Astrology

This article is about the divinatory pseudoscience. Not to be confused withAstronomy,the scientific study of celestial objects.For other uses, seeAstrology (disambiguation).

Astrologyis a range ofdivinatorypractices, recognized aspseudoscientificsince the 18th century,that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ofcelestial objects.Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated incalendricalsystems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as theHindus,Chinese,and theMaya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.Western astrology,one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCEMesopotamia,from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, theIslamic world,and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems ofhoroscopesthat purport to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.

Throughout its history, astrology has had its detractors, competitors and skeptics who opposed it for moral, religious, political, and empirical reasons.Nonetheless, prior to the Enlightenment, astrology was generally considered a scholarly tradition and was common in learned circles, often in close relation withastronomy,meteorology,medicine,andalchemy.It was present in political circles and is mentioned in various works of literature, fromDante AlighieriandGeoffrey ChaucertoWilliam Shakespeare,Lope de Vega,andPedro Calderón de la Barca.Duringthe Enlightenment,however, astrology lost its status as an area of legitimate scholarly pursuit.Following the end of the 19th century and the wide-scale adoption of thescientific method,researchers have successfully challenged astrology on both theoreticaland experimental grounds,and have shown it to have no scientific validity orexplanatory power.Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing in the western world, and common belief in it largely declined, until a continuing resurgence starting in the 1960s.

Etymology

Marcantonio Raimondiengraving, 15th century

The wordastrologycomes from the earlyLatinwordastrologia,which derives from theGreekἀστρολογία—fromἄστρονastron( "star" ) and-λογία-logia,( "study of" — "account of the stars" ). The word entered the English language via Latin andmedieval French,and its use overlapped considerably with that ofastronomy(derived from the Latinastronomia). By the17th century,astronomybecame established as the scientific term, withastrologyreferring to divinations and schemes for predicting human affairs.

History

Main article:History of astrology

The Zodiac Man,a diagram of a human body and astrological symbols with instructions explaining the importance of astrology from a medical perspective. From a 15th-century Welsh manuscript

Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and theIndians,Chinese,andMayadeveloped elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. A form of astrology was practised in theOld Babylonianperiod ofMesopotamia,c. 1800 BCE.Vedāṅga Jyotiṣais one of earliest known Hindu texts onastronomyand astrology (Jyotisha). The text is dated between 1400 BCE to final centuries BCE by various scholars according to astronomical and linguistic evidences. Chinese astrology was elaborated in theZhou dynasty(1046–256 BCE).Hellenistic astrologyafter 332 BCE mixedBabylonian astrologywith EgyptianDecanic astrologyinAlexandria,creatinghoroscopic astrology.Alexander the Great'sconquest ofAsiaallowed astrology to spread toAncient GreeceandRome.In Rome, astrology was associated with "Chaldeanwisdom ". After the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe andtranslated into Latin.Major astronomers includingTycho Brahe,Johannes KeplerandGalileopractised as court astrologers. Astrological references appear in literature in the works of poets such asDante AlighieriandGeoffrey Chaucer,and of playwrights such asChristopher MarloweandWilliam Shakespeare.

Throughout most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition. It was accepted in political and academic contexts, and was connected with other studies, such asastronomy,alchemy,meteorology,and medicine.At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such asheliocentrismandNewtonian mechanics) called astrology into question. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.

Ancient world

Further information:Babylonian astrologyandWorship of heavenly bodies

Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky.Early evidence for humans making conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles, appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show thatlunar cycleswere being noted as early as 25,000 years ago.This was a first step towards recording the Moon's influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organising a communal calendar.Farmers addressed agricultural needs with increasing knowledge of theconstellationsthat appear in the different seasons—and used the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.By the 3rd millennium BCE, civilisations had sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignment withheliacal risingsof the stars.

Scattered evidence suggests that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made in the ancient world. TheVenus tablet of Ammisaduqais thought to have been compiled inBabylonaround 1700 BCE.A scroll documenting an early use ofelectional astrologyis doubtfully ascribed to the reign of theSumerianrulerGudea of Lagash(c. 2144– 2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favourable for the planned construction of a temple.However, there is controversy about whether these were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty ofBabylon(1950–1651 BCE). This astrology had some parallels withHellenisticGreek (western) astrology, including thezodiac,a norming point near 9 degrees in Aries, the trine aspect, planetary exaltations, and the dodekatemoria (the twelve divisions of 30 degrees each).The Babylonians viewed celestial events as possible signs rather than as causes of physical events.

The system ofChinese astrologywas elaborated during theZhou dynasty(1046–256 BCE) and flourished during theHan dynasty(2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the five elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology, andalchemy.

The ancient Arabs that inhabited theArabian Peninsulabefore the advent of Islamused to profess a widespread belief infatalism(ḳadar) alongside a fearful consideration for the sky and the stars, which they held to be ultimately responsible for every phenomena that occurs on Earth and for the destiny of humankind.Accordingly, they shaped their entire lives in accordance with their interpretations of astral configurations and phenomena.

Ancient objections

The Roman oratorCiceroobjected to astrology.

