Q: Do you believe in numerology and astrology? Do astrology and numerology have any thing to do with our souls or God’s universal plan for us?

A: Thank you so much for these questions to us at Truthbook.com. We are more than happy to try and help you in your quest for truth.

The study of astrology and numerology, while still popular in our day and time, are hold-overs from our primitive past.

From The Urantia Book:

(81:2.9) …The ancients sought a supernatural explanation for all natural phenomena not within the range of their personal comprehension; and many moderns continue to do this. The depersonalization of so-called natural phenomena has required ages, and it is not yet completed. But the frank, honest, and fearless search for true causes gave birth to modern science: It turned astrology into astronomy, alchemy into chemistry, and magic into medicine.

(88:6.5) Magic was the panch off the evolutionary religious tree which eventually bore the fruit of a scientific age. Belief in astrology led to the development of astronomy; belief in a philosopher’s stone led to the mastery of metals, while belief in magic numbers founded the science of mathematics.

These practices are no longer relevant or helpful to our spiritual growth—they were scaffolding which gave way to the more helpful sciences, as explained in the above passage. Again, The Urantia Book is clear on this issue. Here are some of the teachings of Jesus on this subject:

(150:3.2) Late that evening Jesus gave the united group a memorable talk on “Magic and Superstition.” In those days the appearance of a pight and supposedly new star was regarded as a token indicating that a great man had been born on earth. Such a star having then recently been observed, Andrew asked Jesus if these beliefs were well founded. In the long answer to Andrew’s question the Master entered upon a thoroughgoing discussion of the whole subject of human superstition. The statement which Jesus made at this time may be summarized in modern phraseology as follows:

1. The courses of the stars in the heavens have nothing whatever to do with the events of human life on earth. Astronomy is a proper pursuit of science, but astrology is a mass of superstitious error which has no place in the gospel of the kingdom.

And you can click on the page links to read even more about the olden-day superstitious practices of our ancestors. Even if it were true that we are born into a personalty “type, ” our personalities are completely unique and we always have the power of free-will choice. No matter what our innate tendencies may be—whether racial, physical, mindal, or spiritual, we always have an open-ended opportunity to better ourselves through our own free-willed decisions. Relying on these fuzzy “-ologies” only retards our progress, and prevents us from seeing ourselves as we truly are—unique expressions of the Universal Father of personality. There are no “magic bullets” in this life. Living a life dedicated to finding and doing the will of the Father is the only sure path to finding true soul growth. The Urantia Book has been given to us to help us transcend these primitive beliefs and to soar into the heights of true reality, using our God-given, God-indwelt minds and our intellectual abilities to grapple with the problems and challenges of life, using our inner “pilot”

Thanks again for writing to us with this timely and interesting question. I hope this reply has been helpful