What are the four levels of belief in astrology?

The four levels of belief in astrology, ranging from strong dismissal to strong belief, are based in relationship to: one, ontology or astrology's truth claims, that is, whether astrology is in fact telling us something significant in terms of the nature of reality, and, two, value. Is astrology beneficial to humankind or ultimately detrimental?

The Strong Dismissal:

With the strong dismissal, not only is astrology seen as being false in its assumption that there is a correspondence between the planets and human behavior, but astrology is believed to be a dangerous pseudoscience that encourages the worst in human behavior. Thus, with the strong dismissal, astrology is discredited on two counts: in terms of value and its truth claims. Most proponents of this view believe that astrology is the vestigial product of "magical thinking": thinking that falsely views an interconnection of everything in the cosmos and that certain inexplicable forces, powers, or energies, operate outside the measure and identification of classical science. What's worse, claim advocates of the strong dismissal, is that astrology helps people avoid responsibility, encourages a lack of critical thinking, excuses failure on the "powers of the universe," and fosters a locus of control outside of personal agency. Advocates of the strong dismissal would include the 186 scientists that signed the "Objections to Astrology" in 1975.

The Weak Dismissal:

For proponents of the weak dismissal, astrology is more a matter of "as below, so above," than "as above, so below;" astrology may offer a beautiful conception of the universe, but it is the result of human psychological projection onto the night sky. Under this argument, the astrological archetypes of houses, signs, and planets symbolize a full portrait of human life and speak deeply to a wise and intuitive understanding of being human, but astrology itself isn't in any sense "ontological" or "real." Weak dismissal proponents might suggest that belief in astrology represents a naïve wish-fulfillment on the part of those who can't sufficiently deal with the increasing existential pressures of the modern world—it is a regression, albeit a very beautiful one, into a pre-egoic form of consciousness. In terms of its value to life, astrology is relatively innocuous and is neither malicious nor inherently positive. Those advocating the weak dismissal believe that condemning astrology with zealous, "fire and brimstone" attacks and pedagogy gives astrology more power and attention than if otherwise left alone. Advocates of the weak dismissal are usually well-educated and more or less aware and informed citizens of all backgrounds and diversities.

The Weak Acceptance:

This level of belief might be more appropriately labeled the "power of belief" argument. Under the weak acceptance argument, it is assumed that astrology works and that its claims are valid, however, the reason for astrology's efficacy is not due to some eternal laws of the universe but more the result of a faith in astrology by many of the world's cultures for centuries. Under this assumption, some sort of "deep groove" of belief in astrology has been impressed in something analogous to the collective unconscious, akasha, or other repository system of the universe that stores memory, experience, meaning and subjectivity. Hence, astrology works not because it is revelatory of the deep underpinnings and logic of the mind of god but simply because enough people have believed in it over the centuries. This level of acceptance may be best described in the following passage by astrologer Carol Willis:

My conclusion however, is that astrology "works" not because the planets cause anything [they don't], or because there is any exact mapping of events to planets [there isn't], but because the practice of astrology - the conversation of astrology - is A COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT ABOUT REALITY AT A VERY DEEP LEVEL, an agreement about life-process, soul-experience, what we're learning individually and collectively, and what meaning we place on our experience. (emphasis Willis's) (1)

In terms of value, adherents of this view believe that astrology, as a tool, can greatly enhance self-understanding and self-growth but when used unwisely or unconsciously can amplify the same pitfalls and problems that those that strongly dismiss astrology caution against.

The Strong Acceptance:

Fundamental to this level of belief of astrology is the assumption that both subjective and external realities are the manifestations of archetypes: atemporal, cross-cultural building blocks, or meta-patterns, of existence. Although the idea of archetype is not a new one, espoused by thinkers from Plato to Jung, what distinguishes astrology's use of the term from many, more casual employments is that archetypes are not thought to be metaphorical, "as if" propositions but are believed to be interwoven into the very fabric of the universe, permeating all levels of reality. This belief in astrology usually also is sympathetic with the idea of an anima mundi, an ancient belief that purports that the world is ensouled. Astrology is the art and science that best illuminates the changes, fluctuations, dynamism, and cycles of this very real and essential world soul. States transpersonal theorist Gerry Goddard:

"Astrology's real power and larger purpose is not to demonstrate scientifically a correspondence of planetary fact and earthly event, state, or process but to deduce the symbolic meaning of any factual correspondence in such a way that constitutes real knowledge and not simply random imagination and invention (though these are an integral part of the epistemological process). What is most remarkable and philosophically significant about astrology is that its symbolism is grounded in a time/space map and not simply projected upon the physical world." (2)

This argument is in agreement with the weak acceptance argument relative to implicit dangers and positive contributions of astrology. However, in addition, this argument supposes a fundamental shift in one's relationship to the world that other points of view do not. Not only does astrology help to encourage personal evolution and self-understanding, but, if indeed the world is a vital organism or ensouled, than astrology represents a paradigm shift of enormous import that has direct bearing on the treatment of the planet itself. From this point of view, astrology is unreservedly ecological, reversing the centuries long viewpoint that the world is dormant of spirit, dead, and a mound of matter the result of the unintelligent machinations of Darwinian evolution.

(1)http://medicinegarden.com/Astrology/beginner4.html

(2)http://mars.ark.com/%7Egero/metarch.html