Science started in the middle. Visions of the wise, and "revelations" from "rapid-eye-movement" sleep, when the mind is released from beliefs we think we know, were passed on and repeated indefinitely to become dogma. A gene is a self-replicating organic complex. A meme is a self-replicating concept, which likewise may propagate through generations.
Astrology starts with the time and date of birth. Calculations establish the relative positions of the planets and the zodiac constellations. So far so good. impeccable science. The meme is to believe that the relative position of lordly Jupiter and voluptuous Venus, or of peripatetic Mercury and belligerent Mars, to Libra's scales of justice or the threat of Scorpio have profound influence on a specific billionth of humanity. Such anthropomorphism of stars and planets is utterly absurd fantasy. Yet more than a third of adult Americans believe it. Every newspaper and magazine has its astrology page. Nancy Reagan, wife of an American President, is reported to have her personal astrologer. Kepler, great physicist though he was, earned his livelihood as an astrologer. The chant: such precise mathematics could not be wrong.