TheHellenisticschools ofphilosophical skepticismcriticized the rationality of astrology.Criticism of astrology byacademic skepticssuch asCicero,Carneades,andFavorinus;andPyrrhonistssuch asSextus Empiricushas been preserved.

Carneadesargued that belief in fate deniesfree willandmorality;that people born at different times can all die in the same accident or battle; and that contrary to uniform influences from the stars, tribes and cultures are all different.

Cicero,inDe Divinatione,leveled a critique of astrology that some modern philosophers consider to be the first working definition ofpseudoscienceand the answer to thedemarcation problem.Philosopher of ScienceMassimo Pigliucci,building on the work of Historian of Science, Damien Fernandez-Beanato, argues that Cicero outlined a "convincing distinction between astrology and astronomy that remains valid in the twenty-first century."Cicerostated the twins objection (that with close birth times, personal outcomes can be very different), later developed byAugustine.He argued that since the other planets are much more distant from the Earth than the Moon, they could have only very tiny influence compared to the Moon's.He also argued that if astrology explains everything about a person's fate, then it wrongly ignores the visible effect of inherited ability and parenting, changes in health worked by medicine, or the effects of the weather on people.

Favorinusargued that it was absurd to imagine that stars and planets would affect human bodies in the same way as they affect the tides,and equally absurd that small motions in the heavens cause large changes in people's fates.

Sextus Empiricusargued that it was absurd to link human attributes with myths about the signs of the zodiac,and wrote an entire book,Against the Astrologers(Πρὸς ἀστρολόγους,Pros astrologous), compiling arguments against astrology.Against the Astrologerswas the fifth section of a larger work arguing against philosophical and scientific inquiry in general,Against the Professors(Πρὸς μαθηματικούς,Pros mathematikous).

Plotinus,aneoplatonist,argued that since the fixed stars are much more distant than the planets, it is laughable to imagine the planets' effect on human affairs should depend on their position with respect to the zodiac. He also argues that the interpretation of the Moon'sconjunctionwith a planet as good when the moon is full, but bad when the moon is waning, is clearly wrong, as from the Moon's point of view, half of its surface is always in sunlight; and from the planet's point of view, waning should be better, as then the planet sees some light from the Moon, but when the Moon is full to us, it is dark, and therefore bad, on the side facing the planet in question.

Hellenistic Egypt

Main article:Hellenistic astrology

1484 copy of first page ofPtolemy'sTetrabiblos,translated into Latin byPlato of Tivoli

In 525 BCE,Egyptwas conquered by the Persians. The 1st century BCE EgyptianDendera Zodiacshares two signs – the Balance and the Scorpion – with Mesopotamian astrology.

With the occupation byAlexander the Greatin 332 BCE, Egypt becameHellenistic.The city ofAlexandriawas founded by Alexander after the conquest, becoming the place whereBabylonian astrologywas mixed with EgyptianDecanic astrologyto createHoroscopic astrology.This contained the Babylonian zodiac with its system of planetaryexaltations,the triplicities of the signs and the importance of eclipses. It used the Egyptian concept of dividing the zodiac into thirty-six decans of ten degrees each, with an emphasis on the rising decan, and the Greek system of planetary Gods, sign rulership andfour elements.2nd century BCE texts predict positions of planets in zodiac signs at the time of the rising of certain decans, particularly Sothis.Theastrologerand astronomerPtolemylived in Alexandria. Ptolemy's work theTetrabiblosformed the basis of Western astrology, and, "...enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more."

Greece and Rome

The conquest ofAsiabyAlexander the Greatexposed the Greeks to ideas fromSyria,Babylon, Persia and central Asia.Around 280 BCE,Berossus,a priest ofBelfrom Babylon, moved to the Greek island ofKos,teaching astrology and Babylonian culture.By the 1st century BCE, there were two varieties of astrology, one usinghoroscopesto describe the past, present and future; the other,theurgic,emphasising thesoul'sascent to the stars.Greek influence played a crucial role in the transmission of astrological theory toRome.

The first definite reference to astrology in Rome comes from the oratorCato,who in 160 BCE warned farm overseers against consulting with Chaldeans,who were described as Babylonian 'star-gazers'.Among both Greeks andRomans,Babylonia (also known asChaldea) became so identified with astrology that 'Chaldean wisdom' becamesynonymouswithdivinationusing planets and stars.The 2nd-century Roman poet and satiristJuvenalcomplains about the pervasive influence of Chaldeans, saying, "Still more trusted are the Chaldaeans; every word uttered by the astrologer they will believe has come fromHammon'sfountain. "

One of the first astrologers to bringHermetic astrologyto Rome wasThrasyllus,astrologer to theemperorTiberius,the first emperor to have had a court astrologer,though his predecessorAugustushad used astrology to help legitimise hisImperialrights.

Medieval world

Hindu

Main article:Hindu astrology

The main texts upon which classical Indian astrology is based are early medieval compilations, notably theBṛhat Parāśara Horāśāstra,andSārāvalībyKalyāṇavarma. TheHorāshastrais a composite work of 71 chapters, of which the first part (chapters 1–51) dates to the 7th to early 8th centuries and the second part (chapters 52–71) to the later 8th century. TheSārāvalīlikewise dates to around 800 CE.English translations of these texts were published by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhari in 1963 and 1961, respectively.

