According to professional astrologer, Chris Brennan, astrology is a complex tradition of “horoscopic” astrology, appearing first in the early 1st century BCE. Astrology as a system of time keeping practices did not fully come together until the Hellenistic period. Traditional Hellenistic astrology was practiced continuously until the 7th century CE, the length of its use and study equaling to about the entire length of the Roman Empire (1,000 years!). The oldest surviving birth charts can be dated to 410 BC, around the time Athens was regaining its strength after the Peloponnesian War.

If you’d like to read more about the origins of astrology, I wrote a blog post about it, which you can read here! 

Now, according to ME, astrology is a time keeping practice. It is a tradition, and a tool, one that, if used correctly, can provide plenty of perspective towards our own lives. Picture a clock, our most modern form of time keeping. When you look at the time, the clock doesn’t make it 10pm. The clock actually has nothing to do with the hour that it is currently outside, the one that you’re experiencing. The clock is simply signifying that the hour must be 10pm. Now picture that same clock, and replace it with our Solar system. A planet and its configuration of planets are simply telling you the time. In the same way the hands of a clock tell you the hour, as well as the minute, planets can tell you what you’re experiencing, and when. 

It’s a very simple analogy that can clear the air on what astrology really is. Now, there are many astrologers with different philosophies surrounding the causes of astrology. Some, called causal determinists (such as Firmicus!), did believe that the stars and the celestial planets caused things to occur down here on Earth. Other ancient astrologers, such as Dorotheus, believed that although the planets can signify events, the future is always open to interpretation. I, on the other hand, fall between Firmicus and Dorotheus. I believe that we all have a destiny, one pre-chosen before we were born, á la Plato. That doesn’t mean we don’t have free will. We do. We are able to choose whether or not to be forced into our fate, or decide the path of our own destiny. I definitely am the type to choose what was meant for me. And when you know, you know. So you make the choice to enact it.  

The same argument of whether or not astrology is “real” has always happened. Literally since the dawn of time, people have disagreed with each other. Some dude at a bar in the 12th century was probably arguing with another dude about how “the planets can’t affect us!”, so it’s not like we’ve ever reached an agreement on how astrology actually functions. My best guess? Astrology runs on patterns, as does everything else in the Universe. Think about the structure of leaves, and trees, and flowers, they’re all fractals, in the same way astrology is one, big fat mathematical fractal.

Astrology is not a science, considering it predates science. Science actually comes from astrology, since astrology lead to astronomy, which lead to alchemy, which is why we have science today. Astrology never claimed to be a science. It is more of a philosophical discourse. A very complex philosophical, interdisciplinary discourse taking in the vast ocean of information behind myth, history, geography, culture, art, and so on. Astrology, personally, has helped me reflect on my own life in ways that I could not imagine before. It helps me structure my life like chapters in books, which makes me feel better about the specific timing of my life. 

Astrology is a beautiful, traditional practice. It does not ask you to believe in it, but rather, to suspend disbelief in everything that you appear to “know.” After you do that, it’ll open you up to the possibilities of others ways of knowing, perceiving, and especially, feeling. If you can do that, astrology will always be at your service.