Post: #1

Disclaimer: I take all of this with a grain of salt.

Recently I discovered a website that does your natal chart that revealed a significant amount of stuff that well, makes me uncomfortable.

It pegged my relationship with my mother and father very on point. It gave me some pointers for self improvement (which I already knew) and even more so told me things that I should focus on and be careful with.

Most of it hasn't told me anything I didn't know already, but the results have really helped me find an inner peace. A part of me wants to believe in free will, but still naval gazing has an interesting quality to it.

The website I've been using is this:
http://grupovenus.com

Hit english.

The one you want to click is "Birth chart interpretation". For an effective reading, you will need your birthday, birth place, and time of birth. For time, my mother told me I was born at 8:00 , but my birth certificate says 7:48. The that 12 minute difference didn't change much, but it did point out my affinity for religion

I know this is a forum for self improvement, so use this at your discretion. It helped me get some clarity on what I should work on.

Post: #2

This is the most elegant debunking of astrology I have seen.

http://www.funny-videos.co.uk/videoderre...trick.html

Can't link to the YouTube version of the clip since Channel 4 keeps taking it down.

Derren Brown is a genius by the way.

Post: #3

Astrology is a conundrum for me. I find that it is accurate most times and is a good predictor of behaviour as well. Why? I don't know, and I know that it shouldn't matter.

However, I was gifted a book once called "Sextrology" which is essentially 10 pages of sex and appearance related preferences by sign based on gender along with the usual personality stuff. I would always read up on a girl before she came over and of course leave it out on the coffee table (my sign essentially says I'm a masculine sex machine) the girl almost always picks it up and you can see the hamster running and the wheels (panties) being greased while they peruse (while I'm getting them a drink).

I also have always loved palm reading kino.

Post: #4

(11-12-2013 02:26 PM)wiscanada Wrote:  Astrology is a conundrum for me. I find that it is accurate most times and is a good predictor of behaviour as well. Why? I don't know, and I know that it shouldn't matter.

However, I was gifted a book once called "Sextrology" which is essentially 10 pages of sex and appearance related preferences by sign based on gender along with the usual personality stuff. I would always read up on a girl before she came over and of course leave it out on the coffee table (my sign essentially says I'm a masculine sex machine) the girl almost always picks it up and you can see the hamster running and the wheels (panties) being greased while they peruse (while I'm getting them a drink).

I also have always loved palm reading kino.

Mine said the same thing. Basically gave me the, "You're a leader, you like amorous relationships, and the opposite sex wants you bad."

It's nice hearing it because most people are followers. I always doubted my ability to lead.

Post: #5

Wait? You mean that when a system tells you truisms about yourself that make you feel good and you find it intriguing and tempting to believe?

Hearing her speak up about her interest in astrology is about the quickest way a hottie can fail my boner test.

Post: #6

Astrology is very vague and usually most people can relate to it. It's like a fortune cookie. You can read it and think, "wow, that applies to me." But it probably also applies to 90% of other people reading it too. I remember a study where a horoscope was passed out to a class and something like 90% of the class thought theirs was accurate, but it was all the same horoscope. Astrology is a bag of crap just like religion.

Post: #7

Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit.

Post: #8

have seen some stuff about numerology, really interesting correlations with the number 11

Post: #9

Anyone who thinks astrology is BS just hasn't researched it enough.

Forget most of the junk astrology you've seen and dive into the topic a little deeper. That's what I did and it's my best and most useful tool when it comes to figuring people out.

But I'm no expert

Post: #10

(11-12-2013 12:57 PM)frenchie Wrote:  Recently I discovered a website that does your natal chart that revealed a significant amount of stuff that well, makes me uncomfortable.

Mine was about 80% wrong. The few things it got right were vague shots in the dark that would probably be true of a large percentage of people anyway.

Post: #11

I am an avid researching and have enough knowledge to say that Astrology is very real. And all of those dismissing astrology without even an ounce of knowledge is both arrogant and ignorant.

Why it is no longer acceptable to say astrology is rubbish on a scientific basis.