Islamic

Main article:Astrology in medieval Islam

Latintranslation ofAbū Maʿshar'sDe Magnis Coniunctionibus('Of the greatconjunctions'),Venice,1515

Astrology was taken up by Islamic scholarsfollowing the collapse ofAlexandriato the Arabs in the 7th century, and the founding of theAbbasid empirein the 8th. The second Abbasidcaliph,Al Mansur(754–775) founded the city ofBaghdadto act as a centre of learning, and included in its design a library-translation centre known asBayt al-Hikma'House of Wisdom', which continued to receive development from his heirs and was to provide a major impetus for Arabic-Persian translations of Hellenistic astrological texts. The early translators includedMashallah,who helped to elect the time for the foundation of Baghdad,andSahl ibn Bishr,(a.k.a.Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such asGuido Bonattiin the 13th century, andWilliam Lillyin the 17th century.Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during theLatin translations of the 12th century.

Europe

Dante Alighierimeets the EmperorJustinianin the Sphere ofMercury,in Canto 5 of theParadiso.

See also:Christian views on astrology

The medieval theologianIsidore of Sevillecriticised the predictive part of astrology.

In the seventh century,Isidore of Sevilleargued in hisEtymologiaethat astronomy described the movements of the heavens, while astrology had two parts: one was scientific, describing the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars, while the other, making predictions, was theologically erroneous.

The first astrological book published in Europe was theLiber Planetis et Mundi Climatibus( "Book of the Planets and Regions of the World" ), which appeared between 1010 and 1027 AD, and may have been authored byGerbert of Aurillac.Ptolemy'ssecond century ADTetrabibloswas translated into Latin byPlato of Tivoliin 1138.TheDominicantheologianThomas AquinasfollowedAristotlein proposing that the stars ruled the imperfect 'sublunary' body, while attempting to reconcile astrology with Christianity by stating that God ruled the soul.The thirteenth century mathematicianCampanus of Novarais said to have devised a system of astrological houses that divides theprime verticalinto 'houses' of equal 30° arcs,though the system was used earlier in the East.The thirteenth centuryastronomerGuido Bonattiwrote a textbook, theLiber Astronomicus,a copy of which KingHenry VII of Englandowned at the end of the fifteenth century.

InParadiso,the final part of theDivine Comedy,the Italian poetDante Alighierireferred "in countless details"to the astrological planets, though he adapted traditional astrology to suit his Christian viewpoint,for example using astrological thinking in his prophecies of the reform ofChristendom.

John Gowerin the fourteenth century defined astrology as essentially limited to the making of predictions.The influence of the stars was in turn divided into natural astrology, with for example effects on tides and the growth of plants, and judicial astrology, with supposedly predictable effects on people.The fourteenth-century scepticNicole Oresmehowever included astronomy as a part of astrology in hisLivre de divinacions.Oresme argued that current approaches to prediction of events such as plagues, wars, and weather were inappropriate, but that such prediction was a valid field of inquiry. However, he attacked the use of astrology to choose the timing of actions (so-called interrogation and election) as wholly false, and rejected the determination of human action by the stars on grounds of free will.The friarLaurens Pignon(c. 1368–1449)similarly rejected all forms of divination and determinism, including by the stars, in his 1411Contre les Devineurs.This was in opposition to the tradition carried by the Arab astronomerAlbumasar(787–886) whoseIntroductorium in AstronomiamandDe Magnis Coniunctionibusargued the view that both individual actions and larger scale history are determined by the stars.

In the late 15th century,Giovanni Pico della Mirandolaforcefully attacked astrology inDisputationes contra Astrologos,arguing that the heavens neither caused, nor heralded earthly events.His contemporary,Pietro Pomponazzi,a "rationalistic and critical thinker", was much more sanguine about astrology and critical of Pico's attack.

Renaissance and Early Modern

See also:Renaissance magic

'An Astrologer Casting a Horoscope' fromRobert Fludd'sUtriusque Cosmi Historia,1617

Renaissancescholars commonly practised astrology.Gerolamo Cardanocast the horoscope of kingEdward VI of England,whileJohn Deewas the personal astrologer to queenElizabeth I of England.Catherine de MedicipaidMichael Nostradamusin 1566 to verify the prediction of the death of her husband, kingHenry II of Francemade by her astrologer Lucus Gauricus. Major astronomers who practised as court astrologers includedTycho Brahein the royal court of Denmark,Johannes Keplerto theHabsburgs,Galileo Galileito theMedici,andGiordano Brunowho was burnt at the stake for heresy in Rome in 1600.The distinction between astrology and astronomy was not entirely clear. Advances in astronomy were often motivated by the desire to improve the accuracy of astrology.Kepler, for example, was driven by a belief in harmonies between Earthly and celestial affairs, yet he disparaged the activities of most astrologers as "evil-smelling dung".

