Astrology is not a religion and is just a study of
life, like physics or psychology. Nevertheless, because it deals in
archetypal truths, shows unvarying cycles and can register major
events in individual lives and national history, astrology is
closer than other disciplines to describing "the will of God". Its
potential depth of meaning and essential sacredness is lost today
when it is reduced to nothing but sun sign columns and party
gossip. It may also be that only new insights of the religious mind
can help astrology resolve the eternal problems it presents with
regard to fate and freewill - which are perhaps two sides of the
same thing.
Astrology does not claim to be the answer to everything but it can
provide striking insights and clues to many things and there are
few aspects of life to which it cannot be applied
CHRISTIANITY
& ASTROLOGY
For most of the Christians , a "Christian astrology" cannot exist;
the very idea is a contradiction in terms (oxymoron is the
fashionable word). Yet Christianity begins with signs in the
heavens and the visit of Wise Men or Magi (literally, astrologers)
to the Christ child.
"The star went before them until it stopped over the place where
the child was." (Matt. 2:9b)
The Bible itself states in its first chapter (Gen.1.14) that the
lights in the heavens were put there as "signs" and signs exist to
be interpreted. In his answer to Job, God asks him if he can "bring
out the signs of the zodiac in their seasons" (Job 38.32).
The origins of Hebrew astrology are popularly attributed to Abraham
or even Noah though it is more likely that it should be traced to
the Jewish exile in Babylon. Possibly at that time the subject
entered through the influence of biblical figures like Daniel, who
had access to the pagan wisdom, or Ezekiel whose vision of the four
creatures around the throne has profound relations to the astrology
of the elements and the four fixed signs.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to
mark seasons and days and years, . . ." (Genesis 1:14)
God told the Israelites: "Let the children of Israel also keep the
passover at his appointed season." (Numbers 9:2)
How were they supposed to know when the "season" of Passover had
come?
By watching for the Full Moon.
***
ISLAM &
ASTRLOGY
According to Islam, Astrology is the scientific study of stars for
determining and fixing time division such as months and seasons and
directions.In modern times, this is lawful because it is perceived
by the senses and fixed calculations, which can help determine the
times of prescribed prayers, and other religious duties that should
be observed at certain times.
Allâh has informed us of His intended purpose for the stars: to
guide mankind in the right path and to drive away evil satanic
forces that might disrupt one' life in this world of ours.
"And the Sun runneth on unto a resting place for him .That is the
measuring of the mighty, the wise. And for the Moon, we have
appointed mensions till she returns like an old shrivelled palm
leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the Moon, nor doth the
nights outstrips the day. They float each in an orbit." (Surah X X
X VI. verse 38,39,and 40). These verse prove the well ordained and
well knit mechanism of Allah's creation.
At another place He says, "He is who appointed the Sun a splendour
and the Moon a light and measured for her stages that he might know
the number of the years, and the reckoning. Allah has created not
(all) that save in truth.
We find that in the Holy Quran, in several verses, Almighty has
asked and encouraged mankind to look into and ponder over the
objects of his creation, including the heaven, the stars and the
Moon, in orders the understand his signs and thereby his supreme
might, glory and greatness.
Mention in regard to Astrology or the influence of planets and
stars is found in the Holy Quran in connection with Pharaoh, who
was warned of the birth of Prophet Moses.
As a consequence of the prediction by the court astrologers of King
Namrood who Predicted birth of Prophet Ibrahim so much so that they
predicted accurately the conception of Prophet Ibrahim in spite of
the best efforts of the King Namrood to prevent it.
***
HINDUISM &
ASTROLOGY
Vedic Astrology or Indian Astrology or Hindu astrology, is a system
that originated in ancient India, and was documented by sages in
the Vedic scriptures.Also known as "Jyotish" -- the science of
light, Vedic astrology deals with astral light patterns that are
thought to determine our destiny.
It is a little known fact that the ancient maharishis from the
Vedic era of India (c. 3000 B.C.) were also master astrologers.
Parashara, considered the grandfather of modern Vedic Astrology,
was the grandson of the Rishi Vasishta, and the father of Veda
Vyasa, who compiled the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, and many other
scriptures of the Vedic tradition. Throughout the centuries of
India's long history, countless saints, scholars, and sages have
studied and practiced the sacred science of astrology.
The basic premise of this Vedic astrology is that all things are
linked. Your karma or fortune is determined by a predestined cosmic
design. You are a soul incarnating in a body at a very specific
time and place, and your life is a reflection of the greater whole
into which you are born just as flowers bloom at certain times, say
during spring time, when all conditions are perfectly congenial. So
is the case with our births on this planet.
In Jyotish, the main item is your chart. It's a map of the planets
in the signs of the zodiac. Charts are cast based on an exact
moment at an exact place on earth. Therefore, the moment you were
born and the place you were born has a chart, and that is your
"birth chart" or "natal chart".
Eg; A Natal Chart
By reading the chart of the heavens for the time and place of your
birth, claim vedic astrologers, they can know much about you. The
positions of the planets in the real star-based zodiac are taken
and your "dashas" (predictive timeline) are arranged. Your Vedic
chart will most likely reflect your real life and your dashas are
probably operating the way they should. The Vedic astrologer looks
at these planets, signs and house placements in your chart and can
"see" your personality, as well as life events and possibilities -
both the good and the bad times in your life. The dashas are then
used to determine "when" the events will unfold in the life.
Through Vedic Astrology we can discover the underlying unity of
existence, the cosmic connection between the macrocosm and the
microcosm. It can be a doorway to mystical awakening, a window into
the Infinite, a pathway to Self-knowledge. It can be all of these
things for you, if you choose to become a seeker of wisdom.
Cheers
