Medication, the Heavens, and the Rhythm of Creation: A Reflection on Pure Astrology
For a lot of historical past, the research of the celebs was not a mystical artwork, however a science. The identical medical doctors who tended the sick and studied anatomy additionally charted the actions of the moon and planets. To a medieval doctor, the heavens and the physique have been woven collectively in a single nice sample of divine design. Understanding that sample was seen as an act of reverence for the Creator, not a defiance of Him.
Docs as Astrologers
Within the nice universities of the Center Ages — Paris, Bologna, Oxford — medical college students discovered each astronomy and astrology. Astronomy meant the measurement and geometry of the heavens: how the moon moved, how eclipses labored, and learn how to calculate the calendar. Astrology meant understanding how these heavenly rhythms affected life on earth — climate, crops, tides, and the human physique.
The physique itself was believed to replicate the cosmos. Medieval manuscripts typically present the “Zodiac Man,” a determine mapped from head to foot with the twelve indicators: Aries ruling the pinnacle, Taurus the neck, Leo the center, Pisces the toes.
The moon’s month-to-month journey by way of these indicators guided physicians of their timing of therapies. They believed that when the moon was passing by way of the signal that ruled a selected a part of the physique, that space was extra “delicate” — so operations or bloodletting have been greatest prevented then.
This was not superstition to them, however science — an try and work with the rhythms of nature fairly than towards them. Their calendars of moon phases and star indicators have been instruments for well being, simply as stethoscopes are right now.
Zodiac Man mixed with Phlebotomy Man, displaying when and the place bloodletting must be accomplished. From John Foxton’s Liber Cosmographiae, 1408.
The Moon and Pure Order
The moon, particularly, held a particular place in drugs. Its phases have been believed to affect the physique’s fluids, simply as they have an effect on the tides. Physicians used lunary calendars to notice important days in sickness and restoration. Even Christian students similar to Thomas Aquinas accepted that the heavens might affect pure issues — the climate, the seasons, even the physique’s temperament — whereas insisting that the celebs couldn’t govern the human soul or will.
On this manner, medieval “astrology” was not fortune-telling however a type of pure philosophy — a research of creation’s order beneath God.
Religion, Science, and Symbolism
As a lately reverted Catholic, I discover this historic perspective deeply shifting. It reminds us that religion and science have been by no means meant to be enemies. The medieval physician regarded on the stars and noticed not powers to be feared, however a language by way of which God revealed His order and concord.
My very own curiosity within the moon and zodiac follows that very same path — not divination, however contemplation. I now not write “forecasts” or predictions. As an alternative, I take advantage of the moon’s cycles as alternatives for reflection on well being, rhythm, and stability. The total moon and new moon are pure markers in time: moments to pause, breathe, and spot how creation itself strikes in cycles of sunshine and relaxation.
Going Ahead: The Moon as a Trainer of Steadiness
If I ever return to doing the moon stories, I’ll deal with what I name pure astrology — observing the relationships between the heavens and the pure world, with out assigning them energy over destiny. Every full moon will change into a mirrored image on life’s rhythm: when to decelerate, when to behave, when to relaxation, when to create.
I’ll additionally share the historical past behind how historical and medieval healers used lunar timing — not as medical recommendation, however as perception into how folks as soon as tried to dwell in concord with the pure world. My hope is to attach science, spirituality, and historical past: to point out how the moon’s mild can information consciousness, not prediction. Apparently it was by no means a sin to observe medical astrology, which might be the course I take with this web site sooner or later.
Psalm 19 proclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His palms.” That verse captures the essence of this work. The moon and stars usually are not omens, however reflections of life’s pure rhythms and of our our bodies’ deep connection to the weather. They remind us that we belong to the marvel of the pure world whilst we attain towards the divine.