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Astrology for fun!

edited January 2006 in General Banter
Anybody interested in astrology? No, not predictions... the psychological stuff! I am a Cancer and you?

Comments

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2006
    I'm a Rooster Metal Yin 7.....
  • edited January 2006
    And an Aries! My wife is a Rooster as well. I am of the sheep/earth variety if memory serves. Don't actually know much about the eastern astrology. I believe that the woman you are using as your avatar was also an Aries. Is that correct?
  • edited January 2006
    I'm an Arien Metal Dog !
  • edited January 2006
    Another Arien! Cool. A good friend of mine is an Arien, we get on exceptionally well.
  • MagwangMagwang Veteran
    edited January 2006
    I'm a double Leo.

    In the 60's, my mother was very into the personality profile side of astrology. Give her your time of birth and she will tell you things about your self that will make you hair stand on end.

    My ex is a Scorpio. When we married I laughed at its prediction of doom, but turned out it was right!

    My wife is an Aries and she's gentle as a lamb / stubborn as a ram.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    I believe that the woman you are using as your avatar was also an Aries. Is that correct?

    No she was Taurus, Earth 8 Yin... But I'd have to do my calcualtions for the Animal of her year....

    (The Avatar is a cover of a book which appeared in the year she died...She had more books published about her, in tribute, in the same year as her death, than any other celebrity has had, after their deaths. A 'record' which still stands today.)
  • edited January 2006
    Some would say that this is all Taurus. :)
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2006
    Some would probably be right...
    Non-attachement, Points of View, simple opinions.... don't get hung up about it...

    Besides I don't believe in Astrology... Arians are notoriouis sceptics, you see....!!
  • edited January 2006
    kowtaaia wrote:
    Some would say that this is all Taurus. :)

    Hehe I'm one of them :rolleyesc

    :)

    On, in answer to you're question, I'm a Cancer. That is about all I know about it :p
  • edited January 2006
    Thats funny you would mention cause there is some debate about Taurus's rulership. Traditionally it falls to Venus but IMO earth is a much more suitable rulership.
  • edited January 2006
    ""Besides I don't believe in Astrology... Arians are notoriouis sceptics, you see....!!""

    What a statement! lol.

    I don't know if astrology really "works" per se. What I like is the way astrology provides a framework for mythical archetypes to be interpreted. The qualities represented by the planets are real, whether or not there is any scientific basis for assigning them to their respective planets is questionable I suppose.

    Any merit for any astrological reading always falls on the reader which is a problem when debating about astrology.
  • edited January 2006
    You are June Cancer huh? Doug Adams is the shiznit!
  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    edited January 2006
    starstuff wrote:
    Hehe I'm one of them :rolleyesc

    :)

    On, in answer to you're question, I'm a Cancer. That is about all I know about it :p


    An astrologer friend told me that Cancerians are the first true neurotics on the wheel of the zodiac. He also said that Virgoans (like my then wife) were born under that sign to prove to the rest of us that life is not meant to be all fun!
  • edited January 2006
    I'm a Leo Monkey, not sure of the numbers or elements. I think the general sun sign for all published in the newspapers etc is a load of rot but am a bit more convinced about characteristics. I once sent my time date and place of birth to a site that offered a free character analysis and the results were gobsmacking. Even going back to how I felt as a child ... which no one could know.

    I've been doing a lot of discussion on this theme with my students this week as I found a news article saying that for a certain post, a company in China will only hire people born in the year of the Dog as they will have the personality required for the task (and no it wasn't security guard!)

    The generalised ones tend to be a bit Delphic oracle in that they say things that must be true - Sagitarians will have to make a decision today - well of course they will - so will everyone else. Tea or coffee? Do I really want a biscuit with that? Bosh!
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited January 2006


    An astrologer friend told me that Cancerians are the first true neurotics on the wheel of the zodiac. He also said that Virgoans (like my then wife) were born under that sign to prove to the rest of us that life is not meant to be all fun!

    Simon,

    That makes perfect sense. It would definitely explain why I travel throughout our cyber-Sangha quoting Suttas instead of joining in all the tom foolery! Life is certainly not meant to be all fun! As a matter of fact, this thread reminds me of the Brahmajala Sutta in which the Buddha expounds on wrong means of livlihood for bhikkhus:

    ... "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, make their living by such base arts, such wrong means of livelihood as palmistry, divining by signs, portents, dreams, body-marks, mouse-gnawing, fire-oblations, oblations from a ladle of husks, rice-powder, rice-grains, ghee or oil, from the mouth or of blood, reading the finger-tips, house- and garden-lore, skill in charms, ghost-lore, earth-house lore, snake-lore, poison-lore, rat-lore, bird-lore, crow-lore, foretelling a person's life-span, charms against arrows, knowledge of animals’ cries, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood."

