Sources

Each course and article on According to the Planets comes with its own detailed list of sources. These include peer-reviewed scientific studies, historical references, official published resources and primary texts. By sharing these references, we aim to give you direct access to the foundations of our content - from modern research in astronomy and chronobiology to ancient records that preserve humanity’s earliest skywatching traditions.

Behind the courses and writings at According to the Planets lies more than fascination with the cosmos and a list of references - there is a framework of ideas and fundamental principles. Some of these are the very foundations of modern science, others are relatively new discoveries, and still others remain as inklings of potential.

Human beings are never separate from their surroundings. External forces - from the daily cycle of light and dark to the pull of the Moon, from the change of seasons to the shifting positions of the planets in our solar system - act on both body and mind. These influences shape our physical condition as well as our perception, mood, and behavior. The sciences that examine this chain of influence are sometimes called psychophysiology, chronobiology, or environmental psychology, and surely other branches will join the conversation. Together, they form an inquiry into how the cosmos moves through us: how external cycles bring change and become inner experience.

In these courses and writings, environment does not refer to ecology or biological systems alone. Instead, it means the broader field of forces - gravity, light, motion, and other cosmic conditions - that shape our living experience. By environment we mean the architecture of cause and effect within the solar system itself: the physical forces that influence not just the Earth, but our bodies, minds, and societies in ways both measurable and still unfolding.