Astrology, Academia & Politics

Astrology, Academia & Politics: The Fear Factors

by Jennifer Hollie Bowles

The study of astrology involves a deep learning process with high-order concepts, calculations, history, and beyond. Advanced astrologers acquire a vast amount of knowledge and skill in order to be effective. They must at once be theorists and practitioners because astrology is fluid and contextual. They must check their theories and knowledge of planetary energies and aspects with actual chart data and people data at every step of the way.

How is this process ever considered non-academic or “fluffy” enough to be excluded from formal education in the United Sates? (Note that other countries have various inclusions and exclusions of astrological education). On the one hand, we can trace this back to the scientific revolution, where many forms of “metaphysics” were excluded from academics in favor of seemingly “objective” versions of reality.

Yet, did astronomy really totally usurp astrology in terms of knowledge, or was something else going on? Find an article about the depth of astrology and its correlation to Quantum Physics and other advanced forms of knowledge, and we also find a plethora of academics (and others who haven’t studied astrology) extremely quick to bash astrology’s credibility.

Find a school like Kepler College, which was founded by highly educated astrologer and historian Dr. Robert Hand, and we find a similar story. At first accepted by the higher education accrediting board, many academics were outraged by the inclusion of astrology into academia. Due to the bashing of the credibility of astrology itself, Kepler College’s efforts to gain accreditation was revoked, along with the degree standings earned by students.

In part, many astrological practitioners—who are often not rigorously learned and trained—are to blame for the poor view of astrology held by intellectuals and academics. Claiming psychic ability, for example, is not a great way to increase the standing of a discipline. Astrologers of this ilk represent far too much of the mainstream information available to the public, which unfortunately, makes it easy for astrology to be viewed poorly.