Reprinted from astro.com
by Russ Von Ohlhausen
“All is number.” ~Pythagoras
What is “astrology”? What does it mean to each person who studies it, practices it, profanes or denounces it? You might think this would be a simple query that is easily answered but as many of us in the field of astrology know, there is no uniform or simple way to address this question. Is it art? Is it science? Is it a form of spiritual discipline or is it a trailhead to understanding the pathway to our higher potentials. Is the astrological-mechanism really just a mysterious operation that ‘mankind was not meant to comprehend’ or is it something that is tangible that can be explained, examined, measured and calculated just like the other fundamental forces of nature? Or, is it actually a unified amalgam of the fundamental forces that we are already familiar with through the advances in the empirical sciences.
Whenever we delve into the inner workings of Mother Nature, we always find that there is a mathematical underpinning to every phenomena. We live in a reality that is encoded with information that uses a mathematical structure. Galileo claimed,
“The book of nature is written in the language of mathematics… Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.” Galileo had the good fortune to work on both mechanics and astronomy: both problems that can be conveniently mathematicised.
Academicians, scientists and historians have seized on his statements to characterize what they feel is “true” science: according to this principle, no branch of natural philosophy can call itself a science until it has shown itself to be mathematical. The essence of the astrological language is mathematics.
The issue is two sided. Scientism needs to return to the realms of natural philosophy that it shunned in the late 17th century and take seriously the relevant questions of our physical and psychological interactions with the cosmos, while astrologers must catch up to the reality of modernity, and not merely rely on regurgitated ancient tradition but instead learn how that Living tradition can be understood through the mathematical language of nature, the same in which scientism uses.
This does not mean that because the Universe created and follows mathematical intentions that it is somehow devoid of a spiritual endeavor; in fact, quite the opposite. The mathematics that atheistic scientists use is the same language that the matrix of consciousness has divined through creation. Math is merely a recognition of the alphabet, words, syntax and grammar used to construct the Universe. Math, myth and ‘mystery’ all relate to one another and all of these converge in the scientific art of astrology.
ASTROLOGY BY DIVINE NUMBER-
The Fibonacci Entity:
The earliest known reference to the same pattern structure that was shown by Fibonacci, was referred to as the mātrāmeru. This identifiable pattern is described by the scholar Pingala in his Chandaḥśāstra, and dates to at least 200BCE in India, and possibly as early as 450BCE. At least 50 years before Fibonacci, the sequence was described by the ordained Jain monk-scholar Hemachandra. The essence of this number sequence is a linear expression of the Golden Spiral based on the Golden Number, which was well understood before the Hellenistic Period. In my studies, it has become very clear that Babylonians, Persians, Hindus, Sumerians, Athenians, Egyptians and many other cultures had made this connection prior to the Piscean Age. (By 1200CE, Fibonacci was simply rediscovering very old and lost knowledge, and describing it in a newer framework, using a number system that was created based on that very same knowledge.)
In case you do not remember, the numerical entity that we know today as the Fibonacci Sequence is the number expression of 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144… (the first twelve numbers of the sequence). The linear sequence continues to infinity, adding the two adjacent numbers to equal the following number. The further it is carried out, the closer it approaches the golden or divine proportion of 1.618 or Phi. The keystone to the expression is that through deeper comprehension of its connection to the number 9, a fundamental cosmological principle is revealed. It can also be surmised that both Vedic and Greek celestial observers and philosophers already understood this connection well, while developing the horoscopic practice. I would go even further to say that it was a foundational understanding with its origins further back into prehistory.
A better and surprisingly simple way to perceive patterns ‘hidden’ in number sequences is by using the principle of ‘indigs’ or integral digits, (similar to digit sums or digital roots). Many of you who use numerology as a divinatory practice are already familiar with sum variations of digit sums. In using indigs, one computes the integer pattern down to a single digit (rather than creating a two digit number), regardless of digit placements in the number to ascertain the fundamental root integer. Example: 377= 3+7+7≡17≡8 (rather than creating a two digit number). Also, with fractions such as 33.75 = 3+3+7+5≡18≡9
Through this method the first twelve number connections to 9 are discovered. The first number to equal indig 9 is 144 (1+4+4≡9), the 12th number of the sequence. Also, the total of those first twelve Fibonacci numbers added together is indig 7, consequently the next set of twelve numbers adds to indig 2. The sum of all the digits in both the first two sets of twelve numbers is 9. Furthermore, the first two sets of twelve numbers when added into each other as pairs equal 9, looking something like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 4, 3, 7, 1, 8, 9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 4, 1, 5, 6, 2, 8, 1, 9
Fibonacci Sequences of 12 Pairs Repeating
This pattern of integer sequence integral digits is repeated every 24 numbers (12 pairs) infinitely, and is the prime “cosmological simplex” pattern in nature. Through the use of these pairings, when applied to astrology, the ecliptical Zodiac can be understood as another expression of the Golden Number.
