THE SCHOOL OF AGELESS WISDOM Astrochemistry
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An Experiment Using Astrological Meanings and Astronomical Dates Please be advised that there are no professional or dedicated amateur astrologers or astronomers in the School of Ageless Wisdom. Many students have been influenced by the Alice Bailey writings and the Agni Yoga series of books, as well as the work of Guy Ottewell, an astronomer at Furman University. Several years ago, in the course of their astrological and astronomical studies, students at the School of Ageless Wisdom found some interesting, yet perplexing facts:
• First, astrologers do not take the precession of the equinox into account when they determine which constellation is presently behind the Sun.• Also, astrologers base their computations on the thought that the zodiacal constellation are identical in size, i.e., one twelfth of the year or 30º of the ecliptic.
• And third, astrologers think that our ecliptic passes through twelve constellations, whereas astronomers observe that our ecliptic now passes through thirteen. The Sun is between the Earth and the constellation Ophiuchus from the end of November to around the 17th of December.
When we asked professional astrologers why this discrepancy exists, we got the less than satisfying answer "Because we have always done it that way."
One of the Alice Bailey books, Esoteric Astrology, points out that we are in a "transitional period" in astrology and that today's astrologers are challenged by working under the "Great Illusion". While the Great Illusion is multifaceted, it is in part fostered by our individual and Earthbound perspective. We used to believe that the Sun and all the heavens rotated around the stationary Earth. The science of astronomy helped us realize that that is an illusory view and that it only looks that way because the Earth rotates. The Earth's rotation is commonly accepted today and thus a little of the physical part of the Great Illusion has ceased for us.
The School of Wisdom is experimenting with helping to end another physical/temporal part of the Great Illusion. The constellation behind the Sun has an enhanced influence on our planet and all its kingdoms. The crux of our experiment is to use the astronomically determined position and size of the constellation (the period when our Sun appears physically between the Earth and the constellation) rather than the traditional astrological system. Simply put, when we say the Sun is "in" a constellation, we mean the time when that is physically observable.
Another part of the experiment is to attempt to see how the unique qualities of the constellation behind the Sun influence life on Earth. It would seem that the influence of any constellation would have its greatest observable effect on the whole of Humanity. It would also have some effect on the societal and individual life. This is a rich field to observe the zodiacal influences alive in our world.
We hope we are not under the illusion that somehow this experiment would end all human illusion and erroneous thought about astrology. However, we do think that it is a tiny step in that direction. The School of Wisdom invites anyone who is interested to join in this experiment. We most certainly welcome your suggestions, comments, concerns and questions.
The dates and times used in this experiment are derived from the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell. Many of the astronomical concepts discussed were derived from the Astronomical Companion also by Guy Ottewell. Both can be obtained by contacting the Astronomical Workshop, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, 29613, USA. Their telephone is (803)294-2208.
If you would like to have a calendar which uses astronomically derived dates of the alignment of the Earth and the Sun as it sweeps through our zodiac, you may purchase the School of Ageless Wisdom Calendar. If you would like to view our monthly publication dedicated to bringing meaning to our cyclic experience with zodiacal energies, see Cycles.
