Astrology: Help, Hoax, or Harm?

by Hugh Ross, Ph.D.
To unravel any possible confusion over what astrology is, I would like to begin by establishing what it is not. First, astrology is not science, though a number of its adherents claim it to be. How can I make such a strong statement? Consider the following points: Astrology
bases horoscopes on the moment of birth, not the moment of conception when, in fact, one's genetic characteristics are fixed;
ignores the gravitational forces of non-solar system bodies (e.g., the pull of gravity by the obstetrician on a newborn child is about six times greater than that of Mars);
treats the various nuclear, magnetic, and gravitational forces exerted by solar system bodies (e.g., the sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, etc.) as if they were of the same magnitude. In reality, differences of many orders of magnitude were long ago verified by research;
ignores significant solar system bodies, e.g., Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, asteroids, comets;
fails to take into account tidal forces, also gravitational differences resulting from the irregular shape of some solar system bodies;
ignores the motion of the sun with respect to other stars and with respect to the center of the galaxy;
ignores the wobble in the earth's rotation axis, which by now has shifted the astrological sun signs by one or two constellations (making a typical Leo in reality a Gemini);
omits two constellations along the ecliptic (the "path" of the planets and other bodies in our solar system);
fails to provide conclusive evidence of a direct causal link between celestial positions or "aspects" and human personality and interactions.
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up.