On Astrology and Divinity From a Jewish Perspective

The whole time I’ve been practicing astrology, I have wrestled with the Divine about its implications, which is in keeping not only with my own history but that of my entire people, who are called ישראל, after our father, Yaakov, whose name was changed to “Wrestles with the Divine” after he secured his blessing for us in a physical struggle with a divine being.

This part of my struggle with astrology is ancestrally resonant. The parts about worshipping planets, not so much.

While many contemporary Western practitioners find astrology technical enough to remain fascinated by it in a purely mechanistic way, without it stirring any (or very much, at any rate) spiritual feeling, this would never have been possible for me, nor is it remotely resonant with the astrological tradition itself to experience it that way.

One way or another, astrology is an interface with Divinity. This means its manifestation is as radically personal as spirituality always is.

So I only want to speak on how it happened for me, but it eventually became clear that divination via the planets was directed to me via particular channels, with particular messages both for me and for those for whom I was channeling, and the particularity of this experience brought me into contact with what I’d call the “structurally polytheistic” mode of astrology in a 7-planet traditional cosmos.

It irreparably changed my spiritual practice to enter into relationship with these 7 Travelers.

To some extent, I followed the conventions of my local astrology culture in learning the practice, which was not devoid of Jews but was formed in the mold of “Western Magic(k)” — deeply (and often problematically) influenced by Jewish practice, to be sure, but more centrally derived from certain lineages of European syncretic spiritualism and Hellenistic ones before that.

These are, to oversimplify academically but not Jewishly, polytheistic traditions.

This is where I learned the basics.

As I emerged from the state of pure astrological learning and into practice, the purpose of planetary petitions and hymns and so forth became quite clear:

Astrology does not operate as a description of conditions. It is a CONVERSATION with incomprehensibly vast forces and place-entities, and one must position oneself properly and remain oriented in order to be blessed with the reception of actionable information from it.

It’s quite reasonable to personify one’s cosmic interlocutors as gods.

Eventually, as enough time passed to actually LIVE in astrology, the part that must have once been the indigenous cultural layer of planetary relationship began to kick in. As the transits and timing cycles governed by specific planets brought different and undeniably profound results, I began to know their roles in MY LIFE.

The Divine Unity began to express as clearly individual agents.

At times this seemed like the biggest cultural risk for me. But it was actually the way toward synthesis.

It wasn’t just a CULTURAL risk, either, if I’m being honest. I certainly WAS concerned about fitting into my Jewish community — where my very WIFE is the rabbi, and very much not a, you know, pagan. But I was almost more concerned about the Divine ITSELF.

My whole life, my whole path, has been guided by — has CONFIRMED — the one sort of credal Jewish statement, יהוה אחד, Divine Reality is ONE. Whenever I started favoring particular divinities, I got into real spiritual trouble.

What did that look like? Faith spirals (insanity). Doubt spirals (despair). Wild-eyed states that alienated me from people around me. Obsessive behaviors that disturbed my sleep and interrupted my work and overrode my responsibilities. SOMETHING was not right. I was not able to integrate what was happening for me spiritually, and I am of the view that integration is perhaps the ONLY sign of spiritual health.

I had to reconcile all this somehow if I wanted to keep doing astrology. Which I did.

I perused the Jewish astrologers, medieval and modern, and learned their intellectual tools — think of planets as “angels” or “agents,” basically, still subject to the Divine Will — and it helped a little bit. I understood the kabbalistic description, that any manifest thing is an alchemical creation of the same Divine ingredients with which the Divine created everything else.

But this didn’t actually resolve my inner turmoil because that’s not how inner turmoil works.

What did it was Jupiter.

Not Jupiter the philandering paternal deity. Jupiter the planet of faith.

Toward the end of my first year of study, I entered a Jupiter profection year. Jupiter was stationed retrograde at the last degree of my 4th house of home and family when I was born, and in this Jupiter year it would return to that house for the third time in my life.

A renewal of my covenant with my ancestors could hardly be more clearly written in the sky.

And as Jupiter moved, as did my wisdom, my understanding.

The time came that I would begin to practice astrology publicly and accountably. I haven’t had a crisis of faith like that in a little while, maybe since the birth of my first child. “What if it doesn’t work? What if all this study and practice has been for nothing?”

I knew that the only way to find out was to have faith and keep going. ♃ in ♈︎

My first public horary was wrong. Painful. But I learned from it.

My second one was shockingly and immediately right. I exulted.

In my rejoicing, I felt the presence of Jupiter.

The reflex arose to give thanks to Jupiter, and at this pivotal moment, I hesitated.

No. Not thanks TO Jupiter.

Thanks FOR Jupiter.

Grateful am I before You, Living and Eternal Sovereign, who returns my soul to me in mercy.

ABUNDANT IS YOUR FAITH. ♃