ASTROLOGY- RELIGION NEXUS
Astrology is not a religion and is just a study of life, like physics or psychology. Nevertheless, because it deals in archetypal truths, shows unvarying cycles and can register major events in individual lives and national history, astrology is closer than other disciplines to describing "the will of God". Its potential depth of meaning and essential sacredness is lost today when it is reduced to nothing but sun sign columns and party gossip. It may also be that only new insights of the religious mind can help astrology resolve the eternal problems it presents with regard to fate and freewill - which are perhaps two sides of the same thing.
Astrology does not claim to be the answer to everything but it can provide striking insights and clues to many things and there are few aspects of life to which it cannot be applied.
CHRISTIANITY & ASTROLOGY
For most of the Christians , a "Christian astrology" cannot exist; the very idea is a contradiction in terms (oxymoron is the fashionable word). Yet Christianity begins with signs in the heavens and the visit of Wise Men or Magi (literally, astrologers) to the Christ child.
"The star went before them until it stopped over the place where the child was." (Matt. 2:9b)
The Bible itself states in its first chapter (Gen.1.14) that the lights in the heavens were put there as "signs" and signs exist to be interpreted. In his answer to Job, God asks him if he can "bring out the signs of the zodiac in their seasons" (Job 38.32).
The origins of Hebrew astrology are popularly attributed to Abraham or even Noah though it is more likely that it should be traced to the Jewish exile in Babylon. Possibly at that time the subject entered through the influence of biblical figures like Daniel, who had access to the pagan wisdom, or Ezekiel whose vision of the four creatures around the throne has profound relations to the astrology of the elements and the four fixed signs.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, . . ." (Genesis 1:14)
God told the Israelites: "Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season." (Numbers 9:2)
How were they supposed to know when the "season" of Passover had come? By watching for the Full Moon.
ISLAM & ASTRLOGY
According to Islam, Astrology is the scientific study of stars for determining and fixing time division such as months and seasons and directions.In modern times, this is lawful because it is perceived by the senses and fixed calculations, which can help determine the times of prescribed prayers, and other religious duties that should be observed at certain times.
Allâh has informed us of His intended purpose for the stars: to guide mankind in the right path and to drive away evil satanic forces that might disrupt one' life in this world of ours.
"And the Sun runneth on unto a resting place for him .That is the measuring of the mighty, the wise. And for the Moon, we have appointed mensions till she returns like an old shrivelled palm leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the Moon, nor doth the nights outstrips the day. They float each in an orbit." (Surah X X X VI. verse 38,39,and 40). These verse prove the well ordained and well knit mechanism of Allah's creation.
At another place He says, "He is who appointed the Sun a splendour and the Moon a light and measured for her stages that he might know the number of the years, and the reckoning. Allah has created not (all) that save in truth.
We find that in the Holy Quran, in several verses, Almighty has asked and encouraged mankind to look into and ponder over the objects of his creation, including the heaven, the stars and the Moon, in orders the understand his signs and thereby his supreme might, glory and greatness.
Mention in regard to Astrology or the influence of planets and stars is found in the Holy Quran in connection with Pharaoh, who was warned of the birth of Prophet Moses.
As a consequence of the prediction by the court astrologers of King Namrood who Predicted birth of Prophet Ibrahim so much so that they predicted accurately the conception of Prophet Ibrahim in spite of the best efforts of the King Namrood to prevent it.
HINDUISM & ASTROLOGY
Vedic Astrology or Indian Astrology or Hindu astrology, is a system that originated in ancient India, and was documented by sages in the Vedic scriptures.Also known as "Jyotish" -- the science of light, Vedic astrology deals with astral light patterns that are thought to determine our destiny.
It is a little known fact that the ancient maharishis from the Vedic era of India (c. 3000 B.C.) were also master astrologers. Parashara, considered the grandfather of modern Vedic Astrology, was the grandson of the Rishi Vasishta, and the father of Veda Vyasa, who compiled the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, and many other scriptures of the Vedic tradition. Throughout the centuries of India's long history, countless saints, scholars, and sages have studied and practiced the sacred science of astrology.
The basic premise of this Vedic astrology is that all things are linked. Your karma or fortune is determined by a predestined cosmic design. You are a soul incarnating in a body at a very specific time and place, and your life is a reflection of the greater whole into which you are born just as flowers bloom at certain times, say during spring time, when all conditions are perfectly congenial. So is the case with our births on this planet.
In Jyotish, the main item is your chart. It's a map of the planets in the signs of the zodiac. Charts are cast based on an exact moment at an exact place on earth. Therefore, the moment you were born and the place you were born has a chart, and that is your "birth chart" or "natal chart".
Eg; A Natal Chart
By reading the chart of the heavens for the time and place of your birth, claim vedic astrologers, they can know much about you. The positions of the planets in the real star-based zodiac are taken and your "dashas" (predictive timeline) are arranged. Your Vedic chart will most likely reflect your real life and your dashas are probably operating the way they should. The Vedic astrologer looks at these planets, signs and house placements in your chart and can "see" your personality, as well as life events and possibilities - both the good and the bad times in your life. The dashas are then used to determine "when" the events will unfold in the life.
Through Vedic Astrology we can discover the underlying unity of existence, the cosmic connection between the macrocosm and the microcosm. It can be a doorway to mystical awakening, a window into the Infinite, a pathway to Self-knowledge. It can be all of these things for you, if you choose to become a seeker of wisdom.
ZOROASTRIAN & ASTROLOGY
Zoroastrian astrological system is the original source of all subsequent currents and tendencies in astrology. The calendar cycle includes 32 years, in which each year has a certain symbol connected to one of the animals with a totem. The totem has certain symbolics and properties given to the person who has been born in the given year. Every totem has an antitotem, warning about devil temptations, offered to people of the given year of birth.
Zoroasto Horoscopes
Owl - 1904, 1936, 1968, 2000
Falcon - 1905, 1937, 1969, 2001
Deer - 1906, 1938, 1970, 2002
Ram - 1907, 1939, 1971, 2003
Mongoose - 1908, 1940, 1972, 2004
Wolf - 1909, 1941, 1973, 2005
Stork - 1910, 1942, 1974, 2006
Spider - 1911, 1943, 1975, 2007
2003- The Year of the Ram
Children, who are born in this sign, are under special supervision of their ancestors who left for a better world. They consider their family as somewhat holy and inviolable. People of the Ram totem can't be outside of patrimonial, family, or national traditions. Big masses involvement in their affairs is most important for them. However, they are quiet and obedient. It is necessary to mention that this sign is a miserable sheep without energy of masses. It needs to be directed. People of this sign should be connected with earth to sow the good seed. People of the Ram sign are neither fat nor thin; they tend to be a bit popeyed with curling hair and a little bit poking teeth.
This sign anti-totem is the person not knowing his antecedents and traditions. He is the one desecrating his family and ancestors, marauder, and cosmopolitan, who absorbed all the worst that exists in his ancestry. This person considers all people around him to be stupid sheep, and the only person who deserves respect is him.
