Astrology’s place in the world is not entirely clear: is it a form of scientific study, or a belief system more akin to a religion or philosophy? It is certainly not regarded as a science in the sense that most scientists would use the term today, but if we look back to the original meaning of science — scientia (knowledge) — we do perhaps find a definition more sympathetic to the realm of astrology.

Any thinking man or woman with a thirst for knowledge must surely make some attempt to connect their experience of life with the wider universe – to relate their actions, reactions, emotions, and thought processes to the universe outside them.

And this is essentially what astrology does provides a way of relating the pattern made by the Sun, Moon, planets and other heavenly bodies to life on Earth, and specifically to our own lives. Perhaps this does make astrology sound rather like a religion — which is not surprising, considering religion is often seen as a rival to science in attempting to make sense of the nature of life.

However, unlike religion, astrology has as its base observable and quantifiable facts. Further, if we accept as a definition of science that it is “a branch of knowledge involving systematized observation and experiment”, the terrr is accurately descriptive of astrology.

No statement a modern astrologer makes will have been invented by bin or her: it is the result of considered observation and experiment, whether it was first formulated 1,400 years age by the Babylonian scholar Akkullanu or by English astrologer John Addey in the 1970s. And if a modern astrologer attempts to enlarge knowledge of the subject by making a statement which seems new, that statement will certainly be the result of observation and analysis.

This has been seen during the last 30 years in the work which has examined the astrological effect of Chiron, which has come to be known as “the wounded healer”. Chiron has been observed to have a special effect on those who have suffered and whose experience may be used to help other wounded people. But how convincing are these observations?

ASTROLOGY: History, Astrological Techniques, Signs and Planets, Charts and Tables by Julia & Derek Parker pdf