Jewish Horoscopes

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Lech Lecha (Genesis 12-17 )

The Sages tell us that God took Abraham and lifted him into the heavens, above the stars themselves. This is probably not meant to be taken literally. They explain, however, the message. God was telling Abraham that he was now above the stars. The stars would have no influence on his future or the future of his children.

It often comes as a surprise for people to find out that Judaism does in fact believe in star signs and horoscopes. In Jewish thinking, a person's whole future is mapped out in the stars, and for one who knows how, reading the stars is like reading a book of the future. Now this does not mean that one should take too seriously what is said in the tabloid horoscopes. I am absolutely confident that someone with a real knowledge of how to read the stars would not bother writing for a newspaper.

It is, however, forbidden in Torah law for a Jew to read the stars or listen to someone who can do so. A Jew, as God told Abraham, should be "above the stars."

The only person whose future is mapped out in the stars is the one who does not take responsibility to make meaningful decisions in their life. If a person rides through life on auto-pilot, responding to circumstance based on how they feel, then their future is mapped out already. Their course through life has been charted. It is a life of cause and effect, which, for one who understands how, is entirely predictable.

It's like a ball in a frictionless pinball machine. If you know the starting acceleration and mass of the ball, as well as the location and force exerted on the ball by every bumper, you will be able to predict exactly where the ball will go. It's complex, but entirely predictable.

If, however, a human being is at the flippers, his free will now makes it impossible to determine how the ball will move. It is now completely within the hands of that person to decide.

So too in life: If a person takes the driver's seat and makes meaningful decisions, he can change the destiny mapped out for him. If he looks into himself to decide what he really wants from life, and charts a course to achieve it, then his future is in his own hands.

Our horoscopes are only as true as we allow them to be. Unfortunately, it is much easier to go through life on automatic pilot. Life can go where the stars say it will, or where we want it to go. The choice is entirely ours to make.

 

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