Metaphysics is the philosophy that deals with questions that examine the nature of reality. It explores the concepts of knowing, being, identity, time and space that are not answerable through scientific analysis, observation or experiment. So, metaphysics tries to understand the principles of the universe that are unseen. Meta means beyond and metaphysics tries to go beyond the things that can be explained by physics. It goes beyond the things that we can see, feel and experience with our five senses.
Ontology
Ontology is a branch of metaphysics that deals with the essence of things. It deals with the study of the entities in the universe and what things exist. Astrology tries to explain to us the state of being that we are in. It relates our being in this body and life within the framework of the planets and the earth.
The Physical Body vs The Self Identity
Each of us is a being who is contained within a body. We are bounded by our flesh and skin and consider that our boundary of self. We also create further boundaries and containers when we create physical spaces for our selves with walls and fences.
However, our greatest quest for the most elusive answer is the quest to know ourselves. We want to know about what lies within us that cannot be explained by physics, chemistry or biology. We intuitively know that there more to us than cells, bones and flesh. But, we identify ourselves by our appearance and yet most of us know that there is more to us than the surface.
Self Knowledge
When a person digs deeper inward it crosses the limits of the physical and delves into the metaphysical. Some people find the answers in spirituality. Some identify as a soul. Others find satisfactory explanations in religion. But these answers speak generally for all of humanity. There is still difficulty in getting to the bottom of the questions of why we exist and why we are the way we are. We ask why similar people in a similar set of circumstances still turn out differently and live such individually unique lives.
Astrology is so appealing as a way by which we can look inward. Introspection and spiritual growth and development are a harder way to attempt to know oneself. Astrology gives us a set of rules by which we can be read. In this lies its appeal as an ontological framework.
How Does Astrology Work As An Ontological Aid
Astrology is based on the premise that the exact time of our birth is the key to who we are inside. The snapshot of the sky at the time of birth, as well as the location at the time of birth, gives us our horoscope. Some schools of astrology have no explanation for how twins born closely together still have different lives. But Vedic astrologers, as well as some Western astrologers who use them, can differentiate between twins by their harmonic charts.
Astrology can tell us why we are born and the life focus of the person in this birth. For those who believe in rebirth, the birth chart can also give us an indication of which areas of life will throw up the most difficult karmic challenges as well. Our charts also tell us a lot about the karma we have brought into this life.
There are ways to find information about so many facets of human life through the birth chart. When one trusts a birth chart and an astrologer the ontological questions suddenly become less metaphoric and more literal. The mathematical and rule-based interpretation of the chart answers our metaphysical queries with definitive answers.
By explaining and even foretelling events in our lives, astrology links us with time. And when we multiply that with karma and many births across time and space it gives us the link between the unseen and the material plane. It gives us the security of being able to grasp that what we cannot see can still be understood and explored through astrology.
The Proper Use Of Astrology
We do a great disservice to astrology and to ourselves when we use it for frivolous purposes and trifling questions. Instead, we must use it to hold a mirror to ourselves. We can see more clearly who we are and how we must work on ourselves to grow. We can use it to shine a light on the facets of ourselves that might have otherwise remained unknown and unseen. And, when we can face who we truly are and understand why we are, it will make us more aware of the fact that no man is an island. We are all connected to each other and the universe. These connections cannot be seen or measured except through metaphysics. This makes astrology the ultimate ontological framework.
