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Astrology: a non working gap

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Category: Sciences

Published on Monday, 28 November 2011 22:33

Written by Francis Hubert

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By Marie-France James - Translation by Amy Coleman

The public’s fascination and infatuation with astrology has increased to such an extent within every age group and socio-professional level that it has become difficult to avoid the issue. Being that astrology is a subtle, sensitive and extremely complex subject, only the most crucial areas will be discussed here. Astrological evidentiary weaknesses will be exposed and the psycho-spiritual damage caused by this “new religion” will be explained in detail.

Demystification

Nothing is perfect in this base world. No matter the discourse, it tilts towards a certain bias. This is especially true with L’astrologie sans maquillage1, a work by Martial Bessette, which has gone practically unnoticed since its publication at the beginning of 1988. 

Nevertheless, the book is worthy of mention because the author, who is today exploring Christianity, has extensively studied the issue. Having practiced the art of astrology in Quebec for many years, Bessette is in a good position to furnish an inside evaluation of the scientific credibility of astrology and to outline the communal damage inflicted upon its vast clientele.

For this reason, left aside will be the intrinsic nature and even the enigma that is astrology, an ancient and universal divinatory art, an occult science, an impenetrable discipline, a symbolic practice and an image of man and of the world that, even today, feeds the cogitations of the subconscious specialists and the psychologists who plumb the inner depths and who, to every practical end, Martial Bessette dismisses here out of hand. Following the lead of the author, the scientific inanity of astrology and the great arbitrary nature of the intuition and suggestion that prevail when it comes to consultations and astrological prognostications will be emphasized. 

Random Methods

Without dwelling on arguments only likely to be understood and appreciated by those familiar with astrological techniques, as Bessette points out, astrology is essentially an empirical science. It is created simply from drawing on the laws of observation and the juxtaposition of certain events “without searching to know if they are really linked or defining how and why they could have influenced each other” (the moon in Scorpio – locusts, for example). As an empirical approach, astrology floats, then, in the imagination2, with the generally accepted ideas left completely vulnerable to superstition.

“In fact, the method of knowledge of astrology and of the occult in general is poles apart from the scientific method; it is experimental, using scattered observations that lack logical links or rigorous monitoring. Intuitive, and above all, analogical, opportunism is often at the heart of the proof and similarities are taken for cause and effect relationships….”3

Profile Type

It can be highly instructive to look at certain characteristics of the profile type of the astrologist and his or her client. It is not surprising to learn that 85% of astrologers and 75% of their clientele are women. This “urban magic” reportedly attracts, above all, young women in large cities who are employed in factories or offices. As astonishing as this may appear to some, the belief in astrology has recently increased among those with a higher level of education and social status. This category of believers includes politicians, doctors, lawyers, etc., as well as numerous artists. 

There is also evidence to indicate that those with an interest in impartial research into the value of astrology for the individual or society are really the exception. Rarer still are those who are interested in being better understood by astrology (psychological astrology). The one sole desire of the client is to discover their immediate future: “gullibility, curiosity, openness to something new, a profound thirst to disclose revelations, a taste for the sensational, a certain fear of the truth, lacking a sense of ethics, superficial knowledge of one’s self and a deficient scientific background4 are all traits that render one, evidently, very susceptible to suggestion and largely receptive to the views of this ‘new religion’.”

When it comes to astrologists, it’s useless to try to find one in the yellow pages, as 90% practice clandestinely (at $50 per consultation, the revenue service could come down hard on them!). Several supplement their arsenal with various occult techniques (cards, clairvoyance, powers as a medium) which accordingly increase the effects of their psychological, intellectual and moral seduction. 

Apart from the intervention always possible from evil spirits, astrologists are generally past masters in the art of maieutics, the art of giving birth to the human intellect using the thoughts that it unknowingly contains. In other words, the art of revealing to ordinary people something that the patient wants to hear said or confirmed by someone else who seems to be unrelated to the matter at hand, who uses common sense, truisms and vague information gleaned from things visible to the trained eye. This is one of the most widely used tricks, which explains why people often have the impression that astrological predictions turn out to be accurate. Another important point to note: for every celebrated, successful astrologer, there are a multitude of failures that are silently forgotten. 

The Mythical “Age of Aquarius”

One of the recurring New Age themes of revival or renewal, the Age of Aquarius, does not seem to be built on any solid foundation. Aside from the simple fact that the first Christians used the symbol of the fish as one of their signs of recognition, it is not easy to see who would give permission to make Christianity the religion of the Age of Pisces. The same could be said for the Age of Aries (Judaism) - the only credible support being the lone ritual of the sacrificial offering of animals. The Age of Taurus (Mazdeism) does not seem to offer any convincing proof either.

This analogical artistry proves to be the most arbitrary and falls, above all, within the framework of a strategy of psychological conditioning according to a deterministic vision of history, likely to encourage a demobilization of awareness with respect to Christian ferment in which every believer in Christ is convinced that he will endure until the fulfilment of history that marks the end of time. 

Astrolatry

Even if astrology could be envisaged as a “simple belief that God has not left man to his own devices”, the fact remains that infatuation with astrology turns towards astrolatry “as soon as man believes in the action of the stars rather than that of God, when he studies the pronouncements of his horoscope rather than the words of the Gospels, the demands of his baptism, the laws of his religion or the voice of his conscience; when he puts more fervour into knowing about his future death than in taking the steps to assure his eternal salvation; when he says “it’s thanks to Jupiter” in place of “thank you my God”; when he consults his astrological sign to discover the destiny of his fellow man, neglecting to come to his aid, or act fairly with him…”5

And so, astrology becomes the reason, the conscience and the religion of its followers, damaged by their free will and at the mercy of a deterministic, fatalistic conception of their own personal development and of the design of history. 

Notes

1. Bessette Martial, L’astrologie sans maquillage (Montréal: Éditions Pauline,1998).

2. “...la signification possible des symboles astrologiques, dans leurs combinaisons inépuisables, peut parfois se faire sentir au cours d’une expérience subjective, incommunicable. Mais dès qu'on essaie de la rendre dans un langage de tous les jours et dans un système logique et applicable universellement, la magie est rompue.” Page 167.

3. Ibid., page 190.

4. Ibid., page 22.

5. Ibid., page 235.

Source : Le procès de l'astrologie

L'Informateur catholique, vol. VIII, no. 15 (juill. 1989), p. 14.

Published on this site with the permission of Marie-France James.

Any reproduction without the consent of the author is forbidden.