by How planets affect us according to Astrology.
According to Astrology, there isn’t any planetary ‘influence’ because a cause-effect relationship is not at stake. Astrology is entirely based on the assumption that the phenomenon and the observer’s conscience interact with each other. From an astrological point of view, the celestial sphere and our awareness join the same process: that’s why we can’t tell there is a planetary influence, as someone suggests.
Two mechanisms show us the connection between our awareness and the surrounding reality. Relatively speaking, planets and stars exist separately from our consciousness and, as such, are subject to scientific investigation. Scientific thinking is based upon an objective analysis of things as they appear, through a theoretical statement giving some validity to facts and experimental observations; that’s how we live and think, and it’s legitimate because it turns out to be very useful in everyday life.
On the other hand, astrology undermines the opinion that the physical world exists independently of our observations (such as some aspects of quantum mechanics suggests, for instance). Consequently, astrological factors act as a symbolic mirroring of the reality we belong to, not requiring a causal bond. The universe and human consciousness share the same process so that we can explain astrology, not in a distinctive sense, but rather as a symbol taking part in our unitary conscience.
Let’s now start examining the idea of a symbol. The word derives from the Greek ‘συμβάλλω ‘ (syn-ballo), to put together, join, unite. To ‘symbolise’ the surrounding reality is the first necessary step a conscience must carry out in recognising and structuring their mundane experience. It’s the origin of the so-called ‘magic thinking’: the individual self organises their vision according to a human point of view so that outside and inside worlds meet and connect, avoiding the chaotic experience of a meaningless universe. All divinations work by these basics because external objects and events become signs or symbols of our inner pattern. Monistic philosophy has a similar approach when it states that the parts are dependent fragments of an integrated whole.
Conversely, modern scientific thinking needs a liaison between the individual conscience and the outside world because of the original harmony’s loss, and intellectual faculties grant this connection. Both approaches are legitimate in their respective fields of application, and human beings have to continue on this path to develop their individuality fully. It’s worth noting that the antonym of the Greek word συμβάλλω is ‘διαβάλλω’ (dia-ballo), throwing across, to slander, Latin Diabolus and English devil. The devil shows us the danger arising from the one-sided application of human resources, i.e. endorsing – almost exclusively – the material development to the detriment of ethical and spiritual attitudes (ego vs self).
But what about planets and stars? How do we explain, once established, the symbolic mirroring between inner and outer reality, the way these symbols combine? We explain it by analogy’s law. In their physical and spiritual integrity, human beings act as a mirror of the greater astronomical reality. In that case, something in this outer reality must reflect the same set of rules presiding over the human structure. And this something is the positionality factor, that is, where things are in space relative to other things.
For simplicity’s sake, I’ll give an example based on the western astrological pattern, regardless of fixed stars, etc., only mentioning Sun, Moon and classic planets.
- Sun. It’s the centre of the solar system, the giver of light and life on Earth. Likewise, it symbolises the heart as the pulsating centre of the human body and the ego or sense of an individual self on a mental level.
- Moon. The Earth’s satellite bears countless meanings. Among these, I’ll quote its reflective potential, which expresses the link between light and matter. The Moon processes the Sun’s monochromatic light into a spectrum of symbolic representations, depicting the manifold manifestations of the Earth’s life.
- Mercury. The first inner planet (compared to Earth’s orbit). As such, it expresses mental functions, the means of interconnection and communication between ego and the outer world.
- Venus. The second inner planet. It’s the balance between self and non-self, the step succeeding mental approach — the search for harmony, unions, relationships, affection and love.
- Mars. The first outer planet. Energy and willpower come out of the individual to modify the world with their actions with momentum and muscular strength, but also recklessness and aggressiveness.
- Jupiter. The second outer planet. The individual energy meets social life with their set of rules; thus, this energy needs to develop, explore and organise itself through mental and social activities – studies, journeys, philosophy, spirituality, social advancement.
- Saturn. Saturn symbolises physical and moral maturity as the last of classic planets: the individual at their best in terms of independence and rationality. In the human body, the planet symbolises both skin and bones, which define and support the bodily structure.
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