Astrology, as we explore in this discourse, invites us to transcend the mere act of gazing downward at symbols and lines within a circle, urging us instead to elevate our gaze to the heavens where these celestial dynamics originate. The episode elucidates the profound historical significance of observing the night sky, a practice that has persisted since antiquity, leading to the identification of the seven wanderers—namely, the five visible planets alongside the sun and moon. We delve into the ancient observations that date back to approximately 2100 BCE in Mesopotamia, where early astronomers meticulously tracked the movements of celestial bodies with only the naked eye. This meticulous attention to the cosmos not only birthed the foundations of astronomy but also gave rise to the zodiac, a system employed to map the heavens and delineate the passage of seasons. Ultimately, we reflect on how these celestial observations have evolved into our contemporary understanding of astrology and its calendrical applications, forever intertwining human experience with the rhythms of the cosmos.
Takeaways:
Astrology involves a dual perspective, necessitating both downward observation of symbols and upward awareness of celestial occurrences.
The ancient practice of sky observation originated as early as 2100 BCE in Mesopotamia, revealing the historical significance of astrology.
The seven wanderers, which include five visible planets alongside the sun and moon, were pivotal in the development of early astronomical observations.
The ecliptic plane serves as the path along which the wanderers traverse, influencing the foundational principles of astrology and astronomy.
The zodiac, which encompasses various constellations, was utilized to chart both the movement of celestial bodies and the passage of seasons.
The correlation between the positions of celestial bodies and seasonal changes led to the creation of early calendars, marking a significant advancement in human understanding of time.
When you first get into astrology, learning astrology, you spend a lot of time looking down.
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We're looking down at symbols, lines in a circle, learning the meanings.
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But those symbols and lines are more than just things inside a circle moving around.
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As much as you spend time looking down reading, you should spend some time looking up, because that's where all those symbols and lines are actually taking place and how all this astrology began in the first place.
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Looking up, then down.
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If there was no tv, phones nor electricity at the end of the day, when you're sitting around a campfire, what do you think you would be doing other than telling stories and eating and all that?
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You probably would watch the sky while looking up.
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They started making observations.
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They noticed.
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While most stars stayed fixed in their positions, five moved through the sky.
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These five unique stars, along with the sun and the moon, the two luminaries, were known as the seven wanderers.
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This sky watching has been going on since the beginning.
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can be traced as far back as:
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We all know there are nine planets, but back then there was no telescope, so they could only go by what they could see with the naked eye.
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One really cool thing is if you ever outside around 5am Just before light, you will notice all the rest of the stars have disappeared except for the planets.
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Depending on your position on the earth at that time and the planet's location as well.
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I used to walk my dog around that time before leaving to go to work.
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If you follow me on social media, you may have seen some of the pictures I posted of different planets.
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I think the last one I posted was a picture of Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and the moon all together in the sky.
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These seven wanderers move about through the sky on the same path, which is called the ecliptic plane.
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All of the wanderers move about this ecliptic plane at different speeds, but they pretty much stay in this belt line as they move around.
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I guess one day someone decided, you know, maybe we should start keeping track of these placements of these wanderers, which was the beginning of astronomy.
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The way they kept track is from the backdrop of the fixed stars they noticed.
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If you connected the dots of these fixed stars, they are close together.
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They resemble living objects in the sky, things like a ram, a lion, a scorpion, scales so on.
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And now as the places, but we know them.
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They used to know them as they used to call them places, but we know them as the zodiac signs.
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They use the zodiac to not only map the sky.
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But keep track of the movement of the wanderers.
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As they was looking up, they started noticing things below.
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Like when the sun was in the goaded horn, or the crab or the ram, or the scales.
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When marked the beginning of the four seasons.
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When the sun was in the bull or the lion or the scorpion or the water pour marked the middle of the four seasons.
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And when the sun was in the twins, the maiden, the archer or the fishes marked the change of the season.
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It began to be used as what we know as a calendar.
