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Past Articles
AR 77 Saturn
- Celestial Ringmaster or Cosmic Principle of Order
AR 76 Pluto
in Capricorn 20090-02023 The Lord of the Underworld Visits the Seagoat
AR 75 Uranus
& Neptune: Deconstruction & Dissolution
AR 74 Jupiter in
Aquarius: The God of Light Visits the Waterbearer
AR 73 Planet
to Plutoid: Pluto's Identity Crisis
AR 72 Mars,
God of War or Brave Hero of the Sky
AR 71 Lilith;
Goddess, Demon or Earth's Dark Moon
AR 70 Sign
Language, Exploring the Enduring Archetypes of the Zodiac
AR 69 Venus
The Mysterious Magic of the Morning Star
AR 68 Astrology
and the Fixed Stars
AR 67 Jupiter
in Capricorn
AR 66 Lord
of the Rings Enters the Realm of the Celestial Virgin
AR 65 The Asteroids
AR 64 Chiron,
Wise Centaur or Rogue Comet?
AR 63 Astrology
and the Hero's Journey
AR 62 Aquarius
Ascending
AR 61 Dwarfing
Pluto
AR 60 Jupiter
in Sagittarius
AR 59 Neptune
in Aquarius
AR 58 Mercury,
Messenger of the Gods
AR 57 Moon
Signs
AR 56 Chinese
Astrology
AR 55 Circular
Logic
AR 54 Jupiter
in Scorpio
AR 53 The Lion
in Winter
AR 52 As Above,
So Below
AR 51 The Ancient
Quest
AR 50 Astrology
and Alchemy
AR 49 Star
of Wonder
AR 48 Jupiter
in Libra
AR 47 Once
in a Blue Moon
AR 46 Sedna
Enters the Arena
AR 45 Royal
Stars of Persia
AR 44 Ancient
Formulas for Immortality
AR 43 Twelve
Gates of Heaven
AR 42 Jupiter
in Virgo
AR 41 Geometry
of the Spheres
AR 40 Saturn
in Cancer, June, 2003 to July, 2005
AR 39 The Poles
of the Zodiac
AR 38
Uranus In
Pisces
2003-2011
AR
37
Twelfth Planet, Plutinos or
Planet X
AR
36
Eclipses – Promise or Peril?
AR35
Solar Fire
AR34
The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology
AR
33
Children of the Gods
AR 32
Wheels Within Wheels
AR 31
Horoscopes of Destiny
AR 30
Zodicac of Dendera
AR 29
A Star Is Born
AR 28
Age of Aquarius
AR 27
Persia's Royal Stars of Ancients
AR 23
The Lore of a Shaman
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“Any scientific model does not describe the Universe
but rather describes what our brains are capable of saying at this
time.”
Robert Anton Wilson, Ph.D.
Statue of Capernicus in Warsaw, Poland
Do we know
how
Astrology works?
Einstein’s general relativity theory and quantum theory
are the two most significant theories of twentieth century physics.
General relativity describes everything larger than a particle,
and how energy and mass behave in relation to each other, while
quantum physics explains the uncertain behavior and construction
of the particles, to the point where we enter the fabric of space-time
itself. It’s been shown in the quantum world that light behaves
like particles or waves, depending on the expectation of the observer.
Perhaps, general relativity tries to explain what the world looks
like in four-dimensional spacetime, while quantum physics tries
to explain what spacetime is. That may be why discussions of quantum
physics appear on philosophy web sites, where physics and metaphysics
merge.
According to certain Euclidean geometrical space perceptions,
the universe has three dimensions of space and one dimension of
time. In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines
space and time into a single continuum. By combining space and time
physicists have significantly simplified a large number of physical
theories, as well as described the workings of the universe at both
the supergalactic and subatomic levels more uniformly.
However, scientists are unable to reconcile relativity
theory with quantum mechanics, and still don’t understand the nature
of the spacetime continuum. At the level of the smallest elements
of reality there is tremendous dynamism, and Heisenberg’s Uncertainty
Principle attempts to address this. Scientists agree that modern
physics and mathematics need models that will work in multidimensional
space, and the quest for a Unified Theory, a term coined by Einsten,
that allows all of the fundamental forces between elementary particles
to be written in terms of a single field, is the Holy Grail of physics.
