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The New Popularity of Astrology

April 27th, 2016 | Posted by horoscopesign in Astrology | Basics - (Comments Off on The New Popularity of Astrology)
Popular

Astrology has been a part of daily life in America for some time, but it was not always so. The popularity of astrology has ebbed and waned for the last several thousands of years in the Western World. Only in the last hundred years has astrology actually become popular once more in the Western World. Furthermore, it has only been in the last twenty years that serious study of astrology has surfaced in America. People today are looking for answers once again with astrology. It is even more popular today with thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Astrology actually made its debut in the Western world thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. The art of astrology traveled to Greece around 600 BC. The practice further spread throughout the Roman world, then abruptly disappeared.

With the European “age of enlightenment,” also known as the Renaissance period, astrology once more made an appearance in the western world. The study of astrology and its use in daily life became commonplace. However, Christianity and the early leaders of the religion drove out astrology once more.

Astrology did not reappear on the scene until the late eighteen hundreds. During this time, two prominent astrologists came forward and began publishing information about their art. This practice reached America in the early nineteen hundreds, and then continued to spread.

In the late 1930’s, the study of astrology became even more commonplace in America with the publication of American Astrology, a magazine which offered the first detailed horoscopes. While the magazine itself did not remain in print for long, the study of astrology and American interest in the art continued to prosper for some time. Horoscopes have appeared in major newspapers and later other print media since that time.

However, the actual art of astrology and the serious study of the stars was once again lost. In the sixties and seventies serious astrologists once more came to light, and more people began to take the study of astrology seriously. This was the beginning of what is known as the New Age movement.

Throughout the last several decades the New Age movement has continued to evolve. The study of occult religions such as Wicca further encouraged the study and use of astrology in America. Today, astrology is a very controversial topic in America for some, and a way of life for others.

The popularity of astrology has grown significantly over the last twenty years. More and more people have turned to Wicca and the occult for answers that they feel have not been found in Christianity. In these religions people feel that they have more control over their lives. Astrology is one part of that control. It is used to plan for the future and make decisions in the present.

Books on the topic have also become very commonplace in America over the last twenty years. Books no longer cover simple horoscopes and zodiac signs. Books on astrology that actually teach the art of divination and astrological charting have become very common and popular. Even though some Christian groups still rile against the art, astrology is alive and well in America today.

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History Of Chinese Astrology

March 28th, 2016 | Posted by horoscopesign in Chinese Astrology | History - (Comments Off on History Of Chinese Astrology)
China history

The development of Chinese astrology dates back to at least the Zhou Dynasty ( 1122 BC – 256 BC). Some sources claim it began as far back as 2150 BC. The ancient Chinese astrologers began by using the position of planets, moon and stars to accurately predict the change of seasons, and flow of the tides. These predictions were vital to the success of farming at the time, as they were used to predict the best times to plant and harvest crops.

To help them keep track of passing time, the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches were created. These important signs we used to mark the passing of what we know as hours, days, months, and years. During this time in history, only the elite could read and write, so animals were used to symbolize each of the Twelve Earthly Branches.

Legend has it that during the celebration of New Year Buddha was to decide upon the order of animals to be used for the Twelve Earthly branches. He asked all the animals in the kingdom to join him for a meeting. Only twelve animals answered the call of Buddha and attended the meeting.

Buddha granted each of those twelve animals sovereignty over an Earthly Branch. Each animal was to lead the Branch and have influence over those born during its Branch.

We know the Twelve Earthly Branches as “Years”. In the traditional Chinese calendar, these twelve animal signs repeat themselves in a never-ending circle, to remind us that time is a constant and has flow.

The Twelve Earthly Branches are, in order, the mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Some ancient Chinese valued the Earth over the stars. These scientists looked for the reasons behind the natural order of things. They agreed that all things had a basis in one of Five elements. To their understanding, all things were made from Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, or Wood.

They examined how these basic elements worked together and against each other. Wood creates Fire, Fire turns to Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal creates water, and water creates Wood.