THE PERFECT CIRCLE
When this closed sequence set of 24 numbers is converted into circular form (“The Perfect Circle”), simple geometric patterns and equations are easily seen. Applying addition to sets in the series signs, trines, squares, oppositions, sextiles, decans, the planetary ladder, antiscia, contra-antisica, and virtually every principle at the heart of astrology can be found… in every system, in every culture, in every era.
This natural pattern is the foundational substructure on which the Zodiac, and all other dynamic energetic pattern interaction takes place.
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ZODIAC-
Natural Systems of Order
It is my conjecture that the ancient starting place for all astrological systems was the axiological understanding of this elementary numerical association realized in ‘natural philosophy’, despite what we in the West may call this ‘numerical entity’ today. That connection to our astrological foundations was either taken for granted over time or simply lost, as astrology’s place in society waxed & waned in the progress and decay of various cultures over the last two millennium. The understanding of its actual connection to nature became classified as “supernatural”, along with all studies of metaphysics, and was subsequently demonized in the early heyday of material sciences.
As a new emerging world culture begins to compare notes with our ancient pasts around the globe, it becomes clear that the foundation for this ‘golden connection’ is literally everywhere. It was not invented nor created, it was ‘discovered’ and described – and is now being rediscovered. It is the prime “cosmological simplex” – the fundamental pattern inherent in all of nature, that merges the expressions of all energy (and subsequently matter), and consciousness on all dimensions and levels of reality.
What most mathematicians, scientists or astrologers do not know, is that the Fibonacci sequence is a cyclical repetition of numerical expression rather than merely an infinite linear numerical set. That fact, that its cyclical nature is not understood in our time, has limited all sciences – both in that of scientism & that of meta-science – from grasping its key importance to fields of study of all unified dynamic systems.
The integral nature of 12 pairings within ‘one cycle’ of the Fibonacci sequence (whether the pairings are adjacent, opposite, at angle or a variety of other ‘harmonic’ combinations) seeks to achieve a mathematical balance within itself from all points in the cycle. This dynamic is the key to understanding the geometry of a sunflower, the bifurcation of leaves on a tree or the polar pair structure of the Zodiac. It is the same reflexive interactive energy system at work. The Zodiac, as we know it, is merely a symbolic way to represent this energetic pattern and what qualities the 12 adjacent pairs manifest, atomically, molecularly, biochemically, physiologically and psychologically.
“By number, a way is had to the searching out and understanding of everything able to be known.” Giovanni Pico della Mirandola – Italian Renaissance scholar
When the ‘perfect circle’ is viewed through an astrological lens, and inspected in closer detail, one can begin to see all of the mathematical and geometric mechanisms utilized by astrologers, as well as a variety of lesser understood structures within varying astrological schools of thought.
For example, the ‘planetary ladder’ is clearly part of the numerical structure of pairings only when viewed along one axis that also corresponds to certain fixed position in the number sequence.
An example of astrological associations within the Zodiac Fibonacci circle.
THE BIG QUESTION
How does it work
Most everyone has posed the question at one time or another to themselves, “How is it possible that the planets, interacting with each other at a great distance within the ecliptical field of the stars we call the Zodiac, affect us psychologically here on earth?”. Whether someone has complete blind faith in the processes at play as ‘mystical’ and beyond our ability to comprehend, or for those skeptics who are in total denial of planetary influence as mere superstition and implausible within any possibility of effecting us, most everyone has pondered this issue to some degree. It is currently socially unacceptable, of course, to dwell on the issue as anything other than a curiosity even to those in the studies of metaphysics or the occult, let alone to seek its evidences as a serious area of scientific discovery.
So the questions remain, even to those who deeply respect, understand and research the celestial influences and the knowledge gleaned from our ancient forbearers. We still do not know, with any degree of certainty using the current scientific universal language of mathematics, the energetic connections between the planets and people. How does information travel in energy fields, within vibrational light and interplay with matter, and how does it influence individual and collective consciousness and the psyche?
Once again, the clues are to be found in nature all around us, and the seeds of these next astrological discoveries have already been made in other scientific fields of study. There are three primary areas that will merge with astrology in the future to better explain the connections between celestial and biological form:
Jospeh-Louis
Lagrangian Mechanics & Field Theory: From planetary gravitational interactions, barycenters of galactic systems, the physics of atoms to the seminal functions of quantum mechanics, Lagrangian mechanics is the best natural evidence for the structure of the celestial Zodiac itself and how a circular wave pattern of energy densities and dispersions is created around any central nexus.
Lagrangian Field Theory is the formalization of classical field theory of physical fields and their interactions. These math expressions, field equations, are used to practically define how dynamic fields interact with matter. Gravitational, electromagnetic, the quantum field, light fields, and their subsequent expressed effects (frequency, temperature, vector, rotation, spin, etc), are all factors in the search for a the ultimate unified field theory. These variables also make up the ‘astrological field of influence’ which also is yet to be fully understood.
