What Is Astrology?

1. Astrology What Is Astrology? • The belief that the position of the Sun, Moon, and planets influence or are correlated with our lives Some questions that logically arise • At what time should we be looking at these positions? • The position of which object? • Position compared to what?

2. Types of Astrology • At what time should we be looking at these positions? • Natal astrology focuses on the moment of your birth • You can also focus on other important events • The position of which object? • The Sun • The Moon • Other planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune • Other large moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, Triton • Other solar system objects: Ceres, Pluto, Eris, comets, … • Position compared to what? • Tropical Zodiac signs • Sidereal Zodiac signs • Subject • Each other

3. Sidereal Natal Sun-Sign Astrology • View direction of Sun at birth • Deduce constellation behind it • Predict characteristics

4. Saturday, Feb. 6, 1999 at 4:15 pm • Locate the Sun in the sky • Compare to a set of stars that form traditionally recognized constellations • These constellations have sharp boundaries that tell you which constellation you are in

5. Saturday, Apr. 10, 1999 1:07 PM • Different dates have different constellations

6. The Constellations Aren’t “Right”! • If you actually work this out, the actual dates and traditional lists don’t correspond very well • And there’s also an astrological sign that isn’t even included (Ophiucus) • The dates are off due to precession Sign Actual (1961 AD)Astrology Online Capricorn Jan. 18 - Feb. 15 Dec. 22 - Jan. 20 Aquarius Feb. 16 - Mar. 11 Jan. 21 - Feb. 19 Pisces Mar. 12 - Apr. 17 Feb. 20 - Mar. 20 Aries Apr. 18 - May 13 Mar. 21 - Apr. 20 Taurus May 14 - Jun. 20 Apr. 21 - May 21 Gemini Jun. 21 - Jul. 19 May 22 - Jun. 21 Cancer Jul. 20 - Aug. 9 Jun. 22 - Jul. 22 Leo Aug. 10 - Sep. 15 Jul. 23 - Aug. 22 Virgo Sep. 16 - Oct. 30 Aug. 23 - Sep. 23 Libra Oct. 31 - Nov. 22 Sep. 24 - Oct. 23 Scorpio Nov. 23 - Nov. 28 Oct. 24 - Nov. 22 Ophiucus Nov. 29 - Dec. 17 Sagittarius Dec. 18 - Jun. 18 Nov. 23 - Dec. 21

7. Earth’s Precession and Astrological Dates • The Earth precesses, or wobbles like a top, due to forces from the Sun and Moon as it rotates • Over long periods oftime, this causes theseasons to shiftcompared to the apparentposition of the Sun • If you use the actualposition of theSun, you are doingsidereal astrology • If you are using thetraditional dates, you are doing tropical astrology • The experiment we are doing is a test of natal tropical Sun-sign astrology

8. Origin of Astrology • The cycles of day/night and the seasons have governed our actions since ancient times • Most early people were farmers or hunter/gatherers • It was important for ancient people to keep track of seasons • Also, the Sun and Moon were important sources of light • Smart phones (and other calendars) did not exist in ancient times • Hard to keep count of 360 days • The Moon goes through its cycle of phases (New, Waxing, Full, Waning) about every 29-30 days • This is the origin of the concept – and name – of the “month” • Easier to count twelve months than 365 days • Hence people’s lives were governed by the Sun and the Moon • It seemed reasonable that other aspects of the heavens also governed our lives

9. Babylonian Astrology • The Babylonians were among the first to keep detailed records of the heavens • They built special temples called ziggurats to study the heavens • Tower of Babel? • Their number system wasbased on 12’s and 60’s • Hours, minutes, seconds • They thought astrology couldbe used to predict important events • They divided the year into twelveequally spaced zodiacal signs

10. Ptolemy • Ptolemy was a 2nd century Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer and astrologer • He developed theories of the heavens that prevailed until the time of Copernicus (16th century) • He set up the current system of twelve constellations and the dates currently in use • Tropical astrology • At the time, astrology was only used for important events, not individual predictions

