Why Astrology and Astronomy are Similar Yet Different

Astrology versus Astronomy

On the one hand, astrology maintains that the positions and movements of celestial bodies exert a powerful but nebulous influence on humans in supernatural ways. While astrology has declined in popularity and hard-core believers in the United States over the past century, it did experience a brief resurgence as part of the “new wave” movement in the closing years of the 20th century but it never regained its status as an academic discipline which it enjoyed during the 18th and 19th centuries. On the other hand, astronomy uses a scientific approach to exploring and understanding the unimaginably enormous cosmos that surrounds the Earth. Although few people would likely claim that astronomy is a bogus enterprise, there are some issues that make this scientific discipline comparable to the limitations of astrology in the minds of some observers. To determine the facts, the purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review of the relevant literature to compare and contrast astrology and astronomy by identified their similarities and especially their differences. Following this review, a summary of the research and important findings concerning astrology and astronomy are presented in the paper’s conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Beginning more than 4,000 years ago and continuing well into the 17th century, astrology was a widely recognized and accepted academic and pseudo-scientific discipline (Kallery, 2001). In fact, until the 17th century, astrology and astronomy were both considered as legitimate areas of study with important implications for humankind. It is also noteworthy that the decline of astrology from this lofty position in the human hierarchy of areas of study was precipitated by religious reasons rather than by serious challenges from the scientific community (Mayer, 2020). Nevertheless, the past 300 years witnessed astrology being transformed from its previous position as a legitimate area of scholarly investigation into one that bordered on using a “Magic 8-Ball” toy to predict the future.

This more recent decline in the popularity and respect for astrology was caused by multiple factors, including most especially its debunking by a growing chorus of scientists who argued that it was foolhardy in the extreme to attribute any real significance or meaning to the relative position of the stars and other celestial bodies at the time of someone’s birth. In this regard, Mayer (2020) concludes that, “Due to the near complete failure of attempts to provide scientific evidence of astrology during the second half of the 20th century, pursuits in a scientifically guided approach to astrology decreased strongly” (p. 755).

Like religious zealots, though, some firm believers in astrology cite countless examples from the historical record where astrologers predicted the future with uncanny precision and argue that these predictions would not have been possible without the types of insights that only astrology can provide (Geller, 2011). Indeed, both Hitler and Ronald Reagan, among numerous other historical leaders, routinely consulted astrologers to help them identify particularly auspicious days to take specific actions, and who can forget the high-profile visits of astrologer Jeanne Dixon to the White House for yet another reading? (Hirsch, 1997). In sum, the inability of astrology fans to prove scientifically that astrology really works has not been an especially significant roadblock to its continuing but still-declined popularity with many Americans today.

Given the lack of any scientific evidence to support the claims of astrologers, it is tempting to dismiss astrology entirely as a quaint but misguided effort to better understand the universe in which humankind exists. After all, skeptics might ask, how can the position of stars billions of light years away have any effect on people’s lives, especially since the relative position of these stars has changes substantially since the astrological zodiac was first conceptualized several millennia ago. Furthermore, many astrologists would maintain that even the exact point on Earth where people are born has an important influence on their ultimate fates, meaning that people’s lives may be altered by living a few hundred feet away from one point or another.

This all sounds spurious, of course, but when one in five Americans believe something, it is important to take note. Whether through force of habit, a sense of idle curiosity or just for fun, an estimated 70 million Americans currently read their horoscope on a daily basis (Stierwalt, 2020). Because horoscope predictions are framed in such broad terms that can easily apply to virtually anyone (i.e., “You will meet someone new today” or “Use caution when going out”), the belief in such predictions can be reinforced every time one comes true. Moreover, it is reasonable to suggest that far more Americans have read their horoscopes in the past, or read them once in awhile for the same reasons cited above. This does not necessarily mean that all of these people subscribe to the fundamental tenets of astrology, but it does underscore the continuing relevance of this ancient practice in the modern world.

Even casual readership of horoscopes, though, has also declined along with the publication of the syndicated newspapers that used to feature highly popular astrologers and the percentage of Americans who regard astrology as “very” or even “sort of scientific” has significantly declined in recent years (Stierwalt, 2020). As noted above, although many Americans continue to consult their horoscopes on a regular basis for a variety of reasons, one of the main reasons for doing so is certainly not because there is any scientific basis to their compilation and interpretation. As Stierwalt (2020) emphasizes, “There is no science to back up whether astrology impacts our personality and our lives. None whatsoever” (para. 6).

By very sharp contrast, there are no corresponding mysterious aspects about the scientific discipline of astrology except to the extent that average people are unable to fully comprehend the technologies that are used for these purposes. Like astrology, astronomy also dates to antiquity and humankind has relied on scientific celestial observations to plan their lives in ways that enhanced the ability to survive in a hostile world. The arrangement of the stones in Stonehenge and hundreds of other henges in the United Kingdom, Europe and elsewhere in the world with the solstices is concrete proof that ancient humans were in tune with the heavens and recognized the significance of these events in their day-to-day lives. It is little wonder that astrology and astronomy have been conflated in the minds of many people until fairly recently in the human history, but it is also important to note that astronomy also has its limitations in explaining the cosmos.

The actual operation of astronomy is replete with many of the same types of obfuscations that characterize the world of astrology. Indeed, astronomers claim that so-called “dark matter” and “dark energy” are responsible for the otherwise-inexplicable behaviors of celestial bodies, and cite the operations of unseeable subatomic particles as being part of the calculus. When hard-pressed, astronomers concede that it is true that no one has ever seen dark matter, dark energy or any of the laundry list of subatomic particles that they claim comprise the universe, but they do stress that these conjectures provide a minimally satisfactory explanation for what they are witnessing with their Earth- and space-bound telescopes. In other words, astronomers may be able to see the limits of the observable universe, but they are not always able to adequately explain and interpret what they are seeing and they therefore must resort to largely untestable theories and hypotheses as an alternative.

Conclusion

The research was consistent in showing that astrology is the discipline of trying to augur the destiny of humans based on the position of various celestial bodies at the time of their birth. By contrast, astronomy was shown to be the scientific study of these same and other celestial bodies using a wide array of modern technologies. Although the origins of both astrology and astronomy date to antiquity, and both rely on arcane and esoteric terms to describe their operations, the real similarities end there. It is important to note, though, that few mere humans can stand in direct sunlight and not be awed by the sheer power of our nearest star. Add this to the fact that early humans recognized the inextricable connection between the Sun and agricultural enterprises and it is little wonder that people have looked to the heavens for answers for thousands of years. The research also showed, however, that the use of astrology in an attempt to provide rational explanations concerning why the Sun and other celestial bodies have any effect on humanity has consistently declined in popularity among laypeople and has been entirely discounted by most members of the scientific community in the early 21st century. In the final analysis, it is reasonable to conclude that most people have come to grips with the realization that astrology is unscientific and lacks any real ability to predict the future. Given the sustained popularity of horoscopes among many Americans, though, it is also reasonable to conclude that these entertainment-laden snippets together with Ouija boards and lucky charms and will remain a fixture in American culture for the foreseeable future.