Belief in God and belief in Astrology: are they compatible?
Notice that the question refers to belief in God, not religion or religions. The existence of an omnipotent God, creator and master of the Universe is entirely hypothetical, since it can neither be proved nor disproved, be it scientifically, logically or philosophically. As such, it should be purely a matter of personal belief. Some people absolutely need to believe and others don’t. Had we left it at that, with no one trying to impose his views about God onto other people, this would be a much more pleasant world.
Institutionalized religions, on the other hand, always begin with the emergence of some prophet or messiah who, through sheer charisma, force of personality, and sometimes, so called miracles, manages to beguile the credulous masses into believing that he is the one and only true messenger of God. It matters not if this God is new or the revised version of an old one. The greater the number of followers the greater the likelihood that a new religion, and a new God, will be born.
In time, those religions that endure and prosper will invariably change and distort the words and intentions of their founders but that is only natural. What is not natural or, at least, should not be, is for so many millions of otherwise intelligent people to believe that there could be so many Gods. Of course, there is only one God, which happens to be the one that, from early childhood, we have been brained washed into believing is the only true one. Since we are right everybody else is wrong and must be made to see the light by any and all available measures.
Our merciful God, (if nothing else, all gods are merciful), demands that such ignorant souls be saved from burning in hell forever. Thus, wars, torture, imprisonment, murder, ridicule, to name but a few, are all acceptable means to a Holy end. God is Great! And he cares so much about us He has time to worry and frown upon us, least we displease Him, should we be tempted to eat fish on a Friday, pork at any time, shave our beards, disrespect a cow, not wear a face veil in public if female, or, heaven forbid, entertain impure thoughts about our neighbor. Depending on which God, or religion, we happen to believe in, some if not all such transgressions may be punishable by condemning the culprit to hell. Maybe purgatory, until Judgement Day. Either way, it may turn out to be forever, so don’t do it. It is and feels good to believe in an All Merciful God but… why tempt fate?
The most simple, elementary logic, would seem to indicate that, if anything, a belief in religion is definitely not compatible with a belief in God but… what about a belief in Astrology? Is there a conflict between the two? Again, from a simple, logical point of view, I don’t think so. Of course, my point of view is that of a Professional Astrologer, not a philosopher or a theologian. Also, I would not have spent the better part of my life practicing Astrology if it did not give me pleasure and I had no belief in it. The same can be said about philosophers and theologians, I suppose, but I do not intend to argue the merits of one set of beliefs against the other. What I will attempt to do is explain why I think that, unlike Religion, a belief in both God and Astrology is not only bereft of conflict but they actually complement each other.
Billions of people believe that there is a God, Master and Creator of the Universe and all things in it. Further, they believe that nothing exists, or can exist, outside this omnipotent God. Good or bad, nothing happens without God’s will. He is everywhere and everything and always has been. If we accept this premise we must also accept the fact that there cannot be any distinction between God and the Universe. They are one and the same. We also know that the Universe is entirely composed of changing, but otherwise indestructible, matter and energy, all of it acting and interacting according to immutable cosmological laws, (God’s will?).
Minuscule as they might be, human beings are part of this Universe, inextricably bound by the same laws. At the risk of being over simplistic let us assume that matter is everything that we can touch and see, while energy is what we feel; physically, such as pain, cold, the wind, and emotionally, as in love, hate, our joie de vivre or lack of it, perhaps. Well, if we are part of the Universe, (who in his right mind could deny that?), we must, per force, also be governed and constricted by the same cosmological laws that apply to everything else in such Universe. If the energy of the Moon can affect the tides of the oceans, harvests, and human moods, (physical and emotional reactions), who is to say that we are immune to the influence caused by the energy and position of the planets on our own solar system? As it happens, this is primarily what the belief in Astrology is based upon. In view of the fact that all living things are intrinsic parts of and permeated by the same matter and energy that controls the Universe, why and how could humans be exempt from the effects caused by this interaction?
Such a simple concept in no way, shape or form denies the existence of God, on the contrary, if anything, it reaffirms it. Yet, the same people who, without compunction for their intellect, will readily accept as God’s word (truth), such fairy tales as the partition of the Red Sea, or Joshua’s command that stopped the Sun and the Moon for a day, these people are first in line when it comes to scorn and ridicule Astrology. Astrology is not a science, (religion is?), how can we trust or believe in it?
Astrology may not be a science, yet, we don’t know enough about it’s workings, but, if 4000 years or so is to be considered a long time in human History, that’s how long Astrology has been around, in one form or other. Certainly longer than any of the present Great Religions. No other methodology of prediction, in spite of all its shortcomings, has withstood such a test of time.
The first astrologers were primarily interested in predicting war and peace. By doing so they were able to foretell what was of most interest to their kings. If they were wrong and could not get these predictions right their heads would have been chopped off. No more astrologers. But astrology flourished, so it is pretty safe to presume that their predictions were right more often than they were wrong. By definition, that would seem to indicate that there is more than a modicum of truth in Astrology. So… why all the skepticism?
Astrological interpretations are based on the Symbolisms astrologers gave to the planets in our solar system. The ancient astrologers observed that when two or more planets formed an angle to each other, called an Aspect, more often than not, certain things happened that did not occur when such aspects were not present. Naturally, their predictions were based on the position of the planets they could observe, The Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. (The Sun and the Moon are considered planets in astrology.) A planet was deemed to be In Aspect with another when any two, or more planets, were aligned to each other such that the angle between them was a multiple of 30 degrees. Thus, if Jupiter was at an angle of 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 or 0 degrees from another planet, that occurrence was meaningful. Whether it was a good or bad Aspect was determined by the Symbolisms of the planets involved. By the way, in case you were not aware of it, it was Babylonians astrologers that invented the 360° Circle. In order to practice their craft the first astrologers had to be Mathematicians as well as Astronomers. Which also means that, unlike most religious prophets and messiahs mankind has and is still suffering from, astrologers possessed the most intelligent and enlightened minds of their times.
One thing is certain. At this stage of our development we Humans are still learning and one day, perhaps, we will find answers to all those things we know so little about, be they scientific or philosophical. Until then, the least we can do is to keep an open mind and, presently, I see no reason to think that a belief in Astrology is incompatible with a belief in God.