What follows are samples of what can be found in Dimensions in Astrology which was a series of syndicated releases to newspapers in 1982 under the heading of The Oldest Science. When articles are syndicated in a series, they are called "releases". Some examples of the writing found it the series are given below.
Have you ever looked up the definition of the word "science"? According to my dictionary, it has the following meanings: (1) Knowledge as of facts, phenomena,laws, and proximate causes; gained and verified by exact observation, organized experiment, and correct thinking, (2) An exact and systematic statement or classification of knowledge concerning some subject or group subjects, (3) Any department of knowledge in which the results of investigation have been systematized in the from of hypotheses and general laws subject to verification.
The foregoing definitions emphasize facts, systematized knowledge, and verification. Perhaps the oldest science to lay claim to these things is the one most recently practiced by men such as Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton. Oh yes, you say, they were astronomers. No, in fact, they were actually astrologers. Both modern astronomy and psychology are descendants of the ancient science of astrology which reached its highest known pinnacle in Babylon during what we call the Chaldean Renaissance.
He had been watching the bright star for several nights now and he knew that it was moving. Only living things moved in his world, so he knew that the light was not simply a star, but a living force like the sun and the moon. And, in this way, primitive man began to discover the wandering stars which Greeks later called "Planetai" (including the sun and the moon) and which, today, we call planets.
As the centuries passed, early man learned something of the will of the sky forces. He learned that the earth grew cool and dark without light from the sun. He learned to predict eclipses to determine the times of high tides and severe storms. He learned that bright Venus had qualities that differed from red Mars and impulsive Mercury. He learned that the slower Jupiter and Saturn were more powerful in the long run. And he built tools to help him discover the systematic motions of the lights in the heavens.
Because the new moon occurs twelve times each year, he divided the year into twelve months and designated each with a sign of the zodiac. And he divided the day and night into hours - twelve for each. Because he discovered the magic of a triangle with sides of three, four, and five units, he made the product of three, four, and five his sacred number - and thus was born the ancient mathematical system based upon sixty which is why we have sixty minutes in an hour and sixty seconds in a minute.
And he chose 360 for the divisions of a circle [such as that made by the earth about the sun each year] because in was the product of three, four, five, and six; it was equal in length to twelve moons (months); it was equal to thirteen passages of the moon through the zodiac (called the sidereal period of the moon); it was very close to the year of 365 days; and it was an easy number to divide. Today we still use this time-tried system.
It was in this fashion that the study of astrology gave us many of our traditional measuring systems. And as man grew to know more about the lights in the sky, he created greater tools and developed a more complex understanding of the forces which affected himself and his fellows. Those who understood how to use this new knowledge found that it was a source of personal power which could be used to elevate them to positions of honor and royalty.
The lesser classes who were not capable of understanding this science were good subjects who could serve the kings and priests. So the less intellectually inclined were given myths to help them understand and yet prevent them from fully understanding. The majority of mankind accepted the forces of the universe as gods while the learned began to use the forces to promote their own interests.
But apart from the politicians, there were idealists who were dedicated to the greater philosophical secrets. They formed a worldwide fraternity which is still alive today. At first they passed the secrets from one generation to the next by word-of-mouth and later, in coded writing as well. Most of the holy writings of the world's religions are laced with encoded secrets to be found by those who are willing to make the effort. Based upon a collection of stories told in Hebrew, Aramaic, and ancient Greek, Christianity is no exception. It has changed considerably since the time of Christ, but there are still many hints left as to its original character - some of which will be explored in future articles under this heading.