Astrology

Not to be confused with Astronomy, the scientic study lowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome.
of celestial objects.
In Rome, astrology was associated with Chaldean wisdom. After the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th cenAstrology consists of several pseudoscientic systems of tury, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In
divination* [1] based on the premise that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe
and translated into Latin, helping to initiate the European
the human world. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, Renaissance, when major astronomers including Tycho
and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court asterrestrial events from celestial observations. In the West, trologers. Astrological references appear in literature in
astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes the works of poets such as Dante Alighieri and Georey
purporting to explain aspects of a person's personality and Chaucer, and of playwrights such as Christopher Marpredict future events in their life based on the positions of lowe and William Shakespeare.
the sun, moon, and other celestial objects at the time of
their birth. The majority of professional astrologers rely
on such systems.* [2]* :83

1 Etymology

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 as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology,
and medicine.* [3] At the end of the 17th century, new
scientic concepts in astronomy and physics (such as
heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question. Astrology thus lost its academic and
theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has
largely declined.* [4] Astrology has been rejected by the
scientic community as a pseudoscience, having no validity or explanatory power for describing the universe.
Among other issues, there is no proposed mechanism of
action by which the positions and motions of stars and
planets could aect people and events on Earth that does
not contradict well understood basic aspects of biology
and physics.* [5]* :249* [6] Scientic testing of astrology
has found no evidence to support any of the premises or
purported eects outlined in astrological traditions. In
one study, participating astrologers attempting to match
natal charts with proles generated by a psychological inventory produced results not signicantly at variance with
random chance.* [7]* :424
Astrology has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as
signs of divine communications.* [8] A form of astrology was practised in the rst dynasty of Mesopotamia
(19501651 BCE). Chinese astrology was elaborated in
the Zhou dynasty (1046256 BCE). Hellenistic astrology
after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyptian Decanic astrology in Alexandria, creating horoscopic
astrology. Alexander the Great's conquest of Asia al-

Marcantonio Raimondi engraving, 15th century

The word astrology comes from the early Latin

word astrologia,* [9] which derives from the Greek
from astron (star) and -
-logia, (study of"account of the stars). As1

2 HISTORY

trologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning
astronomia used for the scientic term.* [10]
in the sky.* [11]* :2,3 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
2 History
that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000
years ago.* [12]* :81 This was a rst step towards recordMain article: History of astrology
ing the Moon's inuence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.* [12] Farmers adMany cultures have attached importance to astronomi- dressed agricultural needs with increasing knowledge of
cal events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans devel- the constellations that appear in the dierent seasons
oped elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events and used the rising of particular star-groups to herald anfrom celestial observations. In the West, astrology most nual oods or seasonal activities.* [13] By the 3rd millenoften consists of a system of horoscopes purporting to nium BCE, civilizations had sophisticated awareness of
explain aspects of a person's personality and predict fu- celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignture events in their life based on the positions of the sun, ment with heliacal risings of the stars.* [14]
moon, and other celestial objects at the time of their birth.
There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest
The majority of professional astrologers rely on such sysknown astrological references are copies of texts made
tems.* [2]* :83
in the ancient world. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa
Astrology has been dated to at least the 2nd millen- (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) is reported to
nium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to pre- have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad
dict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as (23342279 BCE).* [15] A scroll documenting an early
signs of divine communications.* [8] A form of astrol- use of electional astrology is doubtfully ascribed to the
ogy was practised in the rst dynasty of Mesopotamia reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (c. 2144
(19501651 BCE). Chinese astrology was elaborated in 2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to
the Zhou dynasty (1046256 BCE). Hellenistic astrology him in a dream the constellations that would be most
after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyp- favourable for the planned construction of a temple.* [16]
tian Decanic astrology in Alexandria, creating horoscopic However, there is controversy about whether these were
astrology. Alexander the Great's conquest of Asia al- genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to anlowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome. cient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence
In Rome, astrology was associated with 'Chaldean wis- of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowldom'. After the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th cen- edge is therefore attributed to the records of the rst dytury, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hel- nasty of Mesopotamia (19501651 BCE). This astrology
lenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In had some parallels with Hellenistic Greek (western) asthe 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe trology, including the zodiac, a norming point near 9 deand translated into Latin, helping to initiate the European grees in Aries, the trine aspect, planetary exaltations, and
Renaissance, when major astronomers including Tycho the dodekatemoria (the twelve divisions of 30 degrees
Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court as- each).* [17] However, the Babylonians viewed celestial
trologers. Astrological references appear in literature in events as possible signs rather than as causes of physical
the works of poets such as Dante Alighieri and Georey events.* [17]
Chaucer, and of playwrights such as Christopher MarThe system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during
lowe and William Shakespeare.
the Zhou dynasty (1046256 BCE) and ourished durThroughout most of its history, astrology was consid- ing the Han Dynasty (2nd century BCE to 2nd century
ered a scholarly tradition. It was accepted in polit- CE), during which all the familiar elements of traditional
ical and academic contexts, and was connected with Chinese culture the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the
other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, ve elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality
and medicine.* [3] At the end of the 17th century, new were brought together to formalise the philosophical prinscientic concepts in astronomy and physics (such as ciples of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and
heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrol- alchemy.* [18]* :3,4
ogy into question. Astrology thus lost its academic and
theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has
2.1.1 Ancient objections
largely declined.* [4]