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Feng Shui History

March 28th, 2016 | Posted by horoscopesign in Feng Shui - (Comments Off on Feng Shui History)
Feng Shui History

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of utilizing certain so called laws governing the heavens and earth that can improve through what is called having positive Qi. Feng Shui history is an ancient one and covers over 3,500 years. It is even older than the invention of the magnetic compass. A main portion of its origins may stem from ancient astronomy.

The astronomical history of Feng Shui is evident in the ancient instruments that were developed in its practice. The earliest known Feng Shui instrument may have been what is known as the gnomon. This instrument was used along with trying to circumpolar the stars in order to determine the north and south axis. This was basically used in laying down early Chinese settlements.

The ancient Yangshao and Hongshan cultures in China provide the earliest evidences of the practice of feng shui. As early as 4000 BCE, doors from Banpo dwellings were aligned to the star called Yingshi just right after the winter solstice. This allowed the homes to be sited for better solar gain. During the Zhou era, the star Yingshi was known as Ding and had a great influence in trying to determine the appropriate time to build their capital city. This is according to records on the Shijing.

Another example of the practice of ancient feng shui can also be found from the grave at Puyang that dates back to about 3000 BCE. This particular grave contains mosaics of the stars called Dragon and Tiger along with the Beidou, known in the Western world as the Big Dipper constellation. The mosaics seem to be oriented along the north to south axis. The presence of round and square shapes were also found at the Puyang tomb as well as at the Hongshan cultural ceremonial centers and the former Longshan settlement. These evidences suggest that the practice of gaitian astronomy (belief in a round earth and a square earth) was already present in the ancient Chinese society.

One of the oldest instruments used in ancient feng shui were the liuren astrolabes. These ancient instruments consist of a lacquered, two-sided board equipped with astronomical sightlines. The oldest of the liuren astrolabes have been found and discovered from tombs dating from 278 BCE and 209 BCE. These ancient astrolabes show the cord-hook diagram and some those found even include the magic square of three. The markings on these instruments remained unchanged, from the ancient astrolabe down to the first magnetic compasses.

The practice of astronomy that bears a striking resemblance to many modern feng shui devices and theories were also discovered on a jade artifact found in Hanshan that dated at around 3000 BCE. Ancient structures in China which included its palaces in the capital cities are all influenced by feng shui in their design and layout. The rules that were followed were written during the Zhou era on the “Kaogong ji”, or the “Manual of Crafts”.

The magnetic compass was initially invented for the practice of feng shui and has been in use since its invention. Traditional feng shui instruments include the Luopan or the earlier south-pointing spoon or the zhinan zhen. This shows the extent of feng shui history and its long standing practice in ancient Chinese history.

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Where Did Astrology Originate?

April 30th, 2014 | Posted by horoscopesign in Astrology | History - (Comments Off on Where Did Astrology Originate?)
Astrology History

Where Did Astrology Originate?

Where did the practice of astrology originate. Did it evolve in one part of the world and then become adopted by other civilizations.

When you study the ancient civilizations in the Middle East, Central America and in Asia, there are remarkable similarities in how they adapted their lives to be in harmony with the rhythms of earth and the cosmos. Consider that there are pyramids in Mayan and Aztec cultures, as well as Egyptian ones. And that many pyramids are constructed around and point to key events in the solar system, such as equinoxes and solstices.

Similarly, astrology is thought to have developed independently in Babylon and Central America. The astrology systems in India and China most likely were derived from those in Babylon.
It’s curious that many fundamentalist religions reject the principles of astrology, because it was, in fact, an integral component of the religions of Babylon. It was part of the calling of priests in Babylon to predict the future and part of their methodology for doing so was to interpret events in the sky. Nothing was considered pure chance and any natural occurrence, no matter how mundane or mysterious, could be an omen of either good fortune or bad.

The part of Mesopotamia that is now Iraq once comprised Babylonia in the South and Assyria in the North. Before Alexander the Great conquered the area in 330 BC, the Assyrians were a military and administrative power, and Babylon was the center of culture. The underlying belief system in both cultures was that there was a spiritual force behind every act of nature. Heaven and Earth were complementary systems, with neither one having dominion over the other. But by the 4th century BCE, this belief system was influenced by the Greek view that the heavens, and its resident gods, determined events on earth.

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