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CHAPTER 7
The Signs of the Zodiac
TODAY ASTROLOGY has grown into such a huge and important sociological
phenomenon that it takes courage to try to unravel its
mysteries and auras. But we must attempt to deteimine once and
for all whether astrology is an exact science like astronomy and
mathematics or just a lot of humbug.
Quite a few people before me have aheady tried to do it. But
they could not come to clear conclusions because they started
with the intention to demonstrate the vaHdity of their
preconceived
concepts. Some even went as far as to fabricate their evidence.
As for myself, astrology, like most other things in my life,
came to my serious attention by accident. I am supposed to be a
man of science, but I love many other activities, like diving for
old gold doubloons off the Florida Keys or exploring the history
of science. The latter activity focused my attention on astrology
which, maybe, is not a science at all, but without which we
never would have had astronomy, since after all it was the ancient
astrologers who, during many thousands of years,
accumulated
their observations about the positions and movements of
the heavenly bodies and tried to relate them to human or terrestrial
Svents. And considering the very primitive means at their
disposal, these men left behind incredibly precise records that
can be easily matched with the best modern astronomical tables.