With the popularity of "New Age" stuff, I'm curious if you think that the use of Astrology has or might have a place in your life, personal or professional? I don't mean the daily 'insights' one might get in the newspaper. I mean a real Chart prepared by one who knows what they are doing.

In America, we once had a President that believed so strongly in the charts, that he had his official swearing-in moved to just after midnight of the first day he could legally be President, because of the more-beneficial timing his advisor saw.

I first learned Simplified Scientific Astrology about 24 years ago, and have found that, when used as a guide of possibility, it is a good tool. Not as a road map to success, but a predictor of what is possible. Of things to keep in mind. Of things to avoid.

I'm interested in learning your experiences and opinions.

~ Stan ~

I used to do charts a bit. I did my own and some for friends. I also had my chart done by a professional once. I already knew her pretty well and respected her insight. And she delivered. She told me something that I would have never figured out on my own, based on the North and South nodes.

I definitely have found useful information in it. I've also found though that there are a lot of conflicting schools of thought on it and it can easily become muddled. For me it is more a thing of fascination and entertainment than something I actually use.

Basically I've always liked to know what people's sun signs are or even more in depth information about their chart. Then I like to see how or even if what I know about them and what I know about the astrology, matches up. It's sort of a way I catalog people. For example I may think something like, "MantaRayz is an Aries, he's high energy and a doer." But it's more of an automatic process than something I consciously do.

Well, I think that there are many variables in life, and astrology happens to be one of them. I think it may be worth looking into, but you also have to look at all the other variables.

Here are some of the variables that come to mind:

Default Personality
Influence of the Stars, Moon & Planets
Personal Experience
Free Will
Other Individuals' Actions
Bad/Good Energy/Spirits

I think that we come with a default personality as defined by a combination of things, most notably the chinese horoscope and western horoscope (e.g. I am both an Ox and Cancer). But, personal experiences in life can override those defaults (i.e. we react to something that happens and subconsciously decide to do or not do do something in the future). Another thing that can override that is free will. If we are conscious of our own power, we can actually reprogram ourselves. I view our default personality as the operating system that our computer came with. It is actually capable of running other operating systems, but few people install a different one or even know they can.

So, I think that while astrology may be something worth looking at, it is but one small piece of the pie.

As Rush said in one of their songs:

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will.

As for me, I chose Free Will. :)

Don't believe in astrology myself.

I don't know that much about it, so I can't say whether I believe in it or not.

I thought horoscopes is a part of astrology?

I thought horoscopes is a part of astrology?The Horoscope is the Chart that is produced from a reading. That the term is used in association with the Daily Horoscope (you will meet someone that may have good direction in your life) is a reason that many will say Chart instead.

To me, a Chart is, as I said in opening this thread, a Map of Possibilities. Not as the only point 'A to point B routing' of the Journey of Live.

Take a service like AAA. They can and will supply you with a map to your destination, based on several criteria you select. If you were to rely only on their routing, you would miss everything not on the route. Conversely, if you do not use some of their travel insights, you might miss some things along the route that you would want to have as part of your Journeys experience.

The same would apply in Astrology - if one were to strictly guide themselves along a path that is "predetermined" (and interpreted usually by a Chartist or Reader) one would be playing into a "one and only" future. And would miss the subtilties and events and experiences that lay off that route.

To me, there is no such one-and-only Future. There is only a Future that YOU Design and Decide on, and work to make real.

To me, there is no such one-and-only Future. There is only a Future that YOU Design and Decide on, and work to make real.
Very, very true. :thumb:

I have been running an ongoing experiment concerning daily horoscopes and I have had some interesting results. Instead of reading the horoscope at the beginning of the day, I read it at the end of the day to see if it was accurate or not. Now, most of the time, for me at least, the horoscope was only slightly relevant. Sometimes it would have been relevant on a different day, but not that day. Sometimes it was dead wrong. Sometimes it was so accurate it was scary. So I don't put much weight on daily horoscopes.

On the other hand, I have read about personality traits that people have when they are born in a certain year (chinese horoscope) and a certain month (western horoscope) and they are surprisingly accurate, although not 100%.

And supposedly readings are supposed to be more accurate than the daily horoscope. And I tend to believe that based on what I've heard. But I also believe that horoscopes and readings only tell you the most probable and predictable future, meaning that is the course you are currently headed. And, if you don't like the current destination, you can change course.

