Stars Above!: Astrology is ascending, which is bad news - some seek to include astrology in school curriculum

Those of us who were around in the 1970s often felt we might not make it through that strange decade with our sanity intact if just one more person came up to us at a party and said: "What sign are you?" That particular form of silliness has not so much sunk without a trace as risen without a trace: Astrology can now be studied, for a bachelor's or master's degree, at the Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences in Seattle. Nothing very deplorable about that, you might think. The New Age movement has thrown up all sorts of odd manifestations. Kepler College, however, is authorized by the Higher Education Coordinating Board of Washington State.

As Kepler College prepares to take in its second freshman class, from Paris comes the story of Mme. Elizabeth Teissier, who has just received a passing grade from the Sorbonne sociology department for a 900-page Ph.D. dissertation on astrology, in which she makes it plain that she takes this "science" very seriously. Mme. Teissier is, in fact, a professional astrologer, and served in that capacity to the late French president Francois Mitterrand. The gist of her dissertation, according to one sociologist who has read it, is: "that astrology is the victim of domination. That science, which is renamed 'official science' or 'monolithic thought,' oppresses astrology." The acceptance of Mme. Teissier's thesis by the Sorbonne has created a great fuss in France, especially among professional sociologists, who apparently are not much taken with Mme. Teissier's having described Max Weber, one of the revered founders of their discipline, as "a pragmatic Taurus." After firing off a single letter of self-justification to the French newspaper Le Monde (the valediction read: "Astrally yours"), Mme. Teissier is not speaking to the press.

Further afield, India's large and prestigious scientific community is up in arms about a decision by that country's education authorities to create astrology departments in 24 public universities in the next academic year. At a time when India is building a reputation as a rising power in information technology, the official sanctioning of astrology would, says world-renowned astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, take India "backwards to medieval times."

Astrology: A History. . - Review: reading the heavens - book review

Astrology: A History, by Peter Whitfield (Abrams, 2001; $35)

Scarcely a culture, ancient or modern, has not produced people who have wondered at one time or another about the order of the universe in which we live and the likely laws that govern it. Their answers often range from pure myth, fantasy, and free association to supposedly universally testable rules that can account for the natural phenomena we all observe. The case of astrology is of special importance because it speaks to the basic human anxiety about the order of the universe and purports to endow its practitioners with the power to predict a person's character and destiny from the arrangement of the planets at the specific moment of birth. This kind of speculation goes back to the earliest texts of ancient civilizations, such as those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. A glance at modern magazines will convince anyone who needs convincing that such astrological speculations persist right up to the present.

Sumptuously illustrated with reproductions of manuscript pages from volumes still found in collections of rare books, Astrology: A History covers the field's documented beginnings in Babylonia, its assignment to the celestial sphere during Greek and Roman times, its diffusion and adaptation in India, China, and the Middle East, its eclipse and reemergence in Western Europe during the Middle Ages, its revival during the Renaissance, and its increasing marginalization as the pure sciences became more widespread and accepted.

Tibetan Astrology

Tibet brings to my mind mystery. This immediately gets my interest because I love to delve into just about anything that explores the unknown.

Combine mystery with astrology and I couldn't wait to set time aside to explore this detailed book on Tibetan Astrology. According to the back cover, this is the first detailed book on this subject. It was originally written in French, but was translated into English by Hamish Gregor.

Philippe Cornu has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism with Dudjom Rinpoche, Sogyal Rinpoche, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, and other teachers of the Nyingma tradition. He is the author or translator (into French) of several books on the Nyingma school and Dzogchen.

Tibetan Astrology is quite complex and needs an understanding of the cultural and spiritual history of this mysterious country. This is covered in Part One--General Considerations where a concise look as these topics has been prepared. Part Two--Practical Astrology goes into the technical information needed to use this system of astrology--get ready for your brain to be boggled!

I have to be honest and say that I was a bit naive in starting my review on this book, I had no idea that this topic would be so complicated! I enjoyed reading most of the background in Part One but when I got into the technical side of "Tibetan Astrology" I found it hard to take all of the information in. Basically, this is a totally different way of using astrology to our Western version and, I feel, needs more than a book to learn. "Tibetan Astrology" is certainly a book for the more confident and experienced astrologer.

This is why I would recommend this book to be used as a reference in conjunction with some type of educational course. This is simply because of the complex nature of the topic.

The author has done exceptionally well in presenting the complicated Eastern theories to the Western mindset and should be congratulated on this achievement. But again, I think it is too complicated to learn from a book (or maybe I should just have another coffee to get my brain moving along!).

In summary, if you are looking for a challenge in your quest for astrological knowledge you've hit the jackpot!