The ancient Babylonians and Chaldeans believed there was a universal correspondence between celestial phenomena such as the visible plants, the fixed stars, the moon and sun, and the earth itself, and human worldly events. The visible planets in particular were wrapped in mythology, usually seen as heroic beings and gods, each having a particular realm of influence.And quite understandably, ancient people believed there was a direct relationship between these celestial bodies and the human realm. What people did on a daily basis was influenced by what happened in the skies.
Whatever occurred in the heaven was bound to have consequences in earth. The principle of correspondence ensured that whatever occurred as deeds or even as thoughts upon the part of the celestial power resulted in corresponding responses in human affairs. This constituted a theory of transference of the imagined powers, habits and acts from the celestial beings and planets, to mortals themselves .
Among these ancient people, much of what is know as natural phenomena was considered to be of teleological origin, that is, as having a mind-cause. The phenomena were not thought of as functions of impersonal natural law, but rather as the conscious acts of personalities associated with the planets, the sun , the moon and the occasional comet. In ancient astrology therefore, these celestial bodies intentionally influence human beings to do their bidding.
This concept of teleological influence gradually changed so that the celestial influence was thought to be wholly naturalistic, with each planet have certain inherent qualities which could be either modified or intensified when the planet was brought into a conjunction or certain relationship with others. These influences were less capricious than in the past, and in the human realm, system and order reigned for as long as the now predicable celestial powers were obeyed.
The principle of correspondence remained and as human lives were related to the apparent movement of the planets, depending upon the prevailing influence of the planets under which they were born, people were consequently affected in their earthly affairs by this celestial interrelationship .
ASTROLOGY
For millennia, the most learned among philosophers, naturalist , temple scribes and priests devoted their lives to the study of astrology, placing their entire faith in the art of reading the stars. Clearly they discovered something deeply satisfying in their investigation, and in some cases developed highly accurate methods of character analysis based upon the birth date and time of the individuals they dealt with. We have no objective means of gauging the accuracy of their methods, but what is certain is that their activities and preoccupations with linking events in the skies with events on earth, were viewed with respect by most people.
An almost insuperable fatalism developed over the millennia, to the extent that people came to deny their own judgements and conclusions in yielding to the expounding influences of the movements of the planets. Even today, especially in extreme cases, if the aspect of the stars are not favourable, some people will avoid undertaking a venture no matter what that circumstances or what their own reason dictates. This is not a criticism, for their faith in the predictions given by astrology could easily be self-fulfiling prophecies which definitely should in that case not be ignored. But in extreme cases, such people are submitting their intellects and wills to a conceived naturalistic power which exercise complete control over every department of their lives, down to the tiniest of daily trivia. Most modern astrologers insist however that the planets incline things to happen in certain ways but do not necessary compel them to. In other word, they acknowledge that in most circumstances, we have power to overcome the planetary forces that form the basis of the art of astrology.
Astrology is one of the oldest consistent belief in the history of humanity. How factual are its doctrines? Is it merely an age-old superstition, the shadow of an era of greater credulity ? the ancient Sumerians are generally recognised as the first astronomers. They studied the apparent movement of the visible planets,the moon and the son, and assigned various natural phenomena to them. They saw how the sun rose and set each day with precision, changing over 365 days in never ending cycles. They worked out the exact period of the lunar month and notice how various aspect of human, animals and plant life was affected by the moon's cyclical motion. Some plants seemed to speed up and slow down in their orbits, and explanations were undoubtedly given for this in mythological terms.
They noted the different position of the stars at various times of the year and observer the helical or strange rising of various fixed stars at dawn and at periodic intervals. They studied the phases of the moon and began speculate on the relationship of these phases to the tides and to functions common to reproduction. Since these physical forces and conditions affected the seasons, it was presumed they must influence all life.
With the celestial bodies undoubtedly being connected with the seasons, and the seasons in turn being the most dominant physical influence on life on earth, it is no wonder then that charting and applying meaning to the motions of the celestial bodies, including the occasional comet or supernova, was such an important and respected art. Thanks to the record they inscribed on clay tablets, we have today a reasonable understanding of the astrological beliefs of the ancient of the so-called "fertile crescent " which encompasses modern day Iraq and Syria.
HIDDEN INFLUENCES ?
Since the sun and moon can cause such huge phenomena as the ocean's tides, it stands to reason that they could also in subtle ways affect the human nervous systems too. Because of their gravitational pull. do they in any way retard or stimulate the flow of nervous energy? Or the two, the moon is by far the most dominant when causing tides. Does the moon alter, even minutely , they transmission of information along neural pathway? If the moon's phases, not necessary its gravitic influences, but its reflection of sunlight, have some effect on plant life, then it almost certainly influences cycles of biological activity in humans too.
Minute periodic changes in our neural constitution , caused by the phases of the moon, have already been proven to affect our glandular functions at different times of the lunar month. The lunar cycle are of course competing with other biological cycles, most of them more dominant than that lunar cycle; but the human body seems to have an extremely fine-tuned sensitivity specifically to the lunar cycle, and through all the clutter and noise of other biological cycles in the body, the moon still has its noticeable effect. And if the moon can have such powerful effect on us, it is conceivable that humans, as well as other life forms on earth have evolved similar critical sensitivities to the movements and alignments of the planets as well.
