traditionally, each of the seven planets in the solar system as known to the ancients was associated with, held dominion over, and ruled a certain metal.

The list of rulership is as follows:

• The Sun rules Gold
• The Moon, Silver
• Mercury, Mercury
• Venus, Copper
• Mars, Iron
• Jupiter, Tin
• Saturn, Lead

Some modern alchemists/astrologers obviously associate:

• Uranus with Uranium
• Neptune, Neptunium
• Pluto, Plutonium

As these planets were not discovered until relatively recently, there is no classical or traditional basis for these associations as there is for the ancient planets and metals.

As Isaac Newton was (indisputably) a well known alchemist of his time period, and astrology and alchemy were (and in some cases still are) so closely linked, it is very plausible that Newton had a very good working knowledge of astrology, or at the very least a basic understanding of astrological methodology as it was related to alchemy. Logically then, one would certainly have to know a good bit about astrology in order to use alchemy effectively, and Newton along with other prominent alchemists definitely knew this. For more informations see Isaac Newton's occult studies.

Astrology as a descriptive language for the mind

The personality descriptions made in astrological charts can be viewed as a method of describing the subjective inner world of mind and personality. This has roots in alchemical and Hermetic tradition which were very influential until the 17th century. Many writers, notably William Shakespeare .[[2] (http://www.chartplanet.com/html/shakespeare.html)] , used astrological symbolism to add subtlety to the description of their characters' motivation. An understanding of astrological principles is needed to fully appreciate such literature. Some modern thinkers, notably Carl Jung, have acknowledged its descriptive powers of the mind without necessarily subscribing to its predictive claims.

See Also

• List of Notable Astrologers

• Age of Aquarius, Astrolabe, Astrology and alchemy, Astrology and astronomy, Autumnal equinox, Birthday, Cazimi, Celestial Sphere, Chiron, Classical elements, Cycles, Ecliptic, Divination, Electional astrology, Ephemeris, Equinox, Esotericism, First Point of Aries, First Point of Libra, Hermes Trismegistus, History of astrology, History of astronomy, Horary astrology, List of cycles, Lunation, Lunar deity, Lunar phase, Magi, The Mars effect, Medical astrology, Metaphysics, Meteorological astrology, Michel Gauquelin, Monen, Mundane astrology, Music of the spheres, New age, Occult, Orbital period, Political astrology, Precession of the equinoxes, Rosicrucian, Sidereal astrology, Solar Age, Solar deity, Solar symbol, Solar system, Solstice, Summer solstice, Synastry, Synchronicity, Syncretism, Three Wise Men, Tropical year, Vernal equinox, Winter solstice, Zodiac

References

• Wikipedia (2004). Astrology (http://www.wikipedia.org/Astrology)]. Retrieved Oct. 29, 2004.

External links

Astrology and its history

• Basics of Astrology (http://www.astrology-numerology.com/astrology.html) - The basics of astrology.
• Skyscript — Classical Astrology (http://www.skyscript.co.uk/) - A modern yet faithful look at Classical astrology.
• Modern Astrology (http://www.stariq.com) - This site focuses on modern, or contemporary astrology as opposed to the Classical Astrology site listed above.
• Astrology at Enchanted Spirit (http://www.enchantedspirit.org/Astrology) - Articles on the origins and uses of Astrology.
• Astrology: Between Religion and the Empirical (http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/VolumeIV/astrology.htm) - A serious academic treatise on astrology by Dr. Gustav-Adolf Schoener and translated by Shane Denson.
• The real romance in the stars (http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/Dawkins/Work/Articles/1995-12romance_in_stars.htm) - A critical view of astrology by Richard Dawkins.
• Astrologia (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Astrologia.html) - Article in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
• The Chinese Astrology (http://www.homewebstreet.com)

Validity and usefulness

• Astrology and Science (http://www.astrology-and-science.com/) - A series of articles in which believers and skeptics debate the merits of astrology.
• The Astrotest (http://home.wxs.nl/~skepsis/astrot.html) - An account of a test of the predictive power of astrology, with references to other experiments.
• The True Disbelievers (http://www.discord.org/~lippard/kammann.html) by Richard Kamann and Marcello Truzzi is a report of alleged internal events at CSICOP regarding their own claimed confirmation of M. Gauquelin's 'Mars Effect'
• The Skeptic's Dictionary on astrology (http://skepdic.com/astrolgy.html)
• The Skeptic's Dictionary on the Mars effect (http://skepdic.com/mars.html)
• An Astrophysicist's Sympathetic and Critical View of Astrology (http://www.lightlink.com/vic/astrol.html) - by Victor Mansfield.
• Spiritual Astrology (http://www.rosicrucian.com/asthtme1.htm) and The Educational Value of Astrology (http://www.rosicrucian.com/zineen/magen322.htm)

Astrology in relation to other thought systems

• A Christian look at astrology (http://www.spirithome.com/parastro.html).
• Journal of Consciousness Studies: Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi? (http://www.imprint.co.uk/pdf/Dean.pdf)

The astrologer's tools

• Astrolabe Software (http://alabe.com/freechart/) - Calculate your personal natal chart or any astrological chart for free using this simple online calculation form.
• Astrowin - Free Astrology Software/Programs (http://www.astrowin.org/) - Astro123, AstroWin, MatchMkr, and more.
• Classical Astrology Archives (http://www.robhand.com/)
• Faculty of Astrological Studies (http://www.astrology.org.uk/) - Founded on 7th June 1948 in London, England at 19.50 BST; its Diploma, the D.F.Astrol.S., is among the most highly valued and recognised international qualifications.
• Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences (http://www.kepler.edu) - Based in Seattle, WA, Kepler College is the only accredited college in the western hemisphere authorized to issue B.A. and A.A. degrees in Astrological Studies.
• Rosicrucian Fellowship Ephemeris Software (http://www.rosicrucianfellowship.org/software/rf_ephem.htm) (1900 - 2100).