Astrology - Some Thoughts
ASTROLOGY - A RATIONAL MYSTICS PERSPECTIVE
Astrology gave birth to Astronomy yet despite this many of those who follow the path of the daughter seem to want to disown the mother!!
The scientific criticism which is levelled at Astrology can sometimes miss the point. The question of how can the planets effect an individual in some respects can be answered in clear scientific terms…. we all know about tidal influences of the moon; the gravitational effects of the planets; the very real threat of solar radiation and the ’strength’ of the cosmic winds. Astrology however does seem to go beyond this in that it claims that the positions of the planets at the time of your birth effect your personality and your life path.
From a Rational Mystic point of view there are two areas of popular Astrology…
The TABLOID approach wherein blanket statements are made about each of the ’sun signs
‘ on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or longer, basis.
Whereas most professional Astrologers will admit that these ‘broad stroke’ readings merely reflect general cosmic patterns, the majority of the public seem to recognise this form of the art as THE only type of astrology which exists. It is mostly this Astrology which has been ‘knocked’ by the skeptics and is the focus of some derision from those who consider themselves to be ‘learned’.
When presenting the TABLOID section of the John Govier Late Night Radio Show (BBC Radio) I must confess to a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to it; a frippery, a fun diversion rather than it representing Astrology in its most useful form.
So then, this second type of Astrology… Well that is the Astrology which is based upon your personally calculated Birth Chart.
A Birth Chart is really a map of the positions of the planets at the time of your birth, treating you as the centre of the solar system. The patterns that this ‘map’ presents are then interpreted using a mix of ’set correpondences’ and intuition. It results in a personal profile which enables the Astrologer and client to engage in a conversation about attitudes, values, behaviours, influences and choices…
Astrology has been around for over 2000 years and what many people fail to recognise is the fact that some of the correspondences or meanings attached to particular patterns are the result of two millenia of observations, records and intuitions. The truth is that Astrology is not about prediting the future as much as it is about recognising patterns and linking them to previous observations.
Astrologers will study the ‘astrological charts’ of a particular series of past events and occurences in order to create hypotheses about what migh happen the next time these patterns occur.
And this brings us back to the question - “DO planetary positions effect events on Earth” and that will be the subject of a future BLOG…
For Rational Mystics the key use of Astrology, as with other forms of divination, is in providing a series of metaphors through which we can explore the nature of oursleves and our relationship with the universe. Perhaps this is the reason Carl Jung the developer of psychotherapy spent so much time is exploring Astrology and related disciplines for he recognised the value of accessing part of the ’self’ through our reactions to ‘archetypal’ images and ‘mythic symbols’…
Until next time….
Alan
