posted June 18, 2009 10:59 AM         

An alternative for you would be to use logic and understand that astrology DOES NOT explain everything. There have been plenty of times where astrology has been just plain wrong in my experiences. People are still people. Charts cannot predict our every action and thought. Someone with a "perfect" chart may in reality be faaaaaaaaaaaaaar from perfect, even though his chart says he will be this or that.

If you understand this, I think you may realize that you do not have to give it up completely. Just tone it down some. Also, you must realize that we sometimes look in a chart and find what we want to find; we are biased before even looking at the chart.

A good analogy here is an episode of House MD when House asked Wilson what did he see in an xray. Wilson said (para) "that's the thing House, I'm an oncologist so I look at it and I see Cancer. An immunologist will look at it and see An auto immune disease. A vascular specialist will look at it and see a vascular disease." You get the point kismet. With that understanding, you can understand that astrology isn't as perfect and accurate as YOU YOURSELF believe it to be.

Good luck Kismet*

posted June 18, 2009 11:05 AM         

Sorry...I have to disagree with you.

I believe in God, and I use Astrology,tarot cards,numerology,and find meaning in dreams as well as have interest in palmistry.

Who says that is against God or that is incompatible with God? The Bible?

There are a lot of people that are into divination and believe that it's from God.

It really depends on how one believes in God. Like I said before, I believe in God in the pantheistic way.

I admit that there are people that use divination and all they care about is making money from it and not sincerely wanting to help others. I came across those types,and I've got used in the past. I learned from it. I don't throw everything out with the bathwater.

There are few bad apples from the tree,but I won't say the whole tree is bad. I think that's the problem with society. If a person gets screwed up by a few people, they think that the whole group of people are bad whether its race,gender,nationality,religion,etc. I don't think that's fair to many people.

any ways, with my strong Eris energy, I am going to agree to disagree with you. I am not going to go into the "I am right and you're wrong thing"

I am always going to believe in God AND practice Astrology that I use to help others and not just myself. I would like to be a professional astrologer in the future,and that's why I am very passionate about it. The only thing that is keeping me from being an astrologer is my caring about others would think, but I that's problem has been dwindling as I am learning more and more to live in the Now. It's hard,but I am trying as best as I can.

posted June 18, 2009 11:09 AM         

uggggghhhhh!

as geocosmic valentine says sometimes:

Muah ha ha ha ah aha ah ah aaaaahhhhh...!!!

posted June 18, 2009 11:10 AM         

I'm no bible expert but I do remember Enoch being a Master astrologer.

posted June 18, 2009 11:15 AM         

Astrological signs can be seen on church wall paintings and carvings here in England. It's not uncommon.

posted June 18, 2009 11:37 AM         

i can only speak for myself but before i got into astrology god was a foreign concept to me. i was raised by interfaith parents who gave up their religions after their religions banned them for marrying; though that wasn't the only reason. they also felt god has been used as an excuse for every war and persecution of peoples in history. and if you check it out that is true.

but studying the symmetry and impeccable timing of astrology brought me to a realization that there IS an intelligence that orders this universe. in other words, god. maybe not YOUR god, but very real to me.

as far as the bible warning against mediums and spirits, astrology has little to do with either, and that prohibition has more to do with getting people to toe the religious line and priesthood than it does with god. if spirits are not of god, then where do they come from?

so i f you really want to give it up, go ahead and do so. don't act as if it's so difficult. just like giving anything else up, you stay away from it and replace the gap with something preferable.

posted June 18, 2009 11:56 AM         

If God exists, God wouldn't want us to have faith in a blind way, but rather wanting us to be able to think by ourselves too.

Through history, bibles and religions are often molded by humans for their convenience, in many ways. And in the past, to gain power onto people, astrology and other divination arts, as well as other religions/Gods are branded as evil, without much explanation of why these are evil, so that people would blindly believe in their only religion as the only right one.

Just as a movie "The Man from Earth" says,

"The Old Testament sells fear and guilt. The New Testament is a good code of ethics,"

Again, if God exists, God would want us to be able to think by ourselves, and not just being blindly faithful.