In one sense, I view astrology and horoscopes as the direction the water is flowing at a particular moment in a river called life. Now, being humans, we can either float along with the current, or we can get a really big engine, strap it to the back of our powerboat, and go the other direction. Just most people never do that.

In America, we once had a President that believed so strongly in the charts, that he had his official swearing-in moved to just after midnight of the first day he could legally be President, because of the more-beneficial timing his advisor saw.

Manta,

Could you tell me which president this was? I cannot remember readin anything about this in school. I did not know that presidents could change the dates for the swearing in to suit them.

Thank you!

Manta,
Could you tell me which president this was? I cannot remember readin anything about this in school. I did not know that presidents could change the dates for the swearing in to suit them.
Thank you!Ronald Regan didn't change the date, because he could not do that, but he had a private swearing-in at 12:02am that morning. Later, they held he "official" televised ceremony. He and Nancy consulted their Astrological Advisor on a very regular basis.

History is full of things that are not part of the published or otherwise well-known accounts. This is but one of hundreds of thousands.

MantaRayz,

That's some really intersting information. I never knew this about Ronald Reagan.

Lots of people take their superstitions seriously, my girlfriend is into astrology and I hear this talk about Capricorns all the time... drives me up the wall... =)

IAFPO - "Rush", now you show your age! Must say 2112 was one of my favourite albums may years ago.

New age has been around since the 60's, so when is it going to become old age?

I have a friend who runs a relatively successful real-estate business on the advice given from an astrologer/numerologist. And even more so, she fully attributes her success/decisions to his outcomes.

Not the bet that I'd like to make, but on the other hand, i've seen lots of business people spend money on "Life coaches" "Business coaches" etc. Sometimes I think probably not all that different.

Doesn't matter what the information you get, you're the one taking the action. And irrespective how good the advice, if it doesn't "feel" right to you, you wont take it.

..... irrespective how good the advice, if it doesn't "feel" right to you, you wont take it.Isn't that kinda "New-Age-ish" advice? ;)

I personally place NO credance in astrology/horoscopes for any purpose at all. Well, MAYBE if someone who has no clue who they are, sign stereotyping might give a person a way to get an identity. But, I personally haven't found anyone who, knowing who I am, was able to guess my sign.

- Richard

I personally place NO credance in astrology/horoscopes for any purpose at all. Well, MAYBE if someone who has no clue who they are, sign stereotyping might give a person a way to get an identity. But, I personally haven't found anyone who, knowing who I am, was able to guess my sign.

- RichardTrue. I view it as a default that you are born with, that you can change if you want. Usually circumstances change who you are, and less often people actually change themselves consciously.

hang on, is it 5 billion people here now? 10 or so horoscope signs. not wanting to generalise...........

in fact the horoscope experts say it's more complicated because we are born at different times of the day.

that equates to 31,536,000 different types of people if they had an individual chart for every second of the year.

do you realise with 5B people on this planet, you have an exact version to yourself 158.54895 times over given the scale of simple mathematics.

astrology/horoscopes are on the same scale as god/allah/bhudda/et al. unable to be satisfactorally proven to us people of a material nature in the here and now.

you believe what is most pertinent to you at different times in your life. you hope in the sad times, and you tend to forget in the great times.

if it gives you hope, is it right?

..... in fact the horoscope experts say it's more complicated because we are born at different times of the day.

that equates to 31,536,000 different types of people if they had an individual chart for every second of the year. And that doesn't even figure in the Longitude & Latitude of the Birthplace (for a Natal Chart), or of the present location (for an updated chart) Even going by an ephemeris gauged by the minute, adding in the Lon & Lat now pushes that out into the Hundreds of Billions of possible "Signs", originating with the base of 12.

..... But, I personally haven't found anyone who, knowing who I am, was able to guess my sign.
- Richard So ........ do you hang around with a bunch of Professional of budding Astrologers?

Hmmm, since you got out the math, I thought I'd have fun and continue the mathematics of it all.

Well, there are many variables, not just 10 signs.

There are 12 chinese horscope signs (i.e. Ox) with 5 elements (water, earth, wood, fire, metal) meaning you would be a Water Ox, not just an Ox, which has a different personality than a Fire Ox, for example. Then there are 12 Western Signs as well (i.e. Cancer). So in the end, you would be a Water Ox / Cancer, influenced by both western and chinese horoscopes.

