RE: What's your sign?
May 7, 2014 at 7:55 pm
(This post was last modified: May 7, 2014 at 8:23 pm by Coffee Jesus.)
Astrology wasn't like this historically. I might recall reading that this "psychological astrology" arose during some sort of ban on fortune telling. I'm not sure. I do know that before that, astrologers compared your "chart" to the current astronomical positions in an attempt to predict events in your life. Each factor had very concrete associations, especially the "fixed stars" (i.e. the stars, which were so distant that they assumed them to be immobile). Here's an example from Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horary_astrology
This "horary astrology" is an important transitional form that gives us insight into how astrology may have arisen in the first place. Noticing that the sun and moon impacted many aspects of life through the seasons and tides, especially in creating the conditions for natural disasters, ancient people might have wondered whether the planets and stars impacted our lives too. This might have spurred them to make further associations, associating certains stars with things like "liability to dog bites" or the danger of being poisoned or decapitated. The Mayans might have had something a bit like astrology too, but I don't think we know very much about it.
it just goes to show that superstitious beliefs can be maintained for millennia through ignorance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horary_astrology
Wikipedia - Horary astrology Wrote:For instance, asking "Where is my lost dog?" would be represented by the sixth house, as it is the house that governs small animals (traditionally, smaller than a goat). The house cusp of the sixth house will be in a particular sign, for example Libra. Libra is ruled by Venus, so Venus is considered the significator of the lost dog. Venus's state in the horoscope (its dignity, aspects, etc.) will give clues to the animal's location.
This "horary astrology" is an important transitional form that gives us insight into how astrology may have arisen in the first place. Noticing that the sun and moon impacted many aspects of life through the seasons and tides, especially in creating the conditions for natural disasters, ancient people might have wondered whether the planets and stars impacted our lives too. This might have spurred them to make further associations, associating certains stars with things like "liability to dog bites" or the danger of being poisoned or decapitated. The Mayans might have had something a bit like astrology too, but I don't think we know very much about it.
it just goes to show that superstitious beliefs can be maintained for millennia through ignorance.
