astrology, form of divination divination, practice of foreseeing future events or obtaining secret knowledge through communication with divine sources and through omens, oracles, signs, and portents.
..... Click the link for more information. based on the theory that the movements of the celestial bodies—the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon—influence human affairs and determine the course of events. Celestial phenomena have been the object of religious sentiment since earliest times (see moon worship moon worship. Although the moon has not had great prominence in the history of religion, the worship of it has been known since earliest recorded time—in the oldest literatures of Egypt, Babylonia, India, and China—and still exists today in various parts
..... Click the link for more information. ; sun worship sun worship. Deification and adoration of the sun occurred primarily in agrarian societies. When man became a farmer, and thus dependent upon daily and seasonal changes of weather, he often turned to worship the great force that regulated these changes—the
..... Click the link for more information. ). The Chaldaeans and the Assyrians were the first to discard their sky gods in favor of a nondeistic system of divination founded upon astronomy and numerology. They saw the heavenly bodies as exerting an influence upon the lives of individuals and the destinies of empires. Generally, future events were believed determined beforehand by a universal order that was a result of the motions of the planets and stars. The practices of astrology spread throughout the ancient Middle East, Asia, and Europe, but with the rise of Christianity, which emphasized divine intervention and free will, interest in astrology subsided, although astrologers continued to flourish. During the European Renaissance astrology as a form of divination regained popularity, due in part to the rekindled interest in science and astronomy. The European astrologer, considered a scholar exploring the mysteries of the universe through science and reason, was held in high esteem in the community for many years. However, in the 16th and 17th cent., Christian theologists waged war against astrology. In 1585 astrology was officially condemned in a bull of Pope Sixtus V, and in 1631, Pope Urban VIII reinforced this with another bull. At the same time the astronomical work of such men as Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo was undermining the tenets of astrology. Astrology, however, continued to be practiced. All of the aforementioned scientists remained practicing astrologers, as did other great thinkers such as Descartes and Newton; moreover, Copernican theory did not find sudden and widespread acceptance. Gradually, however, astrology declined, although this form of divination is still very much alive. One's horoscope is a map of the heavens at the time of one's birth, showing the position of the heavenly bodies in relation to the 12 "houses" or signs through which they pass (see zodiac zodiac [Gr. zoion=animal], in astronomy, zone of the sky that includes about 8° on either side of the ecliptic. The apparent paths of the sun, the moon, and the major planets all fall within this zone.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and their positions in relation to each other. Each house has as its "lord" one of the heavenly bodies; the one in the "ascendant" is the one of greatest significance to the inquirer, supposedly endowing him with his temperamental qualities, his tendencies to particular diseases, and his liability to certain fortunes or calamities.

Bibliography

See E. McCaffery, Astrology: Its History and Influence in the Western World (rev. ed. 1942); L. Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science (rev. ed. 1958); M. Gauquelin, The Cosmic Clocks (1967); C. McIntosh, The Astrologers and their Creed (1969).

astrology

Divination that consists of interpreting the influence of stars and planets on earthly affairs and human destinies. In ancient times it was inseparable from astronomy. It originated in Mesopotamia (c. 3rd millennium BC) and spread to India, but it developed its Western form in Greek civilization during the Hellenistic period. Astrology entered Islamic culture as part of the Greek tradition and was returned to European culture through Arabic learning during the Middle Ages. According to the Greek tradition, the heavens are divided according to the 12 constellations of the zodiac, and the bright stars that rise at intervals cast a spiritual influence over human affairs. Astrology was also important in ancient China, and in imperial times it became standard practice to have a horoscope cast for each newborn child and at all decisive junctures of life. Though the Copernican system shattered the geocentric worldview that astrology requires, interest in astrology has continued into modern times and astrological signs are still widely believed to influence personality.

astrology

1. the study of the motions and relative positions of the planets, sun, and moon, interpreted in terms of human characteristics and activities

2. the primitive study of celestial bodies, which formed the basis of astronomy
www.astrology-numerology.com

Astrology

See also Zodiac.

Chaldea

ancient Mesopotamian land where study of astrology developed. [Ancient Hist.: NCE, 499]

Ecclitico

manipulator and false astrologer; dupes Buonafede. [Ger. Opera: Haydn, The World of the Moon, Westermark, 68–69]

Mannering, Guy

cast fateful horoscope for young Bertram. [Br. Lit.: Guy Mannering]

Nostradamus (1503–1566) French

astrologer/seer; wrote Centuries (1555), famous book of prognostications. [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 1969]

Urania

muse of astrology. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 1119]

Astrology

a false doctrine whereby one can supposedly predict the outcome of undertaken activities as well as the future of individual people and whole nations from the positions of heavenly bodies, mainly planets. Astrology arose in remote antiquity as a result of the deification of heavenly bodies and phenomena that were mysterious to ancient people—for example, the motions of the planets, the moon, and the sun, as well as eclipses. Many natural phenomena that governed the life of society—the alternation of day and night, the changing seasons of the year, the arrival of periods of the year convenient for hunting and grazing animals, and the overflowing of rivers, which determined the periods for agricultural work—are connected with the laws of the earth’s rotation on its axis and orbit around the sun. The visible shifts of the heavenly bodies over 24 hours and the year are dependent upon these same motions. The apparent causal connection between the positions of heavenly bodies and natural phenomena is what gave birth to the idea of the supernatural influence of heavenly bodies on the life of people.

In ancient times, astrology was considerably developed in Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, China, India, Greece, and Rome. The ability to influence the fate of people was ascribed to seven planets of the ancients—namely, the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Based on their relative positions and their locations with respect to the 12 “houses” (constellations) and parts of the horizon at the moment of a person’s birth, a horoscope was drawn up, supposedly determining his fate. A horoscope was also cast for the time of an intended action as, for example, a battle. Astrology, in spite of its falseness, at a certain stage objectively stimulated the development of observational astronomy. During the Middle Ages meteorological astrology—the forecasting of weather with the aid of astrological methods—became widespread in Western Europe.

Copernicus’ doctrine about the heliocentric system of the world caused the decline of astrology. However, to this day, it is widespread in a number of capitalist countries where astrological societies exist, astrological journals are published, and so forth.

REFERENCES

Gurev, G. A. Astrologiia i religiia. Moscow, 1940.
Böttcher, H. M. Sterne, Schicksal und Propheten: Dreissigtausend Jahre Astrologie. Munich, 1965.

N. P. ERPYLEV

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Bibliography

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