Spirituality, Religion and Astrology part 2

Ask me to define astrology and I would say it's the world's oldest "science." An astrologer does use an agreed upon classification system and has very precise measurements when drafting a "horoscope", but I also see the interpretation of the horoscope as a creative and imaginative art form.

The horoscope is to an astrologer much like the microscope is to a biologist, an instrument that allows you to see things that are not readily visible.

The horoscope is an astrologer's tool, but like a hammer, how the tool is used depends upon whose hands it is in. Put a hammer in inexperienced hands and you get a mess, put it in the hands of an artist and you get a sculpture, put it in the hands of a carpenter and you get a house, put it in the hands of a murderer and you get mayhem.

If an astrologer attempts to define the nature of astrology...it almost always comes down to their own personal belief system.

Liz Greene, who is held in high esteem by astrologers all over the world has this to say:

“Astrology cannot be explained by any single theoretical framework, but must be viewed against a specific religious, philosophical, social, and political background and, equally importantly, from the perspective of individual practitioners working within a particular milieu in a particular place, in a particular decade of a particular century.”

“In a paper entitled ‘Who Holds the Cards? Women and New Age Astrology’, published in a collection of essays called Perspectives on the New Age. Shoshanah Feher interviewed a group of astrologers at an American astrology conference. She asked them how they viewed astrology, and we may assume that how they – or we – view it is also how they – or we – practice it, and the perspectives, attitudes, and motivations implicit in the ways the various placements of the horoscope are interpreted by the individual astrologer.

* 92% of Feher’s interviewees understood astrology as healing art
* 99% understood it as a psychological tool.
* 61% linked it with a 'metaphysical religion’, suggesting a particular school of belief such as Theosophy, Neoplatonism, Buddhism, or modern paganism
* 25% stated that they combined their astrology with spiritual disciplines of one kind or another, such as yoga, meditation, or ritual practices."

Yes, it's true many spiritual people are attracted to astrology and many who study astrology become “spirituals”. The vast majority of astrologers see their craft as a sacred science because it reveals a divine order --yes, maybe even an "intelligent design"--at work in our everyday lives.

As for me, I feel I'm a better person and astrologer when I'm in touch with my own spirituality and therefore my own true self. And when life seems like a series of meaningless events it's my astrological understanding of this divine order at work in the Universe that gives me faith that perhaps all things...good or bad...are not without purpose in the mind of God.