    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as judging the marks of gems, sticks, clothes, swords, spears, arrows, weapons, women, men, boys, girls, male and female slaves, elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, cows, goats, rams, cocks, quail, iguanas, bamboo-rats, tortoises, deer, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts."

    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as predicting: ‘The chiefs will march out - the chiefs will march back’, "Our chiefs will advance and the other chiefs will retreat", ‘Our chiefs will win and the other chiefs will lose’, "'The other chiefs will win and ours will lose", ‘Thus there will be victory for one side and defeat for the other’, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts."

    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as predicting an eclipse of the moon, the sun, a star; that the sun and moon will go on their proper course - will go astray; that a star will go on its proper course - will go astray; that there will be a shower of meteors, a blaze in the sky, an earthquake, thunder; a rising, setting, darkening, brightening of the moon, the sun, the stars; and ‘such will be the outcome of these things’, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood."

    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as predicting good or bad rainfall; a good or bad harvest; security, danger; disease, health; or accounting, computing, calculating, poetic composition, philosophizing, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood."

    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as arranging the giving and taking in marriage, engagements and divorces; [declaring the time for] saving and spending, bringing good or bad luck, procuring abortions, using spells to bind the tongue, binding the jaw, making the hands jerk, causing deafness, getting answers with a mirror, a girl-medium, a Deva; worshipping the sun or Great Brahma, breathing fire, invoking the Goddess of luck, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood."

    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, make their living by such base arts, such wrong means of livelihood as appeasing the Devas and redeeming vows to them, making earth-house spells, causing virility or impotence, preparing and consecrating building sites, giving ritual rinsing's and bathing's, making sacrifices, giving emetics, purges, expectorants and phlegmagogues, giving ear-, eye-, nose-medicine, ointments and counter-ointments, eye-surgery, surgery, pediatry, using balms to counter the side-effects of previous remedies, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood." It is, monks, for such elementary, inferior matters of moral practice that the worldling would praise the Tathágata.

    "There are, monks, other matters, profound, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought, subtle, to be experienced by the wise, which the Tathágata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathágata would rightly speak...


    ;)

    Jason
  • edited January 2006
    Elohim wrote:
    "Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, make their living by such base arts, .........., giving emetics, purges, expectorants and phlegmagogues, giving ear-, eye-, nose-medicine, ointments and counter-ointments, eye-surgery, surgery, pediatry, using balms to counter the side-effects of previous remedies, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood."

    Does this mean that working in the medical industry would be seen as a wrong form of livelihood for a Buddhist or is the Sutta just referring to the practices of monks?
    Cheers,
    Adrian
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited January 2006
    Adrian,

    There are a couple things implied in this line I believe. The first is speaking out against "quack doctors" who are out only to try and make a quick buck. The second is speaking out on how it is unappropriate for a monk to do certain things for profit [notice the "...feeding on the food of the faithful, make their living by such base arts..."]. One does not become a monk under the Buddha to predict the future, dispense medicines, draw or paint, etc., for gain. One ordains to practice virtue, mindfulness, meditation, and discernment for the Goal of Release. However, he did allow his monks the use of medicines for themselves and the application of medicines to others if there was such a need. Some were actually quite skilled in their knowledge of herbs and therapies. It is the practice of medicine for gain that is condemned here.

    :)

    Jason
  • edited January 2006
    Thanks for explaining that Jason, it makes perfect sense now. :thumbsup:
    Cheers,
    Adrian
  • angulimalaangulimala Veteran
    edited January 2006
    Frizzer wrote:
    I'm an Arien Metal Dog !
    bow wow wow,
    i'm a dog too,i mean metal dog,nice to know another dog here.beside that i'm a taurus.so i'm the combination between dog and bull
  • edited January 2006
    I am an Aquarius snake
    Peace Kimberly
  • PadawanPadawan Veteran
    edited January 2006
    I'm on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces, and a Dragon to boot. I also read Tarot cards.
  • edited January 2006
    I checked out Tarot cards once. Read a few books and played with the cards, never got into it much more than that. The symbolism is interesting but don't know much else about them. Now astrology I can work with. Lol.


    SimonThePilgrim,

    It seems there are quite a few of us crabs here. Your pal Dalai Lama is also a cancer I beleive.