It is no longer an old wives'tale that the phase of the moon have an effect on the growth of plants, and indeed on the biological activity in all living things. But the extent of the effect, and specifically the effect of the planets, is the central issue behind astrology as an interpretive and therefore subjective art, and astronomy and biology as objective sciences.This is not to say that astrology is entirely wrong simply because it relies to a large extent on subjective interpretation, for there have been many historical astrologers who were not only accurate in their long-range predictions, but were also successful in their diagnoses of current events, and were even successful healers.
No intelligent person doubts that there are at the very least gravitational influence exerted upon the earth by the planets, the moon and the sun. Science concerns itself with provable facts and repeatable experiments, and there can be no arguments against the objective findings of scientific enquiry. However, an intuitive art like astrology, although relying to an extent on the science of astronomy, relies also on intuition and on the undoubted human ability to partially see what broad trends are in current motion and therefore what events are likely to happen in the future. That astrology can drill down from the generality of long-range predictions to daily predictions of minutes details and exactness is however , perhaps a step too far.
And even if we believe in astrology's long-term influences, can we seriously believe that people, based purely on the time of year they are born, are fated to fall into various rough classes of individual such as aggressive, competitive, harmful, etc..,or philosophical, accommodating or even mystical? That is one thing science cannot answer, though i must say that from personal experience, i have not the slightest doubt that people born in the 12 houses of this year, do indeed exhibit 12 broadly different personality types. This may sound stupid, coming as it does from a person who adores the rigour of scientific enquiry, but what can i do but state honestly and from the heart, i have seen this work time after time with great exactitude, and i am as as puzzled today as to why this should be, as i was twenty years ago when i first began my enquiry into astrology .
To conclude: I believe in science, i believe in the supremacy of objective observation, i believe in the conclusion derived from serious scientific enquiry , and have full confidence in their conclusion. But i also have an irrational belief...., one i cannot explain, but hold to firmly on the basis of a lifetime of observation. The predictions of astrology are for me not the type that tell you what you are likely to encounter each day, but the type that paints in rough strokes what sort of person you are, what sort of things you are likely to achieve in life, and what dangers you likely to encounter.
There is i believe a happy medium between the rigorous honesty of science and the intuitive, interpretive art of astrology. Science cannot be argued against, for it speaks the universal truth. But equally i can say that science cannot argue against the intuitive conclusion of experienced astrologers either, for no rational enquiry has yet discovered the precise nature and mechanism of the operation of the intuitive faculty in the human being, a faculty that has existed always, and served us well in our struggle to survive .
Whatever occurred in the heaven was bound to have consequences in earth. The principle of correspondence ensured that whatever occurred as deeds or even as thoughts upon the part of the celestial power resulted in corresponding responses in human affairs. This constituted a theory of transference of the imagined powers, habits and acts from the celestial beings and planets, to mortals themselves .
Among these ancient people, much of what is know as natural phenomena was considered to be of teleological origin, that is, as having a mind-cause. The phenomena were not thought of as functions of impersonal natural law, but rather as the conscious acts of personalities associated with the planets, the sun , the moon and the occasional comet. In ancient astrology therefore, these celestial bodies intentionally influence human beings to do their bidding.
This concept of teleological influence gradually changed so that the celestial influence was thought to be wholly naturalistic, with each planet have certain inherent qualities which could be either modified or intensified when the planet was brought into a conjunction or certain relationship with others. These influences were less capricious than in the past, and in the human realm, system and order reigned for as long as the now predicable celestial powers were obeyed.
The principle of correspondence remained and as human lives were related to the apparent movement of the planets, depending upon the prevailing influence of the planets under which they were born, people were consequently affected in their earthly affairs by this celestial interrelationship .
ASTROLOGY
For millennia, the most learned among philosophers, naturalist , temple scribes and priests devoted their lives to the study of astrology, placing their entire faith in the art of reading the stars. Clearly they discovered something deeply satisfying in their investigation, and in some cases developed highly accurate methods of character analysis based upon the birth date and time of the individuals they dealt with. We have no objective means of gauging the accuracy of their methods, but what is certain is that their activities and preoccupations with linking events in the skies with events on earth, were viewed with respect by most people.
An almost insuperable fatalism developed over the millennia, to the extent that people came to deny their own judgements and conclusions in yielding to the expounding influences of the movements of the planets. Even today, especially in extreme cases, if the aspect of the stars are not favourable, some people will avoid undertaking a venture no matter what that circumstances or what their own reason dictates. This is not a criticism, for their faith in the predictions given by astrology could easily be self-fulfiling prophecies which definitely should in that case not be ignored. But in extreme cases, such people are submitting their intellects and wills to a conceived naturalistic power which exercise complete control over every department of their lives, down to the tiniest of daily trivia. Most modern astrologers insist however that the planets incline things to happen in certain ways but do not necessary compel them to. In other word, they acknowledge that in most circumstances, we have power to overcome the planetary forces that form the basis of the art of astrology.
