For ages, whenever an uncertain looming situation is there or some big decision has to be taken people turn to astrologers. However, some people just brush it off, saying that it’s just a superstition. Let’s dig deeper and find the truth.
What is astrology?
Broadly speaking, astrology is a science based on the calculation of the effect of the Sun and a certain set of planets and celestial bodies on the entities living on our planet ie. Earth. A strange fact is that different cultures, living thousands of miles apart, have developed almost the same set of theories. And what’s more, these theories were developed when there were no means of communication like today.
Astrology in different cultures
If we deeply analyse, then we’ll find that in different astrology theories like Indian vedic astrology or Chinese astrology or the Western astrology, a few things are common. They all make calculations based on a certain set of planetary bodies divided into 12 zodiac signs, by whatever name or symbols they call them! How it happened that all these unconnected cultures are unanimous on this!!
Why do they all look to the Sun and stars for knowing the future of those living on earth? It shows that there is a deep spiritual base behind this science. Nowadays, a lot of people just study it as a subject, but the deeper their spiritual depth, the deeper their understanding of this subject, resulting in more accurate predictions.
Astrology signs vs. Modern science
However, modern science considers these planetary bodies just as balls of rocks and gases, as per their physical appearance, while these planets are the base of entire astrology. Similarly, as per astrology, solar and lunar eclipses are very significant events having long-lasting effects on humanity and other entities but modern science considers these events as just a natural phenomenon, nothing more.
Well, when spirituality is itself not recognised as a science in the modern world, then what to say of its branches?
The development of astrology from the very beginning was closely related to mythology. Humans studied the cycle of the sun and believed that the sun was a great god, even a creator. Therefore, there were sun worship religions and rituals, such as the worship of the sun. Later, people gradually personified the gods, so Apollo, the sun god, appeared in Greece. Such beliefs could be traced back to Egypt at the earliest. There is also a way to match the planets with mythical characters or stories in China. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a Ziwei Dou school of mathematics, which corresponded the virtual stars in the Ziwei astrolabe with the characters in the Fengshen list. This way made the study of astrology more vivid and let learners better master the characteristics of the planets. The most beautiful combination of astrology and mythology is the Greek people. They divide the sky into 88 constellations, each of which has its own story. The planets in the solar system are also deified and story told, forming vivid and beautiful myths.
Although the three modern planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were not discovered by the Greeks, astrologers follow this tradition, They are closely connected with the king of heaven, the king of the sea, Poseidon, and the Hades. They have been used until now, and seem to correspond well. In fact, the correspondence between constellations and myths was not invented by the Greeks, but the Greeks integrated the system and the Romans modified it into their own. Therefore, most of the myth systems we know now are handed down by Greece and Rome. These two systems have strong correlation.
We can say that the Romans only modified the original works to make power beneficial to their dynasties, For example, the Romans changed Ares, the god of war, into Mars, and changed Ares, who always lost the war, into a new generation of god of victory, Mars, in order to change the image of Athena, the goddess of intelligence, and Apollo, the sun god, who were invincible in battle. The new generation of empire and the new generation of guardian god made the ruled feel that everything was different, so that they could obediently obey. This technique is also common in China, The rulers often worship new gods to achieve the name of hunting in the sky.