Science versus Astrology

Facts of Astrology
Basically, science’s rejection of astrology is based on ignorance. Science’s ignorance. When the astronomer Edmond Halley asked Sir Isaac Newton (essentially the “patron science of physics”) how he could possibly believe in astrology, Sir Isaac answered, “Because I have studied the matter, Sir. You have not.” And therein lies the crux of the matter. When Shakespeare made the comment of the “stars influencing our lives”, he too was mis- or un-informed. Astrology is about the planets of our solar system,
Another example of the ignorance of mainstream science is the oft-quoted astronomer’s notation of the Precession of the Equinoxes, and how this somehow makes astrology invalid. In fact, on the day this was being written, NPR’s “Star Date” had a brief, lucid explanation about the sun entering Ophiuchus -- what astronomers like to refer to as the 13th constellation of the Zodiac. In turns out that in 1930 astronomers had decided that the allegedly arbitrary division of the Zodiac into 12 equal segments of 30 degrees each was not in keeping with actual sizes of the constellations. Scorpio, for example, spans a much smaller section of sky than say Pisces. While the NPR report was well done and basically accurate, others have taken the position that because of the slow rotation of the Earth’s axis on a 25,920 year cycle, this ensures that the portion of the sky that was in Pisces four thousand years ago, is no longer the same portion of the sky now. And thus the constellations are not the same as in the days when astrology was born -- and what astrology calls Scorpio is no longer related to the constellation of Scorpio.
Thus the only effect of the Precession of the Equinoxes on astrology is to provide one point of evidence as to when astrology was first being developed -- i.e. several thousand years ago, when the time of year now allotted to Capricorn (following the winter solstice) was also the time when the sun had as a background of stars, the constellation Capricorn. Otherwise, this slow movement of the earth’s axis has no effect on astrology whatsoever. And accordingly, the Precession is an ally of Astrology -- not an enemy.

HOW CAN 12 ZODIAC SIGNS FIT EVERYONE?

HOW CAN 12 ZODIAC SIGNS FIT EVERYONE?
Actually everyone is a combination of all twelve signs. Also the planets, sun and moon and their sky-sector locations must be factored in as well. The zodiac columns in newspapers and magazines are pretty generalized. They can be rather accurate for those born at sunrise because astrologers use a solar chart system to write those predictions. Many periodicals are guilty of recycling old years of predictions, so they can be very inaccurate besides... don't count on them.

WHY DOESN'T MY SUNSIGN FIT ME ?
We all start out with these same 34 factors but they get emphasized differently. The three main signs are the Sun Sign (how you act), the Moon Sign (how you feel) and the Rising Sign (how you look). These three different signs taken together give a 'thumbnail sketch’ of what a person is like. The rising sign in particular is often more accurate as to what a person thinks of him/herself. I often am asked "can you guess my sign?" but I hesitate - because what I am able to guess with any accuracy is their rising sign (how they appear), not their sun-sign (how they behave).

WHICH IS TRUE - FATE OR FREE-WILL ?
The idea of predicting the future both fascinates and frightens most of us. It is helpful to remember that predicting the future is a bit like trying to forecast the weather, with about as much room for error! The random element that can always change the future picture is Free Will. The reason that the future is relatively easy to predict is because Free Will is rarely exercised, because most of the choices and decisions we humans make are out of habit or half-conscious thinking.
We tend to think of the future as not having happened yet, because our concept of time is linear, that is, past-present-future. It seems to take "time" to get from point A to point B in this linear way of thinking. But I believe our understanding of time is limited; I like to think of time as being spherical. It's like we are in the center of a sphere (in a sense we are, the earth in the middle of all the stars and planets), and everything is really happening all around us at once, in the now. This would make future or past events accessible at any point from within the sphere (even though that's not easy to do), and could explain things like accurate prophesy or past-life recall. If it is correct that all time is happening at once, then it would mean that in any given moment we have a multitude of choices. If we have so many choices available to us in each moment, then Free Will is the rule rather than the exception. I believe it is important to become conscious of all our options rather than blindly accept our "fate". Astrology can be extremely helpful in pinpointing what some of those options might be.

WHY DO SCIENTISTS SAY ASTROLOGY IS ONE SIGN OFF?
The difference between a sign and a constellation is this: some constellations are huge - like Pisces and Virgo - and some are tiny like Aries which has only 3 bright stars. So to make things easier, we divide the constellation belt into 12 equal sections called signs. It so happened about 4,000 years ago, when Astrology came into use, that the Sign of Aries and the Constellation of Aries lined up perfectly. This is not so currently, as we now line up (at Springtime) to the constellation of Pisces, about to move into the constellation of Aquarius over the next 400 or so years. This is called Precession of the Equinoxes, and happens because of a backward wobble in the earth's turning axis. This wobble creates a 26,000 year cycle known as the Great Year, with 12 "months" called 'Ages' lasting about 2160 years each. To confuse us even further, the great-year "months" are named after the Zodiac Signs... you can see why this is all so difficult to grasp! There is much debate over which system - sign or constellation - to use for horoscopes. There is no easy or right answer to the dilemma either. I feel that the sign system works very well, perhaps because it follows the seasons more closely than the constellation system does. Some Astrologers use the constellation system (called sidereal) and it seems to work for them. So both ways work somehow!

HOW DOES ASTROLOGY WORK?

Astrology works on the principle "As above, so below", that the macrocosm (sky) is reflected in the microcosm (earth). It is because of this that an atom looks suspiciously like a miniature solar system and a swirling hurricane like a galaxy - it is a similarity of pattern. At birth the first breath a baby takes fixes into its reality the particular sky-picture for that time and place, so a horoscope is drawn for that first moment. The star patterns in the sky can reflect the soul's blueprint for the baby.

