Ideal Astrology

One way of looking at Astrology is as a underlying ideal of reality.  What is referred to here is simply to distinguish between the every day reality that you are used to perceiving and the underlying reality that could govern or influence your daily reality.  An example of this would be your emotions.  We do not see our emotions in our daily world, yet they color our perceptions of it.  Through personal subjective observation we can become more aware of our underlying emotions.  In the same way, it may be argued that we can come to realize the underlying reality of all things, if it so exists.

Classically speaking, the philosophy of the underlying reality is called “Idealism.”  Idealism is usually attributed to Plato, and it is possible that Pythagoras, the Orphics, Egyptians, Hebrews,Persians, Hindus and other ancient cultures had a similar concept of a reality which governs and underlies the reality that we perceive. To simplify the subject we can say that our modern concept of science is mostly concerned with all that can be sensed by our own body’s senses.  This would be called exoteric science.  Idealism is an attempt to describe a reality that cannot be sensed by our body’s senses, but only by our mind and / or spirit (if such a thing exists).  In modern parlance we may refer to Archetypes, and this would be a similar concept as an Ideal.  When Socrates was a young boy he discussed about the “Ideal” with Parmenides.  This discussion was recorded by Plato in his dialogue named Parmenides.  Plato further describes his concept of the ideal in the Timeus.  As a side note, the rational scientist may consider that some areas of modern exoteric science cannot be sensed by the human senses, and as such must be strictly defined as part of Esoteric Science.  Magnetic Fields and Radio Waves are two such examples.  A modern theory of Astrological and Magical influence would likely include consideration of such “Esoteric” forces.

I would place Astrology as one of the most detailed philosophies of the Idealists.  Astrology also seems related to the Magian religion of Zurvanism, and the Dionysian and Orphic religious perspectives.  A common feature of these views relates to the underlying nature of reality and the supreme influence of “Fate or Time.” Gautama the Buddha seems to agree with these perspectives with his observation of Karma as a supreme reality.  Astrology is the only way that I know of to actually see the cycles of potential Fate or Karma effecting our personal reality.

To gain the most insightful and complete description of Astrology we may want to know more about the underlying ideal that it depends on.  Also paramount to  our Astrological discoveries is a true appreciation and comprehension of the true history and tradition of Astrology as it is.  If we are open minded in our researches we may discover that not all astrologers of the past agreed with one another.  There was likely a fierce philosophical debate about Astrological correspondences amongst the Astrological priests of the past.  This debate may be unresolved and generally unrecognized by the modern Astrologers of today.

Because I am using the philosophical concepts of Idealism in my Astrology practice I call my practice “Ideal Astrology.”