Here is a great article from one of my favorites, Liz Greene, whose work informed much of my own early work. In it she quotes Alexander Ruperti, one of the earliest holistic astrologers:
”There is not one Astrology with a capital A. In each epoch, the astrology of the time was a reflection of the kind of order each culture saw in celestial motions, or the kind of relationship the culture formulated between heaven and earth.’
‘For every individual astrologer today, astrology is not only a reflection of the kind of order our culture sees in celestial motions, and the kind of relationship it formulates between heaven and earth. It is also a reflection of the inherent temperament of the individual – our hopes, aspirations, personal histories, conflicts, fears, talents, and beliefs, both conscious and unconscious – and a reflection of the attitudes and perceptions that each of us brings to the story of our individual lives.’
The question of whether astrology is a science or not is one that I prefer not to delve into. In general, I am a person who believes what I see and not what I am told. There are too many examples, which I gleefully catalog in this blog, of instances where conventional scientific wisdom is proven to be wrong, and hypotheses which were considered “far out” by scientists are demonstrated to be true. There are many things in life that cannot be proven by the scientific method which requires rigorous testing and duplication of results. Love is the classic example of this – we cannot prove that it exists. Does that mean that it’s just a neurological response?
Dr. Greene includes Nick Campion’s survey results:
How Astrologers view Astrology
Nick Campion’s survey on how astrologers view astrology
| |
British (AA conference) |
American (UAC conference) |
– As a science
– As a divine science
– As a psychological tool
– As a form of divination
– As a religion
– As a path to spiritual growth
– As a form of counselling
– As a healing art
– As a means of predicting the future |
24.5%
42%
64.8%
33.3%
6.9%
66%
57.8%
53.4%
42% |
36.1%
52%
60.5%
40.1%
7.9%
55.9%
65.1%
57.9%
43.4% |
——————————————————————————————————–
Dr. Greene’s essay then goes on to examine the chart of Princess Diana as it would have been interpreted by different astrologers throughout history. It’s a fascinating read.
I like to say that if you ask five astrologers a question you’ll get five different answers and then they will argue about it. But I would argue that this is a good thing – just as science must continue to expand to take in new paradigms, astrology must do the same. The science of medicine is now realizing that in abandoning folk medicine in favor of pharmaceuticals, much ancient wisdom was lost and the same is true with modern astrology. There is great wisdom in the ancient teachings of William Lilly, Abu Ma’shar and so many others, and we do ourselves a disservice when we neglect the wisdom of our astrological ancestors in favor of the more modern approaches. By the same token, human beings are evolving and changing, and just as the outer planets added a transpersonal dimension to astrological symbolism that was unknown to the ancients, the newer influence of Chiron has expanded our knowledge even more.
For the public, this huge array of astrological offerings may be confusing. But consider that seeking an astrological consultation is like going out to eat. There are many choices: Indian, Thai, Mexican, etcetera. There is no food that is the right one – everyone has different tastes and different needs. Some clients will be attracted to the precise answers of traditional astrology; others will be drawn to an astrologer who utilizes psychological tools.
In my view we only fail as astrologers when we close our minds to the vast array of astrological information that is available to us.
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