Is astrology real? Does your astrology chart have anything to do with how good you are in magick?
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Astrology is heavily subjective, as in itās real if you give power to it.
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Just seen a documentary yesterday. I already forgot some details but indeed it looks like science didnāt find proofs to astrology, example: 2 groups of people and, amongst them, astrological characteristics didnāt seem to make an actual difference.
I can feel shifts such as when Scorpio season begins etc, in a tangible way. Often I wonāt know about it beforehand and look it up afterwards, but I felt it 100%. So I have to say in my experience it is real whether you acknowledge it or not. That being said you donāt have to obsess over charts and let it rule your life.
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One study does not equal all of science. The scientific process is pure, but the scientific institution is human, and therefore flawed. Anything controversial is not going to be seriously studied by anyone who has a career they donāt want to lose.
Thinking of astrology, remember the planets in our solar system are made up with different mineral content than the earth, some of them very high in heavy metals. Do you think nothing would be affected at all if you swung a giant magnet past the earth? Oversimplification of course, but thatās essentially what mercury retrograde is.
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Itās real to those who practice it, but doesnāt really seem to hold much water to those who donāt.
Science has shown that the other planets in our solar system exert a subtle influence on our own through imperceptible gravitational affects and the like, but their energetic influence on our physical and mental makeup and magick areā¦minuscule at best.
No, it does not. If it did, then how could anyone possibly become a " living god" if their magick is dependent on whatever external astronomical bodies happened to randomly be in the sky at the moment of their birth?
As Shakespeare wrote in his play Julius Caesar four hundred years ago: āThe fault, dear Brutus, likes not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.ā In other words, you and you alone are responsible for the actions you decide to take or not take and the consequences thereof. You can have, be, and do, whatever you want, if you have but the will to act. Your āstarsā are no excuse.
And to throw another quote in there, this time from pop culture: In the movie Batman begins, Bruce Wayne makes an excuse as to why his father didnāt make an effort to stop the man from shooting him and his wife, and Raās Al Guhl asks if it would have stopped him. When Bruce replies that it is different because he has had training, Raās retorts with: āThe training is nothing! The will is everything! The will to act.ā
As far as astrology is concerned, it could be rephrased as āThe stars are nothing! The will is everything. The will to act.ā
Considering that, scientifically speaking, Mercury retrograde is actually an optical illusion created by the differences in orbit between Mercury and Earth that makes it seem like the planet is travelling backwards in its orbit around the sun, this analogy doesnāt make sense because the planet is actually no closer to us than it usually is. And since it is an optical illusion, itās effect is solely dependent on our perception of it. If not viewed from the position of Earth, Mercury retrograde doesnāt actually exist.
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If it were simply a magnetic force then each planet would give more or less the same effect, instead Jupiter is said to bring prosperity in the physical world, Mercury affects the mind and is also pure motion, Venus is love and joy, Mars is destruction or the collapse of structure. Nor would it really matter much what constellation they appear to be in from our point of view. Mars in Aries is very different from Mars in Scorpio. Then there is also the issue of imaginary points such as the Lot of Fortune, Lot of Spirit, and Black Moon, which arenāt actual objects but are believed to have a powerful effect in astrology.
Iāll add two of my previous posts on this subject:
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Planets are most certainly not always the same distance away from usā¦
I do agree though that astrology has no bearing on ones magickal potential
You are correct. However, they are never so close as to exert any noticeable effect upon our planet. The only astrological body that exerts any real, observable, effect upon the earth is the moon, the gravity of which affects the oceanās tides, and the sun, which, being a nuclear furnace par excellence, puts out more radiation than a billion of our most powerful bombs.
Basically, everything in this thread can be summed up as āAstrology is as real as you believe it to be. It is your perception that makes it so.ā
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I tend to believe in astrology as a viable powerā¦and that includes the moonā¦Iām surprised no one has brought that upā¦apologies if someone did and I missed itā¦on my cell in a work meetingš¤£. But it feels to me that planetary conditions could add some juice to magic. As far as my astrological birth chart determining my
destiny, I second DK completely.
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Cassius is such a turd. Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!
