Science and
Astrology
Resolving the Paradox; common
misconceptions
In this day and age, astrology is lumped
in with all the other so-called superstitions and backward,
non-scientific belief systems that primitive and unevolved
people cling to in order to comfort themselves in the darkness.
What has not been acknowledged by the mainstream media (though
they feed the superstition with tacky horoscope columns and sun
sign predictions in the back pages) is that modern scientific
understanding and astrological principles are actually quite
compatible.
The concept of implicate order in physics, for example,
suggests that an inner archetypal / symbolic meaning can be
contained with and connected directly to explicate order, or
that which is outwardly manifest and visible. It is not that
one causes the other but that both exist and mirror each other
in a point for point way.
In astrology, the planets and their movements are symbolically
significant; they are reflective, not causal. Just because two
things happen at the same time doesn't mean one thing causes
the other. The planetary bodies don't actually make anything
happen. They needn't apply forces that can be measured with
instruments, and the lack of such measurable force is not
relevant to whether or not astrology works.
The planets do move in a predictable, patterned way that can be
interpreted, using the language of archetype, as symbolically
equivalent to the movements of human lives. Millennia of
observation by astrologers, the astronomers and social
scientists of the day, have shown these patterns to be
consistent. Asking, 'Why does it work?' is beside the point,
for that is the eternal unanswerable. Life is full of
mysteries. We can understand how, but why is ever elusive. Why
does two plus two always equal four? Why do atoms combine to
make molecules? Why does life exist?
Another common misconception is that the backdrop of the
constellations in the sky is supposed to be the basis for
modern tropical astrology, and that because the background has
shifted, astrology is now wrong. People love to point that out
the discrepancy caused by the precession of the equinoxes,
thinking they're disproving something.
However, the stars are not the current basis for tropical
astrology, though they were the original inspiration for the
symbol system we use. Western astrology is earth-based. The
beginning points of the cardinal signs are attached to the
cardinal points of the year, the solstices and equinoxes. The
Sun moves into the symbolic sign Capricorn at the winter
solstice, into Aries at the spring equinox, Cancer at the
summer solstice and Libra at the fall equinox.
The signs' meanings are much more tied to the symbolic
significance of the seasons than to the star patterns the sun
appears to be traveling in front of. For example, Aries, the
sign the Sun enters at the spring equinox, signifies the
energetic and will-driven bursting forth of life from a dormant
state. Capricorn, the sign of winter solstice, represents the
bare bones and necessities of physical life.
The misapprehension of most people about this is quite
understandable, for the ongoing media blackout around anything
that addresses and explains the actual basis for and practice
of modern astrology has ensured that virtually none of this is
common knowledge.
Astrology is a symbolic language that describes the archetypal
world, and it is convenient and effective for explaining and
predicting everything from certain social trends on the macro
level to the symbolic unfolding and potential actualization of
an individual's evolutionary journey. It has many useful
applications, such as deciphering the complicated dynamics of
relationships, helping parents to understand and meet their
children's' true needs, and understanding group and business
dynamics.
Astrology can help us to understand the nature of the crises we
encounter as part of the business of living and give strategies
for coping and meeting the transformational and evolutionary
challenges being offered. As a tool for personal and social
growth, astrology is unparalleled.
Astrology is not simple or easy to learn, though the basic
elements that comprise it are very simple.
Astrology is a language, and the concepts which can explain it
can only be described in that language. It is a map, a
blueprint, a step-by-step evolutionary instruction manual.
Astrology is a system of thought, of understanding the world.
Astrology is an art--the whole picture it paints can ultimately
only be grasped intuitively, subjectively. And astrology is a
science--it is repeatable and provable, although not
empirically, for within the logic and framework of astrology
(as in quantum physics) there is no such thing as empiricism.
The point of view of the astrologer, the observer, changes
everything. No two astrologers share exactly the same view of
astrology.
Astrology's only proof is that it works--in the realm in which
it exists--subjectively. From the point of view of any human
person, given an accurate birth-time and an intuitive and
competent astrologer, astrology can be seen to work.
Astrology is the science of the subjective and the art of the
arcane.
Astrology is bigger than mind, body and spirit; there are four
elements, not three, and the fourth is a biggie. Astrology's
four elements, fire, earth, air and water, correspond to four
main divisions of reality: mind, matter, spirit and emotion.
