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Physics of Astrological Ages

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Robert Tulip

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Re: Physics of Astrological Ages

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DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am Incredible reply, Robert (I mean that in the complimentary sense).
Hi DWill, I am finding all my time taken up with developing a strategic ethical vision of how to transition the planet from our current calamitous trajectory to a path of sustained peace and abundance. The key to this is albedo, recognising that brightening the planet is our only effective lever to prevent climate change. And albedo links intimately to the astrological topics of spiritual identity and natural orbital climate change that provide the basis for discussion of astrological ages.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am I see that your efforts to redeem astrology center on climate effects, which as you say will affect evolution and culture.
The underlying philosophy of ‘as above so below’ was the basis for Newton’s work on gravity and provides the conceptual framework to understand the unity of all things, how culture is part of the evolving river of nature. The Milankovitch Theory of the long-term orbital drivers of natural climate change is universally accepted in the scientific community, although it has some unresolved problems around the cause of the changes in direction in the ice age cycle. My amazing discovery is a direct correlation between the Milankovitch Cycles and the governing mythology of planetary time, from Vedic, Christian, Greco-Roman and Norse cosmology. In universal myth, culture worsens as climate worsens, and improves as climate improves. The direct correlation between orbital fall and mythological fall is an essential point. The theory of astrological ages makes good sense within this combination of scientific and mythological cosmology.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am The "weak astrological effects" mentioned at the end, though, are probably more in line with traditional belief in cosmic movements influencing human personality and career choice.
If, as we should, we see our solar system as the primary context of the evolution of life on Earth, and we also postulate that life is far more sensitive to its natural environment than we can easily see, we have a simple causal basis to understand the likelihood of astrological effects. The problems of finding such effects include that they are very weak, that they are swamped by other factors, and that their complexity, with numerous combined effects, makes them very difficult to measure in a way that is statistically robust, although there is some very good work on this. As well, cultural disdain makes it difficult to get data and engagement for scientific research.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am I seem to recall a discussion a long ways back of research that correlated sport selection with astrological sign, a correlation that held true for all athletes except basketball players.
The best scientific research on astrology was by the French statistician Michel Gauquelin who found correlation between eminence in life and planetary positions at birth, notably the strong correlation between Mars at the eastern horizon and sporting prowess.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am I suppose one could call that research interesting, but the support isn't robust, replication of the results hasn't happened, and investigating weak phenomena means that confounding factors are going to be bigger problems.
Correlation, the journal of the British Astrological Association where my paper was published, is the primary venue for this area of work. The most “confounding” problem is the inability of this research to engage broader cultural and scientific interest due to the strong prejudice against astrology. There are exciting and promising findings that validate the hypothesis of planetary effects, but the design and funding and implementation of the large statistical studies needed is prevented by the exclusion of this field of research from universities.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am It might be philistine of me, but I conclude that a lot of brilliance was, and continues to be, expended on a non-science. I wonder if your attempt to give the study new scientific relevance can succeed. Best of luck!
Philistine is not the right word, since you have a healthy enquiring scepticism rather than an out of hand bigotry. The science problems for astrological effects include whether a mechanism can be rigorously postulated, the design of experiments to test the hypothesis, and gathering sufficient quality data. My own personal suggestion for an astrological study is to obtain a large database of dates of birth and death, say ten million people, and analyse to find if there are any trends that match to the predictions of astrological transit theory, as presented in the book Planets in Transit by Robert Hand.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am What could be the practical implications of your theory for combating climate change?
The most interesting theme in my view starts from a purely theoretical angle, and then moves into practical implications. It is the idea that the world has begun a ten thousand year trajectory toward a new golden age of universal planetary abundance and peace. Against that long framework of big history, we are now on the equivalent of 3 January in the northern annual cycle, ie just two weeks since the shortest day. This is based on the observation that the date of the perihelion, now about 3 January each year, when Earth is closest to the Sun, was the main driver of natural climate change before the Anthropocene. This model of time is a way to construct a scientific mythology that matches to the underlying meaning of Christianity, with the date of the perihelion as the defining predictor of planetary cycles. We have no guarantee that we will survive the cosmic winter, but if we do, we will find a better global vision. What this model provides is a way to explain why our world is still careering on a reckless and heedless path toward climate destruction, and the scale of the integrated political, scientific, technological, psychological, spiritual, cultural and religious paradigm shift that is needed to reverse the wide and easy course to destruction and find the straight and narrow way to life in truth.
DWill wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:00 am It would seem to introduce an "out of our hands" determinism.
No, far from it. Human agency is central to human survival and flourishing. It is like if you are in a canoe floating toward a waterfall. If you do nothing, the physical determinant of the situation means you will go over the edge. But if you paddle like crazy you can escape. Freedom of the will is our evolutionary key to adaptation. The Milankovitch Cycles are a really weak “tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads to fortune”, as Brutus explained to Cassius. Our planet is now in a natural upward trajectory, based on comparing our current orbital cycles to the last million years, even though that is masked by the downward trajectory created by human culture. Seeing that sense of direction and purpose gives a positive ground for optimism and hope about capacity to transform our world to sustain global civilization and avoid planetary collapse.
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Re: Physics of Astrological Ages

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Astrological ages refer to a period of time in the precession of the equinox, which is the slow and cyclical movement of the Earth's axis of rotation. In astrology, each astrological age is associated with a particular zodiac sign (astro seek)and is said to have its own characteristics and influence on human events. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that the movements of celestial bodies have a direct effect on human events or personalities. The physics behind the precession of the equinox is well understood and is due to the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge.
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