Then what is Astrology based on?

 

Milton Maciel		  
   
“I studied Astrology, Sir Halley. You did not”. 		 
Sir Isaac Newton –the great English physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, who was also a professional astrologer – replying to his friend Halley, who was surprised in this scientific genius’ interest in Astrology.  

     
The so decanted “influence” of the stars on the lives of human beings cannot be proven scientifically. For this reason Astrology has been so violently attacked by many scientists, as physicists and astronomers. Nevertheless, this attack is more than fair: after all, astrologers have been stating for thousands of years that this influence is real and, even nowadays, they have not been able to prove this through an acceptable experimental methodology.

The concept of a gravitational or electromagnetic applied force, as the origin of the astrological “influences”, has not been scientifically proven. There are evident gravitational pushing forces among the solar system bodies. Though, from the Earth’s surface, only the Sun’s gravitational force (as it is extremely large) and the Moon’s (as it is extremely nearby) may be felt intensely. Together they exert strong effects on the oceans, causing the well know phenomenon of tides. This tremendous gravitational push is also exerted on the rocky masses of the continents – causing an effect, which cannot be ignored, on all living beings - vegetable, animal, and human beings

There can be no doubt that these living beings are affected by the gravitational influence of those two luminaries. It would be enough, for example, to consider the internal clock of each human being, controlled by the circadian cycles, derived from the Earth’s rotational movement around the Sun. Whoever has felt the enormous effects from a great difference in time zones while traveling knows what we are talking about (jet lag).

On the other hand, it is easy to measure the influence of the Moon on a great number of phenomena and biological cycles, which are so diverse as to relate to the opening of oyster valves or to the clear cut connection between the human feminine ovulation and the lunar cycle. It has been very clearly proven, through observing hospital and police duty schedules, that the greatest number of admittance for an increase of psychiatric, violence, and aggressive cases are much greater on those days around the time of the full or new moons.

Another even more subtle influence, exerted by the four largest planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) is also noticeable and measurable. This deals with the well-studied phenomenon of sunspots, cyclical variations of disturbances caused in the solar crown, exerted by the gravitational forces from these planets. As Jupiter is, of these planets, the one closest to the sun and who has the greatest mass, it is this planet that controls this cycle of 11.72 years. The variation of the sunspots causes enormous variations in solar wind, a copious emitting of particles and energy that reaches the Earth constantly.

These predictable cyclical variations exert a great effect on communications, as is very well known, although this influence goes much beyond this. In fact, the climate on Earth ends up being affected by the sunspots cycle and many organisms react noticeably to the great storms from the solar winds. It is not surprising that there have been found some proofs that various human business cycles, especially agricultural, are connected to the sun spot cycle.

True physical forces as they are detectable, measurable, and explainable, in fact influence the Sun, Moon, and some other planets directly or indirectly. Then... there exist influences!

Yes, this is undeniable. But this type of influence that we have referred to up to now is not an astrological “influence”. Rather, it is astrophysical.

The traditional astrologer and the “influences” idea

  
Now we can see how the “astrological influences” are understood. A traditional astrologer will say things that are nonsense, illogical. However, sometimes they are correct when referring to specific final practical results. Let’s look at a few:

- “In your natal chart you have the Sun square Saturn. This is not good as Saturn afflicts the Sun and Saturn is the most malign planet. For this reason you may be shy, subject to fear, withdrawn, you have an inferiority complex, you may have had problems with your father”.

Translating this to our own language, the astrologer is referring to an angle of about 90 degrees (the square) between the Sun and Saturn positions on the natal chart. He believes that Saturn actually causes bad things and that Saturn is imposing on the Sun a negative effect. And he goes on even further: to say that if you are shy, withdrawn, etc., it is because of this square from Saturn. In the end, Saturn is to blame, the great malefactor.

It is incredible this idea of the influence of a planet on the Sun. Of course, you cannot even imagine that there is a greater physical force, gravitational or electromagnetic, which a miniscule planet can exert on a gigantic star: if the Sun were considered as a sphere 14 centimeters in diameter, then Saturn would be compared to a 1.1 centimeter marble in circumference. And, until it is proven to be untrue, Saturn is forced to orbit around the Sun - and not the opposite.

This idea implies in a double causality – Saturn causes a negative effect on the Sun and, therefore, it has a negative effect on you, on your whole life. Well, this has had an effect to keep Astrology to be viewed by scientists in a negative way, since this is unsustainable.

Although, in spite that it has not been possible to prove a physical causality relationship, also it cannot be proven that there isn’t some kind of CORRELATION between the Sun/Saturn square and possible traces of temperament such as those cited by the traditional astrologer – even the suggestion that it is worthwhile to research a father complex.

