IN THE BEGINNING

Artwork title: The Universe and the Man

TODAY, MOST PEOPLE ASSOCIATE:

Astronomy with Stars

Stars with Constellations

Constellations with Astrological Signs

In the modern context, each one of the above associations is, strictly speaking, false. Today, astronomers no longer simply study stars. Our galaxy consists of over ten billion stars, massive aggregates of cold molecular gas, smoothly distributed warm and hot gas (mostly hydrogen), possibly a black hole in the center, and "dust". Astronomers use a vast array of tools, ranging from radio telescopes to sensitive X-ray and gamma-ray detectors mounted on orbiting satellites, to study all these components. But, even more curious is the fact that there is every indication that the bulk of the matter in the galaxy is in the form that cannot be "seen" (and hence, is labelled "dark matter"). And this is only our galaxy. There are billions of galaxies in the Universe whose distribution resembles a closely-packed collection bubbles traced out by bejewelled web.

             
And all this appears to have arisen from the tiniest ripples in an otherwise extremely smooth early Universe.

In any case, while each of the above associations are false, it is true that Astronomy and Astrology have a common historical origin stemming from humanity's yearnings to understand Nature, the Universe and its role in the Grand Scheme.

Natural phenomena such as

Lightening, Rain, Floods, Droughts, Storms, Winds
The rising and setting of the Sun, the Moon and the Planets across the sky,
The waning and waxing of the Moon, The comings and goings of the Seasons

were often associated with the actions of deities (supernatural beings) such as:

ZEUS

APOLLO

THOR

and spirits that hold some opinion towards human beings and are actively working to aid, punish or frustrate them. Such explanations addressed both the "HOW" and "WHY" of natural phenomena, particularly "WHY ME?", with latter obviously having much greater relevance (and hence, weight) than the former.

To find out more about mythic beings and their connections to astronomy and cosmology, visit the
Mythology Section of the Windows to the Universe website.

In other words, the explanations for natural phenomena had much more to do with human hopes, emotions, preoccupations, motivations and desires, and little to do with the observations.

Some of this had to do with the level of maturity, if one can use this phrase, of human civilization - young children tend to interpret the world as reflections of themselves, as revolving around them and so it was with humanity for much of our history. Added to this was the lack of a framework for studying natural phenomena - which only developed slowly over time - and the limited capabilities of the unaided human senses.

Since the most truly fear-inducing, awe-inspiring phenomena came to earth from above, it was natural to believe that the gods resided in the heavens above.

Many of the cultural idioms, concepts and rituals that have passed down into our civilization today have their origins in these earliest cosmologies:

 "Heaven above,    Hell below"
"Blessings rain down upon us"
Tendency to look up when up when praying
in spite of widespread belief in most religions that God is everywhere.