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Astrology refers to any of several systems, traditions or beliefs in which knowledge of the apparent positions of celestial bodies is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about human affairs and events on Earth. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer or, less often, an astrologist. Historically the term mathematicus was used to denote a person proficient in astrology, astronomy, and mathematics.

The word "astrology" is derived from the Greek αστρολογία, from άστρον, astron, ("star") and λόγος (logos), which has a variety of meanings generally related to "systematic thought or speech." Logos is written in English as the suffix -ology, "study or discipline."

Although the two fields share a common origin, modern astronomy as practiced today is not to be confused with astrology. While astronomy is the study and observation of celestial objects and their movements through space, astrology is the study of the supposed correlation of those objects with earthly affairs. Astrology is considered as a form of divination by popular definition, and as a pseudoscience by a number of critics .

The Flammarion woodcut, an enigmatic woodcut by an unknown artist.

Description

Astrological glyphs representing the Sun, Moon, and planets (including Earth).

The core beliefs of astrology were prevalent in most of the ancient world and are epitomized in the Hermetic maxim As Above, So Below. The famous mathematicus Tycho Brahe also used a similar phrase to justify his studies in astrology: Suspiciendo despicio — "By looking up I see downward." Although the principle that events in the heavens are mirrored by those on Earth was one generally held in most traditions of astrology across the world, historically in the West there has been a debate among astrologers over the nature of the mechanism behind astrology and whether or not celestial bodies are only signs or portents of events, or if they are actual causes of events through some sort of force or mechanism.

Many of those who practice astrology believe the positions of certain celestial bodies either influence or correlate with people's personality traits, important events in their lives, physical characteristics, and to some extent their destiny. However, there is some agreement amongst modern astrologers that the universe acts as a single unit, so that any happening in any part of it inevitably is reflected in every other part (thus "as above, so below" is still held to be true).

All astrological traditions are based on the relative positions and movements of various real and construed celestial bodies as seen at the time and place of the event being studied. These are chiefly the Sun, Moon, the planets and the lunar nodes. The calculations performed in casting a horoscope involve arithmetic and simple geometry, which serve to locate the apparent position of heavenly bodies on desired dates and times based on astronomical tables. The frame of reference for such apparent positions is defined by the local horizon (Ascendant) and midheaven (Medium Coeli). This frame is typically further divided into the twelve astrological houses.

In past centuries astrologers often relied on close observation of celestial objects and the charting of their movements, and therefore astrology may be considered a protoscience in this regard. Today astrologers use data drawn up by astronomers, which are transformed to a set of astrological tables called an ephemeris, showing the changing zodiacal positions of the heavenly bodies through time.

Traditions

There are many different traditions of astrology, some of which share similar features due to the transmission of astrological doctrines from one culture to another. Other traditions developed in isolation and hold completely different doctrines, although they too share some similar features due to the fact that they are drawing on similar astronomical sources, i.e. planets, stars, etc.

Zodiac signs, 16th century European woodcut

Significant traditions of astrology include but are not limited to:

Horoscopic astrology

Main article: Horoscopic astrology

Horoscopic astrology is a very specific and complex system of astrology that was developed in the Mediterranean region and specifically Hellenistic Egypt sometime around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE that deals largely with astrological charts cast for specific moments in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets at that moment based on specific sets of rules and guidelines. One of the defining characteristics of this form of astrology that makes it distinct from other traditions is the computation of the degree of the Eastern horizon rising against the backdrop of the ecliptic at the specific moment under examination, otherwise known as the ascendant. Horoscopic astrology has been the most influential and widespread form of astrology across the world, especially in Africa, India, Europe and the Middle East, and there are several major traditions of horoscopic astrology including Indian, Hellenistic, Medieval, and most other modern Western traditions of astrology.

The horoscope

A computer generated Western natal chart, a specific type of horoscope created for the moment of a person's birth.

Central to horoscopic astrology and its branches is the calculation of a horoscope or what has recently become known as an astrological chart. This is a diagrammatic representation in two dimensions of the celestial bodies' apparent positions in the heavens from the vantage of a location on Earth at a given time and place. The horoscope of an individual's birth is called a natal chart. In ancient Hellenistic astrology the rising sign or ascendant demarcated the first celestial house of a horoscope, and the word for the ascendant in Greek was horoskopos. This is the word that the term "horoscope" derives from and in modern times it has come to be used as a general term for an astrological chart as a whole. Other commonly used names for the horoscope/natal chart in English include natus, birth-chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, nativity, cosmogram, vitasphere, soulprint, radical chart, radix, or simply chart, among others.

The tropical and sidereal zodiacs

The path of the sun across the heavens as seen from Earth during a full year is called the ecliptic. This, and the nearby band of sky followed by the visible planets, is called the zodiac.