Ephemerideswith complex astrological calculations, andalmanacsinterpreting celestial events for use in medicine and for choosing times to plant crops, were popular in Elizabethan England.In 1597, the EnglishmathematicianandphysicianThomas Hoodmade a set of paper instruments that used revolving overlays to help students work out relationships between fixed stars or constellations, the midheaven, and the twelveastrological houses.Hood's instruments also illustrated, for pedagogical purposes, the supposed relationships between the signs of the zodiac, the planets, and the parts of the human body adherents believed were governed by the planets and signs.While Hood's presentation was innovative, his astrological information was largely standard and was taken fromGerard Mercator'sastrological disc made in 1551, or a source used by Mercator.Despite its popularity, Renaissance astrology had what historian Gabor Almasi calls "elite debate", exemplified by the polemical letters of Swiss physicianThomas Erastuswho fought against astrology, calling it "vanity" and "superstition." Then around the time of thenew star of 1572and thecomet of 1577there began what Almasi calls an "extended epistemological reform" which began the process of excluding religion, astrology andanthropocentrismfrom scientific debate.By 1679, the yearly publicationLa Connoissance des tempseschewed astrology as a legitimate topic.

Enlightenment period and onwards

Middle-classChicago women discuss spiritualism (1906).

Duringthe Enlightenment,intellectual sympathy for astrology fell away, leaving only a popular following supported by cheap almanacs.One English almanac compiler, Richard Saunders, followed the spirit of the age by printing a derisiveDiscourse on the Invalidity of Astrology,while in FrancePierre Bayle'sDictionnaireof 1697 stated that the subject was puerile.TheAnglo-IrishsatiristJonathan Swiftridiculed theWhigpolitical astrologerJohn Partridge.

In the second half of the 17th century, theSociety of Astrologers(1647–1684), a trade, educational, and social organization, sought to unite London's often fractious astrologers in the task of revitalizing astrology. Following the template of the popular "Feasts of Mathematicians" they endeavored to defend their art in the face of growing religious criticism. The Society hosted banquets, exchanged "instruments and manuscripts", proposed research projects, and funded the publication of sermons that depicted astrology as a legitimate biblical pursuit for Christians. They commissioned sermons that argued Astrology was divine, Hebraic, and scripturally supported by Bible passages about theMagiand the sons ofSeth.According to historian Michelle Pfeffer, "The society's public relations campaign ultimately failed." Modern historians have mostly neglected the Society of Astrologers in favor of the still extantRoyal Society(1660), even though both organizations initially had some of the same members.

Astrology saw a popular revival starting in the 19th century, as part of a general revival ofspiritualismand—later,New Agephilosophy,and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes.Early in the 20th century the psychiatristCarl Jungdeveloped some concepts concerning astrology,which led to the development ofpsychological astrology.

Principles and practice

Advocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, anartform, ascience,and a method of divination.Though most cultural astrology systems share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many use methods that differ from those in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology" ) and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.

Western

Western astrologyis a form ofdivinationbased on the construction of ahoroscopefor an exact moment, such as a person's birth.It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to theequinoctial points.

Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon and planets, which are analysed by their movement throughsignsof thezodiac(twelve spatial divisions of theecliptic) and by theiraspects(based on geometric angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement inhouses(twelve spatial divisions of the sky).Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced tosun sign astrology,which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart.

The horoscope visually expresses the set of relationships for the time and place of the chosen event. These relationships are between the seven 'planets', signifying tendencies such as war and love; the twelve signs of the zodiac; and the twelve houses. Each planet is in a particular sign and a particular house at the chosen time, when observed from the chosen place, creating two kinds of relationship.A third kind is the aspect of each planet to every other planet, where for example two planets 120° apart (in 'trine') are in a harmonious relationship, but two planets 90° apart ('square') are in a conflicted relationship.Together these relationships and their interpretations are said to form "...the language of the heavens speaking to learned men."

Along withtarot divination,astrology is one of the core studies ofWestern esotericism,and as such has influenced systems ofmagicalbelief not only among Western esotericists andHermeticists,but also belief systems such asWicca,which have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition.Tanya Luhrmannhas said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to atable of correspondencesinStarhawk'sThe Spiral Dance,organised byplanet,as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.

Hindu

Main article:Hindu astrology

Page from an Indian astrological treatise, c. 1750

The earliestVedictext on astronomy is theVedanga Jyotisha;Vedic thought later came to include astrology as well.

Hindu natal astrology originated with Hellenistic astrology by the 3rd century BCE,though incorporating the Hindu lunar mansions.The names of the signs (e.g. Greek 'Krios' for Aries, Hindi 'Kriya'), the planets (e.g. Greek 'Helios' for Sun, astrological Hindi 'Heli'), and astrological terms (e.g. Greek 'apoklima' and 'sunaphe' for declination and planetary conjunction, Hindi 'apoklima' and 'sunapha' respectively) in Varaha Mihira's texts are considered conclusive evidence of a Greek origin for Hindu astrology.The Indian techniques may also have been augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.

