astrology ~ fact or fiction?

another friendly discussion quickly ramped into overdrive when some of the parties became overbearing and obnoxious, open mouths & closed minds. so I though I'd voice my ideas here.

It seems to me that humans for the greatest part have a tendency to dichotomy (a two sided view) : black/white, right/wrong, fact/fiction. I think that this is very narrow. Before I get into the first question, there is another unspoken question here: "What do you believe?" Belief is a fact to the person espousing the belief and colours all areas that the belief may touch upon. This weighs heavily on any discussion of a theoretical system of personality profiling.

For those that know me, or don't care about the arguement, or only want to know how the bits are related, here are some excerpts I have received recently. I am a Scorpio (western: Intense and complex by nature) Ox (Chinese - stop laughing - the Ox is slow but the earth is patient - persistent & stubborn), with a Cancer Ascendant (earth mother,friendships are made for life), Moon in Gemini ( vivid powers of emotional self-expression, can be a nonstop talker) and Mercury in Libra ( a true raconteur of culture and taste, with ideas and opinions that are neat, elegant and refined, a born diplomat)

As one interpretive book put it I could be described as a slightly kooky sherman tank. Most of these hold true NOW, ( so a birth chart also shows potential ) but they most certainly were not true until I had worked through all the other shit life threw at me, or I threw myself into (after around 35 or so it started to gell). Life is NEVER STATIC, for that matter even death isn't - but that's another chat entirely.

Fact: today's astrology is the culmination of a personality profiling system based upon the cyclical nature of the movement of spatial bodies and the observation of human behaviours based upon time and place of birth. The base assumption is that every individual is a part of the same system as all spatial bodies ( the universe ) and that the movement of those bodies have distinct affects on an individual's behavioural tendencies.

Fact: the human body is 70 - 75 % water, specifiaclly the brain which is about 90-92% ( google chemical composition of the human body )

Fact: the moon creates tides of up to 52 feet in the Bay of Funday which peaks twice a day ( every 12 hours and 50 minutes ), a body of water 180 miles long and tapers from 62 miles wide at its mouth to a mile wide at the end of the bay.

Fiction: lunar forces have no affect on human brains.

Fiction: horoscopes found in the newspaper accurately apply to all individuals ( are you kidding me? 12 personalities for the entire human population - not bloody likely )

Fact: astrophysics show that large spatial bodies have long ranging affects on other bodies.

Historical Facts:
astrological systems have been created by many different cultures throughout history, for common purpose:

Vedic (India):
oldest, Base = date, place and time of birth. Uses the actual constellations of stars as seen in the sky & produces a completely different chart than the one used by western astrologers. The system recognizes the heavenly bodies in our solar system only and considers the rest of the constellations and galaxies as reference points in relation to the planets. The strength of the planets is judged based on the constellation they are moving against. The Indian system considers zodiac as ecliptic rather than circular, with 12 houses of varying degrees directly related to a specific constellations at time of birth, increasing individual chart accuracy.

Western (Modern based on Mesopotamian celestial omen reading):
Base = date, place and time of birth. Being Geocentric it uses the path of the sun through the heavens, as seen from planet Earth. It looks at the constellations, which used to lie along this path, now called the Zodiac. The sun sign represents the sign of the Zodiac that the Sun passed through at the time of the birth of a person. The Greek discovery of the ecliptic allowed for the complettion of an exact sloar calendar.

Chinese( Ancient Asia - Middle Ages ):
Base = date & year of birth.Core elements are Ying-Yang, the Five Elements, and a 60 year time cycle. There are twelve signs in Chinese astrology as well but are based on a different zodiacal structure. Most people tend to stereotype Chinese astrology as an over-simplified system of one personality type that applies to everyone in a given year. However, this astrology has a set of interpretative rules and divisions of topic in life equally complex as western or Indian astrology. One will note the cultural influence in Chinese astrology delineations that reflects the importance of family and ancestors.

There are also known systems for the Rom, Egyptians, Mayans, Incas, Greeks ...

Fiction: All individuals born in the same sign are the same( over simplified ).

Fiction: a birth chart will show all of the details of an entire life.

Fact: a bith chart shows trends & tendencies, which known may assist in avoiding unpleasantness, or piques an interest and leads a person to it ( be careful what you ask for ).

It is my opinion after a couple of decades of studying, that astrology is a viable system for general personality profiling. The questionability arises with the source of interpretation. Yes there will be errors, and charlatans abound ( please remember that these systems were created by people ). And yes I am sure that every individual has the opportunity to make meaningful changes in their lives. A birth chart simply provides a foundation to build upon, as progression charts can be done for following years.

Another addendum: In the western system, your sun sign describes the foundation when you are born. The Ascendant sign describes how other people perceive you ( we all wear masks ). Your Moon sign describes your emotionality, and Mercury describes how you communicate... If you get a chart done and you discover a negative trend, remember the warning and make better choices.