Astrology is not science, it's a business

Astrology is not science; even calling it pseudo science is over generous. In Lebanon today the business of astrology and the pronouncements of astrologers have metamorphosed from a mere fair ground curiosity, a New Year’s Eve amusement, to a much debated issue. People are taking the words of the soothsayers more seriously than ever before and serious journalists and media are reporting on the utterances of these prognosticators. In compelling video montages local TV channels compare what the soothsayers predicted a year ago with events over the past year in such a way that makes the rational mind question whether there is actually something to this so-called science.

Rest assured all rational and scientific minds, you are not through the looking glass and this is not wonder land. The events and occurrences that the soothsayers appear to have predicted accurately are part of the stock and trade of the side show palm reader. Their secret is to study their subject’s psychology, his fears and his hopes and align their predictions accordingly. We all subconsciously give of cues through our speech, our body language that open a window into our psyche and anyone trained to spot and read those cues can read us pretty well.  This is in the case of individuals.

In the case of predicting events that will or shall befall an entire country it’s far easier. It’s simple to predict what will likely happen over the coming year in Lebanon with reasonable accuracy if you follow the progression of events, political, economic, regional and global and observe their impact on the country and the reactions they generate, its easy to predict with reasonable accuracy what the coming year will bring.

When a prognosticator says that a certain political leader will be in danger, its likely that most people watching already know that that person is most likely in danger and skating on thin ice due to his/her outspoken nature or because he/she supports one group against another. This is not rocket science. Predicting an earthquake is quite easy in our part of the world, we are prone to earthquakes, science already proved that, so chances are its more than fair to assume that in this coming year we will have one, either a big one or a small tremor that rattles a few nerves.

 

After all, the soothsayers follow the news, they follow scientific discoveries, medical advancements, but whereas ordinary people would be hard pressed to remember the news report from a week ago, the professional soothsayer catalogues all the information received from all sources in such a way as to make certain connections that aid them in making reasonably successful predictions of what the coming year would likely bring.

 

Unfortunately this is not science and calling it a science is misleading and dangerous. The soothsayers do not look to the stars to determine what course our earthly lives take, there is no mystery here, there is only analysis of past events and trends based on which they generate an end of year report on what the new year will likely bring. Its what economic and political analysts have been doing for ages, except they temper their predictions with the proviso that what they predict is merely one likely outcome, one of many, and they list their reasons for arriving at their particular conclusion, reasons the reader can choose to accept or reject. Analysts do not support their arguments by citing stellar alignments and planetary positions.

The proliferation of soothsayers has turned this seemingly harmless bit of entertainment to a national obsession, an obsession that has generated considerable income for the purveyors of this ‘art’ for want of a better word, and turned it into a lucrative business as local TV channels vie to get the best and most trusted and talked about soothsayer for their New Years Eve event. Not content with that, the soothsayers often release follow ups to their New Year’s predictions, and many more come out over the internet attributed to them. There is no denying this is a business and as such soothsayers should be taxed per word as cigarettes and alcohol are taxed, because as a business model it has potential to do great harm especially to young and impressionable minds who should fill their heads with science and fortify their minds with the discipline needed to distinguish truth from artful lies. Our country is a deeply religious one, so the mysteries of tarot and reading signs in the stars are believed more readily than they would be in a more secular cultures. In my view, all forms of prognostication for money should be tightly controlled if not banned all together.