2.1

Ancient world

See also: Babylonian astrology

Cicero stated the twins objection (that with close birth

times, personal outcomes can be very dierent), later developed by Saint Augustine.* [19] He argued that since
the other planets are much more distant from the earth
than the moon, they could have only very tiny inuence

2.2

Hellenistic Egypt

2.2 Hellenistic Egypt

Main article: Hellenistic astrology
In 525 BCE, Egypt was conquered by the Persians.

The Roman orator Cicero objected to astrology.

1484 copy of rst page of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, translated into

Latin by Plato of Tivoli

compared to the moon's.* [20] He also argued that if astrology explains everything about a person's fate, then it
wrongly ignores the visible eect of inherited ability and
parenting, changes in health worked by medicine, or the
eects of the weather on people.* [21]
Plotinus argued that since the xed stars are much more
distant than the planets, it is laughable to imagine the
planets' eect on mankind should depend on their position with respect to the zodiac. He also argues that the
interpretation of the moon's conjunction with 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 her 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.* [22]
Favorinus argued that it was absurd to imagine that stars
and planets would aect human bodies in the same way as
they aect the tides,* [23] and equally absurd that small
motions in the heavens cause large changes in people's
fates. Sextus Empiricus argued that it was absurd to link
human attributes with myths about the signs of the zodiac.* [24] Carneades argued that belief in fate denies free
will and morality; that people born at dierent times can
all die in the same accident or battle; and that contrary to
uniform inuences from the stars, tribes and cultures are
all dierent.* [25]

The 1st century BCE Egyptian Dendera Zodiac shares

two signs the Balance and the Scorpion with
Mesopotamian astrology.* [26]
With the occupation by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE,
Egypt became Hellenistic. The city of Alexandria was
founded by Alexander after the conquest, becoming the
place where Babylonian astrology was mixed with Egyptian Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology.
This contained the Babylonian zodiac with its system of
planetary exaltations, 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 and four elements.* [27] 2nd century BCE texts predict positions of
planets in zodiac signs at the time of the rising of certain
decans, particularly Sothis.* [28] The astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy lived in Alexandria. Ptolemy's work
the Tetrabiblos formed the basis of Western astrology,
and, "...enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the
astrological writers of a thousand years or more.* [29]

2.3 Greece and Rome

The conquest of Asia by Alexander the Great exposed
the Greeks to ideas from Syria, Babylon, Persia and central Asia.* [30] Around 280 BCE, Berossus, a priest of

2 HISTORY

Bel from Babylon, moved to the Greek island of Kos,

teaching astrology and Babylonian culture.* [31] By the
1st century BCE, there were two varieties of astrology,
one using horoscopes to describe the past, present and
future; the other, theurgic, emphasising the soul's ascent
to the stars.* [32] Greek inuence played a crucial role in
the transmission of astrological theory to Rome.* [33]
The rst denite reference to astrology in Rome comes
from the orator Cato, who in 160 BCE warned farm overseers against consulting with Chaldeans,* [34] who were
described as Babylonian 'star-gazers'.* [35] Among both
Greeks and Romans, Babylonia (also known as Chaldea)
became so identied with astrology that 'Chaldean wisdom' became synonymous with divination using planets and stars.* [36] The 2nd-century Roman poet and
satirist Juvenal complains about the pervasive inuence
of Chaldeans, saying, Still more trusted are the Chaldaeans; every word uttered by the astrologer they will believe has come from Hammon's fountain.* [37]