The majority of Western astrologers base their work on the tropical zodiac, which evenly divides the ecliptic into 12 segments of 30 degrees each with the start of the Zodiac (Aries 0°) being the Sun's position at the March equinox. The zodiacal signs in this system bear no relation to the constellations of the same name but stay aligned to the months and seasons. The tropical zodiac is used as a historical coordinate system in astronomy.

All Jyotish (Hindu) and a few Western astrologers use the sidereal zodiac, which uses the same evenly divided ecliptic but which approximately stays aligned to the positions of the observable constellations with the same name as the zodiacal signs. The sidereal zodiac is computed from the tropical zodiac by adding an offset called Ayanamsa. This offset changes with the precession of the equinoxes.

18th century Icelandic manuscript showing astrological houses and planetary glyphs.

Branches of horoscopic astrology

Every tradition of horoscopic astrology can be divided into four specific branches which are directed towards specific subjects or used for specific purposes. Often this involves using a unique set of techniques or a different application of the core principles of the system to a different area. Many other subsets and applications of astrology are derived from the four fundamental branches.

There are four major branches of horoscopic astrology.

  • Natal astrology, the study of a person's natal chart in order to gain information about the individual and his/her life experience.
  • Katarchic astrology, which includes both electional and event astrology. The former uses astrology to determine the most auspicious moment to begin an enterprise or undertaking, and the latter to understand everything about an event from the time at which it took place.
  • Horary astrology, a system of astrology used to answer a specific question by studying the chart of the moment the question is posed to an astrologer.
  • Mundane astrology, is the application of astrology to world events, including weather, earthquakes and the rise and fall of empires or religions.

History of astrology

Main article: History of astrology
The anatomical-astrological human of antiquity showing believed correlations between areas of the body and astrological entities

The origins of much of astrology that would later develop in Asia, Europe and the Middle East are found among the ancient Babylonians and their system of celestial omens that began to be compiled around the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE. This system of celestial omens later spread either directly or indirectly through the Babylonians to other areas such as India, China and Greece where it merged with pre-existing indigenous forms of astrology. This Babylonian astrology came to Greece initially as early as the middle of the 4th century BCE, and then around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE after the Alexandrian conquests, this Babylonian astrology was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology. This new form of astrology, which appears to have originated in Alexandrian Egypt, quickly spread across the ancient world into Europe, the Middle East and India.

Many prominent scientists, such as Nicholas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Carl Gustav Jung and others, significantly contributed to astrology.

Effects on world culture

Zodiac in a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel.

Astrology has had a profound influence over the past few thousand years on Western and Eastern cultures. In the middle ages, when even the learned of the time believed in astrology, the system of heavenly spheres and bodies was believed to reflect on the system of knowledge and the world itself below.

Language

Influenza, from Medieval Latin influentia meaning influence, was so named because doctors once believed epidemics to be caused by unfavorable planetary and stellar influences. The word "disaster" comes from the Latin "dis-aster" meaning "bad star". Also, the adjectives "lunatic" (Moon), "mercurial" (Mercury), "martial" (Mars), "jovial" (Jupiter/Jove), and "saturnine" (Saturn) are all old words used to describe personal qualities said to resemble or be highly influenced by the astrological characteristics of the planet, some of which are derived from the attributes of the ancient Roman gods they are named after. More information about planetary linguistics can be found on this site.

Astrology as a descriptive language for the mind

Different astrological traditions are dependent on a particular culture's prevailing mythology. These varied mythologies naturally reflect the culture(s) they emerge from. Images from these mythological systems are usually understandable to natives of the culture they are a part of. Most classicists think that Western astrology is dependent on Greek mythology.

Many writers, notably Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, used astrological symbolism to add subtlety and nuance to the description of their characters' motivation(s). An understanding of astrological symbolism is needed to fully appreciate such literature. Some modern thinkers, notably Carl Jung, believe in its descriptive powers regarding the mind without necessarily subscribing to its predictive claims. For others the predictive element was important and necessary; for example, Benjamin Franklin practiced and published on astrology (see Poor Richard's Almanac). Consequently, some look at astrology as a way of learning about one self and one's motivations. Increasingly, psychologists and historians have become interested in Jung's theory of the fundamentality and indissolubility of archetypes in the human mind and their correlation with the symbols of the horoscope.

