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Astrology
Background
Worship of heavenly bodies History of astrology Astrology and astronomy Glossary Planets Behenian Classical Zodiac Traditions, types, and systems Astrology and science Astrologers Astrological organizations
Traditions
Babylonian Chinese Hellenistic Hindu Islamic Jewish Tibetan Western
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Natal Electional Horary Medical Financial Locational Psychological Meteorological
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Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
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v t e

Mundane astrology is the application of astrology to world affairs and world events, taking its name from the Latin word mundus, meaning "the World". Mundane astrology is widely believed by astrological historians to be the most ancient branch of astrology. Astrological practices of divination and planetary interpretation have been used for millennia to answer political questions. It was, however, only with the gradual emergence of horoscopic astrology from the sixth century B.C. that astrology developed into two distinct branches, mundane astrology and natal astrology..

Contemporary science considers astrology a pseudoscience. It has also been suggested that much of the continued faith in astrology could be psychologically explained as a matter of cognitive bias.

Astrology has repeatedly failed to demonstrate its effectiveness in controlled studies, according to the American Humanist Society. The group characterised those who continue to have faith in astrology as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary." One well-documented and referenced paper, for instance, which conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, found no support for astrological accuracy.

Astrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behavior. In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz. The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur:

We can see how infinitesimally small are the gravitational and other effects produced by the distant planets and the far more distant stars. It is simply a mistake to imagine that the forces exerted by stars and planets at the moment of birth can in any way shape our futures.

References

1. Michael Baigent (1994). From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia. Arkana.
2. Michael Baigent, Nicholas Campion and Charles Harvey (1984). Mundane astrology. Thorsons.
3. Richard Dawkins (31 December 1995). "The Real Romance in the Stars". London: The Independent, December 1995.. See also "Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List". Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
4. Eysenck, H.J., and Nias, D.K.B. (1982) pp.42-48.
5. Bart Bok, Paul Kurtz and Lawrence Jerome, "Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186 Leading Scientists" in The Humanist September/October, 1975.
6. Is Astrology relevant to consciousness and Psi?
7. The Humanist, volume 35, no.5 (September/October 1975); pp. 4-6. The statement is reproduced in 'The Strange Case of Astrology' by Paul Feyerabend, published in Grim (1990) pp.19-23.
8. "Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186 Leading Scientists". The Humanist, September/October 1975. Archived from the original on 2009-03-18.
9. Bok, Bart J. (1982). "Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186 Leading Scientists". In Patrick Grim (ed.). Philosophy of Science and the Occult. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 14–18. ISBN 0-87395-572-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Further reading

• Nicholas Campion, The Book of World Horoscopes, The Aquarian Press, London, 1988
• Stan Barker, The Signs of The Times - The Neptune Factor: America's Future and Past as Seen Through Planetary Cycles, Llewellyn Publications, St Paul, MN USA 1986
• E. Alan Meece, Horoscope for the New Millennium, Llewellyn Publications, St Paul MN USA 1997
• Dhruva, Astrological analysis of Indian Affairs (1947–2050), New Delhi: Readworthy Publications (P) Ltd., 2008 (ISBN 9788189973025)
• "America is Born: Introducing the Regulus USA National Horoscope", Regulus Astrology LLC, Princeton, NJ, 2008. (ISBN 9780980185621)
• Richard Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, Intimations of a New World View, New York, 2006 (ISBN 9780670032921)

• Articles to be merged from April 2012
• Astrology by type
• History of astrology