Astrologer

“ Apparently any person coming from any part of the world may have access to the astrologer and ask him any questions he pleases. The authors of these works could not have written the books for the special use and benefit of any particular astrologer and confined their answers to the questions which would be put to him during his lifetime. But it is not admitted by these astrologers that the whole history of the human race for a period of 4,320,000 years is contained in these volumes. ”

“ Here is the explanation why the sun and moon are classed together with such relatively insignificant bodies as the other five planets, and are not even ranked as their chief. The ancient astrologer, like the modern, cared nothing for the actual luminary in the heavens; all he cared for was its written symbol on his tablets, and there Sun and Saturn could be looked upon as equal, or Saturn as the greater. It is a rare thing for a modern astrologer to introduce the place of an actual star into a horoscope ”

“ Therefore, for the purposes of divination, an astrologer could not be satisfied by the mere contemplation of the heavens. The heavenly bodies impress different forms upon matter, according to its varying disposition; and if matter be not duly prepared, it is incapable of receiving a form. And, as there may be many obstacles to the fitting preparation of matter, an astrologer could not gain any sure knowledge of particular things by merely gazing at the skies. ”

“ Astrology, as a science and a system of divination, exerted a profound influence over the mediaeval mind. No court was without its practicing astrologer and the universities all had their professors of astrology. The practice of astrology was an essential part of the physician’s profession, and before prescribing for a patient it was thought quite as important to determine the positions of the planets as the nature of the disease. ”

“ The king’s astrologer is a very great man indeed, and no important act is undertaken without consulting him. Often the astrologer goes further than his own special business of “ruling the planets,” and by means of rolling six dice, which revolve on a rod run through the centre of them, he pretends to read the future—in fact, he is a fortune-teller. ”

“ Every professional astrologer hangs an astrolabe—which is not larger than the hollow of the hand—in a neat case, at his girdle. Some have an astrolabe two or three inches in diameter, which at a distance looks like a 219medal conferred on the wearer as a mark of honour, or as an order of merit. [89] “A very slight knowledge of astronomy,” says Sir John Malcolm, “is sufficient to allow a Persian student to profess the occult science of judicial astrology. ”

“ They will fix on a day for a great man to start on a journey or arrive at a place, and the man will be careful to follow the astrologer’s direction, for they have a great belief in bad and good luck. The rules by which the astrologers make their calculations are very complicated; strange to say, there are many of them who really believe in their own profession. Each has his astrolabe of brass or silver; some of the brass ones are very large and handsome: I have known as much as one thousand kerans paid for a good one. ”

“ The astrologer is he that knoweth the course and motion of the heavens, and teacheth the same; which is a virtue [Pg 18] if it pass not his bounds, and become of an astrologer an astronomer, who taketh upon him to give judgment and censure of these motions and courses of the heavens, what they prognosticate and destiny unto the creature.—Hooper, Early Writings, Parker Society’s Edition, p. ”

“ That department of astrology which took cognizance of extraordinary occurrences in the natural world, as tempests, earthquakes, eclipses, and volcanoes, both to predict their approach and to interpret their meaning, was called natural astrology: that which related to the fortunes of men and of empires, judicial astrology. Among many ancient nations, astrologers were held in the highest estimation, and were kept near the persons of monarchs; and the practice of the art constituted a lucrative profession throughout the middle ages. ”

“ Astrologers make no claim to any degree of special inspiration. They merely argue from like causes to like effects, finding illustration of the law of periodicity in lunations, transits, eclipses and revolutional ingresses, which, being connected in experience with a certain succession of events, are found to produce events of a similar nature whenever they recur. Astronomy gives us the periodic values of these several factors, while Astrology supplies an interpretation from experience. Nothing could be more scientific or more satisfactory. ”

“ Concerning Atmospheric Astrology, which is merely a system of meteorology based on the theory that changes of the weather are produced by the influence of the planets, I shall say nothing. Mundane Astrology is in some respects more complex than either Nativities or Horary Astrology.
The nature of the influence of the heavens upon human destiny has been differently represented by different astrologers, some claiming that the heavens merely exhibit signs of events, so that when these are properly interpreted the future can be foretold, and others holding that they are causes of the events. ”

“ But the science of astrology should not be abused because certain men who call themselves astrologers or physicians but are really diviners and liars err in their judgments. But astrology proper is neither deceitful nor idle, and the astrologer “speaks the truth in most cases and very rarely fails of correct prognostication except in certain particulars.” ”

“ Add to this the even more potent belief of the people in astrology. The planets and the stars, the moon and the nodes are living gods, they say, which wield an influence over the life and destiny of human beings. The astrologer is perhaps the most important functionary in the social and religious life of the people. No marriage can be performed unless the [218] horoscope of the bride and the bridegroom harmonize. ”

“ Ptolemy, Tycho, Kepler and Morin were all practiced astrologers. The Nautical Almanac was first published in 1767 by Dr. Neville Maskelyne, and afterwards greatly improved in 1834. The Connaissance des Temps was published in 1699. Whence, think you, did the astrologers obtain their information regarding the positions of the planets prior to these years of authorized publication? They calculated them for themselves. Without astronomy there could be no Astrology. They kept astronomy alive. ”

“ There is a widespread notion that early astronomy, whether amongst the Hebrews or elsewhere, took the form of astrology; that the fortune-telling came first, and the legitimate science grew out of it. Indeed, a claim is not infrequently made that no small honour is due to the early astrologers, since from their efforts, [140] the most majestic of all the sciences is said to have arisen. ”

