[HPforGrownups] Re: The Death Chamber, and others

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 81711

On 27 Sep 2003 at 11:05, arrowsmithbt wrote:

> I think you're making the mistake of confusing Astronomy (Sinistra) with
> Astrology (all the other frauds).. Throughout  the series there has been
> a repeated rubbishing and mistrust of divination in all it's forms, especially
> Astrology. Time  and again we are told not to trust it, that faking it in
> homework is a reasonable action to  take, that when this is marked, the
> ethereal  Sybill obviously can't determine the accuracy of the work done. 
> Otherwise Harry and Ron would score zero. She marks for effect only.

The thing is, while there is a clear difference between astronomy and astrology in 
the Muggle world, it may not be as clear in the Wizarding world - the true 
existence of magic can change things - and while Trelawney may be mostly a 
fraud, it does appear that prophecy is still considered valid in the Wizarding world 
and if that is so, prediction using the planets (some form of astrology) may still be 
valid even if Trelawney knows nothging about it.
 
> By the way, alluding to an earlier post, Pluto is no longer regarded as
> a planet by astronomers. 

Most astronomers still consider Pluto to be a planet - it's true that there is a 
sizeable minority who want to describe it as something else, but the consensus at 
the moment is still to count it as a major planet (the present of Charon makes it 
problematic to classify it differently). Currently the International Astronomical 
Union still considers it to be a planet and that's as close to an official decision as 
you'll find (http://www.iau.org/PlutoPR.html)




Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia