Astrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behaviour. In a lecture in 2001, Stephen Hawking stated "The reason most scientists don't believe in astrology is because it is not consistent with our theories that have been tested by experiment."[68] In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[54] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day.
They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur:
Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientific.[71] Some of these astrologers have proposed conventional causal agents such as electromagnetism and gravity.[71][72] Scientists dismiss these mechanisms as implausible[71] since, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.
[72] Other astrologers prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[73][dubious – discuss] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination.[74]:xxii Carl Jung sought to invoke synchronicity to explain results on astrology from a single study he conducted, where no statistically significant results were observed. Sychronicity itself is considered to be neither testable nor falsifiable.[75] The study was subsequently heavily criticised for its non-random sample and its use of statistics and also its lack of consistency with astrology Astrology has fascinated people for more than 4,000 years with its insights into world events and human nature. This powerful tool, as many have discovered, can reveal the depths of your personality, including skills, talents, motivations and challenges in any area of life from relationships to money to career, friendship, children, family and creativity.
Astrology is far more than your Sun sign. Your natal (birth) chart, when calculated for your exact date, time and place of birth, shows all the other planets, your rising sign (also called the Ascendant) and the houses (areas of life). Unlike your Sun sign, which is shared by millions, your birth chart is as unique as you are. It's your personalized map of the heavens.
When interpreted by an accredited astrologer, your birth chart reveals your potential in this lifetime and also where you are in that journey. You can gain insights about current and future phases, when to expect career developments, romance, commitment, a rise in income and more. As a forecasting tool, astrology can help you prepare for periods of success as well as challenging times. It's all in the timing, which is astrology's strength as a forecasting tool.
comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means to yoke or unite. This union describes the goal of yoga, to unite us with the Ultimate consciousness, which is sometimes called the Absolute, the Self, God, or the Creator. Raja means king, and this form of yoga is called raja yoga because the mind is supposed to be the king among the organs. Its origins go back long before any written texts. It is the old system or science followed by the great rishis (seers) to help them in realising the Self or God through meditation and associated practices.
It was first introduced by a rishi who lived thousands of years ago. He discovered a practical method so people could evolve to their highest nature. He then started to train others1. Later, around 2000 years ago, the ancient practices of yoga were compiled and summarised by Patanjali2, in his Yoga Sutras. While raja yoga encompasses all eight steps of Patanjali’s yoga – yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi – the focus is on the last two steps: the mind, meditation and diving into the inner universe. Over the centuries, and up to the present day, raja yoga has continued to evolve, thanks to the practical experience of great sages.
Perception, and the mind as our instrument of perception
In raja yoga the mind is the instrument for looking inwards and uncovering the inner self. Reading a description from ancient yogic philosophy of how our minds perceive the world, we could be forgiven for thinking we are in a modern biology or medical class, except for mention of the soul.
The way our minds perceive is described in the steps3 (see diagram right). The mind is simply an instrument through which the soul interacts with the world, including the physical body. This internal mental instrument, which includes all the processes described (see right), is called in yoga the chitta. The chitta is often described as a lake, and in this mind-lake, waves of thought rise up and fall away as a result of the impressions we take in from the external world, so that sometimes the mind is restless and disturbed, and sometimes it is calm, just like the surface of a lake. When the surface of the mind-lake is very disturbed, because many thoughts are rising up as waves, we cannot see the bottom of the lake. We only glimpse the bottom when the waves have subsided and the lake is calm.
Think of the bottom of the lake as the inner Self, the spiritual centre. In raja yoga, in order to uncover the Self, we have to calm the waves of thought in the mind-lake. When we put our attention outwards to the external world, the sense organs draw it out and impressions are continually formed, creating waves of thought through the mind-lake, resulting in disturbance. So the first step in raja yoga is to regulate the mind: to check the outward tendency and allow some of the mind’s attention to turn inwards.