Planet Earth's majestic night sky is the ultimate representation of the unknown, the pre-modern fireworks display that has filled us with wonder since the beginning of time. I have such an affection for our night sky because it is the last remaining unmolested part of our world. For those of us striving to live a natural existence in world moving ever closer towards an artificial one, the sky is the last real connection to the divine that we have that has not been co-opted by man. Therefore, in my mind it can be trusted for answers to a much higher degree than any man-made doctrine.
There is little to no understanding of Astrology in mainstream science, pop culture, or every day people. What constitutes most people's understanding of Astrology is their sun sign horoscope, like Libra or Scorpio that they see online or in magazines. Horoscopes that make assignment based off of what house your Sun sign falls is only scratching the surface concerning a horoscope.
The Sun is very important, but it is only one of the many bodies in our sky. You cannot hope to glean a lot of information just looking at a single body. You have to look at the interplay between the bodies, how they aspect each other, in what house and what that means. To get a real picture of what is going on you need to use what is called a natal chart or birth chart (the real horoscope).
How is Astrology different from Astronomy?
As I commonly like to do when looking into things is look at the definitions of words being used as it helps paint a clear picture of what I am trying to understand. Astrology is defined as the divination of the supposed influences of the stars and planets on human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects and Astronomy is defined as the study of objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties.
So the difference is that Astrology looks at how the stars and planets affect human and terrestrial affairs and Astronomy is the study of the physical attributes and makeup of the objects in Space. The use of Astrology and Astronomy has been traced back to ancient Babylonia and were studied together. Astrology and Astronomy was used across the world in many cultures such as Chinese, Mayans, Arabs, Greeks and Romans. It was not until the 17th century Age of Reason did the two sciences get separated and Astrology become designated more as a pseudoscience.
I personally think this division is a mistake and you can't hope to see the full picture only staring at a piece of it. You should always keep an open mind to look at things holistically and challenge the norms of traditional science and culture. Science isn't science unless results are testable and reproducible and completely open to challenge, regardless where it leads. People who say "The science is settled" obviously do not know a thing about science as that goes against the very principle of science and the scientific method.
Why is Astrology significant?
Astrology is not just studying the aspects of distant planets and bodies, esoterically we are actually studying aspects of ourselves and the human psyche. In my opinion, this is why so many ancient civilization put such an emphasis on learning about the stars and planets and how they impact people and events here on Earth. All mystery schools have a concept of the microcosm and the macrocosm. Hermeticism uses the axiom "As Above So Below". This is what they are talking about, the cosmos being the macrocosm and mankind as the microcosm as showcased in Robert Fludd's illustration below.
It is my hope that if you have read this far, that you might look at the night sky a little differently, a little more personally. Each of us carry the same potential, the same wonder and power of the cosmos. Take that with you to build a better you for a better tomorrow.
Love to all.
Photo Credits:
Micro and Macrocosms - Robert Fludd (Wikipedia Commons)
Milky Way - Taneli Lahtinen