Astrology: Simple. Spectacular.

A short summation for novices. And a reminder for old-timers.

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ASTROLOGY IS SIMPLY THIS: Acknowledging awareness between your presence and that of the universe that (seemingly) exists separate from the confines of your skin and all that your skin encompasses (the invisible world of your emotions, thoughts, and sensations).

Yes, astrology does involve the celestial bodies. But for those who find the idea of ‘influence’ in astrology daunting, it’s helpful to think of everything we experience, internally and externally, as contained within the celestial realm—not separate from it.

Consider this: Like a genie’s bottle, our bodies seem to ‘house’ our inner ‘sense of self.’ We are comprised of particles from a galaxy that exploded billions of years ago. We are born from this origin, and astrology constantly reminds us of this connection. (Or not.)¹

Astrologers of ancient times had an intrinsic understanding of this cosmic genealogy. Why? Because their consciousness was not divided between their intellect and their body. Out of this awareness, they created a model called The Great Chain of Being. This model helped to distinguish and designate the various layers and levels of the life force, including the human, and where the human fit within the scale of appearances.

But you don’t need to bother with all of this (unless you want to). You can simplify the whole scheme by thinking of it this way: Within every atom, the entirety of the cosmos exists. You could also create a model different from verticality.

You could picture a reality map as an onion, thus round, containing layers upon layers. If you study the map models offered by NASA to show the two Voyager spacecraft’s travels, you get a sense of this rounded-content-ness when you note how the spacecraft slipped beyond the Sun’s heliosphere.

Regardless of the models used to map consciousness within the framework of the universe’s body, astrologers took these ideas and, over time, through the observation of cycles and historical events, teased out specific details about what was what—and which particular ‘thing’ in life—be it an organic thing like a plant or an inner sensation like anger—had a vibratory correspondence to some specific portion within The Great Chain of Being (or the circular layers of the ‘Great Onion’).

Eventually, it was noted that the universe—or, more precisely, what comprised our solar system—reverberated with—or mirrored the human position or location. This linked the divine to the so-called mundane. This was not a moral evaluation but simply a phenomenological fact. Some astrologers called the denizens of the solar system ‘angels.’ Today, we call them planets, the Sun and the Moon.

You can think of the universe and our solar system as a complete living system inextricably interconnected with other living systems—on and on, up and up (or out and out, and in and in) with each world or system with its order, laws, and ways of being.

As I understand astrology—and every astrologer has some private cosmology or philosophy to which they anchor their personal experience—its function is simple. Regarding life on Earth (meaning you and me and everything else located here), we interphase with all the planets—the Sun and the Moon—because they are dynamic, living presences. And like all living things, they grow, evolve, and exert their unique mark or character into the evolutionary unfoldment of life.

Astrology is made too complex and intimidating with all the arguing factions within its ranks. The various schools, theories, applications, and approaches distract from its core function as a contemplative art or (for some) spiritual practice that enlarges and enlivens the aperture through which we view life and our place within that livingness.

Love,

Opening painting, Stilleven rond een bord met uien, 1889, by Vincent van Gogh. Kröller-Müller Museum, Public domain.

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1. This removes the ‘cause and effect’ element from astrology—something I’ve never subscribed to. In a bare-bones analysis of the universe’s origins (and thus the entire concept of ‘cause and effect,’) I’m more aligned with U.G. Krishnamurti’s inquiry: “There may be no creation at all. Why fix that point?”