Astrology - FAQ
 

Here we address some of the more common objections and difficulties that people have in relation to Astrology.
What evidence is there that Astrology works?

The earliest scientific researches into Astrology were carried out by M. & F. Gauquelin (www.planetos.info) in the late 1940's, where they demonstrated a relationship between star signs and professions etc.
A more recent, and in our opinion, more convincing investigation was carried out by Gunter Sachs as described in the book "The Astrology File". He analysed the birth data of hundreds of thousands of people and compared the frequency of the different signs with regards to what profession they choose, what crimes are likely to be committed, what sports are most favoured, who marries who, etc. The statistical calculations were verified by the Institute of Statistics at Munich's Ludwig- Maximilian University.
His conclusion is that the probability that the observed correlations are due to chance alone is millions to one against! With some results it is 10,000,000 to 1 against! This was just using sun signs. We would venture to say that if the other planets were included in the analysis the deviations from randomness would be significantly greater.
However, the best way to demonstrate the validity of Astrology on an individual level is to find a competent Astrologer and have a reading done - while keeping an open mind. If the Astrologer can describe your characteristics and qualities to a degree that is not possible to guess at, then that should be enough to show that there is some truth to Astrology. Nothing beats personal experience!

The constellations, which correspond to the Astrological symbols, have moved in the sky to what they were in the past. How can the interpretations remain the same as they were thousands of years ago?

The answer to that is that the Astrological signs, although associated with, are not defined by the constellation positions in the sky. For how do we determine in the sky where one constellation ends and another begins?
The beginning of the Astrological chart, that corresponds to the beginning or 0 degrees of Aries, always occurs during the equinox - ie when day and night are of equal length. This corresponds to the 21st(22nd) of March.
As far as the author is aware this is how it has always been calculated, and does not depend on the exact position of the constellations. It is likely that the ancients used the constellations as signposts for quickly determining roughly where the planets were in the sky, before the advent of computing machines made that obsolete.

There is another reason why the position of the constellations is irrelevant, it has to do with the soul choosing the timeof birth rather than the constellations themselves having a direct influence on the lives of people. See "How Astrology Works" in the Background section for a more detailed explanation of this issue.

Which house system is correct?

Astrologers use different ways of dividing up the chart into the twelve houses. Which is correct? According to the Hilarion material, the Porphry house system is the correct one.
This involves dividing the four quadrants formed by the horizon line (Ascendant - Descendant) and the zenith line (MC - IC), which are the same for all house systems, into three equal parts.
We have tested this by examining several charts where some of the planets were on the borderline between one house and the next. That is, where a planet(s) falls into one house in the Porphry system and another house in the other house system, and found the Porphry system indeed gives the best fit.

Doesn't Astrology imply predestination? Is our life ruled by the planets?
Astrology does not imply predestination. The predictive aspect of Astrology works often but not always, and even when it does it is more general than specific.
The difficulty is that by its very nature it is not amenable to rigorous and repeatable scientific tests.
It is a little like weather forecasting, there are so many variables that can influence a prediction. Weather forecasts are not always correct but they are right often enough to make them useful and worth considering. Astrological forecasts are similar.

The reason that Astrological forecasts work at all is not so much because of the influences of the planets, but rather by agreement at the soul level. See "How Astrology Works " in the Background sections for a more detailed explanation of this issue.