Astrology

Before we get started let me state that the validity of astrology is a controversial subject. I many do a separate page about that debate, but this page will focus primarily of the science of astrology. Briefly put the argument goes like this...

Astrologers argue that astrology works by a mechanism that is unknown to science. They believe that it is validated by their personal experience when applied in real life cases. They argue that it does not make the hard predictions that science would require but informs the user of subtleties to decisions that would otherwise be missed. Skeptics see astrology as repeatedly failing to demonstrate its effectiveness in controlled studies and see those who continue to use it as gullible and deluded, or even as charlatans. So there is a large rift between the believers and skeptics. But as I stated before the remainder of this page will focus on of the science of astrology

Astrology (from Greek: αστρολογία = άστρον, astron, "star" + λόγος, logos, "word") is any of several traditions or systems in which knowledge of the apparent positions of celestial bodies is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about reality and human existence on earth. 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 birth or other event being studied. These are chiefly the Sun, Moon, planets, Ascendant & Midheaven axes, and the lunar nodes. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer, or sometimes an astrologist. Astromancy, divination by the stars, is a slightly archaic synonym for astrology (likewise for astromancer and the rather rarely used astromancist).

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, and even physical characteristics.

Astrology is not considered to be a science, but is more appropriately an intuitive discipline, and is separate from astronomy, the scientific study of outer space. The calculations performed in astrology involves some skill in arithmetic and simple geometry and serve to locate the apparent location of heavenly bodies on desired dates and times based on tables constructed by astronomers. There have been astrologers who claim to try to put astrology on a sound scientific basis, but for most it is an art that merges calculations with their own intuitive perceptions. For most astrologers the purported relationship between the celestial bodies and events on earth need not be causal, nor even scientific.

The generally established opinion of the scientific community is that astrology is superstition, with no actual predictive ability.

The core principles of astrology reflect a general principle, which was accepted in some parts of the ancient world, that events in the heavens should have analogies on Earth. In some places, such as ancient China and Babylon, the apparently untoward movement of a comet across the otherwise orderly movement of the heavens was taken as a portent of disaster. Such ancient beliefs are epitomized in the Hermetic maxim: As Above, So Below. The famous astronomer/astrologer Tycho Brahe also used a similar phrase to justify his studies in astrology: Suspiciendo despicio — "By looking up I see downward."

In past centuries astrology often relied on close observation of astronomical objects, and the charting of their movements, and might be considered a protoscience in this regard. In modern times astrologers have tended to rely on data drawn up by astronomers and set out in a set of tables called an ephemeris, which shows the changing positions of the heavenly bodies through time. It is the interpretation of these science based tables that makes astrology a target for the label pseudoscience.

Central to all astrology is the horoscope. 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 (other names for this diagram in English include natus, nativity, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, birth chart, sky-map, cosmogram, vitasphere, soulprint, radical chart, radix, or simply chart).

To determine the astrological signs in which the Sun, Moon, and the other celestial bodies fall on any given day, hour, minute, or second, it is necessary to consult an ephemeris or use an astrological computer program which will have a built-in ephemeris; these computer programs make it quick and very easy to calculate the horoscope (also called natal chart, astro-chart, etc.) so that the astrologer can spend more time interpreting the chart rather than actually calculating it.

The study of Western astrology and the belief in it, as part of astronomy, is found in a developed form among the ancient Babylonians; and directly or indirectly through the Babylonians, it spread to other nations. It came to Greece about the middle of the 4th century BC, and reached Rome before the opening of the Christian era. For a detailed description, including astrology in other cultures, see the main article.

Astrology has had a profound influence over the past few thousand years on Western and Eastern cultures, along with the English language. Influenza was so named because doctors once believed it 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.

Many writers, notably William Shakespeare, used astrological symbolism to add subtlety to the description of their characters' motivation. An understanding of astrological principles is needed to fully appreciate such literature, along with the work of many other writers and poets of this and many other eras. Some modern thinkers, notably Carl Jung, have acknowledged its descriptive powers of the mind without necessarily subscribing to its predictive claims