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I guess we could say that about a lot of the things that we perceive. Any way I donāt really obsess over astrology that much so Iām not trying to change anyoneās mind, just adding my thoughts to the discussion. Iām not sure that I agree that the energy of other planets canāt be perceived during certain transits and retrogrades, but I donāt care that much anyway tbh.
I will say it doesnāt surprise me that experienced magicians donāt think astrology matters, because in my mind doing magick is like attaching a motor to your boat while everyone else just drifts along rudderless. It makes sense that magicians probably would be the type of people least affected.
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It is said that a wise man rules over the stars, but this does not mean that he rules over the influences which come from the stars in the sky. It means that he rules over the powers which exist in his own constitution.
Paracelsus
The funny thing is, it was most likely the educated, and detail oriented, ceremonial magicians that basically created Western astrology and its assorted correspondences. No one else had the knowledge, or the leisure time for that matter, to sit and observe the movements of the planets across the sky, or to do the complex mathematical calculations that were sometimes required.
A ācunning woman,ā or witch, didnāt give a toss about the planets. At most, they paid attention only to the sun and the moon, as those two bodies, being the largest in the sky, had direct effects upon the local harvests. Itās seriously doubtful to me that they would have waited until Friday in the hour of Venus just to do a love spell for some young thing that came to them pining away, for example.
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Its kind of like karma. Pouring belief into it will put you in the system, to repeat the answers given above.
Is astrology real? I mean, there was a time, a long time, that we thought plantes were heavens, and the realm of fixed stars was either the furthest heaven or one before that. Or even worse, we thought Earth was at the center of the universe for a long time.
Planets indirectly affect Earth yes, Jupiter swallowing or changing routes of asteroids is one example. But stuff like changing ones mood or characteristics, because planets or stars aligned in some way? This is certainly a system I donāt wanna shove myself into.
(I know there is more to astrology, just saying)
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On the other hand- Hargrove lays out the formula in Magickal Influenceā¦Practical Jinn Magick too.
It really depends on which way the windās blowing as to where I fall hereā¦which is why I should probably shut up.
The thing is, is that exercising the patience and discipline necessary to calculate and wait for the right time DOES seem like an act of will to me. It is cunning if you ask me- the devil often is in the details.
I know when Iām raging and ready to curseā¦I am very content to bide my time so that I can harness every freakinā ounce of power to throw at the unfortunate soul who has wronged me.
For what itās worth, there is also a shit ton of power in the moment. And if the moment happens to be at 10 AM and in the āwrongā planet, oh fuckin well. Let the lightning fly
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Yet, he doesnāt in Goetia Pathworking or Demons of Deception, books based on the Goetia, and the Theurgia-Goetia, both of which are part of the Lesser Key of Solomon, and use astrological observance in its traditional method. 
It can be, if approached with that mindset, rather than the usual āOh no, i did my money spell on Saturday instead of Thursday so now itās not going to work 'cause the planets are all wrongā line of thinking.
I personally think magick can be done any time and anywhere, and astrological timing, or planetary correspondences might add a bit of nuance, but are far from absolutely necessary or mandatory.
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Depends on what kind of astrology and what aspects of it you are talking about.
In western astrology the 1st point of focus is the sun or the soul and it uses a different set of calculations to pull its references from.
Where as vedic astrology the first point of focus is the rising sign = the self, followed by the moon= the mind, followed by the sun = the soul.
As to can it have an effect on what magick you can do?
I would say no since that isnāt the point of it. It is a tool of insight and as such can be an aid in showing where natural resistances and strengths are in terms of what aspects of life may push back more against magical operations verses those that seem to flow as easily as a river down hill.
In vedic astrology it has many uses one of which is working out which energies are helping or hindering and which need to be balanced through rituals, actions, mantra ect. It is a way of building a dynamic balance in your reality. Ideally with you heading toward your ideal life.
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In this way it can be used both as a tool and integer in various elemental or planetary operations with many pantheons.
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And I think this is where I fall too. I just know when Iām pissed, I get greedy for every advantage I can getā¦ 
Interesting point in differentiating the Goetia from other spirits as far as Hargrove goes. Maybe cuz Pathworking is more recent and heās evolved/changed???
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