SCIENCE AND ASTROLOGY

Over the ages, skeptics and believers alike have always wondered if astrology is indeed a science.  Skeptics argue that Astrology is not a science and astrologers unanimously agree, mainly because they feel that giving astrology a scientific feel would rob it of its spiritual and human nature. Modern astrology is mostly looked upon as one huge math problem, a system of symbolic images and ideas, a giant mass of calculations.  Does that make it scientific or mathematic? Well the search for that answer is still on. But one thing is for sure. Astrology or astrological concepts are no more obscure than the concepts in many human sciences, as quoted by Markku Siivola, a Finnish psychiatrist.

Most people confuse Astronomy with Astrology. Astronomy is a science that involves the physical study of celestial phenomenon. Objects in the sky are studied on the basis of their appearance, physical and chemical traits, constitution, position etc. Astrology takes it one step ahead and correlates celestial phenomenon with the events on earth. Correlations that cannot be explained easily by the laws governing traditional science.

The common man does not know what to believe, because he is confused about the whole concept of Astrology on the whole.  He has the word mixed up with all the other different paraphernalia of words associated with the term. To you, me and every other lay man on earth a prediction is same as having your future told. 

But why this interest? On one hand we want to know what is going to happen to us whereas on the other hand we depress ourselves to extremities if our expectations of the future do not meet the predictions made. It is only natural that we would want to know what is going to happen to us. Putting aside the most superficial and obvious reason, being fun, are there any deeper motives?

Ideally it would be to prepare ourselves for the worst.  If we know what is going to happen to us in the future, we can be more prepared for it, or even take steps to prevent in. In fact most astrologers would tell you ways of overcoming problems that are foreseen.  But can you really change the future? Is that what science is trying to do? Trying to discover ways by which man can articulate his own life? Ways in which he can control the very forces that are trying to destroy him? 

Is Astrology a science? Well, that’s still debatable.  But one thing is for sure, they sure are based on the same principles.  Or are they?