With all the information and enlightenment now at our fingertips, it is astonishing to detect that astrology and black magic should have such a hold upon the people of our land. Astrologers are known by many different names, such as witches, mediators, Satanists, fortune-tellers, magicians (not to be confused with sleight of hand artists), conjurers, sorcerers, demonologists, palmists, card readers, divinationists, soothsayers, voodooists, augurers, charmers, wizards, spiritualists, gypsies, or necromancers. Several of these terms are to be found in the condemnation of this sin in Dent. 18:9-12. Astrology probably is the most commonly used term in our country today for this witchcraft.

Astrology had its beginning almost five thousand years ago in Mesopotamia. From Babylonia and Assyria, the idea that the stars and their formations somehow foretell, and sometimes predetermine, the future traveled to Greece, Egypt, and finally to the East.

The Babylonians invented the concept of the zodiac, "an imaginary orbit of fixed stars that occurs in the course of a year." The zodiac is divided into twelve sections which are called "houses," and each "house" is supposedly ruled by a planet, with the sun considered one of the planets. The days of the years are assigned to various "houses," and one can determine his horoscope for a particular day by viewing the various relations and positions of stars and planets.

The twelve constellations of the zodiac are Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19); Aquarius (Jan. 10-Feb. 18); Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20); Aries Mar. 21-Apr. 19); Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20); Gemini (May 21-June 21); Cancer (June 22-July 22); Leo (July 23-Aug. 22); Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22); Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23); Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov. 21); and Sagittarius (Nov. 22Dec. 2 1).

Various stars, such as Sirius, Antaras, and Vega, are used by astrologists in their computations. The working tools of an astrologist are the twelve houses, seven planets, other stars, and their relative positions. As the heavenly bodies move about from day to day, astrologists attempt to predict your future by the relative positions of stars and planets. Indeed, astrology not only believes it can predict your future by such heavenly bodies, but that your future is determined by the sun, stars, and planets.

Proscriptions

The Bible specifically condemns such "stargazing" in many, many different passages. Perhaps I should here recite some of these passages in order to show the relevance of articles on this subject in a journal of this kind. In Deut. 18:9-12 God said: "When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be. found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiceth augury, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah"

In Isa. 47:11-14 God showed the futility in trusting in those who claimed familiarity with the spirit world. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not he able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, or a fire to sit before. Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored: they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to his quarter; there shall be none to save thee."

Jeremiah added: "But as for you, hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you...(Jer. 27:9, 10). There are many other such warnings in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, we can read of the conversion of one sorcerer (Acts 8:9-11), and of the striking blind of another one (Acts 13:611). The eternal destiny of those who traffic in such black magic is explicitly stated: "But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8). After having spoken of those who may enter into the eternal city, John said: "Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie." (Rev. 22:15)

All of these spiritualists claim to be mediums with the spirit world, but not with the Spirit of God! However, there are false prophets who claim new revelations from God, but I do not now have these under consideration; the workers of "black" magic claim to have contact with the evil spirits of the spirit world. Joseph Bayly said: "What is the source of the power a witch claims to foretell the future, to establish contact with the dead? The one person this is not is God. Witches do not claim to mediate between a seeking person and the divine being; if they did they would be priests rather than witches." (What About Horoscopes?, p. 27)

Sorcery or witchcraft is a false religion, and this is why it is so stringently condemned in the Bible. A Mrs. Leek, a self-confessed witch, said: "Witchcraft, like any other religion, must be accepted consciously. It is a decision that requires maturity." (As reported in the Chicago Daily News)

They even have their own bible, called The Book of Shadows, which contains charms, rituals, chants, and curses. There are even churches of Satan established over our country by these false religionists. They have priests and high priests.

Yet some members of the church read their horoscope in the daily newspaper with greater regularity and enthusiasm than they read the Word of God. (More to Follow)

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 28, pp. 3-5
May 18, 1972