On a less/more serious note (depending upon whether you are British), I'm an old fan of both Tom Tomorrow and Dr. Who.
Hence, I'm very happy to share this cartoon.
Hence, I'm very happy to share this cartoon.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Astrology & "Dark Arts"
In a recent conversation with my father, he felt pressed to point out that the Holy Roman Church regarded astrology as a "dark art". Of course, I was already aware of this, but it brought to mind a valuable reflection: the very alienation of thought from astrology in Western culture might help us to better appreciate how far it has been underutilized in making sense of Asiatic religion.
One might expect the topic to fare better in the academic study of religion, at least, yet evidence suggests otherwise. Thus a critical reconstruction of the history of astrology in Asiatic religions pertains to several matters:
1) the roles astrology plays in the history of religions;
2) the roles astrology plays in the construction of traditional myths;
3) the roles astrology plays in the interpretation of an annual ritual calendar;
4) the roles the criticism of astrology plays in the construction of theology;
5) the violence done to a history of religions by means of this criticism;
6) the methods needed to locate and discern astrology's various roles in the above;
7) the roles astrology has yet to play in providing hermeneutical cyphers in the interpretation of astrology-wielding religions and cultures;
8) the philosophical implications of such a reformed reading of history.
A chronological approach to this matter suits the nature of the study less than one which progresses thematically and inter-culturally. The themes themselves may require us to leap forward and backward in history, from cause to result, and across geographies, from ur-form and comparative counterparts to synthetic forms, as with the production of new myths from the elements of older myths. In this way, many chronologies contribute to the disclosing of a larger chronology (though perhaps even here, no universal chronology yet exists, or even should be supposed to be possible).
At the comparative level, we might expect the study to progress best from the examination of two traditions and no more. Yet again, the evidence suggests otherwise, so that astrology is better seen as a thick multiculturalism, enriched and even constituted by numerous diasporic tributaries, even when focused upon a single myth recalled from a single geographic tradition. For example, the evidence for the monkey god Hanuman's latent associations with the constellation Corona Borealis cannot be made entirely clear without drawing evidence from both the Chinese astronomical traditions and Greco-Roman and European art ranging from Antiquity to the Renaissance (in addition to South Asian sources). Indeed, even this requires that we compare astrological traditions internally, so that Corona Borealis must also be compared against Corona Australis. And all of this becomes increasingly concrete whence we have included Hanuman's associations and interactions with other mythical characters, tracing their astrological ur-forms alongside his.
But even before we can consider such puranic-epic characters, we should probably begin with something of a chronological approach, so that we should at least first examine the Rig Vedic materials, if only to demonstrate how remote and pervasive the origins of these horological practices are.
With that, we might first consider the associations of Indra with the Ruddy Bull, or Taurus (whose housing the Sun brings with it the Monsoon. This appears to be among the very oldest myths recorded in the Vedic materials, with the battle against Vṛtra forming an early historical episode of theological reasoning in connection with annual, seasonal events.
The short of it:
Such reasoning through astrological materials gives us the chance to clear up theology of its theo-temporal associations, and brings into question the existential matter of thinking about being within the horizon of Time. Is thinking about being qua Heideggerian phenomenology just a natural extension of that earlier Pagan thought which saw Time as the adi-deva, the first god? Would that make Time the Devil?
One might expect the topic to fare better in the academic study of religion, at least, yet evidence suggests otherwise. Thus a critical reconstruction of the history of astrology in Asiatic religions pertains to several matters:
1) the roles astrology plays in the history of religions;
2) the roles astrology plays in the construction of traditional myths;
3) the roles astrology plays in the interpretation of an annual ritual calendar;
4) the roles the criticism of astrology plays in the construction of theology;
5) the violence done to a history of religions by means of this criticism;
6) the methods needed to locate and discern astrology's various roles in the above;
7) the roles astrology has yet to play in providing hermeneutical cyphers in the interpretation of astrology-wielding religions and cultures;
8) the philosophical implications of such a reformed reading of history.
A chronological approach to this matter suits the nature of the study less than one which progresses thematically and inter-culturally. The themes themselves may require us to leap forward and backward in history, from cause to result, and across geographies, from ur-form and comparative counterparts to synthetic forms, as with the production of new myths from the elements of older myths. In this way, many chronologies contribute to the disclosing of a larger chronology (though perhaps even here, no universal chronology yet exists, or even should be supposed to be possible).
At the comparative level, we might expect the study to progress best from the examination of two traditions and no more. Yet again, the evidence suggests otherwise, so that astrology is better seen as a thick multiculturalism, enriched and even constituted by numerous diasporic tributaries, even when focused upon a single myth recalled from a single geographic tradition. For example, the evidence for the monkey god Hanuman's latent associations with the constellation Corona Borealis cannot be made entirely clear without drawing evidence from both the Chinese astronomical traditions and Greco-Roman and European art ranging from Antiquity to the Renaissance (in addition to South Asian sources). Indeed, even this requires that we compare astrological traditions internally, so that Corona Borealis must also be compared against Corona Australis. And all of this becomes increasingly concrete whence we have included Hanuman's associations and interactions with other mythical characters, tracing their astrological ur-forms alongside his.
But even before we can consider such puranic-epic characters, we should probably begin with something of a chronological approach, so that we should at least first examine the Rig Vedic materials, if only to demonstrate how remote and pervasive the origins of these horological practices are.
With that, we might first consider the associations of Indra with the Ruddy Bull, or Taurus (whose housing the Sun brings with it the Monsoon. This appears to be among the very oldest myths recorded in the Vedic materials, with the battle against Vṛtra forming an early historical episode of theological reasoning in connection with annual, seasonal events.
The short of it:
Such reasoning through astrological materials gives us the chance to clear up theology of its theo-temporal associations, and brings into question the existential matter of thinking about being within the horizon of Time. Is thinking about being qua Heideggerian phenomenology just a natural extension of that earlier Pagan thought which saw Time as the adi-deva, the first god? Would that make Time the Devil?
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