Potentially inane question....

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by Kaiju, Jun 29, 2005.

  1. Kaiju Registered Member

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    Hey, this is my first post, so please forgive me if I come off wrong! Anyways, I have a two part question. I recently re-connected with an old friend of mine whom I haven't seen in years. Much to my horror, she has become enamoured of astrology. She asked me for my "sign", so I swore to her I was an Ophiucus (as I usually do) and changed the subject. But she seems quite insistant on finding out "the truth", as it were, so my first question is: what IS my sign?

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall reading somewhere (perhaps one of James Randi's columns?) that the corellation between Zodiac signs and months of the year used by contemporary astrologers is off by something like a month, due to the precession of the equinoxes. Now frankly I'm an idiot, so if I'm totally wrong let me know. If not, just how big of a difference would it make? And being born in early December roughly 20 years ago, would I have been born "under" a constellation other than Sagittarius? The least I can do is give her an accurate answer....

    Second part of the question is what is, in anyone's experience, the best way to address an issue like astrology with a friend? Usually I just ignore it, but this particular friend has been very close to me for years and is exceptionally bright, so I'd feel bad seeing her get suckered into anything...

    Thanks!
     
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  3. cato less hate, more science Registered Senior Member

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    I know how you feel, I have a thread about my friend, who turned Christian.

    my advise on how to deal with it is to jokingly reject it. say something like "you know that stuff is a bunch of crap right?" but say it in a comic manner, she shouldn't be offended, but might stop talking to you about it.
     
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  5. blobrana Registered Senior Member

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    Hum,
    I just say I’m a pagan, (with only 7 months in a year calendar) and don’t believe in all this new fangled stuff….
     
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  7. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    This is an example of a discredited endeavor being made to look even worse than it is by selectively ignoring its own teachings.

    Astrologers are not idiots, they've known for thousands of years that the sun is precessing. The sun on March 1 (I think that's the traditional start of the year) moves into a new new constellation pretty close to every 2,000 years. That's what they call a "Great Year." If you notice, astrological charts do not match star charts because they were fixed about 4,000 years ago.

    At that time, the sun entered the constellation of Aries on March 1 and that was defined as the sign of Aries. The next 2,000 years are now called the Age of Aries, although at the time a lot of people didn't realize there would be other Ages. Aries is considered a harbinger of war and indeed those two millennia were arguably the cruelest and bloodiest in history.

    Then 2,000 years ago the sun entered the constellation of Pisces on March 1. It's still the sign of Aries, so the next 2,000 years were called the Age of Pisces. History may decide that the most important development of the Age of Pisces will have been Christianity, and the early Christians chose the fish as their sign. (You still see it on bumper stickers.

    Now the sun enters the constellation of Aquarius on March 1 and, as was proclaimed in "Hair" forty years ago. (Hey, the dates of a Great Year are a little hard to pin down precisely. ^_^) Aquarius is supposedly about intellect and rationality. The ascendence of science (boy whatever happened to that?) and the computerization of the world mark the dawn of the Age of Aquarius.
    What I would suggest to her is that she actually consult a professional astrologer rather than trying to become an amateur. Once again, these people are not stupid. The majority of them really do want to help people and they choose a medium that a lot of people accept as valid and feel comfortable with. Their clients open up to them and they simply use their people skills and their wisdom to give them the same sort of advice that a psychotherapist or an advice columnist would give them. They just phrase it in astrological terms so the client feels good about the advice and might take it.

    Tarot dealers, palm readers, chicken bone tossers... give these people a break. They're tapping into what makes people comfortable and using that connection to give them good practical advice. Sure some of them are charlatans out for a quick buck, but the same can be said about the practitioners of any profession. I haven't seen any definitive studies suggesting that astrologers as a class are any less sincere or effective than Tony Robbins. I draw the line at faith healers, as does James Randi. Something about faith in organized religion really brings out the crook in us.

    Carl Jung and his popularizer, Joseph Campbell, urged us to embrace all of this stuff. It takes a highly intelligent, well educated person to truly understand the subtle distinctions among metaphors, mythology, traditions, mnemonic devices, faith, and just plain silliness. The rest of the population has to make do and it's up to the leaders to help them.
     
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  9. superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    Mr Anonymous,

    You sir, are frightfully, hilariously, British! Ha!

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  10. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Depends, is she hot?
     
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  12. azizbey kodummu oturturum Registered Senior Member

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    acc to sir Newton, attraction of your body mass will be much higher than massive star or group of stars (zodiac signs) light years away. explain it in a scientific way why it is a nonsense so-called science, and if she persists, go with the flow.
    the case is closed
     

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