The actual planets are not mystical fires in the sky manifesting the powers of the ancient gods, they are worlds more or less like our own earth. Our moon and our sun are of course not planets, and it is interesting that astrologers never noticed the presence of the planets Uranus and Neptune, and dwarf planet Pluto, much less the larger asteroids, and the very large moons of the giant planets, until they were discovered by astronomers!  The actual and real constituents of our solar system are largely completely ignored by astrologers.  Is there a large planet or dwarf planet beyond Pluto?  If so, why haven't astrologers detected it thousands of years ago, as something missing in the horoscope??

border="0">

Astrological lore has put forward over the past 2000 years many different (about 50!) house systems, and most astrologers are dimly aware of at least 20 completely different systems. The various systems differ most often in how the axis of the slice system is oriented relative to the ecliptic, the horizon or the equator. In interpreting horoscopes, the 12 house divisions are generally given equal weight with the 12 zodiac divisions. However, in some house systems, the houses scarcely project onto the ecliptic at all! Nearly every one of the different house systems results in a completely different horoscope for an individual! The result is that in the general case, no two different astrologers will create anything even remotely resembling the same horoscope for the same individual.

The infinite immensity and grandeur of our universe is reduced to a moronic and totally random imaginary clockwork focused entirely on the purely selfish concerns of the paying customer. ``What would be the best day for me to go to the dentist?" ``When will I meet the man of my dreams?" "Would I benefit by a career change?" Etc., etc., etc. It is sad and depressing to think that anyone could ever find any aspect of reality to be contained within astrology, but customers say the only thing important is the reading, the personal attention and advice the astrologer gives to his or her client.  Where else can you find that solace?

Perhaps the best way to appreciate that astrology is a random number generator, not a procedure connected to the real world, is to consider the phenomenon of precession of the equinoxes. Because the spin axis of the earth rotates in space (due to torques exerted on the rigid earth by sun and moon) the point at which the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic shifts continually. When the astrology books of classical antiquity were written, the astrological ``sign" of Aries was taken to have its boundary start at the intersection, but this point has now shifted across the constellation Pisces, headed toward Aquarius! The boundaries of the various constellations are arbitrary, and have also changed over time by international agreement between astronomers. But the problem now is that the astrological sign of Aries is nowhere near the actual constellation Aries. Astrologers have thus divided into two opposing factions, one of which stays with the sign, and the other of which stays with the actual constellation! How anyone could think that anything astrologers do makes sense in terms of any aspect of physical reality baffles all scientists, but the question really is a question of psychological need.

Ancient Greek astronomers such as Ptolemy recognized a number of constellations still totally unknown even to ``modern" astrologers. For example, there is one dim constellation that occupies a significant slice of the Zodiac in late November - early December, namely Ophiuchus! The constellation boundaries are generally completely arbitrary straight lines established by international convention... the vast majority of astrologers, following essentially magical rituals established long ago, ignore this and all other similar complications, although they render astrology invalid, even taken in its own terms.

A final note... when I examined many published horoscopes for specific individuals many years ago I noticed that in general they did not contain actual predictions. Instead, every one of them adopted a tone and style very similar to your mother talking to you... ``Don't hang out with those losers at the street corner, find a better set of friends." ``Visit that new store you have wanted to visit... you may find something there that you really need but have never thought of."