Astrologians: What They Could Be Telling Us

[Samcaesar]

We do know they can't use AST magic, at least, Fern posted about that when explaining why they names are the same... its like the Titan/Tietan thing, all over again.

Ah, interesting, though I'm not aware of the this Titan/Tietan thing you're talking about. Maybe Ishgardian Astologian focuses more on future and using space for divining techniques while Sharlayan technique uses the surrounding Aether in a referential way to spacial bodies?

[Eloah]

Ishgard could have a zodiac system similar to how we pick one of the twelve as our guardian during character creation.

The Ishgard zodiac system is the twelve, they are a part of Eorzea and worship Halone. All of the city states in Eorzea worship the twelve, only foreigners, like the Au Ra, might not.

[lololink]

Ah, interesting, though I'm not aware of the this Titan/Tietan thing you're talking about. Maybe Ishgardian Astologian focuses more on future and using space for divining techniques while Sharlayan technique uses the surrounding Aether in a referential way to spacial bodies?

Ishgardians watch the stars to predict the future while the shqrlayans seem to harness the power of the stars. For Titan it's an issue from FF3, there are two things you can call titan from grec myths, one is pronounced Taitan ( the summon ) and the other is Teetan ( phlegethon / acheron in this game )

[Mimilu]

Snip

Exactly!
The Allagan were able to send Dalamud, which is huge, into space.
I don't see why someone like Cid couldn't make at least a small probe with its own reserve-tank of aether and launch it to space.

Snip

But a zodiac system works based on when the constellations are visibility due to the planet's rotation on its own axis and its rotation around a sun, versus when we pick our Guardian, which is our own choice.
Maybe if what WyrahFhurrst said about other planets being named after the twelve was accurate, this could work.

[Isklexi]

Even if we do have a planetary system for astrology to be based on, we can't assume anything about it since this is a fantasy setting. This world could have a geocentric model and unique laws of gravitation (or ignore gravity all together). Retrograde motion could literally happen as opposed to being just an optical illusion.

[Mimilu]

Even if we do have a planetary system for astrology to be based on, we can't assume anything about it since this is a fantasy setting. This world could have a geocentric model and unique laws of gravitation (or ignore gravity all together). Retrograde motion could literally happen as opposed to being just an optical illusion.

We have to assume that some force similar to gravity is at work preventing us from floating away.
In most works of fiction (like fantasy and sci-fi), in a world that has different scientific properties the ours', it's safe to assume that any principle they don't cover is similar to ours' (like gravity).

[Cilia]

Ah, interesting, though I'm not aware of the this Titan/Tietan thing you're talking about.

The end boss of the Labyrinth of the Ancients is named "Titan" in Japanese, as a reference to the same endboss of the same dungeon in FFIII. It's spelled differently than the Primal "Titan," though, because katakana (I believe it's katakana; I know next to nothing about Japanese language) uses phonetic spelling, rending his name something more like "Tietan." Essentially they're able to get away with using the same name for two different characters thanks to phonemes.

Since English and most other supported languages don't do this, they renamed the LoA endboss "Acheron" as a reference to the palette-swapped version of FFIII Titan who appeared up in Syrcus Tower. Then when it was time to actually climb Syrcus Tower, lo and behold... mobs named Acheron were up there. So they had to change the LoA endboss' name again to Phlegethon. They ran into a similar hiccup with Ishgard's "astrologians." They're really just astrologers, divining the future though celestial movements. They don't have the magical capabilities of the Sharlayan Astrologians.

Exactly!
The Allagan were able to send Dalamud, which is huge, into space.
I don't see why someone like Cid couldn't make at least a small probe with its own reserve-tank of aether and launch it to space.

The Allagans sent Dalamud into space, but we don't have their technological advancement (and, by Cid's own admission, maybe never will).

Aether would probably not be a good fuel source, since it's gaseous (we think). Ceruleum might work better, but we don't know if it can function as rocket fuel and even if it can whether or not it's of a high enough grade to send a probe into space.

Either way, I don't recall video communication being available with the present technology. The Garleans have audio, and so do we though linkpearls, but even if we were able to shoot a probe into space all it would do is confirm the existence of space... which we already know exists. We also don't have the tech to send things into space; the Ixal Beastman Quests are the development of an airship that can fly higher than the clouds, so until the end of that line we can't even break the cloud ceiling. Maybe.

Even if we do have a planetary system for astrology to be based on, we can't assume anything about it since this is a fantasy setting. This world could have a geocentric model and unique laws of gravitation (or ignore gravity all together). Retrograde motion could literally happen as opposed to being just an optical illusion.

The world might have a geocentric model. This is a definite possibility.

However gravity certainly exists, probably with a similar strength to Earth's. When you jump you fall, do you not? We can't get precise measurements to determine the gravity constant, but...

[Grayve]

I see Cilia explained it better then I could while I was off sleeping. Damn sleep, such a waste of time. Oh well. Thanks Cilia

[Eloah]

But a zodiac system works based on when the constellations are visibility due to the planet's rotation on its own axis and its rotation around a sun, versus when we pick our Guardian, which is our own choice.
Maybe if what WyrahFhurrst said about other planets being named after the twelve was accurate, this could work.

A Zodiac System doesn't have to rely on constellations, just look at the Chinese Zodiac. The "Zodiac System" in Ishgard IS the Twelve, that's what we've been told all along. Us picking our Guardian is the same things as those of us in real life being born under a certain sign. Each Race/Tribe has a guardian, just like each Town does, and for Ishgard it's Halone.

Now if the stars have any other meaning is unknown, but based on the knowledge we do have, there is no other Zodiac System, since all of Eorzea shares the same one, The Twelve.

[Mimilu]

Snip.

When did they say that the Twelve are the Ishgardian Zodiac Signs? >o>
To me, our Guardian being our Zodiac Sign doesn't make sense because there is no valid way to determine one's Guardian except faith, versus an actual Zodiac System where it is determined based on when you were born (both Western and Chinese Zodiac).
Maybe this could work if they changed it in 3.0 so that your Nameday will reflect which guardian you get. The Twelve are already associated with months in the Eorzean calender.