All are balanced equally in the whole, though individuals may
be biased in favour of certain elements and uncomfortable with
certain others.
This society is desperately in need of a paradigm shift, and we
have one waiting, ready to burst overhead like a cosmic
fireworks display. Parts of that truth are being discovered and
articulated by various thinkers, scientists, mystics and
philosophers, and only the language of astrology has the
necessary scope and symmetry to express it.
In his novel Stranger In a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein told
of a new system of thought (Martian) that, once learned,
resulted in people acquiring powers that seemed magical--the
power to appear and disappear at will, for example, and the
power to heal and transform their own bodies. However, the
concepts that needed to be learned in order to manifest the
powers could be expressed only in the Martian language--so in
order to gain the powers, one must learn to speak and
understand Martian.
Astrology is like Martian in that respect. The whole truth is
made up of all the elements and oppositions, all types of
approach, interacting together in balance. However, the
appropriate language with which to understand the whole truth
has not been taken seriously, and (aside from the horoscope
columns which everyone loves to read but is embarrassed to
admit) is not being learned. Why is that?
It's partly because astrology has quite a steep learning
curve--it's complicated and difficult and few people have the
motivation to learn any subject in that depth on their own
momentum without social support. Who would want to learn
mathematics if it were not required in school? Only those with
a natural aptitude and drive to want to know what only
mathematics can teach.
Astrology is not being taught in the schools, quite the
contrary. Astrology is thoroughly disparaged by the mainstream
and it is quite likely that any teacher who mentions astrology
other than derogatorily is likely to receive unpleasant
attention from his or her superior. I believe there is a dark
and unconscious reason behind the contemptuous dismissal
astrology has received from the physical sciences.
There was a famous petition in 1983 which signed by nearly two
hundred prominent scientists which stated categorically as a
matter of fact that astrology is utter trash, with no value and
no basis in reality. This petition was reported at the time in
the major media, but the response of astrologer's was neither
mentioned nor allowed.
There was an indignant uprising of astrologers in response who
wrote many letters to various media, pointing out that
reputable, serious astrologers with a high degree of
professionalism and integrity do in fact exist in plenty and
pleading to have their point of view be heard. Virtually none
of these ever saw the light of day. One group of astrologers
contacted many of the scientist signatories asking whether or
not they had actually studied the subject before signing in the
spirit of scientific inquiry--and none had. Several astrologers
offered free readings to any scientist who cared to know more
about astrology--none were accepted.
These were scientists, who signed their name en masse to
condemn a whole school of thought without bothering to
investigate it first, even in a cursory manner. This is very
strange behavior for those who practice good science (and I
must assume the majority of those who signed were considered to
be good scientists).
Such blind adherence to a belief system without prior
investigation flies in the face of scientific method. It speaks
of a gap in the thought processes of the signers. Such a blind
spot, a blot of darkness, a compulsion, in fact, screams
Pluto!
And of course, it just so happens that Pluto moved into its
home sign, Scorpio, in that same year, 1983. Scorpio
represents, among many other things, fear of the mysterious and
unknowable and the collective, compulsive denial of that fear
along with that which is feared.
Another reason for science's rejection of astrology is that it
cannot be empirically proved. Scientific method when it comes
to astrology falls apart. Only personal experience can attest
to its validity. The only way that I can see that astrology can
be verified is through personal study or consultation with an
astrologer, and then, the evidence is undeniable, but it is not
objective evidence.
Astrology is full of so-called anecdotal evidence and
coincidences and subjective confirmation, but science has so
far failed to allow for that part of life to play a role in the
whole picture. And this is precisely the value of astrology,
for it includes the scientific world-view in the earth and air
elements, the physical and intellectual spheres, while it also
includes the mystical and emotional in the elements fire and
air.
Astrology is inclusive; science is exclusive. It cannot be said
that astrology is a science, for scientific method can't prove
it and it does not confine itself to a scientific world-view.
Yet I believe it to be a holistic science, in the same family
as the holistic science described by Stephan Halpern, James
Lovelock, and Lynn Margulis.
This entire universe is a vast, breathing, living, sentient
organism, the truth of which assertion cannot be proved but
only experienced. The aliveness of our bodies and
our planet can be experienced by allowing the living
world move through us and include us within its
wholeness. We are all capable of viscerally
participating in the vast interconnectedness of the
cosmos.
by -
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