By Wil Milan Special to SPACE.com posted: 07:03 am ET 04 May 2000 We humans have a long tradition of trying to link ourselves to the stars. Ancient civilizations around the world invented forms of astrology in the belief that stars control our fates. Lunar and solar eclipses were likewise considered omens, and astrologers tried to divine, often upon pain of death, the meaning of an eclipse or other celestial event. Some of the celestial events thought most significant by ancients were planetary conjunctions, the alignment of the visible planets in the night sky. While eclipses and minor alignments (two planets passing near each other) typically occur several times a year, major conjunctions including four or five of the visible planets are much, much rarer -- often decades apart. This Friday, six of the planets and the sun will be arranged in a rough line across the solar system. Some have raised fears that this astronomical arrangement could cause everything from giant earthquakes to tsunamis. Scientists however have said that the gravitational effects would so minor as to not be detectable. The sociological effects are another matter. Divining meaning For ancient astrologers the difficult part of divining conjunctions was deciding what meaning to attach to them. Are the planets signaling something good or something bad? Is the conjunction a warning, and if so, of what? Naturally, in any nation or civilization it's not difficult to think of many upcoming events to which the "warning" could apply: An upcoming battle, a royal wedding, a political maneuver. But because ancient civilizations were typically ruled by kings, the omens -- good or bad -- were often believed to apply to the monarch or his family, and the omens were believed so powerful that they could sometimes enthrone or dethrone a ruler, or even end a dynasty. Succession by the stars One of the most interesting studies of this was done by David Pankenier, professor of Chinese literature and history at Lehigh University. Dr. Pankenier's research revealed that the ancient Chinese doctrine of "the Mandate of Heaven" (the belief that the heavens signal when the king has lost heavenly favor and it's time for a new one) arose from the very close planetary alignment of February 26, 1953 BC, which came to be seen as presaging the Hsia Dynasty -- the first of the great Chinese dynasties. That conjunction in 1953 BC was thought so significant that for long afterward the Chinese reckoned that date to mark the beginning of time. Of course, what the planets give, the planets can take away, and four centuries later the Hsia dynasty was brought down by a another planetary conjunction. On December 20, 1576 BC a close conjunction of four planets was seen to indicate that the Hsia dynasty had become corrupt and, in the ensuing rebellion, the Shang dynasty was installed. The Shang dynasty, in turn, was doomed by the conjunction of May 28, 1059 BC, which brought to power the Chou dynasty. For Chinese rulers the sky held not only wonders, but also fate and fear. Because of the power that conjunctions and other events could have over the status quo, astronomy was considered a very important study in ancient China, and its practice was both encouraged and tightly controlled by the emperor. It was important that the ruler's opponents not become aware of possible "bad signs," lest they use them as mandate to overthrow the existing order. Ironically, though astrology is no longer regarded as a science, the study of the heavens by the Chinese has been a boon to modern scientific astronomers. The ancient Chinese, looking to the heavens for signs, left behind a detailed record thousands of years long, recording every significant event in the heavens with great detail and accuracy. These ancient Chinese records have provided data to compute the orbits of long-period comets, the exact dates and appearances of supernova explosions and even to calibrate calendars by the dates when they recorded conjunctions and eclipses. In the West In the Western world astrology was popular in medieval times, and many pioneers of scientific astronomers, such as Johannes Kepler, often made part of their living casting horoscopes. Planetary conjunctions were not accorded quite the same significance as in ancient China, but the planets were each accorded different "personalities," and their alignment could be seen as combining their multiple influences to have some effect on individuals on Earth. Back again The rise of scientific astronomy since the 17th century largely relegated astrology to more of a curiosity than a science and planetary conjunctions were no longer accorded much meaning by most people. Conjunctions went largely unnoticed, or noted only as scientific curiosities. However, in the latter part of the 20th century the fear of conjunctions was again popular, but this time under the guise of "science." It was claimed by some that the alignment of the gravitational pull of all the planets could wreak great damage on Earth, causing earthquakes, volcanoes and other catastrophes. Though this view has no scientific basis, it took hold in the popular mind, in part because it resonated with a number of themes that became popular in the late 20th century: The rise of "New Age" belief, which revived many ancient mystical and astrological beliefs. The sense, arising from the ecology movement, that Earth is precariously balanced and therefore any tiny effect can have very large consequences. A reduced trust in government, which made it plausible to believe that the supposed danger of planetary conjunctions could be "covered up" by the authorities. This, in turn, made it easier to disbelieve statements by scientists asserting that there is no danger from conjunctions. The basis is different, but the effect is much the same: Planetary conjunctions are again popularly watched and widely feared. Just like the ancient Chinese, the fear of conjunctions is not specific, but vague. Many bad things could supposedly happen, and no one knows which, if any, it will be. And just as with ancient astrologers, this belief is self-validating. Catastrophes of some kind -- earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. -- happen all the time, so one can always point to some natural event and claim it was due to the planetary conjunction. No real effect The truth is that the gravitational effect of other planets on Earth is so slight as to be insignificant. The only celestial bodies that have any significant gravitational effect on Earth are the sun and the moon, and in a conjunction their effects are the same as at any other time, whether or not they are aligned with very distant planets. But the fearful predictions continue in the popular media, and against all odds we have come full circle. In a time when science and technology have revolutionized our lives, we are again voicing the fears of ancient astrologers. But there's a bright side to everything. The revived fear of planetary conjunctions has raised awareness of scientific astronomy as more people pay attention to celestial events and the beauty of the sky. If, because of this, more people take an interest in the real science of the planets, perhaps the modern fear of conjunctions will vanish as did the trepidation of the ancient Chinese. 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