I can't really see why should astrology be branded as a sin, but it being a sin or not rather depends on the reasons behind.

posted June 18, 2009 12:40 PM         

Kismet. It would be nice to think that (1st of all you read this message, if not gone for good) when someone says they want to stop something, despite going against the group, that people support you in your choice.
You might come back to it later, you might not. Thanks for whatever. Wish you well. x

posted June 18, 2009 12:46 PM         

I don't believe that belief in either of them is silly.

The Bible could have full of insight like other religious books. I actually liked reading Bible stories as a kid just as much I liked reading Greek,Roman,and Norse mythology. The latter actually turned out to be helpful understanding archetypal energies in Astrology..especially working with the asteroids.

I think the Bible and other religious books are full of archetypal material.

I think it matters how the Bible is interpreted.

I don't believe in taking the Bible literally. I believe in taking the Bible allegorically. That's how they do in the Unity church. I believe that there is truth in many religions, many paths to spiritual attainment. That's one of my beliefs of the unity church that I go to.

these are the 5 Basic Unity Principles that I believe in,but I don't expect anybody else to believe as I believe in "to each,his/her own"

1. There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God The Good.

2. Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good. This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.

3. We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.

4. Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.

5. Through thoughts,words,and actions, we live the Truth we know.

posted June 18, 2009 12:56 PM         

But does it mean that something is of no value if the society brands it as so? Let me see, religion is losing its meaning and influence bit by bit through time, so does it mean that we should disregard the meanings and importance of it?

quote:

---

Which do you think is more silly? Believing the bible or astrology?

---

Actually it's simple - whatever we believe being silly or not depends on the reasons behind. And blindly believe without questioning ourselves is silly, whatever our beliefs are.

In astrology, what makes sense is used to help me structure my understanding, but what doesn't make sense is disregarded.

posted June 18, 2009 01:06 PM         

Astrology is a regular belief in India

Vedic Astrology aka Jyotish (Science of Light) is the Astrology that is practiced in India.

It is used a lot for arranged marriages

compatibility is seen from the placement of the Moon. Transits are seen from the Moon as the Ascendant.

karma is a big part of Vedic Astrology

therefore, Vedic Astrology seems too fatalistic and deterministic to many westerners.

I am fascinated by it,and I have studied it for a year in 2004 to 2005 and had a good grasp of it. I have 4 books on the subject.

It's fascinating. I have even thought of looking at my transits from the Vedic Astrological way again.

I am not afraid of fatalism,karma stuff so I am not bothered by the fatalism of Vedic Astrology. I guess my Ketu (South Node) in 12th as well as Moon in Aquarius aspected by Saturn. I wouldn't use it to give a reading to others though. I like using it for myself. There is a lot of responsibility as a Vedic Astrologer.

I believe that it can be quite accurate too.

I think that it really depends on the culture. It might be a lot more accurate for somebody living the Indian culture than somebody living the Western culture.

posted June 18, 2009 05:41 PM         

Dogmatic, simplistic thinking and knee-jerk belief systems--whether wrongly applied to religion, astrology, physics, you name it--make life less fascinating, beautiful, and intellectually stimulating, in my opinion. I am very sorry for people who get trapped in those modes of thought.

Almost any belief system, area of scholarship, social or artistic practice, or really ANY area of human activity can be abused and used stupidly and badly!! I'm really trying to have more compassion these days for myself and others.

It's sooo hard though, when I hear (or read) people saying things that are just SO outrageously misguided, simplistic, and nutty. I mean, I can't imagine holding those beliefs in that unquestioning a way without offending my own sense of the importance of intellectual inquiry. It's possible to use any belief "tool kit"--spiritual traditions, astrology, sciences, psychology--to narrow the world and make it a crappier, more punishing place....OR to expand our consciousness and creativity. Why not do the latter?

posted June 18, 2009 08:00 PM         

Her main point was that GOD was not in favor of astrology and other new age stuff like that because it would mean to rely those tools and not on faith itself.

Then my worst me got angry and made her look like she was a fundamentalist. That s how bad i am.

She didnt say that god wrote the bible. I took the p!ss of one of her quote from the bible and asked her if the bible was written by god. Looking down on her.

Sorry kismet. May i suggest that this debate, quite interesting btw, continue from a general perspective?