Chinese and East Asian

Further information:Chinese zodiac

Chinese astrologyhas a close relation withChinese philosophy(theory of the three harmonies: heaven, earth and man) and uses concepts such asyin and yang,theFive phases,the 10Celestial stems,the 12Earthly Branches,andshichen( canh giờ a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined topolitical astrology,the observation of unusual phenomena, identification ofportentsand the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.

The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided intoThree Enclosures( tam viên sān yuán), andTwenty-Eight Mansions( nhị thập bát tú èrshíbā xiù) in twelve Ci (Mười hai thứ).The Chinese zodiac of twelveanimal signsis said to represent twelve different types ofpersonality.It is based on cycles of years, lunar months, and two-hour periods of the day (the shichen). The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of theRat,and the cycle proceeds through 11 other animal signs: theOx,Tiger,Rabbit,Dragon,Snake,Horse,Goat,Monkey,Rooster,Dog,andPig.Complex systems of predicting fate and destiny based on one's birthday, birth season, and birth hours, such aszipingandZi Wei Dou Shu(simplified Chinese:Tử vi đẩu số;traditional Chinese:Tử vi đẩu số;pinyin:zǐwēidǒushù) are still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.

TheKorean zodiacis identical to the Chinese one. TheVietnamese zodiacis almost identical to the Chinese, except for second animal being theWater Buffaloinstead of theOx,and the fourth animal theCatinstead of theRabbit.The Japanese have since 1873 celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per theGregorian calendar.The Thai zodiac begins, not atChinese New Year,but either on the first day of the fifth month in theThai lunar calendar,or during theSongkranfestival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.

Theological viewpoints

See also:Christian views on astrology,Jewish views on astrology,andMuslim views on astrology

Ancient

Augustine(354–430) believed that the determinism of astrology conflicted with the Christian doctrines of man's free will and responsibility, and God not being the cause of evil,but he also grounded his opposition philosophically, citing the failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time.

Medieval

A drawing ofAvicenna

Some of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such asAl-Farabi(Alpharabius),Ibn al-Haytham(Alhazen) andAvicenna.They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views ofIslamic scholars,by suggesting that the Will of God can be known and predicted.For example, Avicenna's 'Refutation against astrology',Risāla fī ibṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm,argues against the practice of astrology while supporting the principle that planets may act as agents of divine causation. Avicenna considered that the movement of the planets influenced life on earth in a deterministic way, but argued against the possibility of determining the exact influence of the stars.Essentially, Avicenna did not deny the core dogma of astrology, but denied our ability to understand it to the extent that precise and fatalistic predictions could be made from it.Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya(1292–1350), in hisMiftah Dar al-SaCadah,also usedphysicalarguments in astronomy to question the practice of judicial astrology.He recognised that thestarsare much larger than theplanets,and argued:

And if you astrologers answer that it is precisely because of this distance and smallness that their influences are negligible, then why is it that you claim a great influence for the smallest heavenly body, Mercury? Why is it that you have given an influence toal-Ra's[the head] andal-Dhanab[the tail], which are two imaginary points[ascending and descending nodes]?

Modern

Martin Luther

Martin Lutherdenounced astrology in hisTable Talk.He asked why twins likeEsau and Jacobhad two different natures yet were born at the same time. Luther also compared astrologers to those who say their dice will always land on a certain number. Although the dice may roll on the number a couple of times, the predictor is silent for all the times the dice fails to land on that number.

What is done by God, ought not to be ascribed to the stars. The upright and true Christian religion opposes and confutes all such fables.

— Martin Luther,Table Talk

TheCatechism of the Catholic Churchmaintains that divination, including predictive astrology, is incompatible with modernCatholicbeliefssuch as free will:

All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

— Catechism of the Catholic Church

Scientific analysis and criticism

Main article:Astrology and science

Popper proposed falsifiability as something that distinguishes science from non-science, using astrology as the example of an idea that has not dealt with falsification during experiment.

The scientific community rejects astrology as having no explanatory power for describing the universe, and considers it apseudoscience.Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.There is no proposedmechanism of actionby which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict basic and well understood aspects of biology and physics.Those who have faith in astrology have been characterised by scientists including Bart J. Bok 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".

Confirmation biasis a form ofcognitive bias,apsychologicalfactor that contributes to belief in astrology.Astrology believers tend to selectively remember predictions that turn out to be true, and do not remember those that turn out false. Another, separate, form of confirmation bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinguish between messages that demonstrate special ability and those that do not.Thus there are two distinct forms of confirmation bias that are under study with respect to astrological belief.

Demarcation

Under the criterion offalsifiability,first proposed by thephilosopher of scienceKarl Popper,astrology is a pseudoscience.Popper regarded astrology as "pseudo-empirical" in that "it appeals to observation and experiment," but "nevertheless does not come up to scientific standards."In contrast to scientific disciplines, astrology has not responded to falsification through experiment.

