Astrology’s purification
For some people, astrology is an exploitation with scientific base. The mathematical celestial measurements which are precise in equinox or in stars movements, as well as stars reunion to identify a more or less known form... All of them are scientific characteristics. But the star's involvement in the development of a human being is not demonstrable from the called "exact sciences" as it happens with the rest of beliefs.
Astrology has always had bigger repercussion than the rest of the mantics and also it has been the most respected one thanks to this scientific support and others that do follow a numerological pattern, not a mathematical one. The moon does influence in the tides and it alters sexual activity or territorial behaviour of several beings. There are even studies about mental breakdowns in psychiatric patients, births or female heart attacks coincide with moon phases with incomparable results because of their differences. However other involvements that are exact in comparison exist, they are hard to establish as authentic ones, or at least as direct influences. See the case of precession.
Precession was already known in Babylon and confirmed by Hipparchus of Nicaea, whose messenger was Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD.) It is a cumulative variation of 1st, which is produced by rotation of the Polar Axis around the elliptical pole every 72 years. The total of the elliptical round is 25920 years. For numerology this cosmic rate fits in an incredible way with our 72 heartbeats-per-minute and our average 25920 breaths during the day. Coincidence or not, can we consider it an influence factor?
About precession, there is another unknown issue for astrology followers but especially important for those who are devoted to it. Zodiac is a fringe placed 6 degrees at each side of the elliptical line, it is divided in twelve signs of 30 degrees and it starts in Aries. Due to this movement the Sun does not come back to 0 degrees in Aries but it goes step by step over the constellation. These are called Astrological Ages and now we are in Pisces one -which many related to "itchthys" the Christian ideograph fish- since our modern sign of Aries would be over this constellation.
At the end of the second millennium we will enter in Acuarius Age. At this point, why the corresponding zodiac signs have not been updated? Among others, Jyotish -Hindu Vedic astrology- has tried to follow this movement but the rest of the eastern world keeps going on with Zodiac in their date even though we have a sign "late". In one hand this is because we inherited our Zodiac an astrological and astronomy culture -since Greek people knew Mesopotamian astrology- before this happened or at least before the astrological precession -non astronomic- was acknowledged.
In the other hand, at 1930, the limits of the constellations were fixed with precision to identify and study each star, which leads to fix the inherited celestial forms. It would not be logic to change them every time they move. The dates for entrance or start, or dates for the close or end, however, move and admit annual variations which must be established in the Astral Chart, the map we are used to see in the definition of birth of the people who applies for astrological enquiry.
In relation with inheritance there is another point to mention, huge and more demonstrated. Astrology is based in a geocentric system which has not been entirely abandoned: the universe is still a big blanket which covers the Earth from we watch everything, whose movement around the Sun must not influence astrological observation. There were more problems at the moment of planetary readjustment since ancient people knew the Sun and the Moon and only five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. By discovering Uranus, Neptune and Pluto -clearest example of the fact of ignoring scientific facts at astrological and also social level for something better known. Planets move simultaneously through Houses and Zodiac signs. In the past, planetary profiles or types were established for individual -this is more known in palmistry, closed related to astrology- which coincide in mythological characteristics. Again, astrologists had to evaluate the influence of the new planets with characteristics focused on the represented myth rather than imitate their predecessors.
There are many astrologists that fight for astrology to be recognised as science in spite of not accomplishing all the requirements for it, claiming that many human sciences neither have these patterns as philosophy and theology which also has a base of beliefs. Others consider that this recognition is not necessary to keep going on with a discipline that survived from the beginning of time. Geoffrey Cornelius, president of Astrological Lodge in London admits that nowadays his discipline has a lot of modifications to be done and to be adapted to the modern world, he knows many other ways for divination as well as he does not avoid the historical issues: At the moment Ptolemy lived, there were two different astrological ways, the natural one devoted to observation of celestial phenomena linked to the earthen ones, and the "legal" one which defines individual characteristics and even their particular features. The first one has a scientific approach because it is based on watching and comparing astronomical and weather phenomena, the second one gets dangerously close to a Paranatellon, a more adequate name for the daily horoscope since it is an abusive generalization which lacks of actual research by forgetting dozens of influencing factors such as Ascendants or Aspects. Among other author's establishments, in order to be faithful to Abra's purposes, we must appoint that for him astrology does not need to have a scientific base and it does not need to be inside the divinatory arts. The author thinks it is an study of the symbols and the beauty of universe, even
"may be characterized as cosmic sympathy: the planets and their positions mirror the occult quality of the totality of the macrocosm-microcosm 'at the moment'. This sympathy is also mirrored in the knowing that belongs to the soul." (1994).
He accepts the philosophic, religious and
subjective side of astrology and considers it as a means that has
survived thanks to the feeling that give us of being connected to something greater
than us, if we want we could call it as "sacred".
Pietro Viktor Carracedo Ahumada - pietrocarracedo@gmail.com
Translated by: Rachel Black - raquel_carrasco91@hotmail.com
