Astrological Reviews and Essays (ARE) is the critical review and essay website of researcher Kenneth McRitchie.
The
publication and critical examination of ideas is necessary in all areas of learning.
Although some ideas may enjoy a certain status within an insular
community, it is only by connecting to the scrutiny of well informed
readers that ideas can evolve and gain usefulness as general knowledge.
Lack of open discourse fosters an unhealthy climate of excessive
skepticism and mistrust. Informed discourse acts to clarify faulty
assumptions and remove misleading claims. Critical discourse is
frequently necessary to obtain funds for research.
ARE does not attempt a comprehensive review of all research
in astrology. Nor does it try to evaluate the overall performance of
astrological research. In the history of ideas, important advances tend
to be made through remarkable insights and momentous breakthroughs. This
is why ARE focuses on key, peer reviewed research, specifically the
research that is most frequently cited in claims of evidence either for
or against astrology.
Astrology
presents many challenges to conventional beliefs that need to be
thoughtfully considered. ARE posts articles and essays to develop the
more theoretical and philosophical aspects of astrological knowledge.
These articles build a framework of concepts and questions. With regard
to astrological theory, there are three crucial questions:
- What is the physical correspondence between the individual and the celestial environment that surrounds the individual? This theory would develop correlations between mathematical frames of reference and observed natural process symmetries.
- What are the essential operations of the signs, houses, aspects, and planets when reduced to definitive meanings? This theory would align the extensive astrological taxonomy with empirically observed phenomena.
- What is the psychological mechanism of astrological interpretation? This theory would develop the assessment of astrological patterns and dynamics drawn from astrological tradition and wisdom.