Astrology is a Signpost to Creation

 Anyone who makes even a half-serious study of astrology will find that the horoscope provides an accurate description of its subject. It's a system of symbols and has to be interpreted in context for the fullest understanding but creative analysis of the chart of the sky at a person's birth will always give insight into the nature and character of that person. No doubt the destiny too but I haven't investigated that side of things. I have looked at many horoscopes from the psychological perspective though and everyone one of them has given an accurate description of the person. In one case I even went back to someone to check if he had given me the right date because chart and personality didn't tally though they did for the year before. It turned out that this person had indeed been born the year before he had said. (I think this was an error on his part rather than a test). When my children were born I made a special case of noting the exact time so I could do the most accurate horoscope possible. This is because it is not just the date and place that matters but the time which is especially significant from the point of view of points on the horizon and zenith, Ascendant and Midheaven in astrological speak, the former indicating  the way you present yourself to the world and the latter showing your direction in life. I studied the horoscopes before I knew the personalities of the children and they have proved extremely accurate. I understand things about myself much better from knowing my birth chart. I believe it would benefit everyone to study their horoscope. They would have a good insight into their character strengths and weaknesses.

In Western astrology every sign of the zodiac, signs being the constellations which serve as the backdrop against which the sun, moon and planets move in the course of a year, is said to be ruled by a particular planet. This is because sign and planet share similar qualities. Thus, Aries was traditionally ruled by Mars, Taurus by Venus, Gemini by Mercury, Cancer by the Moon, Leo by the Sun, Virgo by Mercury, Libra by Venus, Scorpio by Mars, Sagittarius by Jupiter, Capricorn by Saturn, Aquarius by Saturn and Pisces by Jupiter. If you know anything about astrology you will see that some of these make sense and others not so much. You have to perform some mental acrobatics to make them fit. The reason is that there are 12 signs but only 5 planets plus the sun and the moon which are counted as planets for these purposes, a planet in astrology really being something that qualifies and represents a certain energy or, in human psychological terms, character trait. When Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were discovered they were assigned certain qualities which, it was found, fitted much better with the signs Aquarius, Pisces and Scorpio, and this isn't just arbitrary. Astrological practice shows it works. By the way, the discovery of these planets coincided with certain changes and developments in human consciousness so here we can see how astrology is a living system with room for growth.

This leaves two planets with a double rulership which implies that there remain two planets waiting to be discovered, perhaps again coinciding with changes in consciousness. These could either be very far out on the edge of the solar system or very close to the sun.  They could even be planets which are not fully materialised. It seems obvious that Gemini and Mercury go together but Venus has affinities with both Taurus and Libra so that is harder to decide. On the other hand, Virgo seems unlikely to be ruled by Mercury. The two have little in common so I am sure this is one of the signs that awaits its true ruler. That may be the planet known by esoteric astrologers as Vulcan, a so-called veiled or hidden planet. I am undecided about the 12th sign and its true ruler though I expect those more learned in astrology than me have their ideas.

All this indicates that astrology is still a work in progress. New ways to analyse the chart are always being developed and tested but there are also new astronomical factors astrologers take into account such as the minor planet Chiron. This is not an anything goes approach because everything has to work. Nothing is arbitrary. But we are dealing with a wisdom encoded into the structure of the universe and it would be very foolish to think we have uncovered all its details.

Many Christians reject astrology as a fundamentally irreligious practice. This is a mistake though perhaps understandable given the human tendency to lapse into superstition and fatalism. Astrology is certainly not a religious practice nor any kind of substitute for proper religion but it is an excellent tool for looking at creation and understanding the psyche, and if regarded in the light of the Creator has many positive contributions to make to human development. Astrology is a signpost to the fact of creation.