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An astrological chart (or horoscope) - Y2K Chart — This particular chart is calculated for January 1, 2000 at 12:01:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time in New York City, New York, USA. (Longitude: 074W00'23" - Latitude: 40N42'51")

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, Ascendant & Midheaven axes, 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.

Astrology is not considered to be a science and is separate from astronomy, the scientific study of the heavens. 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, and 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, soulprint, 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:

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 (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, of unequal size, along the astronomical ecliptic, and not twelve equally-sized constellations, to try and discredit or otherwise disprove astrology. 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 - usually around March 21), and not when the Sun crosses an arbitrary dividing line drawn up in modern times to denote where the constellation of Aries begins. The time of the vernal equinox, therefore, is the definition of the start of the astrological sign of Aries, even though the Sun is well within the astronomical constellation of Pisces at that time of year. See also the First Point of Aries. Jyotish and western Siderial astrologers avoid this criticism by using the true astronomical positions of the stars.

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 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; this redrawing is where we get our mondern 88 constellations. 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. Although the constellation Ophiuchus has existed for a very long time (since Ptolemy at least), one must remember that it wasn't until 1930 that the constellation was "officially redrawn" to cross over the ecliptic. In 1930 the constellations as we know them today were 'standardized' and set to their current and recognizable forms.

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.

The idea that tidal forces affect biological organisms has scientific support. In 1954, a biologist named Frank Brown transported a shipment of oysters from New Haven, Connecticut several hundred miles away to Evanston, Illinois. Oysters open and close their shells in synchronicity with the tide, and up until this time the explanation for this phenomenon was simple -- the physical force of the water gave the oysters some cue as to when to open and close their shells. Dr. Brown placed his oysters in a controlled environment, and at first they responded as expected, opening and closing their shells in accord with the tide in New Haven. However, within a week, they began to get out of sync. Within two weeks, they had once again settled on a unanimous rhythm. They opened and closed in correlation with the tidal forces of Evanston! This despite the fact that there was no physical motion of the water to prompt their action. Clearly, some mechanism in the oyster was "detecting" the tidal force.

One explanation which biologists have for this phenomenon is that the Earth's magnetic fields are affected by tidal forces, and nearly all biological organisms (including humans) are affected by the Earth's magnetic field. While this has little bearing on the actual practice of astrology, it is strong evidence that tidal forces do indeed have an effect (albeit indirect) on living organisms.

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] 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 (in early December), and the planets at various other times. Even Ptolemy - one of the great astrologers of antiquity - recognised it and recognised that it contains the sun once a year. Yet astrologers, including Ptolemy, ignore it.

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 such as the writings of Hermes Trismegistus (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 sun 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 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], 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.

Astrology and the classical elements

See classical elements.

History of astrology

See History of astrology.

Numerology and Astrology

See astrology and numerology.

See astrology and alchemy.

The seven liberal arts and astrology

See liberal arts.

See Also

Astrology and its history

Validity and usefulness

Astrology in relation to other thought systems

The astrologer's tools

Free natal reports

Western Astrology

Vedic Astrology

Native Indian Astrology

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