Astrology is the study of celestial
bodies' purported influence on human behavior and worldly events. Astrology has
captured the minds of so many millennials that they read their horoscope every
day.1 “According to a new survey by the National Science Foundation, nearly half of all Americans say that astrology
is either "very scientific" or "sort of scientific." By
contrast, 92 percent of the Chinese public think horoscopes are a bunch of
baloney,” reports an article in the UPI.2
In an effort to validate astrology,
its staunchest believers term astrology as a science. In fact, an Indian High
Court pronounced astrology as a science, “India's Bombay High Court has ruled
that astrology (which took a recent and very public drubbing after an
astronomer pointed out that astrological signs have changed over millennia) is
not merely a harmless diversion but instead a science, presumably on par with
biology, astronomy and physics.”3
Is astrology a scientific
discipline?
NASA emphasizes that astrology is
not science and that it should not be confused with the scientific discipline
of astronomy, “Astronomy is the scientific study of everything in outer space.
Astronomers and other scientists know that stars many light years* away have no
effect on the ordinary activities of humans on Earth.
Astrology is something else. It's
not science. No one has shown that astrology can be used to predict the future
or describe what people are like based only on their birth date.”4
An article in The Wire authored by Dr. S.K Arun Murthi, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, offers a scientific rebuttal to the notion that
astrology is science:5
If astrology is
about how planetary positions influence humans, then what exactly does the
‘strength’ of a planet mean as far as humans are concerned? This is not made
clear. Meanings in such cases have to be made clear in empirical terms – by
deriving meaning from observational correlations.
For example,
there is a certain astrological concept called shukra asta, a period of around
two months or more during certain parts of the year. According to astrological
traditions, no auspicious ceremonies are to be performed during this period.
An internet
search revealed that, according to astrological texts, planets come very close
to the Sun at certain times of the year. As a result they lose their
brightness, or lustre, with respect to the Sun. This is symbolic of a planet
losing its strength, resulting in shukra asta (Sanskrit for ‘combustion of a
planet’). The implication for astrology is that shukra asta robs the beneficial
effects of the planet.
From this, we
can infer that a planet’s strength stands for the intensity or brightness of
its light, and such strengths or brightness symbolises certain good and bad
effects for human lives. However, this explanation is puzzling because no
planet has a light of its own. It only reflects the light of a star. Thus, to
speak of the brightness of a planet being blunted because of its proximity to
the Sun is empirically meaningless.
There are many
people who have been exposed to school-level science and who attempt to provide
a rational defence of astrology. Their superficial argument of how planets
influence human beings, stemming from an evident lack of understanding, goes
typically like this: Planets (in astrology, this includes the Sun and the Moon)
influence Earth. Therefore, they influence water bodies that, in turn,
influence the lives of living beings. This is essentially an appeal to Isaac
Newton’s and Albert Einstein’s laws of gravity.
But this is
demonstrably naïve. Of course, the gravity due to one object influences every
other object – but the assumption is that these objects ought to be quite heavy
for their effects to be perceptible. Second: the attractive force between two
massive bodies is a physical force. So the question arises: how can the
gravitational force exerted by a planet be able to affect out love lives,
matrimonial prospects, business affairs, etc. – in other words, the typical
issues that astrologers deal with? Can astrologers or astrological texts
establish a literal causal relationship?
The flyer for
the workshop proposed in the IISc campus (which stands now cancelled) described
astrology as “a scientific tool for individual progress”. Individual progress
is a matter of human activities (such as those listed in the previous para) and
aspirations. Other animals that we inhabit our Earth with do not have to bother
with these things and so astrology does not matter to them. Then again, this is
precisely the point: how can there be natural influences on our socially
constructed practices and behaviours, the evaluation of which is also socially
constructed?
For example, to
be successful at something is to achieve a specific set of outcomes that our
society has evolved. So planets guided by natural laws can’t have any say in
whether a person will achieve those outcomes. In fact, any such connection in
this context will either be completely alien to us or, of course, simply
meaningless. The astrological texts that do claim to make this connection will
have resorted to metaphors. There is, as a result, a complete lack of meaning
and evidence.
Such analytical
demand for meaning and evidence is usually met by appealing to something
unquestionable, such as a tradition. However, the excuse of a tradition is
easily invoked as a shield whenever beliefs like shukra asta are threatened by
rational sensibilities. If a tradition is taken as ground for belief – a ground
where neither reason nor empirical thinking operate – then tradition becomes
connected to ignorance, such as is the root of all superstitions some people
adhere to in the name of tradition. It is time that a society guided by such
baseless traditions works to right itself, and that TV channels stop airing
nonsensical programs on astrology.
So these are very reasonable
objections (from non-Christian sources) against astrology being a scientific
discipline.
Finally, let us consider the objection
of another non-Christian source, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who is one of Hinduism’s
most popular proponents, debunking astrology. When questioned whether we are
defined by the stars or self, Sadhguru alludes to the notion that astrology
does not impact our lives:6
Questioner: I have studied Vedic
astrology and I am wondering, does astrology work? Are we defined by the stars,
or by intention and mind, or by the self?
Sadhguru: You need to understand, India
is not just about the Vedas or Vedic culture. Sage Vyasa, the person who
compiled the four Vedas – his father was an Aryan and his mother was a
Dravidian. In spite of that, in South India, they don’t ascribe to the Vedas.
Dravidian
culture never went for astrology by looking at the stars, they made predictions
by looking at people. Here, we have what is called Nadi Joshyam. But the Aryan
culture came with astrology. Astrology is an interpretation of astronomy. If
you try to interpret something, invariably you miss a lot of points. So it is a
mis-interpretation because you missed a lot of things.
Anyway, the
choice is this: either you try to live your life by predictions or you have the
capability to make a plan and fulfill the plan. All those minds which are
incapable of a plan will look for a prediction. The stars that you see in the sky are far away, so very far away that
they have nothing to do with you. Just one star has a big influence upon
you – the Sun. And its satellite, the Moon, also has some influence upon you.
This planet has an even greater influence upon you. But above all, what is
within you has the biggest influence upon you. All those who are incapable of
committing themselves to a plan and fulfilling it, want a prediction. The
advantage with predictions is, you can keep changing them. But if a plan has to
work, you have to pay enormous attention in creating one. Then you have to
stick to it.
I only hope all
predictions go wrong for you. Then it means your life is happening wonderfully.
Otherwise you are going by the script that was written by some fool. In India,
for twenty-five rupees, or fifty cents, they will write your life. Let your
life not be so bad. It does not matter what the hell happens, let something
other than the prediction happen to you. Is that okay? May your predictions and
dreams not come true. Because a prediction is just a compromised dream
(Emphasis Mine).
To conclude, astrology is not a science, and significantly, it does not impact our lives. Therefore, Christians
should not practice/consult astrology (Deuteronomy 18:10-14; Acts 4:12, 16:16-18;
Hebrews 12:2).
Endnotes:
1https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-millennials-are-ditching-religion-for-witchcraft-and-astrology-2017-10-20
2https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2014/02/11/Majority-of-young-adults-think-astrology-is-a-science/5201392135954/
3https://www.livescience.com/12856-astrology-science-indian-court-ruling.html
4https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/starfinder2/en/
5https://thewire.in/religion/science-says-astrology-lacks-meaning-evidence
6 https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/does-astrology-work
Websites last
accessed on 30th April 2019.
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