† Hyerotheus, Mitropolitan of Navpakt
Many newspapers and magazines publish horoscopes and many educated men read them.Some do this out of curiosity, others to create a funny atmosphere and the most to find out the future of their life, because they believe these come true. It worth mentioning the fact that few years ago in the USA from 1750 newspapers, 1200 had special columns of astrology.
The horoscopes are descriptions or guidelines given by the astrologists as a result of observing the stars and of the zodiacal signs. The old astrologists noticed that the stars in their apparent motion around the earth describe on the sky a cyclical trajectory. This is called zodiacal trajectory. This trajectory is divided in 12 sections. These sections are called zodiacal signs. Each zodiacal sign has a special name. We must mention that those who discovered the zodiacal signs were the ancient Chaldeans and then the Egyptians and the Greeks took these from them. Saint John Damascene accepting the science of those times writes: `the seven planets pass through the twelve zodiacal signs. The sun is present every month in a zodiacal sign and in twelve months passes through the twelve signs.
The truth is that both the ancient and the new astrology admit that the zodiacal signs guide the life of men. They determine the evolution of our life, of the life of states, of history itself. But Christianity does not accept this. Saint John Damascene mentions the fact that in opposition with the ancient Greeks who believed that the sun, the stars and the zodiacal signs influence our lives, we admit that these determine the climatic conditions, the rain and the drought, the cold and the heat, the dryness and humidity, the winds and all such things, but by no means our deeds, because we were created with a free will by our Creator and we are the masters of that.
We have our freedom that is respected by God since He prefers to let us be doomed out of our free will instead of being saved by force. Because salvation without freedom is slavery. Without freedom there is no virtue, no malice, no praises or rewards.
More than this, according to the same Father if this had been done, God would have been unjust since He gives good things to one and troubles to another. And if this had been true, then God would not have taken care of His creatures.
The Church does not believe in horoscopes, who are considered by many as unreal and absurd and those who make them as dealers of hope because they try to exploit the naivety and hope of people. Science rejects the conclusions of astrology too. Because astronomy, the science that studies the astral world is one thing and something else is astrology that pretends to try to watch the language of the stars. A famous astronomer writes: `In our times there is no astronomer in the whole world to believe in astrology.
The acceptance of the horoscopes by the Christians prove the lack of faith in God or the faith in false things. The man refuses a personal communion with God and accepts such weird and useless things. It is much more preferable if someone believes in God and studies the Holy Scripture that predicts many things about future since God by His wisdom and teaching foretold the future of our life and how to face the different problems that affect us instead of studying the horoscopes. With the Holy Scripture and the patristical teachings we have a real compass inspired by God in our life.
Many false fears and hopes overflooded us. Let us not add more such false fears and hopes by reading and trusting in horoscopes. Why tormenting and oppressing our life? We are free people in our journey to God. Why not going towards Him and why letting these profiteers to chain our freedom and get rich cause of our naivety? If we don’t want to look at this matter from a religious point of view why not taking into account the scientifical one that says according to a psychoanalyst: `astrology is a parody of science that defy science with the same erotical smiles pop art defy academism?`
From the book THE QUALITY OF LIFE
