COUNTER-REFERENCE FROM THE OPPOSITION In the fifteenth century there lived Pico della Mirandola, who was called an exceptionally gifted scholar because at the age of twenty-four he published eight hundred theses on logic, mathematics, physics, theology, and the Kabbalah. In one person, “all opponents of astrology” were gathered. The count had such a fierce antipathy toward the stellar science that he was known as the “scourge of astrology.” Yet, unwittingly, he became a brilliant proof of the accuracy of this unrelenting science. Three different astronomers predicted that this bold nobleman would not live beyond thirty-three years. Mirandola believed this prophecy could become a powerful tool in his hands, as it would enable him to conclusively prove that these “star charlatans,” as he called them, were old frauds who had lost their minds. But Pico spent so many hours criticizing them that he had no time left to attend to the affairs of his own life. Like other reckless mortals, he used his intellect to condemn and condemn rather than to think, and as you can see, on that very day, at that very hour—as had been foretold—Mirandola died, thereby defending the very cause he sought to destroy. Those who criticize astrology are themselves victims of fate, while the wise men whose arguments they reject escape harsh circumstances and, of all people, enjoy the freedom of will.
In the British Astrological Journal, James Harvey made the following statement: “The greatest evidence of the truth of astrology is that it has never ceased its movement but has steadily advanced through the centuries, pushing through the fog of the ancient world and the horrors of medieval superstitions; from the prehistoric and ancient plains of Chaldea and Assyria—here, to our time.” (Manly P. Hall, Astrology: The Key to Understanding. Translated from English. Moscow: Sfera, 2002, p. 128)
