Hippocrates (supposedly) wrote that a physician without a knowledge of astrology had better call himself a fool rather than a physician, and Culpeper (definitely) stated that physic without astrology is like a lamp without oil. Now these are pretty strong statements:
What is it that astrology can offer to medicine that makes it so indispensable?
Astrology can be useful in providing insights concerning the diagnosis, prognosis and most effective treatment for individuals and their illnesses. It is in the ability to address the specific, individual case that astrology excels. The experimental data that provide the guidelines for orthodox medical assessment and treatment are based mainly on statistical averages. That gives us the average man who, of course, does not exist, especially if he is a woman. Almost every assessment and treatment will therefore be only approximately right if that patient falls within the peak of the average, and potentially disastrously wrong if they happen to be one of the few per cent at the tail ends of the frequency curves.
Sir William Osler, a famous Canadian physician, once said that it was more important to know what sort of patient has the disease than to know what sort of disease the patient has. Practitioners of holistic medicine are starting to ask the question, 'Why is this particular illness happening to this particular person at this particular time?' These are issues which astrology is well-equipped to tackle.
The natal chart can certainly demonstrate what sort of person has the disease, and transits and progressions show why, and why at this time. The natal chart will reveal, too, the likely reaction of the individual to stress. Since unresolved stress seems to have a major part to play in the aetiology of disease, this knowledge is of paramount importance.
I do not think that we are advanced enough in medical astrology always to be able to make the connection between the patient as understood astrologically and the particular physical components of the disease. The thighbone -connected -to -the -kneebone approach of traditional rulerships, while it can give some interesting and important insights, in some cases simply does not hold water.
Astrology is one of the finest and most advanced tools for understanding the individual psyche. This has come about through the work of skilled astrologers, such as Liz Greene, who also have a high degree of proficiency and scholarship in the theory and practice of psychology and psychotherapy.
A great deal of work needs to be done by practising astrologers who are also medically fluent, whether it be in the Western, Ayurvedic, Tibetan or Chinese system, before medical astrology can reach the same degree of sophistication as psychological astrology. However, there are many link-ups with the body which have been pieced together over the years and which by tradition and/or experience have been shown to provide invaluable insights.
The decumbiture chart is a specialised form of horary astrology which has been adapted for medical use. It is a useful tool to help evaluate what is going on at any one moment in the patient's life, and in particular the state of health. It is especially useful as it shows the practitioner's involvement in the treatment, a factor overlooked at one's peril, as well as the nature of the remedies to be given.
A prognosis can be made by assessing the type of person who has the illness, and how they are likely to handle challenges and the need to adapt. Much information can also be gained from the timing of the transits and progressions, and from the decumbiture chart. In addition, the constitutional make-up will also determine which therapeutic measures are likely to be the most effective. The practitioner can then assess the factors at work and choose whether to oppose, assist or balance those processes.
REFERENCES
Bircher-Benner, Max, Ordnungsgesetze des Lebens als Wegweiser für echte Gesundheit, Bircher-Benner Verlag, Bad Homburg and Zürich, 1984
http://astrologyclub.org/medical/
Culpeper, Nicholas, Culpeper's British Herbal, reprinted Milner & Co., Manchester, ud. Dossey, Larry, Beyond Illness, Shambala, Boston and London, 1984
http://www.astroheal.com/
Ebertin, Reinhold, The Combination of Stellar Influences, American Foundation of Astrologers, Monroe, 1972
LeShan, Lawrence, Holistic Health, Turnstone, Wellingborough, 1984
Capra, Fritjof, The Turning Point, Flamingo, London 1983