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Questions of Faith
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Father Wilmer Todd
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The church and astrology
Last month we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany where the Magi from the east followed a star to find the child Jesus. The Magi were astrologists who studied the movement of the stars and their application to life. Why does the church condemn astrology today?
Before I answer the question, I want to tell you my favorite Boudreaux/ Thibodeaux joke.
Boudreaux and Thibodeaux went on a camping trip. After an enjoyable meal cooked on their camp fire, they were tired, so they set up their tent and went to bed. Some hours later, Thibodeaux wakes his faithful friend. “Boudreaux, look up at the sky, and tell me what you see.”
Boudreaux replies, “I see millions of stars.”
“What does that tell you?”
Boudreaux ponders for a minute. “Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time-wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it is evident the Lord is all powerful, and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?”
Thibodeaux is silent for a moment, then says, “Boudreaux, you’re dumber than I thought; it means someone stole our tent.”
Stars have a magical, mysterious character. A starlit night can evoke a sense of wonder and awe. On this past Christmas the James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space to study the stars and the beginning of the universe. This space telescope was developed by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency at the cost of 10 billion USD.
The thought of high-poweredtelescopes looking for how the world began and the presence of black holes sweeping up matter in the universe deepens this notion of mystery. It’s no wonder that our ancestors regarded the stars as pointing to God’s activity in creation.
The following is NASA’s description of the logic that led to the creation of the familiar zodiac signs we know today: “Imagine a straight line drawn from Earth through the sun and out into space way beyond our solar system where the stars are. Then, picture Earth following its orbit around the sun. This imaginary line would rotate, and point to different stars throughout one complete trip around the sun or one year. All the stars that lie close to the imaginary flat disk swept out by this imaginary line are said to be in the zodiac. The constellations in the zodiac are simply the constellations that this imaginary straight line points to in its year-long journey.”
What is the difference between astrology and astronomy? For centuries, astrology (looking for signs based on the movement of the celestial bodies) was considered the same thing as astronomy (the scientific study of those objects). For example, revolutionary 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, who studied the motion of the planets, was at the time considered an astrologer. That changed around the beginning of the Enlightenment in the late 17th century.
Copernicus (1473-1543) was not the first person in “modern times” to claim that the Earth rotates around the sun. After Sir Isaac Newton (16431727) invented the reflecting telescope in 1688, it soon became clear that the Earth was not the center of our solar system. That started a new scientific approach to looking at the sky and the motion of planets.
That is the point at which astronomy became known as a science, and astrology was acknowledged as not a science. A recent National Science Foundation poll found more than half the millennials think astrology is a science. Even if astrology’s answers are not based on scientific study, the reason people keep turning to the sky for answers is the human phenomenon for self-selection, the search for interpretations that match what we already hope to be true.
The Catholic Church teaches that reading, consulting, and drawing horoscopes, interpreting omens, and consulting mediums or psychics “all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and in the final analysis, other human beings.” They are considered violations of the First Commandment because they “contradict the honor, respect and loving fear we owe to God alone” (CCC 2116).
The belief of astrologists is that we are born into a zodiac sign, and our personality stems from being born on that day. The Bible is clear that God created us, and the almighty gives us our personalities. The psalmist says, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139: 13-14). God has made each person unique. We are all endowed with different gifts and different missions. No one else on earth is like you. Use your gifts and talents wisely. BC
