By: Robert Helms
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Astrology is the oldest of all the sciences. It was
a very wise caveman who know not to hunt deer on a full
moon day. Why? Because it would have been a full moon
night the night before. That means it would have been
bright and the deer could feed at night then lay low during
the day.
Wise indeed, and to any one around him he would have
appeared as a wizard.
There is evidence that the Neanderthal did not have
knowledge of Astrology. There are Neanderthal campsites
close to rivers that we know had Salmon runs very year.
But there are no Salmon bones at the camps. It would have
required Astrology to know when to return to the river.
Cro-magnon campsites did have salmon bones. It is possible
that the lack of Astrology may have greatly contributed
to the demise of the Neanderthal.
Astrology's beginnings were indeed humble. Just like
the early man that used it. Early caveman used Astrology
for survival. His ability to know the habits of other
animals was one of his greatest assets in survival. Knowing
when to travel to a certain area to hunt a certain beast
at a certain time of year was vital. But you still have
to know what time of year it is. So early caveman would
have to have been very observant astronomers. That is
why they needed the early stone circles such as Stone
Hendge and thousands of others all over the world. Early
man was not an astronomer just for the sake of it. He
was an astronomer because he needed the information for
his Astrology. In the ancient world if you wanted to be
an Astrologer the first thing you had to learn was astronomy.
An astronomer was but an Astrologer's apprentice.
Make no mistake about it, Astrology was essential to
the survival of early man. It told him not only when to
hunt, when to fish, when to plant. It also told him when
to celebrate. It is one of the earliest of man's customs
to celebrate around the third week in December. Of course
they didn't call it December. But they did know that the
Sun was slowly edging further and further South. Living
in the northern hemisphere they knew that if it continued
going South they would freeze. The Sun, as we all now
know, stops and begins to turn North on the twenty first
of December, known today as the Winter Solstice. It would
take them three or four days to determine that it had
indeed turned northerly again. This meant that they weren't
going to freeze, Winter would finally depart and Spring
held the promise of new life.
The Celtic people of northern Europe were firm Pagans
and lived their lives to Astrological rhythms. When Rome
wanted to incorporate the Celts into Christianity they
would not move to Christianity without their Winter Solstice
Holiday. The Celts had many holidays that are now in our
calendar but that is how Christianity got Christmas.
Astrology also predates all religions. Certainly all
extant religions. The whole concept of heaven is based
in Astrology. Most all the ancient Gods had celestial
if not zodiacal roots. To my mind the greatest Astrological
coup was the three Magi. Think about it. They would have
to have know years in advance. Made all those preparations
and been there for the birth. Wise men indeed. Such is
the power of Astrology.
Such was the state of affairs for thousands of years.
Babylon, Assiria, Persia, Macedonia, Greeks, Romans all
came and went. Astrology marched on. Modern Astrology
owes it's foundations to the Hellenic Greeks. In that
time each area of the world practiced a slightly different
type of Astrology. Then in the late Hellenic Greek period
came Ptolomy to write the Principia. In this one book
he laid down the basic tenants of what has become known
as Geocentric Tropical Astrology. Geocentric means with
Earth at the center of the chart. Astrology is not only
Earth based but also for exact position the nativity in
latitude and longitude. Tropical means that the location
of zero degrees Aries is not at a fixed point in the sky.
That is it floats through the zodiac according to where
the Spring Equinox falls. Zero degrees Aries progresses
through the zodiac as the Spring Equinox progresses. Modern
astronomy needs a fixed sky so they do not progress their
map of the sky as Astrologers do. They need to be able
to return to a fixed point amongst the stars so they use
what is called the sidereal zodiac.
Astrology is the oldest of all the sciences. It is older
than all religions. It has helped to guide mankind from
the campfire to the dawn of the modern age. It will no
doubt continue to guide us to help us understand ourselves
for who we are and how we can become better people. And
that is extremely worthwhile.
