Above is a photo taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. It is a pulsar, a rapidly spinning neutron star. It is creating tremendous energies which are shown in the photo as red having the lowest energy and blue the most powerful X-rays. What caught people’s fancy was it looked like a giant spooky hand.
I read an article in my local newspaper about astrology. I don’t recall seeing astrology mentioned in a “news” newspaper outside of the typical daily horoscope in the classified section. Do you ever check out those daily horoscopes? Anyone who understands anything about astrology knows these little snippets don’t even begin to approximate a genuine horoscope.
Here is the article about astrology, which is actually pretty interesting. The Chicago Sun-Times has a new Astrologer! Yippee! Reading this made me ponder the nature of astrology:
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1590781,CST-FTR-eugenia26.article
I have mixed feelings about astrology. I am a firm believer in free will. I lean towards an existential view of life rather than ideas of destiny. The concept that the stars have a role in governing our lives does not ring true with me.
On the other hand, the universe is a strange place. To quote Shakespeare, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
How can we make sense of astrology? From the bit I know, the most interesting concept linked to astrology are astral tides. The idea behind astral tides suggests an astral realm co-exists with the physical world but is invisible to the five senses. This astral dimension is connected to consciousness; in fact the only way to have knowledge of the astral level is through consciousness. Supposedly this astral world has its own natural ebb and flow in relationship to the earth, sun and moon. These astral tides have an influence on our collective consciousness albeit unknowingly. Astrology is the attempt to measure and understand these tides and their influence on mankind. Through millennium it is assumed measurements of the astral tides were perfected. That is the theory.
I don’t know. Astrology sounds like a metaphor for trying to explain the true mysteries of existence. Ancient man looked into the sky and recognized the stars had profound significance. They didn’t realize how reality far exceeded their imagination. Who guessed outside of view existed more galaxies then we have stars in our own Milky Way?
Astrology was a reflection of man’s awe at the cosmos, and an early attempt to comprehend it. Astrology eventually became the science of astronomy. I see something ironic here. We are all made from the remnants of exploded stars. But where did the stars come from? Where did the Big Bang come from? As modern cosmology probes into the deepest mysteries of the universe, the more cosmology is approaching mysticism, if nobody will admit it. The instincts of ancient man may prove accurate…that there are more things in heaven and earth then we have dreamt of.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:14 am
Hi David.
Well, I am a long time student of astrology. If you want to understand how stars and planets effect us, look at how how the moon influences not only the tides, but the growing of plants and regulated the cycles of fertility in animals. See how sun spots can be correlated to earth changes and eve historical events.
The Mystic experiences himself as a microcosm within the macrocosm, as part of the universe, not distinct from it. therefore Jung said that everything born in a certain place and time bears the stamp of that place and time. Sea tortoises know here to return to to lay their eggs because the star patterns are imprinted in their shells. I wrote a poem about this a long time ago after seeing a tortoise in Mexico and had a line that the tortoise navigated by the stars, but I didn’t know it was true for many years after. perhaps that is another example of Oneness.
As for Fate — I think some people have more destiny than others. Its part of ones karma how much ‘free will’ one has or to what degree one feels driven by destiny. I feel the latter about my life.
Cheers!
May 29th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Personally, I believe that astrology is best suited to tell you who you are (depending on how accurate it is - I’m an astrology agnostic: don’t know if it’s accurate, don’t know that it isn’t, aren’t sure if its accuracy is the same from person to person).
But I like to believe that we have control our own destinies (not what happens to us, but what we do with it). For that, I’m skeptical that astrology is more than a potential harbinger of future shoals.
Having said all that, I’ll tell you I don’t confuse my personal perceptions/beliefs with reality. I don’t know what does or doesn’t have merit. I’ve written whole series of short stories on a character “The Tarot Queen” whose cards ALWAYS tell the truth. But, then, that’s fiction.
I refuse to disbelieve in most things in the abstract, even if I reserve the right to disbelieve some specific things (Moon “hoax”, “lose weight without any diet or exercise”, etc.). I’m not omniscient and feel everyone is free to pursue their own beliefs (as long as they don’t hurt anyone) and pursue any subjects they want to pursue for possible truth (as long as they don’t automatically call it “science”).
Life is pretty freaky and I suspect what we don’t know is even more huge and diverse than we ever expected.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Arlene, very well said. I always try to figure out the how and why behind things, to put something in the box. Many things defy being boxed. Astrology is in that category. You described it well.
As for fate or destiny, that is another thing that can’t be boxed. I agree, some people seem to have a stronger destiny then others. A few seem to have destiny imprinted on them (Abraham Lincoln for instance). And some don’t seem to have any destiny whatsoever. I think we always have the choice to deny our destiny. Or make new one.
I wonder if Obama was destined to become our president. If so, does that mean Bush had the same destiny? With Obama I get an impression of destiny, but with Bush it felt like destiny was denied (Bush did not win the popular vote in 2000).
May 29th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Stephanie, I’ve heard about a form of financial astrology…called technical analysis. Instead of studying the stars, they study financial charts and trends trying to predict the future. There are financial gurus who are famous for that, for instance, the Elliott Wave Principle. That is about the cycles in human nature and behavior. They discuss market cycles throughout history going back centuries. Some of their ideas border on metaphysical to my eyes. Consider the very title of Ralph Elliott’s book, who invented his wave principle,” Nature’s Laws – The Secret of the Universe”. But does that mean these predictions work? Sometimes they do, most of the time they don’t.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Ha, David, I read an article that said the financial experts prediction (actually, I think, all kinds of experts) were analyzed after the fact for accuracy. Experts were right/wrong as often as if the predictions had been part of a random generator - no more.
However, if they were FAMOUS and ON TV, they were even LESS accurate.
May 30th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Stephanie,
What is the difference between an expert and a non-expert? An expert can do as good as random, if no better. The non-expert can’t even get close to breaking even. Like a game of blackjack, understanding the rules will get you close to 50/50, but if one does not understand the game, it’s a losing bet. Expert advice is best when it is vague. Then it can’t be measured! Yet, there are people who have predicted the future to some degree. I believe Nostradamus had a few true visions of the future. My next post will be a true story about someone who had a dream that came true. He even wagered people based on this dream…and won!
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:12 pm
The Hand of God?