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eyes. Although this suggests the image of Justice, Fortuna was believed to make her choices with no regard to laws of nature or manwhimsically, rather than logically. Perhaps she is an early forebear of Lady Luck. |
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Celestial Wisdom of the Stars |
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Almost 5,000 years ago, one of the earliest and longest enduring methods of foretelling future events was born: astrology. Ancient Sumer and Mesopotamia were famous for their astronomers, who not only predicted events by viewing the stars but also created the foundations of arithmetic used today. |
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In fact, they were so aware of the connection between the positions of planets and the passing of time that they created a calendar based on itpredicting the changing days, months, and years with great accuracy. |
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Much of our current knowledge of astrology comes from the Greeks, particularly from Ptolemy of Alexandria (a.k.a. Claudius Ptolemaeus), who lived at the beginning of the second century A.D. He is associated with the idea of ''houses" in our astrological charts: The theory goes that each person's life can be divided into 12 categories, such as relationships, possessions, and creativity. The planet that appears in each of a person's house indicates how that person will handle that aspect of his or her life. Learning where the planets fit into your categories allows you to get a lot more specific about predicting your personal future. Ptolemy believed that celestial sources of information were far superior to any other in predicting important events for society as well as individuals (which is more scientificand a lot cleanerthan reading entrails). Many modern astrologers, amateurs, and professionals alike continue to share this belief. |
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Psychic Power in the Sacred Texts |
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Though many early forms of divination were based on natural signs or pagan practices, the development of written languages created ways to document psychic events and record specific practices. These lessons are often contained in the world's great sacred texts. Indeed, these experiences frequently form the foundation of their most famous stories. |
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