Friday, October 3, 2008

Belief in Astrology

I believe in Astrology. I don’t believe in astrologers. I believe that stars, planets and constellations can affect my fortune on earth. I don’t believe that we can predict it. I believe that something can be done to change the fortune. I don’t believe that anyone knows what. I don’t believe that effect is limited to place and time of birth but is continuous. I suspect that effect is too small to matter much.

Sun causes weather. Earth’s revolution causes seasons. Moon causes tides. Man is made of elements of universe. Man is composed of all the same atoms which are part of the cosmos. Atoms of cosmos relate to each other through four primary forces: electromagnetic force, gravitational force, weak force, strong force. Of these, weak and strong forces work only at infinitesimally short distances and electromagnetic force is absent due to electrical neutrality of man as whole. But gravity, weakest of all four forces, still affects.

It is not illogical to think that atoms of my body — which constitute chemicals, cells, hormones, therefore, my thinking, feelings, reactions, therefore, my actions, consequences, and future — are acted upon by all other atoms of the world, including those of massive stellar bodies. When moon can attract water of oceans, it can attract water in my body too. Given that there are massive and numerous objects in sky, it is correct to assume that there must be some impact of them to me. Hence I believe in notion of astrology.

It is also reasonable to believe that impact is likely to be infinitesimally small, is very complex to understand and measure, and is extremely impossible to forecast and predict, but if understood, is reversible too. Hence I don’t believe in astrologers or their doom sayings.

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