Is Your Star Sign Out of Date? Astrology in the 21st Century

An article in the New York Times explained with meticulous simplicity why your Zodiac sign is 2,000 years out of date.  Based in astronomy, it used excellent info-graphics to explain how we view the constellations from Earth. and how over the last 2,000 years the constellations have ‘shifted’ from our perspective. This is down to something that has been called (rather un-technically) the “Earth’s wobble”.

The Earth’s wobble is understood by Astrologers as the precession of the Equinox.  In simple terms, as the Earth rotates, it wobbles on its axis. This wobble, draws an imaginary circle in the sky which means the North Pole moves on a rotational plane which takes approximately 26,000 years to complete.  This means that from our view on Earth, the constellations have moved over the last 2,000 years.  So, if you were born 2,000 years BC, you may have been an Aries, but the same date today would perhaps make you a Pisces – two very different Astrological signs.

Anyone practicing Western Astrology is aware of the discrepancy of the constellations and the Astrological signs, but in many ways this discrepancy does not matter.  

Astrologers are seeking to describe the energy of the Universe and this has little to do with the constellations and how they look from Earth.  The energy of the Cosmos is vast, complex and not fully understood.  It is not understood by astrologers, astronomers or scientists.

The constellations are nothing more than a backdrop to a mysterious source of energy.  Astrology is a language rich in symbolism and mythology used to describe this fluctuating energy.

Astrology is often misunderstood. The planets and the Astrological signs are not ‘causing’ anything.  Rather, the Cosmos is a mirror or reflection of our inner state and our inner state is a reflection of the Cosmos.

Carl Jung’s work was largely based in this theory.  He explored the collective unconscious and the individual psyche.  He also uncovered what he called ‘inherited archetypes’ in the unconscious.  He noted that recurring symbols could be found across different cultures, over different generations, that seemed to influence our thoughts and behaviours.  He developed these theories and calculated astrological birth charts for his clients to use Astrology as a portal into the individual psyche. He thought that the position of the planets at birth represented archetypal patterns that were manifesting in reality at that moment. He also saw the symbolism and myth bound up with the movement of the planets as a mirror of the collective unconscious, which gave us profound insight into the human condition. Astrology, therefore, provides an underlying structure for understanding patterns and behaviours. 

It is not just Jung that found a correlation between the study of the stars and the movement of the planets.  Many cultures have assigned myths that profoundly influence our perception, motivation and behaviour.  Indeed, shared myth and themes appear across different systems for interpreting the stars, and despite these different systems, they all broadly align in their interpretation.  Sidereal Astrology takes account of the precession of the Equinox, and yet the interpretations do not differ significantly.  

_

Throughout the centuries, Astrologers were recognised and respected scientists, such as Copernicus, who sparked a scientific revolution by discovering that the Earth rotated around the sun.

Today, Astrology is no longer a science but is used as a descriptive language, rich in symbolism and metaphor.

Astrology can therefore be seen as a tool designed not just to position the planets and make predictions, but to understand some more complex aspects of the human condition and our very existence here on Earth.  

A good astrologer understands psychological and archetypal symbolism and therefore uses a planetary placement in a birth chart simply as a marker.  The symbolism ascribed defies scientific, rational thinking and therefore the constellations and their significance are only a small part of a bigger puzzle.

Contemporary astrologers endeavour to describe the energy they feel, often using intuition and an inner ‘knowing’.   They seek to explain this using both Astrological techniques for interpreting a birth chart and the symbolic Astrological language, as a way to explain complex abstract concepts.

Throughout the centuries, Astrologers were recognised and respected scientists making discoveries, such as Copernicus who discovered that the Earth rotated around the sun, sparking a scientific revolution.  Astrology may no longer be at the cutting edge of science, but it is a tried and tested art form.  We cannot explain how it works and neither can science – perhaps why Astrology is sometimes labelled as ‘nonsense.’

Astrology has been ‘disproved’ many times over centuries, and yet we are still able to extrapolate highly relevant and accurate information.  It may be that trying to disprove it on rational, scientific grounds is not the way to go.  The position of the planets and the constellations do not seem to matter.  Astrology is simply the art of interpreting the mysteries and the energy of the Universe.  When science can explain why astrology can make spookily accurate explanations, then we will perhaps have a much better understanding of both the Universe and our existence.  Until then, the symbolic language of Astrology will probably endure.

#NYCTimes #NewYorkTimes #Astrology #zodiac #westernastrology #planets #constellations #astrologicalinterpretation #carljung #jung #collectiveunconscious #psyche #archetype #astrologicalarchetype #symbolism #symboliclanguage