Astrology is a body of knowledge based on correlation
of the sky with alignment to terrestrial events. Linking the rhythm
of the natural world, and the repeating cycles of the sky, is as
perennial as humanity. In ancient times, there was no difference
between astronomy and astrology. Opinions differ on whether astrology
is a revealed discipline, originating from some higher source of
wisdom, or is the result of accumulated knowledge based on observation
over time. Today, Astrology has three main branches: Western, or
Tropical astrology, Vedic, or Indian astrology, and Chinese or East
Asian astrology.
The earliest known astrological records date back
to Babylon, 1645 BCE, and the earliest known horoscope to the fifth
century BCE. Astrology's origins can also be traced to Egypt, Greece
and Rome, where sophisticated timekeeping and calendar sciences
were developed. The Magi of the Bible were astronomer priests. Astrology
was further developed by the Arabs from the 7th to the 13th century,
and European court astrologers held tremendous power in 14th and
15th centuries. The Mayas and Aztecs of Central America, and indigenous
peoples of Africa, developed their own zodiacs. During the Renaissance,
almanacs published astrological information for ordinary people.
Galileo and Copernicus were both practicing astrologers. By the
time of Francis Bacon and the scientific revolution, emerging scientific
disciplines were based upon experimental observations, and astrology
and astronomy began to diverge. Astronomy became one of the central
sciences, while astrology was increasingly viewed as superstition
by scientists.
Astrology attempts to provide meaning for the individual
in relationship to the patterns in the sky and the continual cycles
of stars and planets, while astronomy measures the heavens. In Genesis,
Creation begins with a series of divisions: heaven and earth, light
and darkness, above and below, good and evil. Astrology organizes
the divisions and polarities in life and creates a language of symbols
to understand how they interact, anchoring consciousness in the
dependable cycles of the vault of heaven. Since the time of Ptolemy,
the domain of most astrologers has been the realm of the ecliptic,
the narrow band of sky in which sun, moon and planets trace their
paths against the background of constellations. The viewpoint is
relative, and at the most fundamental level astrology is the interpretation,
or application of principles, which recur.
Like relativity theory, astrology uses three dimensions
of space--signs, houses and place of birth--and one dimension of
time, the moment of birth, to fix the reference points for a natal
chart. Based on the time, date and place of birth, a snapshot of
the heavens, as viewed from the earthly vantage of the moment of
birth, is captured. Astrology’s frame of reference is defined by
the tropical or sidereal zodiac of twelve signs on one hand, and
by the local horizon, the ascendant-descendant axis, and midheaven-imum
coeli axis on the other. This frame is typically further divided
into the twelve astrological houses. Astrological aspects are used
to determine the geometric/angular relationship(s) between the various
celestial bodies and angles in the horoscope. The ascendant is a
point of personal orientation, which essentially is the place of
intersection of the horizon at one’s birthplace and the zodiac.
Reality is like a set of nested spheres of immense
vastness and infinitesimally minute scale. This is stated in the
words of an ancient Hermetic axiom, “As above, so below; as within,
so without.” This line of thought can be compared to fractal mathematics
and holographic photography. Astrologically, the individual becomes
the symbolic center of the Universe, and the person’s inner world
is related to the outer world of planetary cycles through the principle
of correspondence. The experience of the Microcosm, the individual,
is a reflection of the Macrocosm, the solar system.
Form and frequency
Another axiom upon which the Hermetic principles of
astrology are based comes from The Kybalion. This is the Law of
Vibration which says, “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything
vibrates.” Hermetic teachings state that not only is all matter
vibrating, but our emotions are a manifestation of vibration. Therefore,
thoughts, emotions, and desires are accompanied by vibratory rates,
which may be lowered or raised at will by adepts.
Ernst Chladni
Ernst Chladni was a German physicist and musician.
Chladni's technique, first published in 1787 in his book, Discoveries
in the Theory of Sound, consisted of drawing a bow over a piece
of metal whose surface was lightly covered with sand. The plate
was bowed until it reached resonance, and the sand formed a pattern
showing the nodal regions. The results became known as Chladni Figures.
Two centuries later, Hans Jenny, a Swiss doctor, artist,
and researcher, published the bilingual book, The Structure and
Dynamics of Waves and Vibrations. Jenny, like Chladni, showed what
happens when materials like sand, spores, iron filings, water, and
viscous substances are placed on vibrating metal plates and membranes.
