Astrology

Astrology is no science because it cannot be proven empirically through the scientific method.  This is not to say that there is no merit to astrology.  In many ways astrology occupies the same territory as religion.  Because so many people believe in it, it cannot be discounted.

Just about every culture on earth has some form of astrology.  This makes sense of course, as from the dawn of time man has always looked to the cosmos for some form of meaning.

Central to all astrology is the natal chart (other names for this diagram in English include horoscope, natus, nativity, astrological chart, map, birth chart, cosmogram, or simply chart). This is a diagrammatic representation in 2 dimensions of the celestial bodies’ apparent positions in the heavens from the vantage of a location on Earth at a given time and place. Interpretation of a natal chart is governed by:

• Astrological aspects: the positions of the heavenly bodies relative to each other.
• Their positions relative to the astrological signs of the zodiac.
• Their positions relative to the horizon (the ascendant), zenith and nadir, and in one of the systems of astrological houses.

Common traditions of astrology include Western astrology, Chinese astrology, Jyotish (Vedic astrology) and Kabalistic astrology. All of these can be subdivided by type, such as natal (the study of a person’s birth chart), horary (a chart drawn to answer a specific question), and electional astrology (a chart drawn ahead of time to determine the best moment to begin an enterprise or undertaking).

Mundane astrologers believe correlations exist between geological phenomena (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) and astronomical phenomena (the movement of celestial bodies in relation to earth).

Astrology has had an influence on the English language. Influenza was so named because doctors once believed it to be caused by unfavorable planetary and stellar influences. The word "disaster" comes from the Latin "dis-aster" meaning "bad star".

A few Western but all Jyotish (Hindu) astrologers use the sidereal zodiac that uses the true astronomical positions of the stars. The majority of Western astrologers base their work on the tropical zodiac that uses a view of the heavens as seen 2000 years ago.

So you can see that astrology goes well beyond simply looking at your horoscope in the daily paper (most true astrologists believe that this is simply a entertaining diversion devoid of any real spiritual meaning.)