“ From astronomy his attention is turned at once to Geography. He has to determine the exact longitude and latitude of a place, the name only of which is given, for he has to make his map of the heavens as seen from the place of birth. Here he gets a practical knowledge of localities and of the orientation of horoscopes. In his pursuit of Astrology the student will find himself tracking back through the biographies of great men and women in order to find data from which to test the various ascriptions of the astrologers. ”

“ But the astrologers are not content with natural positions, but, like the eastern priests with their gods, they assign different parts of the heavens, and different countries, to each planet; and then found prognostics on these local positions of the planets. It is evident, however, that the apparent position of a planet depends on the varying position of the earth, and that an inferior planet may be in exactly the same point of space, and yet be seen from the earth in every sign of the zodiac ”

“ The astrologers are expelled just like their angels. The city and Italy are interdicted to the astrologers, just as heaven to their angels. [5] There is the same penalty of exclusion for disciples and masters. “But Magi and astrologers came from the east.” [6] We know the mutual alliance of magic and astrology. ”

“ The astrologers of old little dreamed that the stars, which were the objects of their superstitions contemplation, were but a small portion of the illimitable universe of worlds. We see at first of any subject which we study but about as much as we see of the stars without the aid of the telescope, or of minute objects near at hand without the aid of the microscope. ”

“ For also the astrologers speak of the limits of the stars, in which they assert that the dominant stars have greater influence; as, for instance, on some they act injuriously, while on others they act well. ”

“ Before anything was undertaken people attempted first to assure themselves of the favorable aspect of the constellations, and since the most remote ages astrologers have exercised a vast influence over the ignorant and superstitious multitude. ”

“ Strange, an astrologer should die Without one wonder in the sky; ”

“ The ancient inhabitants of the Earth regarded the heavenly bodies with veneration and awe, erected temples in their honour, and worshipped them as deities. Historical records of astronomy carry us back several thousand years. During the greater part of this time, and until a comparatively recent period, astronomy was associated with astrology—a science which originated from a desire on the part of mankind to penetrate the future, and which was based upon the supposed influence of the heavenly bodies upon human and terrestrial affairs. ”

“ Thus the constellations form a pictorial scroll of legendary history and mythology, and possess a deep interest independent of the science of astronomy. For their history and for the legends connected with them, the reader who desires a not too detailed résumé, may consult Astronomy with the Naked Eye, and for guidance in finding the constellations, Astronomy with an Opera-glass, or Round the Year with the Stars. The quickest way to learn the constellations is to engage the aid of some one who knows them already, and can point them out in the sky. ”

“ Now, this is the feeling which the study of Astronomy very certainly awakens. Every day the astronomer discovers something which quickens his curiosity to discover more. Every day he catches new glimpses of the Almighty Wisdom, which stimulate his desire for a further revelation. And all he learns, and all he anticipates learning, combine to produce in him an emotion of awe. What grandeur lies before him in that endless procession of worlds—in that array of suns and stars extending beyond the limits of the most powerful telescopic vision! ”

“ The same mental quality which causes us to look with interest on the buildings raised in long-past ages, or on the implements and weapons of antiquity, renders the thought impressive that the stars which we see were gazed on perhaps not less wonderingly in the very infancy of the human race. It is, again, a subject full of interest to the chronologist to inquire in what era of the world's history exact astronomy began, the moon was assigned her twenty-eight zodiacal mansions, the sun his twelve zodiacal signs. ”

“ The astrologers and historians write that the ascendant as of Oxford is Capricornus, whose lord is Saturn, a religious planet, and patron of religious men. ”

“ Now, according to astronomers, this causes one of the Zodiac signs to appear in the eastern sky, where it remains for two hours. We have said that each sign has a planet ruling it, so the sign that appears on the sky at the time of birth decides what planet that person is born under or is influenced by.
Let us suppose for a moment that you were born when the sign Libra was rising, as the saying is. The planet which rules Libra is Venus, so the person born at that time would be a Venus type, i.e., a person having the influence of Venus upon him. ”

“ The statement made in line 4 refers to an important development of astronomy. The constellations of the zodiac, that is, the groups made up of the actual stars, are very unequal in size and irregular in shape. The numerous theories, ancient or modern, in which the constellations are supposed to owe their origin to the distinctive weather of the successive months, each constellation figure being a sort of hieroglyph for its particular month, are therefore all manifestly erroneous, for there never could have been any real fixed or steady correlation between the constellations and the months. ”

“ The other constellations of the two hemispheres are not unconsidered in astrology, but those of the zodiac are more important, because they form the pathway of the sun, the moon, and the planets, and are supposed to receive from these bodies, as they roll through their spaces, extraordinary energy. ”

“ Astronomers are kept busy preparing Ephemerides of the Planets’ Places from year to year; there are well established publications of the kind; public library authorities see fit, not only to inlay their vestibules with the Zodiacal Signs, but also to include a considerable amount of the literature on the subject in their lists; teachers, more or less qualified, there are in plenty; serious students abound: in short, it would seem that Astrology is now ready for that vigorous opposition and misrepresentation which is always at hand when a great question is ripening for consideration. ”

“ The ancients called this apparent path of the Sun, Moon and planets with the stars for a background the zodiac, so it is not such a horrible specimen after all. [Pg 167]
We know, of course, that the Sun is the center of our solar system and that the planets, including the Earth and Moon, are at various distances from the Sun and that each moves in a path, or orbit, of its own, making a small angle with the ecliptic. What we call the Zodiac takes in all these orbits and is, therefore, a belt of considerable width through the center of which runs the ecliptic. ”