In contrast to Popper, the philosopherThomas Kuhnargued that it was not lack of falsifiability that makes astrology unscientific, but rather that the process and concepts of astrology are non-empirical.Kuhn thought that, though astrologers had, historically, made predictions that categorically failed, this in itself does not make astrology unscientific, nor do attempts by astrologers to explain away failures by saying that creating a horoscope is very difficult. Rather, in Kuhn's eyes, astrology is not science because it was always more akin tomedieval medicine;astrologers followed a sequence of rules and guidelines for a seemingly necessary field with known shortcomings, but they did no research because the fields are not amenable to research,and so "they had no puzzles to solve and therefore no science to practise."While an astronomer could correct for failure, an astrologer could not. An astrologer could only explain away failure but could not revise the astrologicalhypothesisin a meaningful way. As such, to Kuhn, even if the stars could influence the path of humans through life, astrology is not scientific.

The philosopherPaul Thagardasserts that astrology cannot be regarded as falsified in this sense until it has been replaced with a successor. In the case of predicting behaviour, psychology is the alternative.To Thagard a further criterion of demarcation of science from pseudoscience is that the state-of-the-art must progress and that the community of researchers should be attempting to compare the current theory to alternatives, and not be "selective in considering confirmations and disconfirmations."Progress is defined here as explaining new phenomena and solving existing problems, yet astrology has failed to progress having only changed little in nearly 2000 years.To Thagard, astrologers are acting as though engaged innormal sciencebelieving that the foundations of astrology were well established despite the "many unsolved problems", and in the face of better alternative theories (psychology). For these reasons Thagard views astrology as pseudoscience.

For the philosopher Edward W. James, astrology is irrational not because of the numerous problems with mechanisms and falsification due to experiments, but because an analysis of the astrological literature shows that it is infused with fallacious logic and poor reasoning.

What if throughout astrological writings we meet little appreciation of coherence, blatant insensitivity to evidence, no sense of a hierarchy of reasons, slight command over the contextual force of critieria, stubborn unwillingness to pursue an argument where it leads, stark naivete concerning the efficacy of explanation and so on? In that case, I think, we are perfectly justified in rejecting astrology as irrational.... Astrology simply fails to meet the multifarious demands of legitimate reasoning.

— Edward W. James

Effectiveness

Astrology has not demonstrated its effectiveness incontrolled studiesand has no scientific validity.Where it has madefalsifiablepredictions undercontrolled conditions,they have been falsified.One famous experiment included 28 astrologers who were asked to match over a hundred natal charts to psychological profiles generated by theCalifornia Psychological Inventory(CPI) questionnaire.Thedouble-blindexperimental protocol used in this study was agreed upon by a group of physicists and a group of astrologersnominated by theNational Council for Geocosmic Research,who advised the experimenters, helped ensure that the test was fairand helped draw the central proposition ofnatal astrologyto be tested.They also chose 26 out of the 28 astrologers for the tests (two more volunteered afterwards).The study, published inNaturein 1985, found that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "...clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis."

In 1955, the astrologer and psychologist Michel Gauquelin stated that though he had failed to find evidence that supported indicators likezodiacal signsandplanetary aspectsin astrology, he did find positive correlations between thediurnal positionsof someplanetsand success in professions that astrology traditionally associates with those planets.The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in thenatal chartsof successful athletes and became known as theMars effect.A study conducted by seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence.They attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.

Geoffrey Dean has suggested that the effect may be caused by self-reporting of birth dates by parents rather than any issue with the study by Gauquelin. The suggestion is that a small subset of the parents may have had changed birth times to be consistent with better astrological charts for a related profession. The number of births under astrologically undesirable conditions was also lower, indicating that parents choose dates and times to suit their beliefs. The sample group was taken from a time where belief in astrology was more common. Gauquelin had failed to find the Mars effect in more recent populations, where a nurse or doctor recorded the birth information.

Dean, a scientist and former astrologer, and psychologist Ivan Kelly conducted a large scale scientific test that involved more than one hundredcognitive,behavioural,physical,and other variables—but found no support for astrology.Furthermore, ameta-analysispooled 40 studies that involved 700 astrologers and over 1,000 birth charts. Ten of the tests—which involved 300 participants—had the astrologers pick the correct chart interpretation out of a number of others that were not the astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually three to five others). When date and other obvious clues were removed, no significant results suggested there was any preferred chart.

Lack of mechanisms and consistency

Testing the validity of astrology can be difficult, because there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.Most professional astrologers are paid to predict the future or describe a person's personality and life, but most horoscopes only make vague untestable statements that can apply to almost anyone.

Many astrologers believe that astrology is scientific,while some have proposed conventionalcausal agentssuch aselectromagnetismandgravity.Scientists reject these mechanisms as implausiblesince, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from Earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.

Western astrology has taken the earth'saxial precession (also called precession of the equinoxes)into account since Ptolemy'sAlmagest,so the "first point of Aries", the start of the astrological year, continually moves against the background of the stars.The tropical zodiac has no connection to the stars; tropical astrologers distinguish the constellations from their historically associatedsign,thereby avoiding complications involving precession.Charpak and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the tropical zodiac as being "...empty boxes that have nothing to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency or correspondence with the stars."Sole use of the tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by the same astrologers, to theAge of Aquarius,which depends on when the vernal point enters the constellation of Aquarius.

