Wednesday, March 8, 2017Astrology and Comparative Religion |
The proposition we are musing over here today: the possibility that all major religions are inherently astrological, in ways not heretofore considered. I am no expert in comparative religion, so this post is more on the lines of the musings of a dilettante rather than a fully-fledged theory presented by a lifelong scholar. That said, it's conceivable that some of the ideas presented here may form the basis of a compelling theory in the future, to be put forth by persons more knowledgeable than my (current) self. Given what we can now say about the function and importance of the astrological Pallas (fleshed out in this blog and accompanying web site), it may now be possible to group major world religions into three broad astrological categories. These are: Polytheistic, Lunar, and Palladian. Polytheistic ReligionsThere are probably countless polytheistic (multi-deity) religions, but there is a discernible pattern among the main three with which I am familiar (Greek/Roman, Norse, Hinduism). You probably know already: nearly all the deities in these systems directly correlate with astrological planetary archetypes. For the most part, astrological planets are the gods in these systems. These religions, then, are explicitly astrological in nature without further explanation.Lunar ReligionsIn astrology, the Moon rules home and family, but also race, tribe, and culture. In Lunar religions, there is a single deity whose primary function is to protect, guide, and facilitate the continued existence/spread/dominance of a specific tribe and its beliefs and culture. While these religions may have ethical codes such as in the Palladian religions, these are generally secondary to the well-being of the tribe which the religion defines. Primary examples here are Judaism and Islam (some say "Allah" is actually "al Illah", an actual Moon god. If we expand our definition of religion to include any set of beliefs reliant on faith (and not evidence and reason), we might also include socio-political philosophies such as nationalism and ethno-nationalism in the Lunar religion category. The astrological Moon, in my experience, also rules these ideologies.Palladian ReligionsIn astrology, there are three main planetary energies which govern this category of religion. The Sun represents (among many other things) achievement, self-expression, radiance, goodness, generosity, and Divinity itself. Pluto represents (among other things) an opposite pole: death, destruction, uncontrolled passion, and evil. In Western philosophy, these poles have been described as the Apollonian-Dionysian dichotomy. There is a planet in the horoscope which, in contact with the Sun, represents "good" and when in contact with Pluto, represents "evil". This planet is (of course) Pallas, representing the mind, or intelligence. Pallas therefore represents mankind, as the species on our planet most defined by the quality of intelligence.Palladian religions, then, are religions which see absolutes of "good" and "evil" and which seek to supply a consistent ethical structure to its adherents. For believers of these faiths, there are codes of conduct which apply in their behavior towards other humans, regardless of whether those other humans share their faith. Examples are (from what I can tell), Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Deism, Manicheism, and Satanism. The former five of these require believers to behave ethically towards all fellow humans; the last is a full rejection of all ethics. The Palladian religions appear to be a new development in human history, dating back to (perhaps) the Uranus-Neptune-Pluto triple conjunction of many centuries ago. Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche (if I remember correctly) describes this event as a major turning point in the history of humankind. One of the changes in the human race at this time, then, seems to have been a re-centering of humankind's sense of identification, to that of identifying with intelligence or intellect. With the exception of Satanism and its variants, the Palladian religions (actually, mostly Christianity) seem to be the bedrock upon which our current civilization rests. Christianity (and its brethren) with its emphasis on peaceful co-existence, has been proven to be the most stable religious foundation on which to build a sustainable society thus far. It would probably be a grave mistake for humanity to jettison Christ unless a more compelling alternative came along, or unless we undergo another massive shift in consciousness like the one that occurred 25 centuries ago. I think it is possible, from a purely secular socio-political perspective, to argue that Christ did in fact save the world -- not from Hell after death but from the hell of living among our fellow humans without a consistent and viable ethical code. I don't yet have a theory on "spiritual enlightenment" in the Eastern sense, though I have noticed a complex set of common planetary signatures present in the charts of man persons reported to have attained it. Pallas and two other asteroids seem to be part of this set of signatures. Write to me at "alan" + "@" + "zot.net". Weblog Index Home |