Numerous belief systems known as astrology hold that there is a connection between astrological phenomena and occurrences or personality descriptions in the human realm. The scientific community has rejected astrology as having no ability to explain the universe. The premises and alleged consequences detailed in astrological traditions have not been supported by scientific research.
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Horoscopes: Are they true?
Astrology: Is it true? Although reading horoscopes is a well-liked past time, is there any scientific evidence that it has any significance?
When you are lured by a familiar interruption and your willpower wanes, problems may result.
Up to 70 million Americans consult their horoscopes every day. At least that is what the American Federation of Astrologers claims. A Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life research conducted twenty years ago found that 25% of Americans thought that the positions of the stars and planets had an impact on our daily life. According to the General Social Survey from 2012, 34% of Americans asked think astrology is “extremely” or “kind of” scientific. The percentage of those who think astrology is “not at all scientific” has decreased from two-thirds to roughly one-half.
The concept that astronomical phenomena, such as the stars above when you were born or the fact that Mercury is in retrograde, have the ability to affect the daily happenings in our lives and our personality traits is commonly referred to as astrology. The study of astronomy, which is the scientific study of celestial objects, space, and the mechanics of the cosmos, is obviously very different from this.
An element of astrology in particular that is gaining popularity is the ability to predict one’s future or provide advise on daily actions through horoscopes. Horoscope pages had 150 percent more visits in 2017 than in 2016, according to publications like The Cut.
It’s obvious that many individuals are looking for methods of star interpretation. Understanding the locations of the stars, the basis of astrology, seems to be a sufficiently scientific endeavor. But can science support the idea that astrology has an impact on our personalities and our lives?
But since I have you for the remaining five minutes of this six-minute-or-so podcast, let’s examine the precise methods by which astrology has been put to the test.
Why are horoscope predictions wrong?
But the precession of the Earth’s rotational axis, which causes astrological signs to diverge from the zodiac, is the fundamental cause. The Earth’s equator gently bulges due to its rotation, much like how a skater’s skirt fanned out as she spins. The Earth quakes like a top because to the gravitational force of the Moon and Sun on the bulge. Over a period of 25,800 years, the wobble makes the Earth’s axisthe line around which it rotatesswing slowly in a circle.
The constellations appear to slide to the east by around a degree per human lifetime, changing how the zodiac appears to us on Earth. Around 150 B.C., Hipparchus of Nicaea made the slow but definitive observation of precession.
The vernal equinox, or the first day of spring, was in Aries in ancient times. It entered Pisces due to precession approximately 100 B.C., remained there until 2700 A.D., when it will enter Aquarius, and so on. It will finally return to Aries and the cycle will start all over again in 25,800 years.
Astrology may be entertaining as a game with its predictions of destiny and personality. The topic, however, has no scientific foundation. What Monopoly is to the real estate market, science is to the subject.
Astrology draws attention away from the planets’ very real influences, particularly their gravitational interactions, which actually modify the sizes, shapes, and tilts of their orbits. Past ice eras on Earth were probably brought on by such shifts. Direct impacts between Earth and celestial bodies can result in extremely quick changes, as was the case 66 million years ago when an asteroid hit the Yucatan Peninsula and had global consequences, including the extinction of dinosaurs and the emergence of mammals.
Astrological prophecies will lead you nowhere at all, but astronomical studies will eventually enable the prediction of such events.
What did Jesus have to say regarding astrology?
I believe that astrology was a tool God created for us to use as a spiritual tool and to better understand ourselves. I believe that astrology is supported by a number of biblical scriptures. I concentrate on what Jesus taught as a Christian. When Christ prophesied in Luke 21:25, “There shall be signs in the sun, moon, and stars,” he was referring to the significance of astrology. He talks to the disciples about the significance of astrology and how it might be interpreted as a sign of his coming back. Why would Jesus provide us this crucial information if we aren’t intended to interpret planetary energies and zodiacal signs and if he actually opposed it? Jesus warned us that there will be signals in the sky upon his return, just as the three wise men understood that Jesus would be born under the star in the sky that guided them to him lying in the manger.
Does astrology hold a theistic view?
I’ve been asked to discuss the compatibility of astrology and religion numerous times over the course of my many years of counseling with deeply religious customers. I have noticed an amazing ideological connection between organized faiths and the ordered cosmos of astrology, despite the fact that some fervently religious people regard the practice of astrology as heretical.
Astrology and strict religious belief are mutually compatible. The idea that God created the universe, in which even the planets and stars are governed by high ideals, is actually a smooth leap.
My position is supported by history, which demonstrates that the study of the planets and stars predates and has influenced religious doctrine and practice all throughout the world. Evidence for this can be found in ancient literature, sculptures, and works of stained glass art. Our earliest historical locations of religious worship contain representations of the astrological signs and planets. Astrological alignments that synchronistically confirmed their advent were linked to the rise of important religious personalities including Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Buddha, and Mary Baker Eddy.