Shapes and patterns appear which vary from nearly perfectly ordered
and stationary to those that are turbulent, organic, and in constant
motion. Jenny called this new area of research Cymatics, from the
Greek kyma, which means wave. It seems that the mystery of solid
matter is contained in sound.
Musica universalis, universal music, or the music
of the spheres, is an ancient philosophical concept that regards
proportions in the movements the sun, moon, and planets as a form
of musica, the Medieval Latin word for music. This music is not
audible to the human ear, but is a harmonic/mathematical function.
Greek mathematician and astronomer Pythagoras is usually credited
with the concept. The discovery of the relationship of geometry
and mathematics to music within the Classical Period is also attributed
to Pythagoras. Pythagoreans believed this gave music powers of healing,
as it could "harmonize" the out-of-balance body.
A modern composer, Greg Fox, created Carmen of the
Spheres, a composition where he tries to literally hear the planets
as they orbit the sun. His approach was to halve the planetary orbital
period until he found the "pitch" of a planet orbiting the sun.
He created his music by raising that pitch 36 to 40 octaves. Johannes
Kepler also believed in the geometric underpinnings of the cosmos
and perceived a connection between geometry, sacred geometry, cosmology,
and astrology. Kepler explored the significance of ratios of the
planetary orbits.
Astrological Theory
Dr. Percy Seymour is a respected authority in the
field of cosmic magnetism. Holding doctorates in astronomy and astrophysics,
Seymour's expertise is in the study of the magnetic fields that
thread our galaxy. His book, Cosmic Magnetism, won him academic
acclaim. Seymour formulated a theory of astral influences that describes
the solar system as an intricate web of planetary fields and resonances.
According to Seymour, “magnetism is omnipresent throughout the universe
and is known to affect the biological cycles of numerous creatures
here on Earth, including humans.” Seymour's multilink theory proposes
that the planets raise tides in the gases of the sun, creating sunspots
and their particle emissions, which then travel across interplanetary
space to strike Earth's magnetosphere, ringing it like a bell. That
could explain the cyclical nature of sunspots as a function of planetary
orbital cycles.
Dr Seymour believes that the resonance between the
tidal tug, due to gravity, of the very hot gases trapped in the
magnetic field of the sun and earth, and resonance between the resulting
fluctuations of the Earth's magnetic field and the electrical activity
of the neural network in the brain, are what link celestial to terrestrial.
His research seems to confirm the theory of harmonics put forward
by John Addey in 1975 that astrological effects can be understood
in terms of the harmonics of cosmic periods. If the solar system
vibrates as a unit, each element or planet is in resonance with
the whole.
Physics or metaphysics
Astrological researcher Ken McRitchie (TheoryOfAstrology.com),
rather than attempting to explain how astrology works, has developed
what he terms a Theory of Astrology. This seems to be a wise approach
which I liken this to Relativity or Quantum theories, which are
also remain unproved. In McRitchie’s view, there are three problems
that astrological theory needs to answer: 1. What is the physical
correspondence between the individual and the celestial environment
that surrounds the individual? 2. What are the essential operations
of the signs, houses, aspects, and planets when reduced to definitive
meanings? 3. What is the psychological mechanism of astrological
interpretation? That should keep astrologers busy for awhile.
At our present stage of scientific understanding we
might say that the large things in the universe are perhaps mostly
matter and can be measured, while the tiniest things are still mostly
energy and are fraught with uncertainty and glorious potential.
The repeating cycles of large objects, the planets, provides some
predictability, which has been observed over thousands of years,
while the uncertainties of the small scale of the quantum world
allows for the exercise of choice and free will. This is the realm
of metaphysics and has been the domain of ancient wisdom teachings
for millennia.
We still can’t provide a mechanism to explain astrology,
however Quantum Theory and General Relativity have yet to be reconciled
with a Unified Theory either. So it seems premature to say that
the mechanism which explains Astrology will never be discovered,
and to dismiss this ancient discipline as mere superstition. There
is still a great deal about the nature of reality that remains a
grand and compelling mystery.
I will give the last word to Dr. Percy Seymour, “The
claims made by many scientists that astrology is opposed to the
basic principles of western science comes from a total misunderstanding
of serious astrology, and an appalling lapse in their understanding
of the methodology, philosophy and history of science itself.”
Julie Loar’s latest book, Everyday Goddesses: Ancient
Myths for Modern Women, is now available.
Queen of Cups, LLC
17 Lofty Court, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World
http://www.queenofcups.com
970-731-4744
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