Astrologers usually have only a small knowledge of astronomy, and often do not take into account basic principles—such as the precession of the equinoxes, which changes the position of the sun with time. They commented on the example ofÉlizabeth Teissier,who wrote that, "The sun ends up in the same place in the sky on the same date each year", as the basis for the idea that two people with the same birthday, but a number of years apart, should be under the same planetary influence. Charpak and Broch noted that, "There is a difference of about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specific date in two successive years", and that thus they should not be under the same influence according to astrology. Over a 40-year period there would be a difference greater than 780,000 miles.

Reception in the social sciences

The general consensus of astronomers and other natural scientists is that astrology is a pseudoscience which carries no predictive capability, with many philosophers of science considering it a "paradigm or prime example of pseudoscience."Some scholars in the social sciences have cautioned against categorizing astrology, especially ancient astrology, as "just" a pseudoscience or projecting the distinction backwards into the past.Thagard, while demarcating it as a pseudoscience, notes that astrology "should be judged as not pseudoscientific in classical or Renaissance times...Only when the historical and social aspects of science are neglected does it become plausible that pseudoscience is an unchanging category."Historians of science such as Tamsyn Barton,Roger Beck,Francesca Rochberg,andWouter J. Hanegraaffargue that such a wholesale description is anachronistic when applied to historical contexts, stressing that astrology was not pseudoscience before the 18th century and the importance of the discipline to the development of medieval science.R. J. Hakinson writes in the context ofHellenistic astrologythat "the belief in the possibility of [astrology] was, at least some of the time, the result of careful reflection on the nature and structure of the universe."

Nicholas Campion,both an astrologer and academic historian of astrology, argues thatIndigenous astronomyis largely used as a synonym for astrology in academia, and that modern Indian and Western astrology are better understood as modes of cultural astronomy orethnoastronomy.Roy Willis andPatrick Currydraw a distinction between propositionalepistemeand metaphoricmetisin the ancient world, identifying astrology with the latter and noting that the central concern of astrology "is not knowledge (factual, let alone scientific) butwisdom(ethical, spiritual and pragmatic) ".Similarly, historian of science Justin Niermeier-Dohoney writes that astrology was "more than simply a science of prediction using the stars and comprised a vast body of beliefs, knowledge, and practices with the overarching theme of understanding the relationship between humanity and the rest of the cosmos through an interpretation of stellar, solar, lunar, and planetary movement." Scholars such asAssyriologistMatthew Rutz have begun using the term "astral knowledge" rather than astrology "to better describe a category of beliefs and practices much broader than the term 'astrology' can capture."

Cultural impact

Western politics and society

In the West, political leaders have sometimes consulted astrologers. For example, the British intelligence agencyMI5employedLouis de Wohlas an astrologer after it was reported thatAdolf Hitlerused astrology to time his actions. The War Office was "...interested to know what Hitler's own astrologers would be telling him from week to week."In fact, de Wohl's predictions were so inaccurate that he was soon labelled a "complete charlatan", and later evidence showed that Hitler considered astrology "complete nonsense".AfterJohn Hinckley'sattempted assassinationof US PresidentRonald Reagan,first ladyNancy Reagancommissioned astrologerJoan Quigleyto act as the secret White House astrologer. However, Quigley's role ended in 1988 when it became public through the memoirs of former chief of staff,Donald Regan.

There was a boom in interest in astrology in the late 1960s. The sociologistMarcello Truzzidescribed three levels of involvement of "Astrology-believers" to account for its revived popularity in the face of scientific discrediting. He found that most astrology-believers did not think that it was a scientific explanation with predictive power. Instead, those superficially involved, knowing "next to nothing" about astrology's 'mechanics', read newspaper astrology columns, and could benefit from "tension-management of anxieties" and "a cognitive belief-system that transcends science."Those at the second level usually had their horoscopes cast and sought advice and predictions. They were much younger than those at the first level, and could benefit from knowledge of the language of astrology and the resulting ability to belong to a coherent and exclusive group. Those at the third level were highly involved and usually cast horoscopes for themselves. Astrology provided this small minority of astrology-believers with a "meaningfulview of their universe and [gave] them anunderstandingof their place in it. "This third group took astrology seriously, possibly as an overarching religious worldview (asacred canopy,inPeter L. Berger's phrase), whereas the other two groups took it playfully and irreverently.

In 1953, the sociologistTheodor W. Adornoconducted a study of the astrology column of a Los Angeles newspaper as part of a project examining mass culture in capitalist society.Adorno believed that popular astrology, as a device, invariably leads to statements that encouraged conformity—and that astrologers who go against conformity, by discouraging performance at work etc., risk losing their jobs.Adorno concluded that astrology is a large-scale manifestation of systematicirrationalism,where individuals are subtly led—through flattery and vague generalisations—to believe that the author of the column is addressing them directly.Adorno drew a parallel with the phraseopium of the people,by Karl Marx, by commenting, "occultism is the metaphysic of the dopes."