"Astrology is the study of the correlation between the positions and movements of celestial bodies and life and physical processes on Earth. Though some astrologers work with stars and constellations, western astrologers work with the Sun, the Moon and the planets (including Pluto) within the Solar System."

For all of those people that say it isn't accurate that is because you time is off or you have gotten a reading off the internet(which was meant for a large audience therefore a lot of it is generalized). It is noted that you must put in your exact time of Birth including minutes to have an accurate reading(5 minutes can shift your ascendant for example or one of you planets to the next house, thus giving you a way less accurate reading).

(11-12-2013 07:34 PM)MSW2007 Wrote:  Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit.

Just by you posting pictures of Neptune in correlation to luck just shows that you have no knowledge of astrology and therefore cannot produce a valid debate.

In astrology, Jupiter(to a greater degree), Sun, Mars and Venus(to a less degree), and also the houses 9, 5, and 1 represent Luck AND if any of the planets are in retrograde during your exact time of birth. However, Neptune does not represent luck but spirituality, dreams, illusions, imagination, idealism and visions(a lot of artists or creative individuals have a strong Neptune).

(11-13-2013 04:07 AM)Inspired Wrote:  Anyone who thinks astrology is BS just hasn't researched it enough.

Forget most of the junk astrology you've seen and dive into the topic a little deeper. That's what I did and it's my best and most useful tool when it comes to figuring people out.

But I'm no expert

I agree, Astrology is a very complex field and most people are closed-minded and do not even have enough "base" knowledge to dismiss it. For all of the people who have not looked into astrology and dismiss it are arrogant and ignorant.

(11-13-2013 04:34 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

(11-12-2013 12:57 PM)frenchie Wrote:  Recently I discovered a website that does your natal chart that revealed a significant amount of stuff that well, makes me uncomfortable.

Mine was about 80% wrong. The few things it got right were vague shots in the dark that would probably be true of a large percentage of people anyway.

That is because you exact time of birth is probably off, and not to mention that fact that you got a reading off the internet(which is meant for a large audience of people so it is not individualized). All of the avid practitioners and skilled astrologers does an individual chart reading and can never be found on the internet. Everyone's chart is different, I repeat no two birth charts in history have every matched, that is because every human being is different.

Post: #12

Serious question. How are the planets supposed to predict you future? Is this some kind of magical pagan idea? Just curious as to what the idea behind astrology is.

Post: #13

Astrology is for women.

Post: #14

(11-13-2013 01:52 PM)cardguy Wrote:  Serious question. How are the planets supposed to predict you future? Is this some kind of magical pagan idea? Just curious as to what the idea behind astrology is.

The simplified answer is: Transits, and correlation of planets in reference to your natal chart can predict upcoming events that has yet to happen.

A lot of people think that where they are or what they are doing right now is by choice, it is and it isn't a the same time. An analogy I would use is, picture you reading a novel and you are on page 50, you do not know what happens at the end of the book but it doesn't mean it has not already been written.

You just haven't read or lived up to that point yet so you think that everything is happening is random or by choice but in fact it has already by mapped out.

"Though we don’t know how it works physically, astrology is not a faith. You can experience, observe and know how it applies first hand. There are sound reasons why it has proved so difficult to test the real practice of astrology under scientific conditions and why so many tests have been flawed. However, there are simple experiments that have shown that there is a scientific basis to the fundamental premise of astrology even though the practice is more of an art than rarely scientific."

http://www.astrologer.com/tests/basisofa...#mechanism

Post: #15

It is weird. But astrology says our future is fixed.

What is interesting is that Albert Einstein said the same thing. As a consequence of his work in Relativity. He said we were all giant extended slabs of meat in which every action we will ever take is already 'present' in space-time. Imagine the way a person 'blurs' when they move fast - so that it seems they are in more than one place at the same time.

I think that is right. I am no expert. But it is funny because Einstein and Astology are saying similar things. Even though I don't believe in Astology - and I am sure Einstein didn't either.