The Synchronicity Principle

 
It is exactly this subject that is changing the way modern Astrology is going nowadays: abandoning the physical causality idea and investing in the synchronicity idea, this is, TIME related. A more modern Astrologer, when referring to that square of Sun/Saturn on the natal chart, considers it as only a symbolic indicator for a possible father complex to be researched in the anamnesis along with the client, of a probable excessive predomination of the Superego psychological function (Saturn) on the Ego function (Sun) – there are great possibilities for answers, some conscious, others unconscious, which the client produces before the internalized childhood inhibitor stimulus.

Who first formulated, in an absolutely clear manner, how one views the astrological chart relationship to the psychological tendencies for a person, was the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung.

This new view made it possible for Astrology to escape from that strict determinism from the past, in which case they believed that the planets were transmitters of mysterious electromagnetic vibration rays – which were forever marked indelibly on the individual, at the exact moment of his/her birth. Marking the person, in such a way, with an inevitable ‘destiny’. Maktub! It was written in the stars.

From the 60s until the present, influenced by Jungian Psychology and Humanistic Psychology, astrologers started to view the natal chart as an indicator of broader goals for one’s life, from an ongoing project, putting it into practice, with possibilities for development, internal growth, transformation, and even transmutation. This is the end of maktub! One’s life is not written in the stars.

The correlation between the psychological phenomenon and astrological data was observed when Jung conceived his Synchronicity Theory. He defined this synchronism as “the SIMULTANEOUS occurrence of a certain psychic state to one or more external events, which appear as important parallels from a momentarily subjective state”.

The key is in the words simultaneous, moment – both introducing the Time concept. Simultaneous, means ‘at the same time’, syn (same) + kronos (time) - in Greek. From the word synchronous, synchronic, or synchronistic that are all synonyms. Jung chose to make a word synchronicity to emphasize simultaneity of exterior happenings and interior psychological states. Regarding astrological chart, the Jungian principle may be translated in a quite simple manner:

 
Everything that STARTS at a certain instant, reflects the QUALITY of this instant  
An astrological chart can be useful not because it serves to show rays and mysterious vibrations that are not provable, coming from beneficial or detrimental planets. But because planets serve as a standard to find, only by analogy, the quality of the moment that a person, or company, or country had at its very BEGINNING.

If a person or collective organism had its beginning at a certain and a well-specified moment – and not in any other possible infinite moments – there is, obviously, a relationship between this specific person or organism at that specific moment. This is synchronicity.

This also implies that CHAOS DOES NOT EXIST.

Whoever has ever studied deeply how the human mind works and, added on this, has ventured on to the fields of Fractal Mathematics, Physics of the Chaos and Quantum Physics, is forced to admit the same thing: NOTHING HAPPENS BY ACCIDENT.

In other words, we attribute to accidents or to chaos what we do not know precisely yet. For example, a today’s meteorologist, using computers and satellites, makes fewer mistakes than his colleagues from two decades ago. That happens because he now has more knowledge and receives much more accurate measurements of the variables involved in each specific case.
The more he advances in this process, the more the climatic conditions seem to be understandable and predictable for him. There is less left to chance and to recognize as unforeseeable conditions.

A person is not born in a specific place and at an exact moment by any accident – as this accidental situation does not exist. All intelligent phenomena are assumed to have come from an intelligent cause. Human life is an undeniable intelligent phenomenon, by more contradictions that might seem to be.

From there we seek to see a relationship between the life of a person and the exact point of time at the beginning of that life, in space and time. From there, the astrological chart is prepared and afterwards it is used to understand the life of a person; it is necessary to always begin from the basic spatial information (longitude and latitude of the birthplace) and time (year, month, day, hour and the exact minute birth). That is enough.

Then, what goes into making an astrological chart? It simply supplies a manner to STUDY THE MOMENT, understand the QUALITY of that initial moment. And starting from there, everything will perform through the use of a series of analogies. In which each planet or asteroid or sign will, in a certain way directly or indirectly, be related to one or many parts in which the human psyche is divided – something more easily understood through the psychological concept of ARCHETYPES.

A natal chart works in acausal (non-causative) manner, by means of decoding a SYMBOLIC language. Saturn does not cause anything, Saturn symbolizes the Superego function, being one of the father figure archetypical symbols – but Saturn is not the Superego, Saturn is not the father, Saturn did not oblige the father to be involved in interacting with the son. The mother, perhaps, has taken many times this role. The astrological chart can be used as a standard for non-causal reference in studying the lives of people, companies, cities or nations

So you may be sure that THERE IS NO ‘INFLUENCE’ FROM THE STARS IN YOUR ‘DESTINY’.

YOUR ‘DESTINY’ IS NOT WRITTEN IN THE STARS. NO MAKTUB!

Your ‘destiny’ is written in your unconscious, as a plan for your spiritual development and evolution. Once you discover this plan, by the in depth analysis of your natal chart, you can rewrite it. That is the most important signification of FREE WILL.