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A History of Astrology

Astrology was probably born from our ancestral worship of the stars, planets and moon. We lived and died by what happened from the sun and even the moon. Major celestial bodies were named after Gods and it was not surprising that we desired to tie celestial conditions and events to what was happening in the heavens (even following a star to a baby in a manger...) So to know the stars was to know the Gods.

Astrological divination slowly developed as a science based on historical documentation of what events occurred and when. If a war was won following, let's say, an equinox and a full moon, then the future 'omen' would be that that time was favored by the Gods. Since stars were considered heavenly, Priests and prophets alike made it a serious practice to study the stars. The information was generally made public and sometimes data gathering was specially provided for the reigning King.

Ị think it's man's nature to look heavenly and revere elements we can't touch. Because of this fundamental fascination of man, every society had their own version of astrology whether it was the Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians, the Europeans, Chinese, Mayans or the people in the Middle East.

Horoscope astrology, a Greek practice, came about after Alexander The Great conquered Egypt in 332BC. It was the Greek astrologer and astronomer, Ptolemy, who defined, in meticulous detail, the planets, Houses and Signs of the zodiac determined at a person's time of birth. This elaborate work has changed very little from that period to modern times.

Astrology was so popular in earlier times that it was as highly regarded as the natural sciences, including medicine. In fact, astrology was integrated with medical practices. Each part of the body had a corresponding astrological 'sign' to it (Aries the head, Pisces the feet, and so on.) so when a person became ill it was due a constellation alignment or a star's position in the night sky.

Astrology is still practiced today and like prior times, by many cultures. It's lost its 'scientific' bent though and is looked down upon by various religions and scientific people as there are no real facts to back it up, other than what might be considered coincidental prophesies. In modern times, educated astrologers and medical practitioners aren't the usual persons doing the astrological divination either, but people usually viewed as having fringe or non-mainstream beliefs. Fringe or not, people ranging from the laymen to former Presidents still use astrology to provide direction and insight into their life.