Plato and Aristotle, who lived during the fifth and fourth centuries BC, accepted the astrologers

belief in the influence of the stars Galen born in AD 130, who was to become the father of experimental physiology wrote a book on prognostication of disease by astrology. He believed that the position of stars played an important role in the dosage off medicine to be prescribed. The brilliant mathematician and inventor, Giroliamo Cardon 1501 was also an astrologer. Carl Jung, the well-known psychoanalyst, wrote a book entitled The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, in which he said: had the astrologers (with but few exceptions) concerned themselves more with statistics and questioned the justice of their interpretation in a scientific spirit, they would have discovered long ago that their statements rested on precarious foundation. Jung himself carried out a statistical survey, one of his few scientific endeavors, on astrology and married couples. Clearly the Western astrology was lacking and could not have stood the statistical and scientific tests when Jung organized the survey. In 1970 a questionnaire about an astrological study was sent to 1000 members of the American Psychological Association, chosen at random. The psychologists were asked to rate the quality and the scientific merit of the study, which was concerned with the question of whether planets at birth are related to subsequent vocation. It is alleged that incorrect and manipulated results were presented by vested interests. Determined more by prejudice than a genuine desire for knowledge, 186 scientists and 18 Nobel prize winners signed on a document without even caring to scientifically examine based on the principle of certainty and quite forgetting the statement of Herbert Spencer There is no bar to knowledge greater than contempt prior to examination. In 1975, an advertisement in the renowned American Journal "The Humanist" condemned astrology. The publication sparked interest among journalists, and BBC reporters wanted to interview some of the Nobel Prize winners concerning their own personal views regarding astrology. However, they refused to be interviewed, the reason being that they had not looked into the matter in any detail. In 1977 a Gallup poll reported that over 30 million Americans believed in astrology. The inappropriateness of such learned scientists attempting to combat astrology by using the weight of their academic reputations has been criticized by the eminent philosopher of science, Paul Feyerabend. Feyerabend suggests that the fifteenth century Roman Catholic Church made a more cogent argument against witchcraft (in the classic Malleus Malificarium) than the skeptics were able to make against the underlying principles of astrology. He poses an interesting rhetorical question : Why 186 signatures if one has arguments? Where does one draw the line? Can both the proponents and skeptics of astrology be wrong"? Arthur M. Young, when asked one evening, why he found astrology of relevance today, Young stated it very simply, Astrology connects us to the realm of mythos. In 1996 astronomers at the Council of German Planetaria called for astrology to be banned in adult education centres. In their declaration they stated that: public educational

establishments which are financed with tax payers money have an obligation to portray astrology as it really is, namely as superstition and a pseudo-religion. Such a degree of intolerance, which runs completely contrary to the spirit of the Enlightenment, is often typical of the opponents of astrology. Among the most common criticisms of astrology, based on ignorance concerning modern astrological practice, are the following : -Western Astrologers work with incorrect constellations (in this respect see precession, tropical zodiac). -Hindus follow the fixed zodiac and consider the precession of eqinoxes. -Apparently, astrologers remain completely unaware of the discovery that the Earth orbits the Sun and not the other way around as was previously widely believed (on this point see geocentric world view). The secret and trick of astrology is simply the way in which it combines the unrelated and isolated rational spheres of social psychology with astronomy but it is just that unconnectedness. It needs to appreciated that astrology is more than a science. It is divine science. It can only be understood by people with faith and years of study. Astrologers recognize the role of free will and realize that it is not hundred percent destiny that we are governed by. The stars incline, but they do not compel. They know for these reasons a prediction does not always hit the bulls eye. They are able to understand the nuance of a fuzzy prediction, without a specific yes or no. This quality and texture of a fuzzy prediction is difficult for the unidimensionally scientific and statistical mind to appreciate. Astrology constitutes not the beginning but revival of a science. It can be said with a fair amount of confidence that with the present day emphasis on replicable research, astrology can stand the statistical and scientific test with a greater degree of success now than in the past few hundred years.