Astrology is one of the oldest consistent belief in the history of humanity. How factual are its doctrines? Is it merely an age-old superstition, the shadow of an era of greater credulity ? the ancient Sumerians are generally recognised as the first astronomers. They studied the apparent movement of the visible planets,the moon and the son, and assigned various natural phenomena to them. They saw how the sun rose and set each day with precision, changing over 365 days in never ending cycles. They worked out the exact period of the lunar month and notice how various aspect of human, animals and plant life was affected by the moon's cyclical motion. Some plants seemed to speed up and slow down in their orbits, and explanations were undoubtedly given for this in mythological terms.
They noted the different position of the stars at various times of the year and observer the helical or strange rising of various fixed stars at dawn and at periodic intervals. They studied the phases of the moon and began speculate on the relationship of these phases to the tides and to functions common to reproduction. Since these physical forces and conditions affected the seasons, it was presumed they must influence all life.
With the celestial bodies undoubtedly being connected with the seasons, and the seasons in turn being the most dominant physical influence on life on earth, it is no wonder then that charting and applying meaning to the motions of the celestial bodies, including the occasional comet or supernova, was such an important and respected art. Thanks to the record they inscribed on clay tablets, we have today a reasonable understanding of the astrological beliefs of the ancient of the so-called "fertile crescent " which encompasses modern day Iraq and Syria.
HIDDEN INFLUENCES ?
Since the sun and moon can cause such huge phenomena as the ocean's tides, it stands to reason that they could also in subtle ways affect the human nervous systems too. Because of their gravitational pull. do they in any way retard or stimulate the flow of nervous energy? Or the two, the moon is by far the most dominant when causing tides. Does the moon alter, even minutely , they transmission of information along neural pathway? If the moon's phases, not necessary its gravitic influences, but its reflection of sunlight, have some effect on plant life, then it almost certainly influences cycles of biological activity in humans too.
Minute periodic changes in our neural constitution , caused by the phases of the moon, have already been proven to affect our glandular functions at different times of the lunar month. The lunar cycle are of course competing with other biological cycles, most of them more dominant than that lunar cycle; but the human body seems to have an extremely fine-tuned sensitivity specifically to the lunar cycle, and through all the clutter and noise of other biological cycles in the body, the moon still has its noticeable effect. And if the moon can have such powerful effect on us, it is conceivable that humans, as well as other life forms on earth have evolved similar critical sensitivities to the movements and alignments of the planets as well.
It is no longer an old wives'tale that the phase of the moon have an effect on the growth of plants, and indeed on the biological activity in all living things. But the extent of the effect, and specifically the effect of the planets, is the central issue behind astrology as an interpretive and therefore subjective art, and astronomy and biology as objective sciences.This is not to say that astrology is entirely wrong simply because it relies to a large extent on subjective interpretation, for there have been many historical astrologers who were not only accurate in their long-range predictions, but were also successful in their diagnoses of current events, and were even successful healers.
No intelligent person doubts that there are at the very least gravitational influence exerted upon the earth by the planets, the moon and the sun. Science concerns itself with provable facts and repeatable experiments, and there can be no arguments against the objective findings of scientific enquiry. However, an intuitive art like astrology, although relying to an extent on the science of astronomy, relies also on intuition and on the undoubted human ability to partially see what broad trends are in current motion and therefore what events are likely to happen in the future. That astrology can drill down from the generality of long-range predictions to daily predictions of minutes details and exactness is however , perhaps a step too far.
And even if we believe in astrology's long-term influences, can we seriously believe that people, based purely on the time of year they are born, are fated to fall into various rough classes of individual such as aggressive, competitive, harmful, etc..,or philosophical, accommodating or even mystical? That is one thing science cannot answer, though i must say that from personal experience, i have not the slightest doubt that people born in the 12 houses of this year, do indeed exhibit 12 broadly different personality types. This may sound stupid, coming as it does from a person who adores the rigour of scientific enquiry, but what can i do but state honestly and from the heart, i have seen this work time after time with great exactitude, and i am as as puzzled today as to why this should be, as i was twenty years ago when i first began my enquiry into astrology .
To conclude: I believe in science, i believe in the supremacy of objective observation, i believe in the conclusion derived from serious scientific enquiry , and have full confidence in their conclusion. But i also have an irrational belief...., one i cannot explain, but hold to firmly on the basis of a lifetime of observation. The predictions of astrology are for me not the type that tell you what you are likely to encounter each day, but the type that paints in rough strokes what sort of person you are, what sort of things you are likely to achieve in life, and what dangers you likely to encounter.
There is i believe a happy medium between the rigorous honesty of science and the intuitive, interpretive art of astrology. Science cannot be argued against, for it speaks the universal truth. But equally i can say that science cannot argue against the intuitive conclusion of experienced astrologers either, for no rational enquiry has yet discovered the precise nature and mechanism of the operation of the intuitive faculty in the human being, a faculty that has existed always, and served us well in our struggle to survive .
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