11. Medieval Period – Modern Period • Kings and other nobility were getting their horoscopes computed by astrologers • In medieval times, there was a rise of the middle class • These newly wealthy people wanted their horoscopes done as well • In the Renaissance, the idea that anyone could get their horoscope read became popular • Now, horoscopes are used by all kinds of people • Notoriously, Nancy Reagan (wife of RonaldReagan) had a strong interest and belief inhoroscopes • President Ronald Reagan infamously had hisschedule set partly on the basis of which timeswere auspicious/inauspicious for him based onhis horoscope

12. The Complexity of Horoscopes Sun 696,342 Jupiter 69,911 Saturn 58,232 Uranus 25,362 Neptune 24,622 Earth 6,371 Venus 6,052 Mars 3,389 Ganym. 2,634 Titan 2,576 Mercur y 2,440 Callisto 2,410 Io 1,822 Moon 1,737 Europa 1,561 Triton 1,353 Pluto 1,186 • Which astronomical objects should be used for casting horoscopes? • And how should they be used? • There are 16 celestial objects larger and closer than Pluto • Any system that takes into account Pluto (for example), should take all of these into account • You can relate them to the sidereal constellations, tropical constellations, each other, position of the subject, etc. • You can also use the moment of birth, the moment of an event, etc. • This makes possible astrological systems hopelessly complex • Indeed, different astrologers use entirely different and mutually contradictory approaches

13. The Science of Horoscopes • Is there any plausible explanation for how the positions of the planets could affect you? • For example, we know the Moon (and the Sun) cause the tides • This is a gravitational effect on the Earth, because some parts of the Earth are closer to theMoon than others • It turns out, that large objects (likethe Earth) are more affected bytidal forces thansmall objects • Tidal forces alsofall off quickly withdistance ( d– 3)

14. Tidal Forces at Birth • How much tidal effect is there on babies at birth? • Because of its enormous distance, the tidal effects of the Moon on a baby is minuscule • Probably distorts the child’s shape by about 1 nm = 10–9 m • The Sun’s distortion is smaller • All other objects are millions of times smaller • Indeed, the tidal force from the obstetrician is many times larger than the Moon’s

15. Scientific Studies of Astrology? • We are doing a very limited study of astrology • Just checking natal tropical Sun-sign astrology • Serious astrologers believe this is oversimplifying things • But if there’s anythingto astrology, it should still give correlations Serious studies have been done: • Professional astrologers were given exact birth dates, times and locations of a dozen people • They were also given the results of standardized personality tests • They attempted to match the personalities with the birth dates • Result: They did no better than chance Phase of the Moon and crime statistics: • Keep track of phase of moon • Compare against crime statistics • Make test long enough to compensate for weekly phase • Results are indistinguishable from chance

16. Why do People Believe in Astrology? Why do people believe in the accuracy of horoscopes? • Cold reading and charlatans • Anecdotal evidence • Selective memory • Remembering the hits and forgetting the misses • Retrofitting • Explaining how the facts match a vague prediction • Trappings of science • Desire for control in their lives

17. What Makes People Believe Astrological Predictions? • I wrote horoscopes for you before spring break • I got somewhere upwards of 80% success as rated by you What aspects of the horoscope make it believable? • Important: Make it personal • That’s why I included your birthdate • Important: Make it look like I put a lot of effort into it • Positions of all planets • Important: Make it look complicated • Important: Include vague comments anyone can agree with • Not important: Actually individualize it

18. Anecdotal Evidence for Astrology Did Jean Dixon predict the election and assassination of JFK? Documented predictions: • She predicted the 1960 Democrat would win the election – TRUE • She separately predicted the 1960 Republican would win the election – FALSE • She predicted the president would die in office – TRUE • This was not the first time a president died in office • 1841: William Henry Harrison. • 1850: Zachary Taylor. • 1865: Abraham Lincoln. • 1881: James A. Garfield. • 1901: William McKinley. • 1923: Warren G. Harding. • 1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt. • In fact, at the time, 7/33 presidents (21%) had died in office

19. The Trappings of Science in Astrology • Most people confuse the science of astronomy (study of the heavens) with astrology (making predictions based on the heavens) • Astrology in many ways tries to make itself look like science • Detailed use of many variables • Technical terms and usage • Astronomy is in many ways a highly reliable science • We wish we could predict our future personal future with the same certainty Astronomy Few causes Not too complex No surprises Can predict the future Astrology Many causes Very complex Many surprises Want to predict the future