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Astrology
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"), using the tropical zodiac
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 astrological traditions are based on the relative positions and
movements of various real and construed celestial bodies as seen at the time and
place of the birth or other event being studied. These are chiefly the Sun,
Moon, planets, Ascendant & Midheaven axes, and the lunar nodes. A practitioner
of astrology is called an astrologer, or sometimes an astrologist. Astromancy,
divination by the stars, is a slightly archaic synonym for astrology (likewise
for astromancer and the rather rarely used astromancist).
Many of those who practice astrology believe the positions of certain celestial
bodies either influence or correlate with people's personality traits, important
events in their lives, and even physical characteristics.
Astrology is not considered to be a science, but is more appropriately an
intuitive discipline, and is separate from astronomy, the scientific study of
outer space. The calculations performed in astrology involve some skill in
arithmetic and simple geometry and serve to locate the apparent location of
heavenly bodies on desired dates and times based on tables constructed by
astronomers. There have been astrologers who claim to try to put astrology on a
sound scientific basis, but for most it is an art that merges calculations with
their own intuitive perceptions. For most astrologers the purported relationship
between the celestial bodies and events on earth need not be causal, nor even
scientific.
The generally established opinion of the scientific community is that astrology
is superstition, with no actual predictive ability.
The core principles of astrology reflect a general principle, which was accepted
in some parts of the ancient world, that events in the heavens should have
analogies on Earth. In some places, such as ancient China and Babylon, the
apparently untoward movement of a comet across the otherwise orderly movement of
the heavens was taken as a portent of disaster. Such ancient beliefs are
epitomized in the 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."
Contents
1 Description
2 History of astrology
3 The validity of astrology
4 Effects on world culture
4.1 Astrology as a
descriptive language for the mind
5 Astrology and the classical
elements
6 Astrology and alchemy
7 The seven liberal arts and
astrology
8 Astrology and the Days of the
Week
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. It is
the interpretation of these science based tables that makes astrology a target
for the label pseudoscience.
Central to all astrology is the horoscope. This is a diagrammatic representation
in two dimensions of the celestial bodies' apparent positions in the heavens
from the vantage of a location on Earth at a given time and place. The horoscope
of an individual's birth is called a natal chart (other names for this diagram
in English include natus, nativity, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial
map, birth chart, sky-map, cosmogram, vitasphere, soulprint, radical chart,
radix, or simply chart).
To determine the astrological signs in which the Sun, Moon, and the other
celestial bodies fall on any given day, hour, minute, or second, it is necessary
to consult an ephemeris or use an astrological computer program which will have
a built-in ephemeris; these computer programs make it quick and very easy to
calculate the horoscope (also called natal chart, astro-chart, etc.) so that the
astrologer can spend more time interpreting the chart rather than actually
calculating it. Interpretation of a horoscope/natal chart is governed by:
astrological aspects: the positions of the major planetary bodies relative to
each other,
their positions relative to the astrological signs of one of the zodiac sytems,
their position in one of the systems of astrological houses,
their positions relative to the horizon line (namely the ascendant/descendant
axes, zenith/midheaven and nadir/immum coeli axes).
Significant traditions of astrology include but are not limited to:
Western astrology,
Chinese astrology,
Jyotish (Vedic astrology),
Mesoamerican astrology,
Tibetan astrology, and
Kabbalistic astrology.
Some 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).
medical astrology (using the client's natal chart and/or a horary chart to
diagnose and treat various illnesses)
Mundane astrologers believe that 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.
A few Western and 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 the same
reference point (First Point of Aries) as modern astronomy.
History of astrology
See the main article at History of astrology.
The study of Western 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 BC, and reached Rome before the
opening of the Christian era. For a detailed description, including astrology in
other cultures, see the main article.
The validity of astrology
See the main article at Validity of astrology.
Astrology is a very controversial subject. The case for and the case against
astrology's objective validity are discussed more fully at Validity of
astrology.
Astrologers argue that astrology works by a mechanism that is (yet) unknown to
science and that it is validated by their personal experience when applied in
real life cases. They argue that it does not make the hard predictions that
science would require but informs the user of subtleties to decisions that would
otherwise be missed.
Skeptics see astrology as repeatedly failing to demonstrate its effectiveness in
controlled studies and see those who continue to use and believe in it as
gullible and deluded, or even as charlatans.
These are the astrological glyphs as most commonly used in Western Astrology
Effects on world culture
Astrology has had a profound influence over the past few thousand years on
Western and Eastern cultures, along with 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". Also, the adjectives "lunatic" (Moon), "mercurial" (Mercury),
"martial" (Mars), "jovial" (Jupiter/Jove), and "saturnine" (Saturn) are all old
words used to describe personal qualities said to resemble or be highly
influenced by the astrological characteristics of the planet, some of which are
derived from the attributes of the ancient Roman gods they are named after.
Astrology as a
descriptive language for the mind
Many writers, notably William Shakespeare [1], 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, along with the work of many other writers and poets of this and many
other eras. 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 the main article at Astrology and the classical elements.
Astrology has used the concept of 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 part of interpreting the
astrological chart.
Astrology and alchemy
See the main article at 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
Babylonian-Greek style 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.
A separate article also exists on astrology and numerology.
The seven liberal arts and
astrology
In medieval Europe, a university education was divided into seven distinct
areas, each represented by a particular planet and known as the Seven Liberal
Arts. They were seen as operating in ascending order, beginning with Grammar
which was assigned to the quickest moving celestial body (the Moon) and
culminating in Astronomia which was thought to be astrologically ruled by
Saturn, the slowest moving and furthest out planet known at the time. After this
sequence wisdom was supposed to have been achieved by the medieval university
student.
Astronomia -- Saturn
Geometry -- Jupiter
Arithmetic -- Mars
Music -- Sun
Rhetoric -- Venus
Dialectic -- Mercury
Grammar -- Moon
Astrology and the Days of the Week
Each day of the week was created in honor of one of the seven celestial bodies
(the Sun, Moon, and five known planets); and in ancient astrology, each day of
the week was said to be influenced by the traits of the celestial body it was
named after. The system was symmetrical and free of complication until the
discovery of Uranus in 1781.
The English names, other than the obvious Sunday and Monday ("Moonday"), are
taken from the Teutonic deities that were correlated with the Roman deities that
were asociated with the planets that the days were named after.
The days of the week and celestial bodies they are named after are:
Sunday -- Sun
Monday -- Moon
Tuesday -- Mars
Wednesday -- Mercury
Thursday -- Jupiter
Friday -- Venus
Saturday -- Saturn