Is astrology worthless?

[JSojourner]

Pure crapola.

[afleitch]

Not as nutty as Nostradamus' 'predictions' and the person who said I was 'in them' :/

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

It is amusing when religious people criticize astrology, since religion is something for which there is no empirical evidence.

I actually don't find any Biblical basis for opposition to astrology.  In fact, if anything, the Christian scripture would seem to argue against the notion that there is anything inherently wrong with it.

The Magi were astrologers, in fact, "astrologer" and "Magi" meant pretty much the same thing.  The "star" they followed was a planetary alignment, whose significance they likely understood because of their knowledge of astrology.  They were probably Zoroastrians, but they were almost definitely not Jews.

In the OT, no one is ever punished for divination, which was everywhere in the ancient world, but what they were punished for, such as the case with Saul, was not trusting God, and consulting divination above God.

I disagree

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Supersoulty,

The bible does state that the lights in the heaven are for marking TIME and for SIGNS:

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.

But, that does NOT mean those SIGNS are meant to be predictive, for nowhere does any godly person in the bible use the lights to predict events on earth.  When the Magi saw the star, it was a SIGN that Jesus was ALREADY born:

Matthew 2:1-2
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

( Which was a fulfillment of the following verse, therefore the Magi were well aware of Scripture: Numbers 24:17  "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel")


Likewise, during the endtimes, the events in the heavens are NOT predictive, but rather COINCIDE with the coming of Christ:

 Mat 24
29"Immediately after the distress of those days
   " 'the sun will be darkened,
      and the moon will not give its light;
   the stars will fall from the sky,
      and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
 30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Rev 6
 12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
 15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"


For scriptures condemning the use of the starts to foretell events on earth, which is the purpose of astrology, see the following verses:

Deuteronomy 4:19
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
Leviticus 19:26
2 Chronicles 33:5-6
Isaiah 47:13-14
Jeremiah 10:2
Zephaniah 1:4-5

[JSojourner]

I have to agree with J. 

If anything, astrology is a form of divination...which is forbidden by Scripture.

[ilikeverin]

Modern astrology would be much more likely to be associated with "coincide", not "divine".  One of my biggest astrology bffs back in the day used to say that astrology was an example of synchronicity.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Modern astrology would be much more likely to be associated with "coincide", not "divine".  One of my biggest astrology bffs back in the day used to say that astrology was an example of synchronicity.

from wiki:

Astrology (from Greek ἄστρον, astron, "constellation, star"; and -λογία, -logia, "the study of") is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide useful information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters.

Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god", related to divine, diva and deus) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual.

---

The fact that astrology is attempting to be predictive on a personal level is given by the fact horoscopes attempt to give you advice in advance for the rest of your day.  Basically, it seeks personal advice for conducting future activities from the stars.

It is no different in that regard than palm readers.

[7,052,770]

So if astrology is real, or close to real, everyone born on November 14, 1986, will have the same personality as me?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

So if astrology is real, or close to real, everyone born on November 14, 1986, will have the same personality as me?

I think a cracker-personality is a function of location, not time. 

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What about twins with different personalities? My dad is a twin and he's not really that similar to his sister.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

What about twins with different personalities? My dad is a twin and he's not really that similar to his sister.

Did your grandmother deliver them on different sides of the state line?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

From here:



That seems rather difficult.

[Verily]

Astrology is utter crap with no redeeming value whatsoever. Religion in disguise without even any claims on morality.

[12th Doctor]

So if astrology is real, or close to real, everyone born on November 14, 1986, will have the same personality as me?

No, because:

1) Time and location of birth are also factors.

2) Because of different personal influences, including sex of the individual.

Astrology and horoscopes aren't the same thing.  Most people who are serious about astrology disdain horoscopes for their supposed predictive power.  An astrologer would tell you that they are more about gaining insight, and through that, you can note tendencies, but that is it.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

So then what about twins who are not alike?

[pbrower2a]

So if astrology is real, or close to real, everyone born on November 14, 1986, will have the same personality as me?

Even more: as with biorhythms one could cast a horoscope for Elvis Presley (imitators notwithstanding, he is dead)  and not get any indication that he is dead.

... In any event, astrology acts very differently from our understanding of physical phenomena -- most significantly, electromagnetism, the weak and strong atomic forces, and gravitation.  At the distances of the stars other than the sun and the aside from the sun and only one other heavenly body (the moon) the only physical force that could act upon people as could any astrological influences as they operate in astrology is gravitation.  (Tidal forces could be a reality in theory). The coins in a nearby  orderly's pocket have more gravitational influence upon a newborn child than any celestial body. Because mothers typically give birth to children inside buildings, any physical effect of electromagnetic radiation from the stars is muted -- and whether one is born at night under the stars or by day under the artificial light within a hospital ward would make a huge difference. Astrological effects would be just the same whether one is born in a subway tunnel or in an aircraft, which suggests that such things as  air, rock, soil, plants, water, and metal can't stop astrological effects.

Astrology is pseudo-scientific bunkum.