Our Gemara on amud beis explains why the rabbis instituted a variation on the typical get (divorcement bill) that required an elaborate process of folds and stitches to complete it. Essentially, it was a delay tactic:

The Gemara asks: And what is the reason that the Sages instituted the tied document? The Gemara explains: There was a place where there were many priests, and they were very quick tempered, and they would seek to divorce their wives impetuously. The halakha is that a priest may not marry a divorcée, even his own ex-wife. These priests, who acted impetuously, often regretted having divorced their wives. And therefore, the Sages instituted an ordinance that the bill of divorce for these people should be of the tied format, which is a long, drawn-out process, hoping that meanwhile, their composure would be regained and they would reconsider their decision to divorce.

Sefer Daf al Daf brings a number of acharonim who wonder how the Gemara could blithely suggest that Cohanim are short tempered. This was not a statement about a family or group of people at a particular time, but rather a broad and negative characterization of the entire priestly caste. Noam Elimelech (Mishpatim) explains it is not necessarily a negative feature. They had a zealousness that when appropriately channeled represented intensity and holiness. Their intensity and holiness backfired in certain people and came out as short temperedness. Yaaros Devash (Derush 1) takes this idea further. He says that whenever there is  holiness, it brings out the character in the best way. However, when holiness is withdrawn or driven away, the satanic and evil forces fill in the vacuum with a skewed, perverted version of reality.   (We discussed this idea in Blog Post Psychology of the Daf, Bava Basra 143).  This is a powerful lesson.

This idea can also help us understand the following Gemara (Shabbos 156) that discusses the relationship of one’s fate and free will:

One who was born under the influence of Mars will be one who spills blood. Rav Ashi said: He will be either a blood letter, or a thief, or a slaughterer of animals, or a circumciser. Rabba said: I was born under the influence of Mars and I do not perform any of those activities. Abaye said: My Master also punishes and kills as a judge.

The implication of the Gemara is that a person may have certain innate drives and tendencies, but he may express toward good or evil, depending on his choices.

This Gemara seems to hold valid the influence of Zodiac and horoscopes.  Except one might consider that the rabbis were less concerned with so-called scientific fact and more with the morals and meanings that one assigns to reality.  If the common belief was astrological, the rabbis addressed lessons and approaches based on that. They did not subscribe to the scientific method as we know it. 

Keep in mind, modern science has its own mythologies that, on the surface seem more rational, but also are built on narratives and storytelling of a sort.  We have been told depression is a chemical imbalance but nobody knows what that really means.  That is not to say that certain medications can help regulate neurotransmitters, but the effect is not necessarily the cause.  If I am happy I have more serotonin circulating, but that does not explain the human personality and why I am happy, or not so. The fact that medicine works is no different than tylenol helping a headache. That does not mean my headache comes from a “Tylenol Imbalance.”  There are many other examples of this mythology in science, such as the so-called Big Theory. Believe it or not, prior to the scientific discoveries of the 20th century starting with Edwin Hubble, the scientific community largely followed the Greek notion of an eternal universe. They suggested that the universe had neither a beginning nor an end, maintaining a constant state throughout time. This was the solution as to how the world could have been created without a creator. Answer: it never was created in the first place.  (One more mythology!)

Luke Baxendale writes (https://thegoodreport.co.uk/atheism-and-scepticism/how-big-bang-cosmology-threatens-atheism/ ):

Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding universe was fraught with theoretical and philosophical significance. The idea of an expanding universe planted a seed in the minds of scientists, who began to wonder: if the universe is expanding, could it be traced back to a single point of origin in time?  

The Big Bang Theory began to shift the thoughts of many scientists. This new understanding of our origins sent shockwaves through the esteemed halls of science, philosophy, and theology departments. The unsettling revelation for many was that an absolute beginning to our universe suggested the existence of something beyond physical reality, consequently reviving the God hypothesis.

But eventually, after the shock of it settled down, human nature allowed the atheists to create a new rationalization or mythology to fit the new “facts”.  After thousands of years of great philosophers and scientists believing in a closed eternal universe, the position is reversed and now magically, without God, there was a Big Bang. Oh…now THAT explains it. Yeah, right.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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