Here are some quotes from Einstein about his 4-dimenstional view of reality:

Quote:Surprising as it may be to most non-scientists and even to some scientists, Albert Einstein concluded in his later years that the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. In 1952, in his book Relativity, in discussing Minkowski's Space World interpretation of his theory of relativity, Einstein writes:

Since there exists in this four dimensional structure [space-time] no longer any sections which represent "now" objectively, the concepts of happening and becoming are indeed not completely suspended, but yet complicated. It appears therefore more natural to think of physical reality as a four dimensional existence, instead of, as hitherto, the evolution of a three dimensional existence.

Einstein's belief in an undivided solid reality was clear to him, so much so that he completely rejected the separation we experience as the moment of now. He believed there is no true division between past and future, there is rather a single existence. His most descriptive testimony to this faith came when his lifelong friend Besso died. Einstein wrote a letter to Besso's family, saying that although Besso had preceded him in death it was of no consequence, "...for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."

Post: #16

I know people who are astrologers and they can be devastatingly accurate.

For myself, I most just pay attention to the times of the year when it is mercury retrograde.

http://astrology.about.com/od/advancedas...yRetro.htm

Post: #17

Post: #18

I studied astrology for the hell of it in high school, even did natal charts for myself and other people.

The thing about astrology, is that it relies a lot on archetypes and 'common grounds of experience' that to some extent we all participate in.

It was interesting to note that astrology is very much an allegory for life experience in general.

That said, I soon realised that I could explain away pretty much any error I made in the chart by finding a conjunction that could explain away the error. A well made astrology chart can fit any personality/destiny provided that you find the correct conjunctions. It is therefore impossible to make an erroneous chart if you have enough astrology knowledge. It helps that astrological houses, signs and planets have vague, drawn out meanings that reflect the entirety of human experience, so they will never be wholly inaccurate (and, importantly, hardly ever very specific).

So if some people say astrology is accurate, well, more power to them. But I've had a look at the engine and once you understand how it works, it's not about mysticism or the stars so much as an alternative way of exploring human psychology through allegory and archetypes.

Once I understood it, I gave up on it, although the bullshitting involved, and the way people would absorb everything I said like it was the gospel, gave me some insight in human psychology, so I guess it was not a total loss. I was also into palmistry at the time (which people seemed to like more) and that eventually paid off when I started using Roosh's recommendation to palm read on dates (which made me feel stupid in a 'why didn't I think of that?' way).

Problem with astrology, is that although it's chick crack, it's kind of awkward to pull out a table of ephemeries and start drawing planets and conjunction lines on a star chart. I do sometimes make it a game to guess a girl's star sign and then bullshit about how her personality matches her sign, but that's pretty much all astrology has done for me in terms of useful game tools.

I think astrology also harnesses the power of randomness and optionality in human life, as Taleb describes in Antifragile when he talks about oracles. If it forces you to analyse your life choices and not be stuck in a pattern of living every day the same way, then astrology I suppose is a good thing.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, another convenient trick in interpreting a chart: if you know something about the person you are interpreting, it's usually quiet easy to ignore any part of the chart that doesn't fit in with the narrative. You can easily focus on the parts of the chart that agree with the person's history/personality. Most people aren't trained in astrology so they wouldn't notice/realise that you're ignoring half the chart. If they do point out a planet that seems to be pointing out something that is completely wrong, it can usually be explained away via conjunctions with the parts of the chart that are correct.

Post: #19

Post: #20

(11-13-2013 01:52 PM)cardguy Wrote:  Serious question. How are the planets supposed to predict you future? Is this some kind of magical pagan idea? Just curious as to what the idea behind astrology is.

The position of the sun and moon determine the tides. Women's menstrual cycles are, on average, almost exactly the same as the lunar cycle.

The ancient pagans virtually all had some sort of worship or venerance for the sun, moon, planets and stars in the sky. They were also more inclined to believe in fatalism.

Post: #21

There might be something to it as I have seen too many coincidences and a few scientific studies that make you wonder, but having studied astrology as a hobby in the past my conclusion is that traditional methods and interpretations are largely wrong.