Human Development
Astrology
Description:
Astrological symbolism is said to have been designed to help man in his evolutionary development, and to help him to liberate his higher will by making clear some of the factors opposing it. Astrological factors may be worked with, assimilated and transmitted in the process toward the goal of individuation. Astrologers tend to regard features of a horoscope as metaphors for psychological processes. The meaning is derived in part from traditional sources, in part from experience and intuition and in part from astronomy. Astrological horoscope casting functions in one respect as a framework for intuitive perception. A horoscope constitutes, for an astrologer, a person-centered symbol carrying a formulation of the person's personality and destiny. It suggests how the individual can best actualize the innate potentialities of his particular and unique selfhood. Astrology is therefore a language of symbols, and as such implies a process of unfoldment and of changing relationships. It is based on the assumption that features of a horoscope can contain a description of: all the essential functions implied in the existence of an organized field of activity, and especially of a human being; all archetypal classes of experience necessary for the development of a natural individual; and the basic modes of energy, or archetypal qualities of being which essentially colour any functional activity operating in their field. The experiences of the person as a whole are limited and periodical. There are only a certain number of basic meanings to be gathered by a human being in his lifetime, and these can be seen in terms of structural and cyclic sequence.
Astrological horoscopes first became available to the general public, as opposed simply to the rich or influential, with the introduction of the Julian calendar, when the practice became less difficult and expensive. The sun entered a new sign of the zodiac at about the same date each month and each day of the week was named after a planet. Some astrologers denounce the majority practice of mass-produced printed horoscopes dealing with every aspect of life and suggest that only application of individually calculated astrological techniques is adequate, accurate and useful to a specific individual.
Synastry is the branch of astrology concerned with techniques of comparing the birth charts of two or more persons, especially to understand the mutually constructive aspects of any relationship. It is much used in assessing potential marital relationships.
In the past, criticism of astrology centred on the conflict between a predetermined future and the role of free will. Nowadays, many claim that modern scientific techniques and powerful telescopes, which show astrology to have been based on an over simplified model, have disproved completely its occult implications. Others have put forward a number of models to attempt to supply a basis for astrology. These include:
[Physical model] (Other than the symbolic perspective noted above) Some evidence exists for sun-planet interaction in which the planets, through their interacting gravitational and magnetic fields, modulate the basic radiation cancelled by the sun. The different frequencies channelled in this way are linked to various (cyclic) biological, psychological, and social processes on earth and to changes in the glandular activity of particular personality types.
[Planetary heredity]. It is suggested that an inherited genetic factor, responsive to planetary action, stimulates the onset of labour and hence largely determines the time of birth of a person. The tendency to be born at the time of a particular planetary configuration is therefore inherited, and the configuration therefore indicates the presence of a genetic factor governing a particular personality disposition.
[Synchronicity]. This suggested principle takes the coincidence of events in space and time (such as a birth at the time of a particular planetary configuration) as meaning something more than mere chance, namely a peculiar interdependence of objective events among themselves as well as with the subjective (psychic) make-up of the individual(s) involved.