It is possible to trace the origins of some fervent religious followers’ resistance to a time when priests and other religious authorities sought to mediate and interpret every religious experience from their positions of authority. Our forefathers sought divine inspiration straight from the stars and believed themselves to be an intricate part of an active universe unfolding before the rise of male-dominated organized religion. A discipline and belief system based on an enchantment with the divine orchestrations of the heavens, astrology was accessible to everyone. Astrology assumes an infinite and purposeful intelligence that penetrates the skies and the earth in a vast symphony of meaning rather than the worship of a single godhead or leader.
The Latin word religio, which means to connect together, is the word’s root. The motions of the skies and the experiences and happenings on Earth are inextricably interwoven.
Through the interpretation of the 9th and 12th houses as well as the archetypes of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, astrology recognizes the significance of religion and spirituality. The 9th and 12th houses represent regions of life where a person may look for spiritual or religious direction, experience, or ordination. Saturn might represent a severe God image, Jupiter can represent a strong spiritual or religious leader, and Neptune can represent mystical encounters and the rapture.
A reputable, objective astrologer can assist a customer in strengthening their ties to their religion. Through an examination of their chart, I have assisted some clients in reclaiming and activating their religious roots, directing them toward the power they can find in following a religious path. For some people, religion is a crucial component of their psychological and mental health.
Contrary to many established religions, astrological activities and beliefs are not burdened by sexism, racism, homophobia, or other forms of oppression. Even the traditional metaphors used in astrology to distinguish between male and female planets and energies have been reinterpreted as receptive and active energies that are non-gendered in their expression. Everybody has a significant seat at the cosmic table, just as every planet and star in the sky has its own place.
astrology and institutionalized religions:
- generating meaning
- are not supported by science
- dated back countless years
- based on legend and myth
- have produced amazing, creative writing and art
- Make people feel like they belong and have an identity
- Assisting people in overcoming extreme sorrow and loss
- discussion of the concepts of fate and free will
- have a history of group rites
- have calendars for important occasions
Contrary to religion, astrology
- Lacking places of worship
- has no requirements or commitments to join
- possesses no moral laws
- does not make a meritorious superiority claim
- lacks a human saint
- Has no hierarchy of worthiness
- doesn’t suggest an afterlife
- provides no concrete guidelines for social behavior
- There is no mention of a written agreement requiring training
- has no authorized uniforms or costuming for practitioners
- doesn’t require worship
These lists demonstrate how astrology and religion could work together very effectively.
Religion is a Saturn word in astrological terms because it is structured, spells out right and wrong, and is founded on and on agreements and structures. The more Uranian astrology is
Who made astrology?
The older than any other known case, according to Jones. He continued, “We have a lot of horoscopes that are written down as a kind of document on papyrus or on a wall but none of them as old as this. It’s also older than any written-down horoscopes that we have from the Greco-Roman civilization.”
The discovery was published in the most current issue of the Journal for the History of Astronomy by Jones and StaoForenbaher, a researcher with the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb.
Forenbaher told LiveScience that in 1999, the crew was excavating close to the entrance of the Croatian cave, a location well-known to archaeologists and residents of the surrounding village of Nakovana who simply referred to it as “Spila,” which translates to “the cave.”
However, no one was aware at the time that a portion of the cave had been closed off more than 2,000 years prior. Forenbaher’s then-girlfriend dug through the debris and found a broad, low tube that extended for over 33 feet in the dark (10 meters). “The unique King Tut experience, coming to a spot where nobody has been for a couple of thousand years,” was how Forenbaher put it when describing entering the corridor.
Forenbaher recalled that when he first entered the cavern, “there was a very thin limestone crust on the surface that was splitting under your boots, which meant that nobody walked there in a very, very, long time.”
It had been blocked off in the first century B.C., presumably in reaction to a Roman military campaign against the locals, the researchers would later discover.
When the archaeologists looked further, they discovered a stalagmite with a phallic shape, as well as several drinking containers that had been accumulated over a long period of time. Forenbaher recalled that during the excavation, “these incredibly minute bits and pieces of ivory came up, and we didn’t even know what we had at the time.”
The group got to work. Years of piecing them together, discovering further tidbits, and determining what they were, according to Forenbaher, followed. Finally, they came to a point where they were staring at the charred remains of the oldest known astrological board.
The board’s origin and how it got to the cave are both unknown to archaeologists. The Babylonians created their own kind of horoscopes about 2,400 years ago, which is when astrology first emerged in antiquity.
Then, about 2,100 years ago, astrology began to expand throughout the eastern Mediterranean and gained popularity in Egypt, which was then ruled by a dynasty of Greek monarchs.
The current type of astrology, which is what we typically refer to as the Greek style of astrology, is considerably modified, according to Jones. The Greek tradition served as the basis for astrology throughout the Middle Ages and into contemporary Europe, contemporary India, and other regions.
