Astrology...........

[Starwitch]

Would you consider Astrology to be part of the pagan religion? Its something that I'm very much in to, and was wondering if it fits into the Pagan lifestyle??

Thank you xx

[Jenett]

Let me try answering your question slightly differently, because there's really three or more different questions you might be asking.

1) Does astrology conflict with Pagan religions?

In general, no. I certainly can't think of a Neo-Pagan religion that says it's wrong or bad or not to be used or anything like that.

However, it's of different levels of importance in different Neo-Pagan religions.

2) Is it a part of all Neo-Pagan religions?

No. Reconstructionist religions (paths which reconstruct the way that historical peoples worshiped - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse) don't make much use of astrology, as I understand it - they use the kinds of timing and predictive methods that were used by those cultures.

3) Are there Neo-Pagan religions where it's more integrated?

Yep. Wicca is the one I'm most familiar with. It's still not a necessity in Wicca (as far as mastering it, or things like being able to write up and interpret a chart without a lot of help/reference material), but some familiarity doesn't hurt, and a basic understanding of the fundamental concepts shows up on requirements lists for degrees in specific groups fairly regularly as far as I've seen.

Some magical systems, including some common concepts used in a variety of Wiccan groups also consider astrological information when it comes to timing for rituals, spells, etc.

I just turned in an assignment, for example, which was to write a full moon ritual and briefly note the appropriate astrological influences and explain why this was suitable for the kind of ritual I'd written, or how it could work.

In practice, the group I work with takes things like this into consideration - but usually not the smaller details (and when it comes down to it, for group stuff, the 'when can we rent space for a suitable length of time' wins hands down.) I get the impression this is probably the most common way things work, but I might be wrong.

[Starwitch]

Thank you so much for that :) I guess I was asking more than one question!!