Tag Archives: Astrology

Astrology: A Science or…..?

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Do you believe that stars and planets have a hand in our lives? Do you believe that the Sun, Moon, Planets and other celestial objects predict the future events of a person as well as their personality? Welcome to the science(?) of Astrology!

Astrology is defined as “the divination of the supposed influences of the stars and planets on human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects”.

It is the study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of the heavenly bodies on human affairs.

In many countries, including India, astrology is considered a science, a metaphysical science perhaps, but a science nevertheless. At the earliest known ordering of existence, long before recorded history, it has been called the “Mother of all Sciences”

According to astrology, planetary movements influence time, which influence us since we are all part of time. In India, when a child is born, it is very important that the exact time of birth is noted and the doctor or nurse in attendance does do it. The exact minute the child is delivered is noted, one reason why most birthing rooms have clocks there! This time, along with the latitude and longitude of the city of birth becomes the basis on which the child’s astrological chart or kundli is made. This document, then becomes the basis of deciding the date and time of all important events in the person’s life.

Astrology remains an important facet of Hindu folk belief in contemporary India. Many Indians, especially Hindus believe that heavenly bodies, including the planets, have an influence throughout the life of a human being, and these planetary influences are the “fruit of karma”.

The scientific community rejects astrology as having no explanatory power for describing the universe, and considers it a pseudoscience. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.

At the end of the day, whether you believe in it or not, this is something quite personal. I have always been interested in the esoteric and the occult, so it’s not difficult for me to believe in this. Also, to a lot of us sciences like Astrology are emotional crutches we use to give us hope, that maybe tomorrow would be a better day, because the stars foretell it.

What about you? Do you believe in Astrology?

Esotericism: Mystical or Mundane?

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“Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon;

How much it can fill your room depends on its windows”

                                                                                Rumi

I’ve always been fascinated by the esoteric, especially the esoteric sciences, be it astrology, palmistry, alternative healing therapies like Reiki or the world of mediums, mystics and spirituality. It’s quite strange actually, since I am also the sort of person who needs to see evidence in front of her to actually believe in all this. But that’s me, eclectic and eccentric, I guess!

What are Esoteric Sciences? According to Wikipedia,  there are different definitions of this term, but what I would go with is “It is the sum total of the different parts of this universe – both visible and invisible, earthly and divine” Esotericism is the metaphysical point of unity where exoteric religions are believed to converge.

Whatever the definition, I am fascinated and intrigued by them. In my younger days, when I had more time, I would go for courses which delved into the unknown – courses like Reiki, Sudarshan Kriya and a Zoroastrian one which I can’t remember the name of. I also dabbled in Palmistry and have had some successes there, though I would say more intuition rather than skill was employed. Tarot is something else I have tried to do, using playing cards though, but can’t say I was very successful. Another thing my friends and me have played at is Planchet, but did we really invite the other-world beings is anyone’s guess!

Now, that I don’t have the time to dabble in anything and refuse to read palms of my loved ones, my fascination for this subject is restricted to what I read – both online and offline.

I also believe in astrology and will probably do more posts on that, Palmistry and perhaps Reiki over the next few weeks. I’ll update this post to add links to those posts when I do that.