by
Gene Mahoney
Now, for some reason, that really got a few Astrology believers (almost all
of them being women and sensitive guys) into a tizzy. Well, I’d like
to address these disgruntled folks. First of all, my mother raised my sister
and myself to believe in Astrology (hey, it was the seventies). Even though
I was a big astronomy buff as a kid, and I knew that astronomers thought that
Astrology was nonsense, I never really investigated it to a great extent.
I just figured that astronomers found it highly unlikely that Astrology was
correct. Little did I know that the old mystical belief system could be so
easily disproven.
I read a few critiques of Astrology by astronomers, but the best one I found
was online at www.krysstal.com/zodiac.html. The krysstal.com website is a
US/UK joint effort run by Kryss Katsiavriades and Talaat Qureshi, in association
with Amazon and Encycopedia Brittanica. Now what I’m about to write
just barely scratches the surface of exposing the old myth, so go to the site
for more detailed reading. Here are their main points, though.
Astronomy is a science, Astrology, as stated above, is a belief system. Astronomy
treats the Earth as one of millions of bodies in the Universe. Astrology assumes
the Earth is a very special part of the Universe.
Astrologers deal with the positions of the planets against the starry background.
Astrologers will say things like “Mars is in Virgo therefore this will
occur or that will happen, etc.” The basis of Astrology is the position
of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets visible to the nakedeye against
patterns formed by the stars. The patterns are refered to as constellations.
The Sun, the Moon, and the five planets are all labelled as planets by Astrologers.
Since the Moon and the Sun appear larger in the sky than the other planets,
their influence is considered larger. The five planets have different characteristics.
Mercury, our solar system’s smallest planet, is closest to the Sun,
therefore orbiting it the fastest of any planet and hence seen by Astrologers
as the messenger of the gods. Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun,
a brilliant object in the sky, and therefore named after the Roman goddess
of beauty. Next comes Mars --“The Red Planet”. Since red is the
color of blood, Mars is considered to be the god of war. Jupiter, our solar
systems largest orbiting sphere,is the king of the gods. Saturn’s pale
yellow color and slow orbit make it ominous to Astrologers.
Each constellation has a planet identified with it, which is why Astrologers
say things like “Taurus is ruled by Venus”, etc. The position
of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the moment of a person’s birth is the
basis for Astrology (these are known as birth charts). Birth charts also take
into account what constellations are rising and setting. An Astrologer will
take this information to determine the personality of a person.
However, krysstal.com asserts, the constellations are artificial areas in
the sky invented (or demarcated) by human beings. They are based on star patterns
visible from Earth. All the stars in a constellation are scattered at random
in space. These patterns have no significance. As a matter of fact, different
cultures have different patterns (i.e. the West use names like The Bull or
The Scorpion, the Chinese use The Rat or The Snake). The reason why astronomers
still use these constellations is simple: For convenience (it’s easier
to say that “Mars is in Virgo” instead of “Mars has coordinates
-5 degrees South, 177 degrees West”). The constellations have as much
reality in the sky as countries have here on Earth (it’s easier to say
“London is in England” rather than “London has a latitude
of 51 degrees North and a longitude of 0 degrees West”). Constellations
are like countries; they are human inventions.
Even if you believe, for some reason, that the planets have an effect on you,
krysstal.com brings up discrepencies in Astrology regarding the calendar year.
The Sidereal Year is the length of time it takes the Earth to revolve around
the Sun, relative to the stars. It is 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 10
seconds. It is the year of the stars. The Sun’s position in the Zodiac
is tied up with this year. However, the Sidereal Year is not the year we base
our calendar on.
The Tropical Year is the period of time from the Vernal Equinox to the Vernal
Equinox (or Solstice to Solstice). It is the year of the seasons (from the
Greek word for weather). The Tropical Year is 20 minutes shorter than the
Sidereal Year (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds). This is the
year we base our calendar on. So, since this is the year that we use, Spring
begins on March 21. Now since we’re not using the Sidereal Year, the
dates given by astrologers for the Zodiac signs aren’t correct anymore.
That 20 minute difference between the Sidereal Year and the Tropical Year
adds up to one day over the course of 70 years and one month over the course
of 2,000 years.
2,000 years ago, the northern Spring started on March 21 and the Sun entered
Aries. Had we used the Sidereal Year, the Sun would be still be entering Aries
on March 21, but Spring would be starting in late April. Since agriculture
depends on the seasons, we went for the Tropical Year.Now, 2,000 years later,
Spring still starts on March 21 but the Sun is no longer entering Aries, but
Pisces. Not only that, ALL Astrological dates are out by a month. This effect
is called “Precession of the Equinoxes”. It is caused by the Earth
wobbling like a top as it spins on its axis. One complete wobble takes 26,000
years. Krysstal.com creditsthe Greeks with discovering this phenomenon.
So, uh... what’s your sign? Heh heh.That sure is nice of Amazon and
Encyclopedia Brittanica to have this site to set the record straight on a
lot of scientific myth, etc. Go order yourself a volume of Encyclopedia Brittanica
right now. And order it on Amazon.
I hope the world appreciates the emormous sacrifice I have made for science
by writing this issue’s column. Because having written what I just wrote
debunking Astrology, I’ll probably never get laid again. I’m telling
you, women are really into Astrology. Have you ever noticed that? Anytime
a really good looking woman takes an interest in you at a party she’ll
inevitably ask “So what’s your sign?” They hate guys who
don’t buy into this Astrology crap. They think we’re “negative”
or even(gasp!) --not “spiritual”. I don’t see what the big
deal is. They’re not “spiritual” either. We’re just
cutting out the middle man (in this case a discreditied ancient belief system).
Maybe I should lie and pretend to be really into all this Astrology bullshit
just to get some more action.Oh well, enough of this “deep” stuff.
I’m starting to get the bends.
News and Notes, This and That:
If Jimi Hendrix joined with John Lennon to do an album and asked Elvis Costello
and Seal to add to the mix... then Dave Matthews’ rhythm section was
brought in... well instead, you could just buy the new album Glass
Half Full by Garrick Davis. Actually, I didn’t
write any of that.It was on the flyer that Mr. Davis gave me at the Palo
Alto Art and Wine Festival (it was a street fair but I assume it
was called an Art and Wine Festival -- they all are around
here). Garrick was playing to an appreciative audience in front of Border’s
on University Avenue. For info check out www.garrickdavis.com.
Down the street I caught a power-pop band from San Jose (home of Smashmouth)
called Brickhead. I spoke with the lead singer after their
set. who told me their biggest influence was Cheap Trick,
but to me they sounded kind of like Green Day. They were
selling their CD’s for only a buck! Check them out at brickheadmusic.com.
Look for a beautiful new paperback in finer bookstores everywhere called The
Cafes of San Francisco: A Guide to the Sights, Sounds & Tastes of America’s
Original Cafe Society. Proudly featured in its pages, complete with full color
photographs, is the pride of the Western Addition --Caffe Proust, owned by
the dynamic Miss P (who was recently interviewed on KQED’s Forum program).
As it turns out, Miss P is closing down Proust in the middle of this month,
but will reopen it in the near future. The book is from TCB Publishing and
with 192 pages is a steal at only $15.95. For more info go to www.cafeandre.com.
If you wish to read more click here!
Gene can be emailed here.