Astrology is a more than 6000 years old spiritual system for divination - inspection of the future. It is by no means the only, and likely not the earliest attempt at crossing the distance between now and the future.
Oracles under the influence of various forms of spells or hallucinogenics may have preceded it, and fortune-telling from the casting of bones, rocks or lots, from reading animal signs in the sky and on the earth, and from readings in light, shadows, water and gutted animals may have preceded it.
But it is the first attempt at creating a cosmology through systematic observation of the universe and, as such, the foundation of science.
Ancient societies did not distinguish between astronomy and astrology, but fostered the science of astronomy out of a superstitious interest in the esoteric meaning of the planetary movements in the sky, believing they could interpret them to foresee events.
Astrology in the Judaic Tradition
Even if chided and condemned in the Judeo-Christian traditions, astrology is an integral part of the scriptures that form the basis of Judaism and Christianity, and to some extent also Islamic tradition.
The most revealing element is the number 12, which is a recurring feature in Judaism and Christianity. Judaism is, above all, a cult formed around the unification of 12 tribes. The 12 tribes of Israel are attributed to Jacob, who had 12 sons, each defined by Jacob on his death bed by 12 prophesies distinctly related to the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
This is no wonder, since the Israelites emerged from Egypt, where astrology held a strong influence and Moses, an Egyptian prince, according to the traditions of the Egyptian system of education had to be initiated to the highest levels of their mystical religion.
Even to become a common school teacher or an official of the central administration of Egypt the cultus required low-level initiations into the astrological paradigm of Egypt from where the Western Zodiac originates.
Astrology in Christianity
Likewise, Jesus hand picked 12 disciples, later to become apostles of his church. This is explained in four different accounts, known as the Gospels (literally meaning: God-spells, the spells of God).
Each gospel representing one of four elements (Earth, Water, Air and Fire) and corresponding with the four directions of the Earth, four beasts in the ancient Judaic prophesies, four horsemen of the Apocalypse and, for simplicity's sake: The four major groups of people in and around the Roman province of Philistea.
A brief explanation:
Matthew relates most events around Jesus to the Judaic scriptures in an attempt to prove that Jesus is the promised and awaited Messiah, and this gospel is commonly viewed as the gospel to the Jews.
Mark's account is a brief, action packed account of Jesus' journeys through Israel, traversing it multiple times over the course of 3 1/2 year of ministry. It is written as a concise report of strategies, tactics and results in a style that fitted the Roman hegemony well.
Luke is said to be a Greek physician and one of the only two non-Jewish authors featured in the Bible, even if this may be doubtful for several reasons1). But it is a scholarly account, significantly more verbose and elaborate, and it is said to be aimed at the Greeks, who were intellectually inclined2)
Finally, the gospel of John is considered the gospel to the Christian (Jew), as it is focused on explaining the metaphysics of Christianity. It is the gospel to most ardently argue that Jesus is the Son of God or, perhaps, an aspect or avatar of God himself. It can, however, be argued that it is directed at the Arab and Persian cultures of the age, as it reads like sufi poetry and is, along with Ecclesiastes, the text that most resembles the florid mysticism of the Orient.
Astrology and Islam
Astrology or star-gazing is also unwelcome in at least the orthodox branches of Islam, but nevertheless a significant part of the birth myth of the Arab tribes, as Ishmael - whose story is accounted for in Genesis - like Jacob becomes the father of a 12 tribe nation.
Astrology as universal spirituality
All the way to the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Babylon and Persia, and crossing great distances to Egypt and the indigenous South American civilizations of Inka, Aztec and Maya, astrological systems have not only represented the core of mythology but produced some of the pinnacles in scientific study, research and instrumentation.
New archaeological findings show that the Celtic culture along with the Greek produced analogue models, intricate machines resembling the planetary movements in the sky with a high degree of accuracy, and that the Celtic calender therefore was vastly superior to the fumbled Roman calendar, where the days and the holiday celebrations drifted aimlessly around, year after year.
China has its own unique Zodiac and astrological system that also today is the object of some popular interest.
Astrology can therefore be said to be a fundamental form of spirituality and a form of spirituality that encompasses all cultural backgrounds, rather than an isolated and culturally specific sect. It is an inclusive form of spirituality with a cosmology that does not discriminate - and its diverse symbolic representations of human archetypes it promotes tolerance, understanding and interest in heterogeneity.
None of the 12 signs of the Zodiac can be said to be superior to another, and none of the planets can be said to be inferior. As such astrology depicts an ever changing universe in which all people, all things and all events are tied together and have their own place and their own meaning.
1) The other one would be the Babylonian King Nebukadnezzar, who is afforded a couple of chapters in the Book of Daniel, after he is converted to Judaism. However, this account has all characteristics of a myth: Nebukadnezzar is struck by Yahweh and lives like a beast for seven years, until he has learned to praise Yahweh and treat Israelis with respect. On top of that, it is doubtful if Luke was entirely Greek. He is likely a Greek of Jewish origin or a Jew with Greek citizenship, in the same way that Paul or Saul of Tarsus held dual citizenships in Rome and its province, Philistea (Israel).
2) At least when comes to the Ionian cultures of ancient Greece as opposed to the martially inclined Dorians (founders of Laconia, where Sparta was the administrative capital).
"Astrology is but an arcane language that allows the human mind to tap into forgotten ressources and powers from an age, where shamanism was the primary instrument of survival"
