Astrology

Question:

Hi, Rev. Ed. I am writing to ask you about astrology. Lately I have become interested in astrology. I am not in a fundamentalist church now but was raised in one. I struggle with letting go of some of it but I am older now and no parents or children to care for and am amazed about what a different person I am … wow, when I got 60, guess I went crazy. I have always been into mythology and folklore and my grandmother could heal with herbs and done a lot based on the moon. I guess now days that would be a witch; the word sends chills to me. I love nature and have always been interested in the moon and stars. Since I am out of a fundamentalist church now, it has opened the door for my son and I to talk again; see, I raised him that way but he never shared in my thoughts on it. Is a witch translated poisoner in the Bible and why is astrology condemned in the Bible? I do still believe in its words ... could you shed some light on the subject?

Comment:

Probably the primary reason that the Bible is critical of astrology is that it can easily become a violation of the First Commandment: I am the Lord, thy God, and you shall have no false gods before me. To believe that there is a power in the stars and planets is to create a false god—a source for divine guidance separate and apart from the Lord—the Christ Presence of God within each of us.   And yet the Hebrews certainly studied the heavens for signs and guidance. Think of the Christmas Star, for one example. The difference—then and now—has to do with where we understand the Power to be. If astrology—or tarot or crystals or the I Ching or whatever—can help us realize and express our own innate divinity it can be helpful. If we realize that the guidance we seek is within us, and anything else is simply a tool to help us connect with our indwelling Christ, then we can trust the guidance that leads us to a specific tool. But if we find ourselves giving away our own Power, believing that the power is really in the tool, then we are creating obstacles to our spiritual growth and expression.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed