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| After I read the following article I had some thoughts I wanted to share on the subject. It is reprinted in its entirety to allow you to understand what points I am referring to below. |
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Astrology and the Sun
by Dena DeCastro While attending a recent astrology conference, I was forced to confront the basics of my craft once again. I found myself asking not only how does astrology work, but also, why does it work? I’ve seen so much proof during my time as an astrologer that it does work. But in order to advance in our knowledge of a particular topic, sometimes it is necessary to go back to the foundation. In my experience, astrology gives valuable insight and guidance toward the fulfillment of our souls’ destinies. And even if you don’t believe in a soul, or an afterlife, or God, or destiny for that matter, astrology still works. It works in the sense that it gives valuable answers to some main questions we all face along our path: Why do we have pain in our lives, and how do we heal? What is our purpose? So what is it about astrology that is able to connect with the human soul? Why does it work? For starters, think about one of humanity’s basic relationships; what is one relationship that we all have in common? It is our relationship to the sun; we depend on it for its heat, and for its light. Without it, this planet, our home, would die, and we would die with it. At astrology’s core is our relationship to the sun, our relationship to light. Astrology is not primarily about the stars; it’s about our star. Many people, myself included, at first believe that astrology has to do with the stars as we can see them from the earth. Most of popular astrology, after all, talks of the constellations; the zodiac are the names of twelve groups of stars, no? Well, yes…but these constellations were only originally used as markers to describe the location of the sun. The important thing to ancient astrologers, going back 2 or 3 thousand years, was to mark the time for the beginning of each season, to be able to tell where we were in our year-long cycle around the sun. This seems logical, upon reflection; our ancestors needed a calendar for practical, then ceremonial, reasons. They needed to know when to plant the crops and when to harvest them. And out of these practical rituals grew the spiritual nature of man: to make offerings, sacrifices, to do rituals at the appropriate times, all in flow with the cycles of sun and moon. The sun and moon were our primal parents, our two nearest light-giving bodies. And in this manner, our relationship to the sun, and to each of the planets, is what is described by a natal chart. It is a symbolic relationship. Because the sun is our “primary” relationship, it is the symbol in the chart of the relationship to the self and to the father; it is a metaphor for what is basic and essential to our nature. Where the sun was when we were born, or the “sign”, is merely a description of a time of year, and the energies of that time of year prevail. Think about it: during Virgo time (late August through mid September) it used to be known as a time of hard work and “harvest” and serving the greater good, making sure that the whole community had food for the winter. Virgos are known to be hard-working and service-oriented. Leo time (late July through mid August) was a time of relaxation, play, a kind of “lull” in the year before harvest. These are now the qualities associated with Leo: playfulness, entertainment, leisure, creativity. This correlation can be made with each of the signs to their “time” of the year. And the activities of that time are mainly dictated, even now, by the position of the sun. When it is winter, and we’re in our farthest point from the sun, we tend to go inward, to stay near to home, to hibernate, in effect. So, the sign that marks the beginning of this dark period, Scorpio, has associations with a descent into the darkness within ourselves. Astrology works because it is the physical representation of this most basic relationship between humanity and light. Our natal chart is the picture of that individual relationship for each of us: where were we, at the moment of birth, in relation to the sun? Unfortunately, this still doesn’t answer my original question: Why does astrology work? The answer is nothing literal or tangible; I’ve realized that it borders on the mystical, and perhaps a mystic can answer that for me someday. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use this tool to enhance my life and the lives of those around me. |
| When the author wrote about our basic relationship with the Sun, it really spoke to me. However, she ends the article by admitting she still doesn't know why astrology works. Here are my thoughts, to carry on her point a little further. She made a good description about how important light is, and how the natal chart is a representation of our personal relationship with the light. The missing ingredient here is the fact that light is energy and we are all composed of energy. It is the essence of our beings. Nearly all spiritual beliefs acknowledge this in one form or another. It should come as no surprise that we would each be profoundly influenced by the biggest, brightest ball of energy nearest to us. The sun gives our planet life; if the sun were not sitting on our doorstep, so to speak, our planet would be vastly different. No argument there, right? However, the energies of the universe that flow on light are not limited to the sun. It is merely the closest and largest source of light for us. These other influences travel throughout the universe, bouncing off a moon here and a planet there. The idea that the other closest planets and celestial bodies have some kind of influence on the light/energy is not surprising then. By charting the location of the sun and stars, or in other words, by mapping out the energies surrounding us on the one unique moment of life that brings us to being, we receive a guidepost that can assist us. I have always thought of astrology as a tool rather than a roadmap set in stone. Who knows? Maybe one day I will be proven wrong on that point. However, I believe the light/energy explanation finishes out the article and helps to answer why astrology works. |
