The discipline of predicting the future and understanding yourself better based on the position of the stars, both now and when you were born.

People who want to believe in this rely on proof in the form of circumstantial and anecdotal evidence.

People think that there are 12 zodiac signs. These signs come from the sun traversing the solar ecliptic. So, if you followed old Sol's path along the ecliptic, it would pass through Taurus, Gemini, and all of the other friendly constellations. Unfortunately, the ecliptic also passes through Ophicus for two weeks in December. In actuality, there should be 13 zodiac signs, but 13 was an unlucky number. Therefore, it was conveniently ignored.

Another item that causes problems with the zodiac/astrology equation is it was created thousands of years ago. Polaris, or our present day aptly-named North Star, was not the north star then. The star that was relatively fixed in 4500_B.C. was Alpha Draconis, which also throws off all of the calculations. In the year 7500_A.D., Alpha Cephi will be our 'north star'. Again, it was conveniently ignored.

Some folks truly believe in astrology, and I say that's a fine thing. While I don't believe in it (and find it mildly entertaining), if folks wish to believe in such a concept, it's a question of faith.

Astrology is a sort of pseudo-religion popular among hippies and drug addicts. It has something to do with the stars, but for the most part believers think that the month in which you are born determines everything about you, including your personality and behavior. They also seem to believe that everyone born in the same month will have the same future. I don't believe in astrology. I think it's a bunch of bullshit, myself. Still, if people want to believe in it they're free to do so. Some people who believe in astrology constantly piss me off though. Many of them are constantly trying to evangelize me. They attempt to analyze me and tell me how to live my life based entirely around the day I was born. They make vague assumptions about my personality and if they happen to guess correctly they congratulate themselves and try and use it as an example of the power of astrology. It doesn't matter how many times I denounce it to these people; they continue to try and convert me.

The evangelism doesn't bother me that much though. The thing that annoys me the most is how many people who believe in astrology will try and justify their unruly behavior by saying that their sign makes them act that way. I have a friend who avidly believes in astrology. This friend is a very loud, obnoxious, juvenile person. I am constantly asking him to "shut the hell up" or "cut that the hell out". Every time I ask him to stop being annoying he simply replies "I'm a Virgo" and continues to act like a moron. So basically he thinks that anyone born between August 24 and September 22 has a right to annoy other people? It's gotten so bad that some of my other friends claim to be an "honorary Virgo" when they are being annoying.

Another example: One of my other friends is a teacher. He teaches third grade at a local elementary school. When he isn't teaching school he is smoking weed or drinking. He is also working on making a documentary film about sex or hookers or something like that. One time we were drinking some of his home made alcohol and he told me about his film project. He was telling me that the previous weekend he had interviewed a stripper for his film. I asked him, "And you teach little kids, right?" His response was "I'm a Gemini."

In ancient times, astrology and the zodiac were used as a symbolic representation of the human being's microcosmos The reason why there are 12 zodiac signs, is because each sign represents one of the twelve fundamental forces working in the microcosmos.

To every sign on the zodiac 30 degees of the zodiacal circle were assigned, which were divided into groups of 10 degrees. To every group of ten, another constellation outside the zodiac was linked. This gives a total of 12 + 3 * 12 = 48. So in those times, there were only 48 constellations , while there are more now, and a lot of visible stars were not part of any constellation. This was because the constellations mainly served a symbolic purpose in connection to the theories on the microcosmos, rahter than help create some kind of random order in the galaxy.

The Sun was one of the most important bodies in astrology. Added up to the afore mentioned 48, we get 49. This is the product of seven and 7, i.e. the holy number squared. Seven is the number of main chakras, the points of psychic energy in the human body. (see also The Seven Chakras)

Of course modern day pop-astrology has got nothing to do with all this.

(I feel like most of my writeups start this way, but) I was a really odd child. I had a little bit too much fantasy in my book-diet, and by the time I was ten had read everything I could find on crystals, Tarot, ghostbusting, the occult, witch trials, the Loch Ness monster, palm reading... and Astrology. Being (paradoxically enough) a scientifically-minded ten year old, Astrology was my favorite subject out of the above. Contrary to popular belief, Astrology is more than the lame and obviously incorrect "horoscopes" in newspapers and magazines or what sun sign you are. The position of the ALL planets (in our solar system anyway) and their relationships at your exact time of birth are what matter to an individual. These are charted in a true horoscope, which is a circular chart divided up like a pie, which helps one keep track of such statistics. When an entire horoscope is calculated, the reading is extremely detailed, not just three sentences like in a magazine. Believe it or not, there is A LOT of math involved in this process. Trig, mainly. I taught myself how to use angles before the rest of my class even touched on it, just so I could delve deeper into this subject.

Now I am an Atheist who prides herself on scorning superstition, and I still consult a horoscope or two from time to time. How do I reconcile that one, you ask? I think of it like a psychological tool, like a Rorscach test. I feel that way about most things: astrology, life, and especially literature. It doesn't matter what the author was trying to say; what matters is what you get out of it. Do I think astrology is objectively accurate? No, of course not. It's a tool for understanding your own personality and that of others. You can take the information you get, or leave it. It's just a starting point when you're getting to know someone, or a fun party game where you discuss how right (or wrong) it is. It doesn't matter if it's correct or what your future is, because a person is not only a product of the stars ( literally), but a product of genetics and environment and we've got souls too, if you believe in that. Astrology shouldn't be treated fatalistically, or like a religion, but as a tool for the curious or those stuck with a tough decision. It helps you think and consider. No more, no less.

It just takes a healthy attitude. It may seem superstitious, but until you learn about it and consider all viewpoints, it's not fair to decide that it's ridiculous. Astrology is a tool to be considered and enjoyed, but it also shouldn't be a way of life. Balance, my friends. Balance.

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If you're interested in Astrology, check out The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need, by Joanna Martine Woolfolk. At your public library, it will be somewhere in the 100s. Its title speaks the absolute truth.

As*trol"o*gy (#), n. [F. astrologie, L. astrologia, fr. Gr. , fr. astronomer, astrologer; star + discourse, to speak. See Star.]

In its etymological signification, the science of the stars; among the ancients, synonymous with astronomy; subsequently, the art of judging of the influences of the stars upon human affairs, and of foretelling events by their position and aspects.

⇒ Astrology was much in vogue during the Middle Ages, and became the parent of modern astronomy, as alchemy did of chemistry. It was divided into two kinds: judicial astrology, which assumed to foretell the fate and acts of nations and individuals, and natural astrology, which undertook to predict events of inanimate nature, such as changes of the weather, etc.

 

© Webster 1913.