I kind of want to try writing something about my current state of thoughts on astrology. it gets complicated, with forays into a lot of areas of math and science, and I've despaired of even starting to write my thoughts down because I'm so distracted by current events with my father and getting fired and all that
I can try to summarize, though: I see the continued value of astrology and of following the clockwork of celestial bodies as being a continual reminder of the cyclical or oscillatory nature of all things, including our lives
even things that are _not_ cyclical can be successfully modelled with a summation of cyclical terms (Fourier analysis)
modern ways of thinking have dissociated us from the notion that life comes in cycles, and we are trained to view our lives as fundamentally chaotic, unpredictable, determined only by the vagaries of chance or what we can achieve by our wills alone
I want to reverse this damaging trend
I've talked about watching a lot of Carl Sagan's Cosmos lately, and being amused by how salty he gets about astrology. as a kid I grew up firmly inculcated with the idea that astronomy and astrology were implacable enemies, that astrology was just superstitious cruft that needed to be stripped away before we could learn the true lessons that the planets and stars could teach us
now that viewpoint seems...narrow? missing out on something vital?
I have been considering experiments to explore what my natural modes of vibration might be, but it's a tricky thing
like, let me give a simple example
let's say I saturate my brain for a short time with the concept of _blue_. just...nothing but blue. I immerse myself in blue
and then I resume ordinary affairs
my hypothesis is that at regular intervals after that, my brain will be more preoccupied with _blue_ again.I'll seek out blue objects, I'll use "blue" in conversation
but how to measure this phenomenon? conscious attention to it also disrupts it
@kara I find that meditation will quickly reveal all kinds of vibrations. And the color thing will also work great as a meditation object.
As to "measuring": There are many detailed accounts and systematizations of subjective experience like this out there, if you want to measure "progress" or compare notes, or even quantify. Here is one community that is (somewhat obsessively, in a macho way) into that. Very good information, but the atmosphere is not for everybody. http://dharmaoverground.org
@kara #astrology I like to point out something from a neuroscience perspective that when someone is born affects neuropsychological phenotypes, it is known that Autumn, Early winter is linked with certain expressed phenotypes, included greater risk of things like schizophrenia, so I think there are terrestrial explinations for people of certain starsigns having a higher occurence of personality traits, but one could compare the two hemispheres for that.
@codeawayhaley I have considered that aspect as well...being exposed to certain things very early in life, depending on what month one was born in, could give rise to shared traits
@kara i've been wondering the same. it's as if the cyclical set(s) operate more as functions, such that they act almost as a form of biofeedback
tarot, same
and given that, whether or not they're "real" isn't the most relevant question. "is it useful" though can be
@kara it's a sort of "sufficiently advanced technology" question. if someone finds the right sort of cyclical set, would that work as well
and if so, what would it be
i have a hunch that this is harder than it sounds, but i'm not sure why tbh
@kara i feel much the same way. I think, when you think about how some of the first astronomers were astrologers, it seems silly now to put them at odds, now.
I'm still like reluctant to study astrology, maybe because old prejudices, maybe cause it puts me in company with some people I don't really like, maybe cause it just seems like so much work.
But the more I hear about it, the more it seems necessary to, as you said, be mindful of the cycles our world moves in. And the cyclical nature of life is something I've seen firsthand.
I keep running from things until they catch me, that's just how I be.
#astrology
the point is...if you want to try to predict future trends by modeling ever-changing reality as a summation of cyclical terms, it hardly matters _what_ terms you choose as long as they span a good enough range of periods. so why not simply choose the orbits of the planets?
one can appeal to the motions of the planets as a "basis set" for modeling the vagaries of one's life without having to imagine that they exert some sort of actual influence in some nebulous way