Western astrology and alchemy

Extract and symbol key from 17th century alchemy text.
Main article: Astrology and alchemy

Alchemy in the Western World and other locations where it was widely practiced was (and in many cases still is) closely allied and intertwined with traditional Babylonian-Greek style astrology; in numerous ways they were built to complement each other in the search for hidden knowledge. Astrology has used the concept of classical elements from antiquity up until the present. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, and indeed it is still viewed as a critical part of interpreting the astrological chart. Traditionally, each of the seven planets in the solar system as known to the ancients was associated with, held dominion over, and ruled a certain metal. See also: Astrology and the classical elements

The seven liberal arts and Western astrology

In medieval Europe, a university education was divided into seven distinct areas, each represented by a particular planet and known as the Seven Liberal Arts.

Dante Alighieri speculated that these arts, which grew into the sciences we know today, fitted the same structure as the planets. As the arts were seen as operating in ascending order, so were the planets and so Grammar was assigned to the quickest moving celestial body (the Moon) and so on, culminating in Astronomia which was thought to be astrologically ruled by Saturn, the slowest moving and furthest out planet known at the time. After this sequence wisdom was supposed to have been achieved by the medieval university student.

Astrology and science

The Ptolemaic system depicted by Andreas Cellarius, 1660/61

Few astrologers today believe that modern science can provide a causal relationship between heavenly bodies and earthly events. However, a number of researchers have called for empirical studies based on statistics. Many astrologers have posited acausal purely correlative relationships between astrological observations and events, such as the theory of synchronicity proposed by Jung. Others have posited a basis in divination. Still others have argued that empirical correlations can stand on their own epistemologically and do not need to support any theory or mechanism.

There is a commonly held belief within the contemporary scientific community that astrology lacks a relationship to science and the discipline is generally labelled a pseudoscience . Astrology has been criticized both by scientific bodies and individual scientists . In 1975, the American Humanist Association, which advocates humanism, published one of the best known criticisms of astrology, characterising those who continue to have faith 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." Some scientists objected to the Humanist article; in particular, astronomer Carl Sagan noted that, while he felt astrology had no validity, the tone of the Humanist statement was authoritarian. As many as one-third of Americans believe in astrology, raising concerns by some people within the scientific community over scientific illiteracy.

Several individuals, most notably French psychologist and statistician Michel Gauquelin, claimed to have found correlation, but not causation, between some planetary positions and certain traits such as vocations. Gauquelin's most frequently cited case is known as the Mars effect, which correlates the diurnal position of Mars at birth with eminence in sports. Since its original publication in 1955 the Mars effect has been subject to numerous studies claiming either to replicate or refute it. Gauquelin also claimed an astrological correlation of the diurnal position of Saturn at birth to eminence among French physicians (the Saturn effect). In 1988 and 1996, German Professor of psychology Suitbert Ertel published the most recent claim for a Mars effect, with evidence suggesting that it increased in proportion to the eminence of the athletes.

Astrological researchers also claim to have found numerous replicated correlations in various single trait samples besides eminence in sports, for example, red hair, alcoholism, and work-related injuries. Although these latter findings are known and accepted within the astrological community, they have not been recognized or published within mainstream science, and therefore have not been put through the rigors of the scientific peer-review process.

Critics contend that where tested against personality tests, modern western astrologers have shown a consistent lack of predictive power against these tests. Disproof is made more difficult because astrology does not claim correlation to personality tests and individuals' views of themselves (as reported in personality tests) may be flawed. When testing for cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, one study of astrological "time twins" found no support for the hypothesis that two people born at nearly the same time and place would necessarily have similar outcomes in behavior as defined by personality, although the stronger hypothesis that the subjects would experience similarly timed events in their lives was not tested.

Supporters of astrology argue that the prevailing attitudes and motives of opponents of astrology introduce conscious or unconscious bias in the formulation of flimsy hypotheses to be tested and the reporting of results. Tests and criticism of astrology by skeptics has sometimes taken the form of debunking campaigns or contests with offers of prize money.

Skeptics of astrology also suggest that the perceived accuracy of astrological predictions and descriptions of one's personality can be accounted for by the fact that we tend to exaggerate positive 'hits' and overlook whatever does not really fit, especially when vague language is used (see Forer effect).