    Neurotically yours,

    B
  • edited January 2006
    Hey all,
    Isn't this really just superstition??? I had an aunt that was into this stuff. She and I were both Scorpios. She kept telling me all this bizare "crap" based solely upon this astrology stuff. One of my ex's was also into it.....you notice she's my EX as she predicted our downfall......she drove us apart.....
    I don't quite understand how reasonable people can be lead astray by this stuff?????:scratch:
  • edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    ... Dalai Lama is also a cancer I beleive.

    That is correct. In fact, here is an article from 2001 on the Dalai Lama which I think is interesting:

    The Dalai Lama's Journey:
    http://www.stariq.com/Main/Articles/P0002585.HTM

    group21qp.gif
  • edited January 2006
    I'm an Aries sun, Leo moon, and Pisces ascendant; and I'm also a dog. Er ... maybe not quite the way that sounded, though. :lol:thud1qa.gif
    rollercoaster2oq.gif
  • edited January 2006
    The placement of the planets at your birth is objective information. What you do with it is up to you. No belief is necessary, if you don't see patterns emerging then there will be nothing fun or interesting about it. But if you start to see patterns, it's no more supersitious than any other habit of mind.

    I guess if someone based their life decisions around it then that can be considered superstitous, for many it's just fun.
  • edited January 2006
    In India many people won't get married without consulting an astrologer. IMO this is not a good thing.
  • edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    The placement of the planets at your birth is objective information.
    Sure, but so is the placement of doctors and nurses around the delivery room, the placement of cars in the parking lot outside the hospital, and the placement of the pot roast on your great-grandmother's dining room table, the evening that great-grampaw got "frisky." :)
  • edited January 2006
    Funny. The most famous study regarding the validity of "astrology" was done by "The Amazing Randy".
  • edited January 2006
    Maybe you can start a Doc&Nurse placementology interpretation method. :D
  • edited January 2006
    How does the amazing man define validity?
  • edited January 2006
    Sorry, couldn't find the link. Basically, a class of college students were each given individual "personalized" horoscopes and asked to rate their accuracy. Most found the horoscopes very accurate.

    They were then asked to pass their horoscopes to the person on their right. That's when they found out that they all had the same horoscope.

    That's more or less the gist of it.
  • edited January 2006
    You won't catch me arguing for the scientificness of astrology. Just the funness. :)
  • edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    You won't catch me arguing for the scientificness of astrology. Just the funness. :)


    Well, the body is about 70% water and the gravitational force of the moon affects the tide.
    Extrapolate to a million trillion galaxies and there you go.


    ...but only a fool knows the future.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2006
    kowtaaia wrote:
    Sorry, couldn't find the link. Basically, a class of college students were each given individual "personalized" horoscopes and asked to rate their accuracy. Most found the horoscopes very accurate.

    They were then asked to pass their horoscopes to the person on their right. That's when they found out that they all had the same horoscope.

    That's more or less the gist of it.


    LMAO!!!
  • edited January 2006
    Certain aspects of astrology are testable, but there are sooooo many variables as you point out. Also the language of the horoscopes and the "Hawthorne Effect" probably played a major role in the amazing man's study.

    Predictions and superstitions do suck though.
  • edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    Certain aspects of astrology are testable...


    Examples please.
  • edited January 2006
    Well you could do a brain wave test of people born at different times of the year. Anything is testable, but I'm not talking about predictions. That is silliness.
  • edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    Well you could do a brain wave test of people born at different times of the year. Anything is testable, but I'm not talking about predictions. That is silliness.

    HUH? :)
  • edited January 2006
    You could look for some pattern and test it. Any pattern anywhere. I'm not going to do it.

    Here...

    http://www.astrofaces.com/astrofaces/
  • edited January 2006
    beebuddy wrote:
    You could look for some pattern and test it. Any pattern anywhere. I'm not going to do it.

    Here...

    http://www.astrofaces.com/astrofaces/


    Good God! Astrology has been proven to be absolutely true!:bowdown:
  • edited January 2006
    It was just an idea you sarcastic SOB. Besides how we define our terms is the only thing that is important IMO.

    Admittedly though, I can't really call "strawman" because I haven't made an intelligible claim. :)

    On a personal anecdotal note, the other day a girl came through the grocery store line and I asked her if she wanted "paper or plastic" and she demanded to know "DO I LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF PERSON THAT CARES!?"

    I asked her if she was an Aries and she just blushed and said "yes".

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