What is Astrology?
The study of the positions and movements of the stars, and planets, and the way that some people believe they affect people and events.
Astrology is the study of the influence that distant cosmic objects, usually stars and planets, have on human lives. The position of the sun, stars, moon, and planets at the time of people's birth (not their conception) is said to shape their personality, affect their romantic relationships and predict their economic fortunes, among other divination.
What most people know about astrology is their "sign," which refers to one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac. This is a form of sun-sign astrology, which is the astrology upon which newspaper horoscopes are based. It is probably the simplest form because nothing more than the date of someone's birthday is needed to generate a sun-sign horoscope. Many astrologers will tell you that this form of astrology is so simplistic that it produces very limited results.
To produce a more accurate reading, astrologers check to see what sign each planet was in at the time of birth. The planets and signs combine with other elements, such as houses and angles, to form a complex and often very specific profile of a subject's personality, life, and future prospects.
There is no single unified theory or practice of astrology. Ancient cultures all practiced their forms, some of which combined and evolved into today's common western astrology. Eastern cultures continue to practice their forms of astrology: Chinese, Vedic, and Tibetan astrology are among the most well-known.
Even within Western astrology, there is a considerable diversity of methods and philosophies. Some divide astrology by the result that is intended:
Mundane Astrology - This is used to examine world events and make predictions about national affairs, wars and economies.
Interrogatory Astrology - This branch can be further subdivided, but generally refers to astrology that seeks to make specific predictions or analyses about the subject's objectives or events within the subject's life.
Natal Astrology - This is what most people think of when they think of astrology. Natal Astrology seeks to make predictions and analyses based on the date of a person's birth. It's based on the idea that everything that happens to something is expressed at the very beginning of that thing, sometimes known as the Law of Beginnings
History of the Astrology
Astrology is a range of divination practices, recognized as pseudo-scientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamic world, and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. Astrology is a legitimate method of examining the influence of cosmic objects on our lives.
The Difference Between Astronomy and Astrology
Some may find it easy to confuse astronomy and astrology. At one time, these two words were synonymous (that is, astronomy once meant what astrology means today), but they have since moved apart from each other. In current use, astronomy is concerned with “the study of objects and matter outside the earth's atmosphere,” while astrology is the purported divination of how stars and planets influence our lives. Put bluntly, astronomy is a science, and astrology is not.
Astrology as a science
Astrology has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. There is no mechanism proposed by astrologers through which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth. In spite of its status as a pseudoscience, in certain religious, political, and legal contexts, astrology retains a position among the sciences in modern India.
India's University Grants Commission and Ministry of Human Resource Development decided to introduce "Vedic astrology" as a discipline of study in Indian universities, stating that "Vedic astrology is not only one of the main subjects of our traditional and classical knowledge, but this is the discipline, which lets us know the events happening in human life and in the universe on timescale" in spite of the complete lack of evidence that astrology does allow for such accurate predictions. The decision was backed by a 2001 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, and some Indian universities offer advanced degrees in astrology. This was met with widespread protests from the scientific community in India and Indian scientists working abroad. A petition sent to the Supreme Court of India stated that the introduction of astrology to university curricula is "a giant leap backward, undermining whatever scientific credibility the country has achieved so far".
In 2004, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition, concluding that the teaching of astrology did not qualify as the promotion of religion. In February 2011, the Bombay High Court referred to the 2004 Supreme Court ruling when it dismissed a case that had challenged astrology's status as a science. As of 2014, despite continuing complaints by scientists, astrology continues to be taught at various universities in India, and there is a movement in progress to establish a national Vedic University to teach astrology together with the study of tantra, mantra, and yoga.
Indian astrologers have consistently made claims that have been thoroughly debunked by skeptics. Astrologers regularly fail in attempts to predict election results in India and fail to predict major events such as the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Predictions by the head of the Indian Astrologers Federation about the war between India and Pakistan in 1982 also failed.
In 2000, when several planets happened to be close to one another, astrologers predicted that there would be catastrophes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal waves. This caused an entire seaside village in the Indian state of Gujarat to panic and abandon their houses. The predicted events did not occur, the vacant houses were burgled.
Do you need to learn astrology?
The art of astrology is said to have originated 5000 years ago and was nurtured by sages.
Astrology means that we can predict the future by keeping the movement of the planets. Can you predict very accurately? Astrology is the ocean. We can only pick a few pearls. So astrology is a superstition in one sense.
To do the best in the field and grab the best opportunities, it is beneficial to have prior knowledge about astrology. Basic knowledge of topics such as planets, houses, aspects, sense of signs, stars, and the zodiac is important in this field.
Astrology teaches you to immerse in self-introspection and get to know yourself better. It encourages you to stop spinning around in circles and overcome your impediments. This includes putting all the self-destructive and unproductive behavior behind us.
So, figure out how to respond to and act in your environment. Find your own path and make strides illuminated by lodestars above.
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