Jean-Baptisite Joseph
Fourier Transform: Nature’s way of transceiving information is through an analytical tool we call the Fourier transform. From how cells form to how biological systems interact, the Fourier transform is the most used model for understanding frequency interactions with all biological systems. Nature designed itself using this method. Our senses evolved through the epochs of time in constant interaction within this field of information. Our eyes and ears were devised in this vibratory ocean of a multitude of enmeshed Fourier transforms and evolved so that it could most efficiently interpret the light and sound signals it needed for functioning in a given environment; an environment which was also created by this same sea of interactive energy. Since this is the case, it was inevitable that our intelligence would eventually “catch up” and find a way to describe and compute these processes so we can consciously harness this information in our progressive evolution. Our senses….!
Turing Mechanism:
In 1952, Alan Turing, usually considered the father of modern computing, turned his mathematical genius to solving one of biology’s daunting questions; the fundamental question of biological patterning. From the fingers on the hand to the individual prints on each finger; from the spots on a cheetah to the stripes on a fish, the one thing they have in common is that they all are governed by math. These distinctions begin to be determined at the embryonic level, when the first cluster of cells start to take on specialized rolls and differentiate themselves into complex structures and patterns. Turing realized that the processes that took place between two chemicals that created a wave pattern of different chemical concentrations, were the same processes which also trigger cellular differentiation. He developed his differential equation and published his paper, The Chemical Basis for Morphogenesis, to explain these natural patterns; he called the process, “Intracellular Reaction-Diffusion” – we call it the “Turing Mechanism”. As it turns out, the equation doesn’t just govern chemical reactions in a biological system, it seems to be the underlying dynamic in which all ‘activator-inhibitor reactive systems’ work; for example, the patterns of movements of predators & prey to the arrangement of the synaptic firing in the brain. The underlying basis of his mathematical biological theory, describe the same differing developmental and behavioral patterns at the human level of the animal kingdom. The same sets of patterns that astrology seeks to elucidate.
The scope of these three foundational theories can be applied to the structural dynamics of astrology, through its celestial influences, the pattern of the Zodiac itself, and how this energetic interplay effects all biology. Lagrangian dynamics mathematically reflect the structure of the celestial Zodiac. The Fourier transform is the mathematical pattern of interactive information within light & sound. The Turing Mechanism is the bio-mathematical result of these effects on organic life.
These three mechanisms of nature are already well-understood by mainstream scientism and are utilized in a multitude of practical real-world applications and in multifarious areas of scientific study. What these theories have in common is that they are bound and rooted in the observations of natural forces at work. These natural forces are best understood in the elegant and elemental infrastructure represented through the cyclical “cosmological simplex” pattern extracted from the linear Fibonacci sequence.
The time has come to give the meta-sciences an upgrade in their mathematical foundations, as instructed through the six disciplines of the Vedanga and the Quadrivium of the Seven Liberal Arts, to more fully understand and advance our conscious evolutionary progress of human function, our future endeavors and ultimate cosmic purpose.
SHIFTING THE WORLD’S PERSPECTIVES
A Return to Spiritual Science
Without an awareness of the basic fingerprint of the cosmos, one will never have a true understanding of an interface between the pyscho-spiritual and the bio-material realms. With the awareness of this numerical cosmic fingerprint, one is inevitably lead to the realization that both the spiritual and material domains are indeed one and the same, operating at different vibrational orders, always seeking to achieve harmonic resonance.
We are still at the very beginning of this age of electro-technological advance that awaits humankind in the next millennia. The next phase of this process is ‘integration’- the yoking of many disparate disciplines into one holistic function, one unified field of knowing. When will the first ‘heretics’ of scientism speak out using “the one language” of mathematics and begin to rebuild the bridge with metaphysics again? And when will more astrologers start to look outside a horoscopic practice which emphasizes focus on self, and choose to broaden their vision towards bridging collective consciousness and eventually use that knowledge to build a society more in harmony with nature? The missing variable that is needed to balance this mathematical equation is astrology; a holistic astrology with a broader scope of the conscious matter matrix than exists today.
The study of the geometrical pattern structures created by the 24 numbers of the circular configuration derived from the Fibonacci sequence is the keystone to advancing and returning astrology to its rightful place as a recognized science. With this comprehensive awareness, one can understand the fundamental pattern of an atom, and the structure of a solar system. Applied to the basic architecture of a molecule, you can understand the expressive morphology of a cell. When one can grasp the energetic framework which gives shape to all life, you can deduce its psychological connection to the mathematical field of Zodiac. The cosmos is an interactive reflective fractal expression of self-similarities of every conceivable shape, achieving every fabricable form, at every imaginable level. In a word -‘infinite’.
Mathematics is beautiful, and where there is beauty there is cause for inspiration. Scientists pursue this cosmic beauty through the universal conversation of mathematics and refinement of the theory of a single unifying fundamental force. Astrologers seek to find this beauty through describing the geometry of light, how it creates and interacts with our consciousness and yokes us to one unifying source. Ultimately, there is no difference between either, for both endeavors are inspired to comprehend the nuances of the conscious creation, by means of the same logical language that has transcribed the Universe itself.