Yes

by M. L. Kiser

Created on: February 24, 2011

Does astrology form part of religious belief?  Yes, in some religions, but it should be a part of religious belief for all religions.

Christianity is one religion that still has a conflict with Astrology.  Sadly, Christianity is in conflict with a lot of things.  In the Bible it says: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...”  For some strange reason, many in the Christian religion don’t seem to fully understand that sentence. 

In the Bible we have numerous references to utilizing astrology: In Genesis 1:14, we read that, “...stars, along with the sun and moon, were given for “signs” and “seasons”.  We navigate around the globe by them, plant our crops, we developed time by the sun, moon and the stars; we rise in the morning and go to bed at night by whichever planetary body is shining. 

We are all born under a star and when we were born, that heavenly body was in a specific position in the heavens.  If astrology wasn’t meant to help direct our lives, then why do these heavenly bodies continue to spin and change?

In the biblical books of: Isaiah, 13: 9-10 and Joel 3:15, as well as, the New Testament book of: Matthew 26:29 we can read that the end of the earth is to be heralded by several astronomical events that can be read in the stars.

Until recently the, “Book of Enoch” was kept a secret, but now that it’s been released, many people are beginning to realize that the heavens may, in fact, hold many secrets, astrology being one of them.

We read in the Qur’an, in Surah Yunus: verse 101, that: " Behold what is in the heaven and the earth!  But revelations and warnings avail not folk who will not perceive." In other words, if you cannot read the signs in the heavens and the earth, you will not understand.

Astrology has a lot to do with the heavens, the planets, galaxies, universes, all created by this, God, yet many people seem to think that they just sit there, spinning in the heavens, without any other purpose, while even science knows better.  Given that the heavens are based on numbers, as any scientific or mathematical expert will admit, we don’t always know why or what those numbers may mean.

If we look to the Jewish Kabbalah, we will see further evidence to support this belief.  The early Jewish leaders often looked to the heavens for wisdom and knowledge.  Other religions and cultures for centuries have planted crops by the, “signs” and the positions of the stars, yet despite the fact that the Christian bible mentions these “signs”, modern Christian’s seem to think that those signs are not in the heavens.  What a slap in the face that must be to their Creator.

The “Old Farmer’s Almanac”, contains astrological time tables, signs for planting and harvesting various crops, cutting hair, having surgery, etc., and it’s based on the Ephemeris.  The positions of the planets in our solar system affect the ocean’s tides.  Wiccans, Pagans and Indigenous religions worldwide, perform solstice ceremonies and the Moon and Sun are part of their worship. 

The Christian God, according to the Bible, has created these heavenly bodies for us to learn and work with them, yet Christianity for centuries has labeled it as, “Satanic”, “Witchcraft”, the “Occult” and preachers repeatedly speak against utilizing these heavens and their gifts.

While Christianity was slandering and defaming Astrology; other religions and cultures were utilizing it, even as a part of their belief system and religions.  Some Christians do utilize Astrology, it seems that for many, it is a personal belief that God did give us, “signs”, by which we can know much.  One simply has to look to historical, archaeological evidence, the Holy Family’s genealogy and the raping of the Bible by early church fathers in order to know that Christianity has a lot of beliefs that are simply wrong.

While cultures like the Oriental, Pagan, Neo Pagan, Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Mayans, Ancient Romans, Greeks, Rosicrucian’s, Freemasons, Early Judaism, Indigenous Religions, and more, all may include astrological practices.  “The Oracle at Delphi”, utilized Astrology.  Many Buddhists are free to practice it if they so desire.  In Hinduism, astrology plays a large part in their beliefs; the Upanishads, part of the Hindu Vedas, contain astrology. 

Christianity is perhaps the only religion that is persistent in their mis-understanding of this God given art wisdom and art form; why?  Many cultures plant their crops, build their homes, hold their religious ceremonies and more by the position of the heavenly planets; it is a part of their religion.

For some strange reason, Christianity has let fear of the unknown, consume it rather than to practice the faith that it so diligently preaches.  The word, “Occult”, which it so fears as something evil, simply means, “unknown”, “non-visible to the naked eye”, “unseen” or “occluded”.

When our Moon is in its first through third stages each month or when it’s hidden by the sun, we say that it’s, “occulted”, yet that word seems to spark terror into the hearts and minds of many Christians.

The early church fathers, often during the Vatican, Ecumenical Councils, who removed much of our present Bible from its original versions and kept it locked away in the Vatican archives for centuries, promoted this idea in order to get those of other religions, into the Catholic Church to “Christianize” them.  Over 17 centuries, they did a frightening amount of damage to this historical document, among others, and perpetuating many untruths which included anything that was, “occult”.  They wanted power, political power, financial power, total control of the people and lands and at one time the Vatican nearly had it.

Christian denominations that all branched from Catholicism perpetuated this deceit, many of their founders actually believing it.  The Dark Ages are called “Dark” because not only were there an unbelievable amount of murders that stemmed from this deceit, but people literally lived lives based on lies.  People were slaughtered as witches, devil’s and Satan’s offspring during these times, in the billions of numbers.

A baby born with a deformity, mental illness or even if its eyebrows grew together, it was considered and feared as, “Satan’s spawn”.  Anyone who dared to concoct a cure or invent anything new was considered a “Witch” and put to death.  Just think, centuries of manslaughter, all based on religious lies, yet today isn’t much different.

Many a Christian today, who does practice astrology, does so in silence because of this stigma.  Those who dare to share their beliefs are often maligned and defamed by those around them who refer to them as, “sinners”, when in fact, everyone, “sins”.

Presidents’ and their wives have consulted Astrologers, yet denied doing so for fear of public reaction.  People may call it, “fun” or a “game”, but they take the astrologers advice.  Whole countries and their economies have been built on the advice of Astrologers.  When their advice has either been ignored or they haven’t been consulted, wars have often been the result.

In Christianity, the Christmas story, or that of Jesus’ birth is told every Christmas season to remind us of the redeemer’s gift.  Three of those who came to see him are commonly known as the, “three kings”, but originally, in the original writings of the bible, these men were referred to as, “Magi”; from the Latin word, “Magus” and the Greek word, “Maqos”.  This very word refers to those who practice sorcery, prophecy and astrology; reading the stars to foretell the future; it was a science in their day and perfectly harmless.  Over the centuries, it came to be termed, “Magic”, due to it’s difficult to understand or “occulted” knowledge, revealed to only those who knew how to read the stars.

Many New Age religions, which are basically everything old from known religions, brought together are utilizing astrology as a part of their practice.  Yet, the, “New Age” is often joked about and maligned as something harmful to our society.

Despite the prophecies in the bible and the respect for prophets that it inspires; astrology seems to have slipped through the Christianity cracks with its methods of predicting and prophesying the future. 

When power is taken away from the people, when lies and deceit are perpetuated for centuries; when those who insist that we, “have faith”, yet contradict themselves by claiming that, “astrology” is against God’s laws; people are conditioned over the centuries to believe these lies.  If you believe astrology to be against God’s laws, then how can you insist and believe that, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  It’s as contradictory as those Christians, who claim to believe in the “Holy Spirit”, but insist that, “Spirits don’t exist”.

It’s an historical fact that astrology has always been and still is a part of religion.  The fact that one religion or our western culture often denounces it as such does not mean that it isn’t.

Learn more about this author, M. L. Kiser.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.