See also

Notes and references

  1. Galileo, Astrology and the Scientific Revolution: Another Look http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/colloquia0405.html
  2. Ultralingua Latin-English Dictionary http://www.ultralingua.net/index.html?action=define&nv=0&text=mathematicus&service=&searchtype=stemmed&service=latin2english
  3. Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics http://members.aol.com/jeff570/m.html
  4. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/astrology
  5. http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9356010/astrology
  6. http://128.241.173.3/education/resources/pseudobib.html#1
  7. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=astrology
  8. David Pingree - From Astral Omens to Astrology from Babylon to Bikaner, Roma: Istituto Italiano per L'Africa e L'Oriente, 1997. Pg. 26.
  9. http://www.mountainastrologer.com/scofield.html Were They Astrologers? — Big League Scientists and Astrology
  10. http://www.chartplanet.com/html/shakespeare.html
  11. Hyde, op. cit.
  12. Richard Tarnas. Cosmos and Psyche(see more information in Further Reader below.)
  13. Phillipson, G., Astrology in the Year Zero, Chapter XII. Flare Publications, London, 2000.
  14. Maggie Hyde, Jung and Astrology. The Aquarian Press (London, 1992) p. 24-26.
  15. Geoffrey Cornelius, The Moment of Astrology. The Wessex Astrologer (Bournemouth, 2003.)
  16. M. Harding, Prejudice in Astrological Research, Correlation, Vol 19(1) http://www.astrozero.co.uk/astroscience/harding.htm
  17. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=astrology
  18. http://128.241.173.3/education/resources/pseudobib.html#1
  19. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm
  20. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Articles/1995-12romance_in_stars.shtml
  21. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/63/story_6346_1.html
  22. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=astrology
  23. Cite error: The named reference humanist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. Sagan, Carl. "Letter." The Humanist 36 (1976): 2
  25. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind00/access/c8/c8s5.htm
  26. Muller, A & Ertel, S, ‘1083 Members of the French Académy de Médecine’, Astroforschungsdaten (Vol 5), Waldmohr: A.P.Muller
  27. Professor Ertel's titles, ordered by content http://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/home/ertel/ertel-dir/myresearch/2publications/01a62c92a00f39503.html
  28. Discussion of Mars eminence effect http://www.planetos.info/mmf.html
  29. Ertel, S, 'Raising the Hurdle for the Athletes' Mars Effect: Association Co-Varies With Eminence', Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol 2, No 1 http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v2n1a4.php
  30. How Ertel rescued the Gauquelin effect http://www.astrozero.co.uk/astroscience/koll1ge.pdf
  31. O'Neil, Mike. "The Switching Control Applied to Hill and Thompson's Redhead Data" Correlation, vol. 11(1) p. 24 (1991)
  32. Urban-Lurain, Mark. "Astrology As Science: A Statistical Approach" http://www.astrodatabank.com/Astrology_Research.htm
  33. Work-related injuries http://safire.net/sara/introduction.html
  34. Peer Review
  35. Rob Nanninga -"The Astrotest" - Correlation, Northern Winter 1996/97, 15(2), p. 14-20. http://www.skepsis.nl/astrot.html
  36. Skeptical Studies in Astrology, report of Shawn Carlson's double-blind test of astrology published in Nature (December 5, 1985) http://psychicinvestigator.com/demo/AstroSkc.htm
  37. Flawed self-assessment http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/pspi5_3_3.pdf
  38. Dean and Kelly, "Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi?" http://www.imprint.co.uk/pdf/Dean.pdf
  39. M. Harding, Prejudice in Astrological Research, Correlation, Vol 19(1) http://www.astrozero.co.uk/astroscience/harding.htm
  41. One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge (James Randi Educational Foundation) http://www.randi.org/research/index.html
  42. "Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding", National Science Foundation
  43. Geoffrey Dean and Ivan W. Kelly, Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi? , Journal of Consciousness Studies, 10, No. 6–7, 2003, pp. 175–198 PDF http://www.imprint.co.uk/pdf/Dean.pdf

Further reading

  • Robert Hand, Horoscope Symbols. Schiffer Publications (Altgen, PA; March 1987) ISBN 0914918168. One of the most thoughtful and authoritative books on astrological technique.
  • Garry Phillipson, Astrology in the Year Zero. Flare Publications (London, 2000) ISBN 0953026191. A balanced overview of thirty opinions on the validity of astrology, including skeptics.
  • Richard Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View. viking. (New York, 2006.) ISBN 0670032921.
  • Benson Broderick, The Fated Sky: Astrology in History. Simon and Schuster (New York, 2006) ISBN 780743224826. A comprehensive history of astrology covering its origins in Mesopotamia, its influence on western history and the history of ideas through to its controversial place in modern culture.

External links

General
History
Schools
  • Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences - Based in Seattle, USA, Kepler College is the only college in the western hemisphere authorized to issue A.A., B.A., and M.A degrees in Astrological Studies.
  • The Sophia Centre Based near Bath, England, the Centre is a department of School of Historical and Cultural Studies at Bath Spa University College. Funded by the Sophia Trust, the Centre teaches an innovative MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology and supervises postgraduate research.
  • Faculty of Astrological Studies - Founded on 7th June 1948 in London, England at 19.50 BST; its Diploma, the D.F.Astrol.S., is among the most highly valued and recognised international qualifications.
  • Astrology College Founded 2002
Astrology and science
Comparison with other thought systems
Tools
Western astrology natal reports
Natal reports for other systems
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