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 Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:52 am
OverviewLlewellyn George Astrology Is The Science of Life's Reactions To Planetary Vibrations The word "astrology" comes from the greek words "astra" (a star) and "logos" (logic, reasoning), so astrology is the study of the stars. It is closely related to astronomy; in fact astronomy has its roots in astrology. The distinction between the two is as follows : astronomy is concerned with the physics of the stars and planets, it is more objective; astrology is concerned with the apparent influence the stars and planets have on people, both individually and collectively, and is more subjective. There are many systems of astrology : Chinese astrology, Vedic astrology, Mayan astrology, and the one we will study in this course, commonly called Western Astrology.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:54 am
History
Some say that astrology is the oldest science. People have always wondered about the sky, the Sun, the Moon, the stars. In fact, they were studying the sky long before the invention of writing. About 6000 years ago, Chalden priests were making star maps from their observations in their watchtowers. There are clay tablets dated 3800 BCE on which are recorded with amazing accuracy the movements of the Sun and the Moon.
As people studied the stars, they noticed something curious. They saw that a small number of them were moving against a background of fixed stars. These moving stars are what we now recognize at the planets of our solar system. With the naked eye, they could see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Astrologers also observed another peculiarity; people who were born at relatvely close times of the year shared common characteristics. This is how we came to associate certain personality traits with the Sun signs. Eventually, they developped more refined theories that incorporated the Moon and the planets.
Up until recently, astrology and astronomy were studied hand in hand. Even great astronomers -- the likes of Galileo, Kepler, Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe -- were concerned with the astrological impact of their findings. However, by the Age of Enlightenment, when people started to accept the new theory that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the centre of the solar system, they also started to doubt the influence of the planets on human life.
The advent of the telescope allowed us to discover three new planets : Uranus (1781), Neptune (1846), and Pluto (1930). These discoveries seemed to give astronomers more ammunition to further distance themselves from astrology.
In the early 20th century, there was renewed interest in astrology, this time fuelled by the new art of psychology. Astrologers were now looking into the world of archetypes, the collective unconscious, etc., as proposed by Jung, Freud, and other psychologists.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:55 am
Structure
As you'll see in future lessons, astrology looks at where the sun, the moon and the planets are in the sky from the Earth's perspective. The sky is divided into 12 equal sections of 30 degrees, each named after a constellation that appears in that section : Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Each sign is given one of four elements : Fire, Earth, Air, or Water; and one of three qualities : cardinal, fixed, or mutable.
For our purposes, the Sun and the Moon are considered planets. Astrology also looks at the other planets in our solar system : Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (yes, Pluto is still a planet). The later three have only recently discovered, so they haven't been part of astrology very long. Astrologers have lately started incorporating asteroids in the charts : Chiron, Ceres, Juno, Pallas Athena, and Vesta.
In addition to the Zodiac, astrologers also divide the sky in another set of 12 sections, called houses. The section of the sky each house holds is independant of the Zodiac; rather it depends on the ascendant. The ascendant is the part of the sky that is on the Eastern horizon at the time birth (or what ever other time is being charted). The houses start from the ascendant. Related to the ascendant is the midheaven, which is whatever is directly up in the sky at that time. There are many different ways of dividing the houses, but the easiest is to start with is the equal house method which, like the zodiac, divides the sky in 12 equal sections of 30 degrees. Other house systems have varying widths for each of the houses.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:56 am
Relationship to Other Esoteric Disciplines
Tarot
There are a few different systems of attributions between the Tarot and Astrology. One that seems to be the most common assigns either a planet or a zodiac sign to each of the major arcana, and a zodiac sign to each of the pip cards. Depending on the source, some also attribute an element to 3 or 4 of the majors, in addition to or instead of the outer planets.
Major Arcana
Planets
Fool = Uranus (Air)
Magician = Mercury
High Priestess = Moon
Empress = Venus
Wheel of Fortune = Jupiter
Hanged Man = Neptune (Water)
Tower = Mars
Sun = Sun
Judgement = Pluto (Fire)
World = Saturn (Earth)
Zodiac
Emperor = Aries
Heirophant = Taurus
Lovers = Gemini
Chariot = Cancer
Strength = Leo
Hermit = Virgo
Death = Scorpio
Temperence = Sagittarius
Devil = Capricorn
Star = Aquarius
Moon = Pisces
Alchemy
Alchemy and Astrology have a long history together. One of the most recognized sayings in alchemy is "As above, so below"; some believe that this indicates that what happens with the planets is a reflection of what happens here on Earth, and vice versa. Perhaps the strongest indication of the link between alchemy and astrology is the set of common symbols they use. The astrological symbols for planets are alchmical symbols for metals; Zodiac symbols are process symbols; the two disciplines use the four elements with the same symbols.
Metals = Planets
Gold = Sun = ☉
Silver = Moon = ☽
Mercury = Mercury = ☿
Copper = Venus = ♀
Iron = Mars = ♂
Tin = Jupiter = ♃
Led = Saturn = ♄
Uranium = Uranus = ♅
Water = Neptune = ♆
Plutonium = Pluto = ♇
Processes = Zodiac
Calcination = Aries = ♈
Congelation = Taurus = ♉
Fixation = Gemini = ♊
Separation = Cancer = ♋
Digestion = Leo = ♌
Distillation = Virgo = ♍
Sublimation = Libra = ♎
Putrefaction = Scorpio = ♏
Incineration = Sagittarius = ♐
Fermentation = Capricorn = ♑
Dissolution = Aquarius = ♒
Multiplication = Pisces = ♓
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:01 pm
Lesson History
2007-05-07 : Completed initial release. Intro, History, Structure, Relationship to Other Esoteric Disciplines. Posted in Mysteric Realms.
2007-05-28 : Posted in Occult Research Society
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:02 pm
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:03 pm
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:04 pm
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:04 pm
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:05 pm
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