Then, supposedly, your personality would be slightly different based on when you were born. If that were the case, and there were a seperate personality for each second in a year, then there are approximately 31,536,000 in a year. Since chinese horoscope signs are based on year, there are 12 years, each with a different base personality. Then multiply that by 5 since there are 5 elements and that also effects your personallity (i.e. a person who is an Earth Ox would have a different personality than a Metal Ox, for example).

So, 31,536,000 times 12 times 5 = 1,892,160,000 possible personalities (assuming that you ignore the latitude and longitude of where you were born, which also supposedly effects your default personality).

Now, take those 1,892,160,000 possible personalities and then multiply that by infinite circumstances that you were born in (you parents, wealth, social status, health, historical events, number of siblings, race, religion, etc.), all of which will modify or alter your default personality over time.

The result: an infinite number of different personalities.

So in the end, you are unique, just like everybody else. :D

OK, now yer just being silly! :D

Hmmm, since you got out the math, I thought I'd have fun and continue the mathematics of it all.

Well, there are many variables, not just 10 signs.

There are 12 chinese horscope signs (i.e. Ox) with 5 elements (water, earth, wood, fire, metal) meaning you would be a Water Ox, not just an Ox, which has a different personality than a Fire Ox, for example. Then there are 12 Western Signs as well (i.e. Cancer). So in the end, you would be a Water Ox / Cancer, influenced by both western and chinese horoscopes.

Then, supposedly, your personality would be slightly different based on when you were born. If that were the case, and there were a seperate personality for each second in a year, then there are approximately 31,536,000 in a year. Since chinese horoscope signs are based on year, there are 12 years, each with a different base personality. Then multiply that by 5 since there are 5 elements and that also effects your personallity (i.e. a person who is an Earth Ox would have a different personality than a Metal Ox, for example).

So, 31,536,000 times 12 times 5 = 1,892,160,000 possible personalities (assuming that you ignore the latitude and longitude of where you were born, which also supposedly effects your default personality).

Now, take those 1,892,160,000 possible personalities and then multiply that by infinite circumstances that you were born in (you parents, wealth, social status, health, historical events, number of siblings, race, religion, etc.), all of which will modify or alter your default personality over time.

The result: an infinite number of different personalities.

So in the end, you are unique, just like everybody else. :DBut not to overstate the possible combinations .... I'll point out that the circumstances have little if anything to do with a pure chart. Also, when doing a reading, there might be some extranious consideration given to the other pieces you mentioned (but you forgot numerology! multiply by 11!) the pure chartist will not factor those it. But, the Lon & Lat are vitally important!

I personally believe that the personality that horoscopes describe is a default personality, similar to how your computer typically comes preloaded with an operating system such as Windows XP. Most people don't know that they came preloaded with a default personality and when they find out they have one, they assume it cannot be changed. I believe that you can change your personality, similar in how you can upgrade or change your operating system on a computer, but it takes a lot of work, and would require you to be committed to and be aware of what is running you. Most people are not self-aware enough to do this. It also takes risk. What if you don't like Linux after you installed it? You could reinstall Windows XP if you want. But still, there is a risk involved when you make major changes. Usually it is better to just change the things that you don't like and leave the rest.

As you learn things and grow, you add things onto your computer. Documents, programs, etc. These also effect your personality to a certain degree, although you will still be running the same default operating system.

It is possible that things that happen and decisions you make change your personality. This often happens when people experience some sort of trauma in their life. They decide that something will never happen again or that they are going to be a certain way in the future, and it alters who they are, which sometimes overrides or rewrites the part of the operating system that normally would have been in effect.

So, on one hand I believe that certain things are predetermined, but at the same time, we also have free will and can change it.

I personally believe that the personality that horoscopes describe is a default personality, similar to how your computer typically comes preloaded with an operating system.

So, on one hand I believe that certain things are predetermined, but at the same time, we also have free will and can change it. Interesting thought! What i learned about astrology is it's not so much about personality, it's more about the possibilities to be aware of. At least, this is the school of thought that I learned from 24 years ago. I'm certain that there are any number of interpretations of what it is about and "predicts."

Free Will most assuredly comes into play! again, it's about possibilities, not absolutes!