A 2005Galluppoll and a 2009 survey by thePew Research Centerreported that 25% of US adults believe in astrology,while a 2018 Pew survey found a figure of 29%.According to data released in theNational Science Foundation's2014Science and Engineering Indicatorsstudy, "Fewer Americans rejected astrology in 2012 than in recent years."The NSF study noted that in 2012, "slightly more than half of Americans said that astrology was 'not at all scientific,' whereas nearly two-thirds gave this response in 2010. The comparable percentage has not been this low since 1983."Astrologyappsbecame popular in the late 2010s, some receiving millions of dollars inSilicon Valleyventure capital.

India and Japan

Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)

In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use ofelectional,horaryandkarmic astrology.Indian politics have also been influenced by astrology.It is still considered a branch of theVedanga.In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,resulting in permission forIndian universitiesto offer courses in Vedic astrology.

In February 2011, theBombay High Courtreaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case that challenged its status as a science.

InJapan,strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years ofFireHorse.Adherents believe that women born inhinoeumayears are unmarriageable and bring bad luck to their father or husband. In 1966, the number of babies born in Japan dropped by over 25% as parents tried to avoid the stigma of having a daughter born in the hinoeuma year.

Literature and music

Title page ofJohn Lyly'sastrological play,The Woman in the Moon,1597

The fourteenth-century English poetsJohn GowerandGeoffrey Chaucerboth referred to astrology in their works, including Gower'sConfessio Amantisand Chaucer'sThe Canterbury Tales.Chaucer commented explicitly on astrology in hisTreatise on the Astrolabe,demonstrating personal knowledge of one area, judicial astrology, with an account of how to find the ascendant or rising sign.

In the fifteenth century, references to astrology, such as withsimiles,became "a matter of course" in English literature.

Title page ofCalderón de la Barca'sAstrologo Fingido,Madrid, 1641

In the sixteenth century, John Lyly's 1597 play,The Woman in the Moon,is wholly motivated by astrology,whileChristopher Marlowemakes astrological references in his playsDoctor FaustusandTamburlaine(both c. 1590),andSir Philip Sidneyrefers to astrology at least four times in hisromanceThe Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia(c. 1580).Edmund Spenseruses astrology both decoratively and causally in his poetry, revealing "...unmistakably an abiding interest in the art, an interest shared by a large number of his contemporaries."George Chapman'splay,Byron's Conspiracy(1608), similarly uses astrology as a causal mechanism in the drama.William Shakespeare'sattitude towards astrology is unclear, with contradictory references in plays includingKing Lear,Antony and Cleopatra,andRichard II.Shakespeare was familiar with astrology and made use of his knowledge of astrology in nearly every play he wrote,assuming a basic familiarity with the subject in his commercial audience.Outside theatre, the physician and mysticRobert Fluddpractised astrology, as did the quack doctor Simon Forman.In Elizabethan England, "The usual feeling about astrology... [was] that it is the most useful of the sciences."

In seventeenth century Spain,Lope de Vega,with a detailed knowledge of astronomy, wrote plays that ridicule astrology. In his pastoral romanceLa Arcadia(1598), it leads to absurdity; in his novelaGuzman el Bravo(1624), he concludes that the stars were made for man, not man for the stars.Calderón de la Barcawrote the 1641 comedyAstrologo Fingido(The Pretended Astrologer); the plot was borrowed by the French playwrightThomas Corneillefor his 1651 comedyFeint Astrologue.

The most famous piece of music influenced by astrology is the orchestral suiteThe Planets.Written by the British composerGustav Holst(1874–1934), and first performed in 1918, the framework ofThe Planetsis based upon the astrological symbolism of the planets.Each of the seven movements of the suite is based upon a different planet, though the movements are not in the order of the planets from the Sun. The composerColin Matthewswrote an eighth movement entitledPluto, the Renewer,first performed in 2000.In 1937, another British composer,Constant Lambert,wrote a ballet on astrological themes, calledHoroscope.In 1974, the New Zealand composerEdwin CarrwroteThe Twelve Signs: An Astrological Entertainmentfor orchestra without strings.Camille Pagliaacknowledges astrology as an influence on her work of literary criticismSexual Personae(1990).

Astrology features strongly inEleanor Catton'sThe Luminaries,recipient of the2013 Man Booker Prize.

See also

• Astrology and science
• Astrology software
• Barnum effect
• Glossary of astrology
• List of astrological traditions, types, and systems
• List of topics characterised as pseudoscience
• Jewish astrology
• Scientific skepticism
• Worship of heavenly bodies

References

Works cited

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Further reading

• Crowley, Aleister(2002) [1917]. Beta, Hymenaeus (ed.).The General Principles of Astrology.with Evangeline Adams. Boston: Weiser Books.ISBN978-0877289081.
• Kay, Richard (1994).Dante's Christian Astrology.Middle Ages Series. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Ruggles, C. L. N.; Saunders, Nicholas J. (1993).Astronomies and cultures: papers derived from the third "Oxford" International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy, St. Andrews, UK, September 1990.Niwot, Colo.: University Press of Colorado.ISBN0-87081-319-6.OCLC28929580.
• Wedel, Theodore Otto (1920).The Medieval Attitude Toward Astrology: Particularly in England.Yale University Press.

External links

• Digital International Astrology Library(ancient astrological works)
• Biblioastrology ( biblioastrology )(specialised bibliography)
• Paris Observatory