With the rise of the Scientific Age, astrology declined in stature from a serious pursuit to a practise of dubious value. The reasons for its fall into disrepute are numerous and complex. Suffice it to say that the main criticisms were voiced by the scientific community. However, there is nothing in modern science that invalidates astrology's two basic principles:
1. There are correlations between celestial events and events on earth.
2. There are correlations between the position of the planets at birth and the human personality.
Modern science cannot refute these two basic premises of astrology. Moreover, there is an abundance of concrete evidence supporting them.
Perhaps the most common and best known effect of the planets on earth is provided by the gravitational fields of the sun and moon, which cause the rising and falling of tides on the earth. Planetary effects in the physical world provide a powerful argument for the validity of the astrological premises. If other forms of life are influenced by celestial cycles, it follows that humans must be influenced as well.
F.A. Brown, a professor of biology at Northwestern University, offered just this type of evidence concerning the cosmic influence upon living organisms. One impressive experiment involved oysters. Oysters open and close their shells in a rhythm attuned to the tides. Brown moved oysters from the east coast to Illinois, and placed them in pans of salt water in a dark room. Within two weeks the oysters had adjusted their opening and closing rhythms to the lunar phases of Illinois. In other words, the oysters adjusted to what would have been the tidal rhythm of Illinois had there been tides there. This proved that it was the moon, and not the actual water, which caused the periodicity.
