Astrology

Down through the years there have always been people firmly convinced that our lives on earth are mysteriously influenced by the celestial bodies - the moon, the planets and the stars. It has been estimated that up to 1 billion people on earth today "believe in or follow astrology to some extent". Many of the rich and famous of this world consult astrologers, convinced that the knowledge they gain will help them be successful in life. It is claimed that many major Fortune 500 companies consult astrological advice for major decision making. According to the fornmer Chief of Staff of the White House, Donald Regan's text For the Record, the influence of astrology at the White House during the Reagan administration extended to "every major move and decision".

This article is written with the purpose of examining this popular belief and asking whether it is (a) true and (b) helpful. It should be stated that while the church, especially the evangelical church, has traditionally frowned upon astrology there are now even many Christians who believe to some extent in astrology.

Astrology is a belief system based upon the assumption that the lives of men are mysteriously influenced by the heavenly bodies - the moon, planets and stars. This influence is supposed to begin at birth. Astrologers consider that a person's date of birth has a powerful influence on their character type. Astrologers generally divide the year into 12 date ranges, each one corresponding to one of the 12 signs of the zodiac. Many believe that by finding out someone's star sign they will then be able to gain knowledge which will be useful for them in their dealings with that person.

Astrologers draw up charts interpreting the movement of these heavenly bodies and then interpret these charts in such a way as to assign meaning to their various constructions.

Although it may be dressed up with pseudo-scientific language, ultimately there is little correspondence between the constructions of astrology and the observations of scientific astronomers. The formations and concepts of astrology predate scientific knowledge concerning our Universe. They put the earth at the centre of the Universe, and all stars and planets are imagined to be moving around on the inside of the surface of a something like a spherical ball through various portions of the sphere known as "houses". The technical details vary fromone tradition to another. But as we will see, once you believe in astrology, the technical details don't matter at all - the results are basically the same.

Astrology has been an important part of many a non-Christian religion. Certainly the Egyptians and Babylonians practised it. Today witches of all forms believe in it and guide their activities according to its principles.

Astrology is an occult system because it claims to reveal a secret and mysterious esoteric knowledge to those who have been initiated in its systems and teachings.

Horoscopes are published in many newspapers and magazines. They give the same message to everyone in the world born in the same time of the year - twelve different messages in all. These messages contains general predictions and pieces of advice - typically concerning the personal affairs of people. The underlying message, however, is that the stars somehow have an influence on your destiny. Nowadays many people willingly part with their hard-earned cash to buy a horoscope from their local newsstand - hoping to gain some kind of helpful insight for these troubled times.

It seems ridiculous to me that people can believe in this at all. For one thing, horoscopes published in the same day by different publishers are highly inconsistent and often contradictory. They can't all be right. But even if only one horoscope was right, how can one message be simultaneously true for an estimated 500 million people on this earth who all happen to have a birthday which falls into a particular date range?

Sure, there will be times when the predictions of the horoscopes seem to come true. But this is guaranteed anyway by the law of averages. It may be that regular readers of horoscopes tend to remember the times when the predictions came strikingly true and tend to forget the times they didn’t. The other possibility is that by believing in the horoscope, people give place to the power of suggestion and possibly other kinds of powers which can work towards its fulfilment.

Perhaps newpaper and magazine editors see all this as harmless fun, or a way to help sell their product on the open market. However, if it can be shown that belief in astrology can open a person up to harmful influences, then these justifications for horoscopes fall to the ground and we must view these publications as socially irresponsible.

The real power of astrology is not merely in the horoscopes which are published in so many modern newspapers and magazines. Every day these horoscopes contradict each other in so many ways - and indeed, most professional astrologers complain that these columns are vastly oversimplified at best and "utter nonsense" at worst. No, the real power of astrology comes into play when someone goes to a professional astrologer for advice concerning their life and the decisions they must make. The astrologer may be able to come up with many amazing insights concerning the person's character and things that have happened to them in the past. This is attributed to knowledge gained through the charts. When many things are revealed about an otherwise unknown person, amazement and credulity are often the results. People drop their defenses and begin to believe very much in what the astrologer says. If he explains this power in terms of the stars then this may be believed without question. Before long a person can become dependant on the advice and counsel of professional astrologers for every major decision. The power of suggestion and possibly other powers may then become involved in powerfully influencing that person's life. Pretty soon all the events in a person's life - good and bad, may be interpreted in the

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