Although some people think the planets exert some kind of magnetic pull on us to explain why Astrology works, I don't believe that is totally accurate. The more plausible explanation is that the planets are harmonically resonating with the earth and each other, thus creating vibration patterns (like a ripple effect) which earth-life responds to on an instinctual level.

There is an interesting story about a man named John Nelson, who worked for RCA back in the 1950's doing experiments on predicting radio-TV broadcast blackouts. He found that some of the classic Astrological aspects (conjunction, opposition and square) existed between Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury, Earth and Sun when blackouts would occur. By plotting them he could predict blackout areas with better than 92% accuracy and the computers of that day (which were as big as a whole city block) could only forecast with 85% accuracy. RCA ended up giving him his own department to continue this unusual work. Nowadays we have satellites to take care of the blackout problem. All of this just underscores how there may indeed be some kind of physical phenomenon at work to explain Astrology's effects, but it probably isn't magnetism.

WHAT IS ASTROLOGY GOOD FOR?

Did you know for instance that you can schedule elective surgery to minimize surgical complications by checking the moon sign? Or that you can plant gardens and crops to grow better at certain moon phases? Or that you can enhance chances for a good marriage by picking an appropriate wedding date by the stars?
"To everything there is a season, and a time and a purpose…"
Besides timing major events, Astrology is good for self-understanding. It is an excellent way to understand other loved ones too. You can even compare two charts for love compatibility, finding out what weakness and strengths you have as a couple. Many psychologists are taking up the study of Astrology to use in their counseling practice because it enables them to get past the games their patients use to sidestep painful self-examination. Astrology can also be used for seeing trends in the economy for the stock market. It can answer specific questions like "where will I find my lost keys" with a type of charting called Horary. In Mundane Astrology, political trends can be mapped. Locational Astrology helps find the best areas to live in to enhance career or love-life. Vocational Astrology can help you find an appropriate career path...

What's my star sign?

Aries (21 March-20 April)
Taurus (21 April-21 May)
Gemini (23 June-23 July)
Leo (24 July-23 August)
Virgo (24 August-23 September)
Libra (24 September-23 October)
Scorpio (24 October-22 November)
Sagittarius (23 November-22 December)
Capricorn (23 December-19 January)
Aquarius (20 January-19 February)
Pisces (20 February-20 March)

Another way of classifying the zodiac signs is according to their so-called quadruplicities or qualities. The three quadruplicities can be seen as different ways of being creative.

Cardinal Signs

The four cardinal signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, have in common the impetus to initiate or create, or to counter one initiative with another.

Fixed Signs

The four fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, are inclined to sustain or stabilise what has already been created, or to resist or practise endurance in the face of another's initiative.

Mutable Signs

The four mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, take what has been created and attempt to alter or adapt it.

Combine the four elements with the three quadruplicities, and we find that each of the zodiac signs has a unique combination of the two. For instance, Taurus alone is fixed earth, Sagittarius alone is mutable fire. These four links will take you to a very brief sketch of the characteristics of each element, and of the differences between each sign of that element on account of the varying quadruplicities. Each page contains links that will take you to more detailed descriptions of each of the zodiac signs, or you can go straight to the ones which interest you using the links above.

Zodiac Signs

Fire

The fire element desires freedom.

Earth

The earth element needs security.

Air

The air element (like fire but with a different emphasis) desires freedom.

Water

The water element (like earth but with a different emphasis) needs security.

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The Sun is now in Scorpio (2007 dates: 19:15 GMT 23 October - 16:50 GMT 22 November)

A great number of Scorpio's may be found in the helping professions ... because they are so keyed in to people's pain and the struggle of those trapped in their own darkness. But laziness and weakness Scorpio will not abide. ... What he fails to realise is that people are made differently, and not everyone has his capacity for ruthless self-discipline.

What is Astrology ?

Astrology-
is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs in which knowledge of the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer, or an astrologist. Numerous traditions and applications employing astrological concepts have arisen since its earliest recorded beginnings in the 2nd millennium BCE.[1] It has played a role in the shaping of culture, early astronomy, and other disciplines throughout history.

Historically, astrology and astronomy were often indistinguishable, with the desire for predictive and divinatory knowledge one of the primary motivating factors for astronomical observation. Astronomy began to diverge from astrology after a long period of gradual separation from the Middle Ages up until the 18th century, and has since distinguished itself as the scientific study of astronomical objects and phenomena, placing no significance on these phenomena's supposed astrological correlation.

Besides the most popular, natal, there are a few other types of astrology that are based on similar methods. Those are:

Astro-meteorology is predicting the weather, as well as some natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
Agricultural astrology is the oldest branch. It was used to predict the best time to start the field work.
Medical astrology predicts potential health problems, and sets therapy for them.
Esoteric astrology is astrology of the soul. It uses natal charts to find out things about the spiritual conscience and spiritual development of a person.
Horary astrology finds an answer to any question according to the place and time the question was asked at (it is interesting how a question can't be asked twice, because then the answer is invalid!).
Electional astrology is a sub-class of horary astrology and it determines what time is best fitting to start some project, marriage, war and similar.
Mundane astrology makes horoscopes on the count when some country was "born", so it could predict national happenings and see their outcomes.
Astro-economics implements astrological principals to find answers to questions interesting to the financial world.
Synastry is a special branch of astrology that is comparing natal charts to find relations amongst people.
Psychological astrology uses its symbolic language to evaluate personality elements.