The ivory used to produce the zodiac images was created around 2,200 years ago, just before the advent of this new system of astrology, according to radiocarbon dating.
Egypt is a possibility, although researchers are unsure about the board’s manufacturing location. They believe that the ivory itself came from an elephant that was slaughtered or passed away in the nearby area. Given its value, the ivory would have been kept in storage for a long timepossibly even a centurybefore being used to create the zodiac. The board, which might have had other components that perished, would have been made by attaching these signs to a flat (perhaps wooden) surface.
It might have at some stage been loaded onto a ship sailing over the Adriatic Sea, a significant trade route that the cave looks out on. Illyrians were the name given to the inhabitants of Croatia at the time. Although they were generally denigrated by ancient writers, archaeological evidence indicates that they interacted with surrounding Greek colonies and played an important role in the Mediterranean region.
It’s probable that a Greek colony astrologer visited the cave to make a forecast. Although it might not have been practical for the astrologer, a session done under the flickering light of the cavern would have been a potent experience.
Jones said that it didn’t seem like a very practical location for performing astrological homework, such as computing planetary placements.
Another hypothesis is that the Illyrians did not completely comprehend the use of the astrology board and traded or stole it from someone. The board and the drinking utensils would have been offered to an unknown deity who was worshipped in the cave at that point.
Forenbaher stated that there is “certainly a probability” that the astrologer’s board appeared as an offering alongside other unique items that were either purchased or looted from a passing ship. He emphasized how meticulously selected drinking containers were discovered in the cave. Only a few specimens of simpler amphora storage vessels were discovered with them, and these were constructed elsewhere.
According to Forenbaher, “it nearly seems like someone was bringing out wine there, pouring it, and then throwing the amphora away because they weren’t good enough for the gods or to be placed in the sanctuary.”
The phallic-shaped stalagmite, which may have formed naturally there, appears to have served as a focal point for both these rites and the offerings made in the cavern. Forenbaher said that while all stalagmites exhibit certain phallic characteristics, it can be challenging to interpret their significance for the inhabitants of the cave. It undoubtedly had significant meaning, he added.
This is a location where valuable items that were once kept locally were given to a supernatural force, transcendental being, or whatever.
Can astrology foretell the future?
This is arguably the riskiest astrology-related assumption that anyone could make. Its goal is not to predict what will happen to you in the future, despite what many people think. Instead, it’s designed to be a tool that empowers you to make wise choices and stay out of life’s pitfalls. Astrology seeks to keep you in harmony with the universe’s unity. It can help you make wiser decisions when you’re not in alignment and things keep going wrong.
Many individuals also believe that an astrologer has the power to alter their fate or way of life. This cannot be done. Consider it like this: Your destiny cannot be changed by an astrologer because it was not created by him. Actually, your fate was written by youby your subconscious and karma. Through your choices and decisions, you have the opportunity to slightly modify your life. You can influence it to some extent because you created it, but you cannot completely alter it.
In other words, if you are an apple seed, you will never grow into an orange tree. You might not be able to prevent contracting a certain sickness, but you can decide how to manage and handle it. In this way, astrology can be useful as a decision-making tool that will help you experience the finest possible outcome of your own unique destiny. Simply said, it all revolves around you from beginning to end.
Should we trust horoscopes?
Being able to manage your own life and make your own decisions is one of the signs of mental and emotional maturity, he tells WebMD. He contends that time spent on horoscopes would be better spent on tools that have a proven track record of assisting individuals in making positive changes in their life. Horoscopes can be a harmless source of amusement for some people.
Does Islam accept astrology?
Astrology is the study of celestial body motions and alignments that are thought to have an impact on both the natural world and human affairs. According to historian Emilie Savage-Smith, astrology (also known as ilm al-nujm, “the study of the stars”) was “by far” the most widely used of the “many disciplines aiming to forecast future events or perceive hidden phenomena” in early Islamic history.
Despite Islamic prohibitions, some Muslims in the Middle Ages were interested in studying the apparent motion of the stars. This was due in part to their belief that celestial bodies were necessary, as well as the fact that desert nomads frequently traveled at night and relied on knowledge of the constellations to direct them. The need for Muslims to determine the time of the prayers, the direction the Kaaba should face, and the proper orientation of the mosque after the advent of Islam helped give astronomy a religious impetus and contributed to the idea that celestial bodies had an impact on both terrestrial affairs and human condition.
The rules for how Islam views astrology are laid down in Islamic law, the Quran, the Hadith, Ijma (scholarly consensus), and Qiyas (analogy). The concept’s classification is further broken down into halal (authorized) and haram (forbidden) categories (forbidden). Astrology is prohibited by the authorities, as stated in the Quran and Hadith, according to all Islamic sects and experts.