What is Astrology?
“Astrology” comes from two Greek words: “astra,” meaning “star” and “logos” meaning “word.” “Astrology” refers to “the words of the stars” and is the ancient interpretive art and science of observing and understanding planetary and movements and other cosmic events with attention to the timing of rhythms, shifts and cycles. It is this study over many centuries that has brought us to understand that our experience on planet earth is directly and intricately linked with the phenomenon of the stars — the relationship of macro to micro and celestial to terrestrial. As the age-old saying goes ‘As above, so below.
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 divinations. 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
Like life itself, astrology is an infinitely complex subject. Astrology is many things. Naturally, astrology is a master vehicle for intuitive perception and psychic insight. Astrology is also an art-form–one that lends itself to quick sketches and complex portraits of individuals, couples, corporations, nations and more. Astrology can also clearly have spiritual and religious undertones as evidenced by studies of ancient Egypt. But astrology is not a belief system. People no more have to believe in astrology than they do in dancing for example. Both can be fun and useful pastimes without belief in them. Although it must be added that, according to Albert Einstein, a belief in astrology will make it work better, for you. After all, we live in a solar system, in a space-time continuum, and astrology is the biggest contender for the unified field theory. Yet above all else, astrology is a language. It works best as a language, and it is perhaps more universal than broken English. The as
