davidthegreek
Active Member
as well as numerology?
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
do you believe in astrology?
- Thread starter davidthegreek
- Start date
Believe in what way, exactly?
tumbleweed41
Resident Liberal Hippie
apophenia
Well-Known Member
I think astrology is the remnant of humanity's earliest attempts at a general form of psychology.
If used in a spirit more like the use of I'Ching, it is a way to encourage looking at oneself and others, and at relationships.
If used as a dogma, with the influence of the stars and planets taken literally, it is a nonsense.
I have thought that perhaps there is some basis to date of birth affecting personality, but in the context of seasonal variations in nutrition etc in a given area i.e. in earlier times in our history, a mothers nutrition during pregnancy was strongly affected by the seasons, so perhaps this could have affected crucial pre-natal development. But apart from ideas like that, I think that astrology is really an early system of looking at personality types, which was adopted widely in a very ignorant way.
If used in a spirit more like the use of I'Ching, it is a way to encourage looking at oneself and others, and at relationships.
If used as a dogma, with the influence of the stars and planets taken literally, it is a nonsense.
I have thought that perhaps there is some basis to date of birth affecting personality, but in the context of seasonal variations in nutrition etc in a given area i.e. in earlier times in our history, a mothers nutrition during pregnancy was strongly affected by the seasons, so perhaps this could have affected crucial pre-natal development. But apart from ideas like that, I think that astrology is really an early system of looking at personality types, which was adopted widely in a very ignorant way.
Only the significance that we superstitiously place on the birthing event.
great post good points. I think this.nails it on the jead.
Gjallarhorn
N'yog-Sothep
I believe that, if you believe in it, it affects you. It might not have any objective basis, but seek and you shall find.
apophenia
Well-Known Member
I wonder if you read the rest of that paragraph. I was musing on the possibility that nutrition during gestation may have an influence on brain development, and that time (season) of conception would have an influence on gestational nutrition in early societies. But I was certainly not supporting the notion of 'star signs' etc.
The Sum of Awe
Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
I think you can fake it til you make it
Secret Chief
nirvana is samsara
Arrant nonsense. A typically dismissive attitude of a Piscean.
Well, compared to some of these people, yes, I apparently do believe in the value of divinatory arts. Most people don't. So I'm not surprised. Most people also haven't actually studied any of it.
Last edited:
MatthiasGould
Alhamdulillah!
No, I believe it to be quackery at best, and something which has a great deal of ability to place people in great danger.
I read it, yes.
Be careful what you answer, it may not be the question that was asked.
Be careful what you answer, it may not be the question that was asked.
That's why I asked "believe in what way." So far, that has not been answered. :cover:
If nothing else, I find the system of symbolism for both of these divinatory arts incredibly fascinating. And, at times, very useful. They also work as systems of divination. What's troublesome is when people reduce divinatory arts down to mere fortune telling or predicting the future. That kind of application of divination - which is probably what the OP was asking about - isn't something I put much stock in. I very rarely use divination in that way in my practice.
Desert Snake
Veteran Member
^ The question seems pretty simple to me, you seem to be the only one reading into it.
Desert Snake
Veteran Member
@ OP
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
I rarely find "do you believe in X" questions simple. They're oversimplified shorthands for what could really be one of several distinct questions. "To believe" is a relatively nebulous term with many possible interpretations, and one's understanding of "X" is also significant in shaping how the question is interpreted.
"Do you believe in X" can mean anything from "do you think X is factually true" to "do you think X is useful" or "do you believe X ought to be ideologically upheld" or "do you trust X."
When it comes to considering the subject, most people in my culture have a very shallow understanding of divinatory arts. They associate divination with mere fortune telling, so they will interpret the question of "do you believe in astrology" as "do you believe astrology can accurately predict the future." Someone like me who has a much more nuanced understanding of what divination can be used for will not interpret the question like that. The question "do you believe in astrology" could just as easily be "do you believe that astrology can be a useful tool for thoughtful introspection" or "do you believe astrology can help us connect with the gods."
So no, it's really not a simple question. Answering "yes" to the OP's question can mean very different things to different people depending on how they understand the divinatory arts. I do not answer the same way to all the questions I posed above.
"Do you believe in X" can mean anything from "do you think X is factually true" to "do you think X is useful" or "do you believe X ought to be ideologically upheld" or "do you trust X."
When it comes to considering the subject, most people in my culture have a very shallow understanding of divinatory arts. They associate divination with mere fortune telling, so they will interpret the question of "do you believe in astrology" as "do you believe astrology can accurately predict the future." Someone like me who has a much more nuanced understanding of what divination can be used for will not interpret the question like that. The question "do you believe in astrology" could just as easily be "do you believe that astrology can be a useful tool for thoughtful introspection" or "do you believe astrology can help us connect with the gods."
So no, it's really not a simple question. Answering "yes" to the OP's question can mean very different things to different people depending on how they understand the divinatory arts. I do not answer the same way to all the questions I posed above.