nitrodamus asked this question on 1/11/2000:

"Well said! Personally, I have a religion because I enjoy the trappings of it--props, elaborate ceremonies, etc., but I don't physically see any god or goddess creating the universe. So in essence I can say I wholeheartedly agree."

Hey that's just fine with me.. As long as a person is aware of the true nature of religion, it doesn't matter what that person does! In fact I like death metal & black metal music because I think it's cool! But of course I don't believe a word of the satanic lyrics. You should look at my inbox! I get daily horoscopes from 3 sources, 1 daily 'tarotscope' and 1 daily numerology forecast.

Why? Because often they give advice, encouragement, and other positive stuff which anyone can use.

Do I believe in astrology? No. Because science has not found any substantial evidence to suggest that a person's life can substantially be influenced by distant planets & stars.

However I do think it's possible that in the future, science may find some evidence to suggest that astrology works. Why do I feel this way? Because I sent my birth info to Jade Wise's astrology website & I got back an email describing my personal characteristics. And I was surprised to say the least. I was amazed that a computer (it was 2 pages long, and they probably get similar requests from hundreds of people every day) could be so exact in describing me. It even said that I was allergic to cigarette smoke and that I had a weak respiratory system (I do).

But you see, I've got an inner core which can only accept information which I think is logically sound. Anything else is total and utter rubbish. That's why I refuse to allow myself to 'believe' in astrology. Until the day when astrology is proven by the scientific method.

minerva gave this response on 1/11/2000:

I cast natal and numerology charts for my friends (with a book and a couple of cd-roms on my computer), and they marvel at their accuracy. The reason why astrology hits home for so many people is that it is based on the same mythology that ancient people based their livelihood upon.

In his book "Tarot Psychology: Handbook for the Jungian Tarot", Robert Wang wrote, "Those who may not 'believe' in astrology should at least be aware that the same medieval society which created Tarot, and which lacked a psychologically-descriptive vocabulary, often used planets to represent types of behavior and personalities."

[Carl Jung, btw, was a Swiss psychiatrist, colleague of Sigmund Freud, who according to many has replaced Freud as the bigwig of modern psychology.]

So whether you look at mythology--and by extension, astrology--as an ancient expression of religious faith, or as the modern archetypes of Jungian psychology (and any self-respecting modern pagan can easily hold both views at once), it is still a tool which enables people to facilitate communication with their instinctive, intuitive self, allowing the left and right side of the brain to work together in resolving our conflicts and achieving our goals.