Latin translation of Ab Mashar's De Magnis Coniunctionibus

('Of the great conjunctions'), Venice, 1515.

astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century,

and William Lilly in the 17th century.* [42] Knowledge
of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe
during the Latin translations of the 12th century, which
One of the rst astrologers to bring Hermetic astrolhelped initiate the European Renaissance.
ogy to Rome was Thrasyllus, astrologer to the emperor
*
Tiberius, [33] the rst emperor to have had a court astrologer,* [38] though his predecessor Augustus had used 2.4.3 Europe
astrology to help legitimise his Imperial rights.* [39]

2.4
2.4.1

Medival world
Hindu

The main texts upon which classical Indian astrology is

based are early medieval compilations, notably the Bhat
Parara Horstra, and Srval by Kalyavarma.
The Horshastra is a composite work of 71 chapters, of
which the rst part (chapters 151) dates to the 7th to
early 8th centuries and the second part (chapters 5271)
to the later 8th century. The Srval likewise dates to
around 800 CE.* [40] English translations of these texts
were published by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhari in 1963 and 1961, respectively.
2.4.2

Islamic

Main article: Astrology in medieval Islam

Astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars following the
collapse of Alexandria to the Arabs in the 7th century,
and the founding of the Abbasid empire in the 8th. The
second Abbasid caliph, Al Mansur (754775) founded
the city of Baghdad to act as a centre of learning, and
included in its design a library-translation centre known
as Bayt 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 included
Mashallah, who helped to elect the time for the foundation of Baghdad,* [41] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael),
whose texts were directly inuential upon later European

Dante Alighieri meets the Emperor Justinian in the Sphere of

Mercury, in Canto 5 of the Paradiso.

See also: Christian views on astrology

The rst astrological book published in Europe was the
Liber Planetis et Mundi Climatibus (Book of the Planets and Regions of the World), which appeared be-

2.5

Renaissance and Early Modern

tween 1010 and 1027 AD, and may have been authored
by Gerbert of Aurillac.* [43] Ptolemy's second century
AD Tetrabiblos was translated into Latin by Plato of
Tivoli in 1138.* [43] The Dominican theologian Thomas
Aquinas followed Aristotle in proposing that the stars
ruled the imperfect 'sublunary' body, while attempting to
reconcile astrology with Christianity by stating that God
ruled the soul.* [44] The thirteenth century mathematician Campanus of Novara is said to have devised a system of astrological houses that divides the prime vertical
into 'houses' of equal 30 arcs,* [45] though the system
was used earlier in the East.* [46] The thirteenth century
astronomer Guido Bonatti wrote a textbook, the Liber Astronomicus, a copy of which King Henry VII of England
owned at the end of the fteenth century.* [45]

In Paradiso, the nal part of the Divine Comedy, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri referred in countless details
*
[47] to the astrological planets, though he adapted traditional astrology to suit his Christian viewpoint,* [47] for
example using astrological thinking in his prophecies of
the reform of Christendom.* [48]

uence of the stars was in turn divided into natural astrology, with for example eects on tides and the growth
of plants, and judicial astrology, with supposedly predictable eects on people.* [52]* [53] The fourteenth century skeptic Nicole Oresme however included astronomy
as a part of astrology in his Livre de divinacions.* [54]
Oresme argued that current approaches to prediction of
events such as plagues, wars, and weather were inappropriate, but that such prediction was a valid eld 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.* [54]* [55] The
friar Laurens Pignon (c. 13681449)* [56] similarly rejected all forms of divination and determinism, including
by the stars, in his 1411 Contre les Devineurs.* [57] This
was in opposition to the tradition carried by the Arab astronomer Albumasar (787-886) whose Introductorium in
Astronomiam and De Magnis Coniunctionibus argued the
view that both individual actions and larger scale history
are determined by the stars.* [58]

2.4.4

2.5 Renaissance and Early Modern

Medival objections

'An Astrologer Casting a Horoscope' from Robert Fludd's

Utriusque Cosmi Historia, 1617

The medieval theologian Isidore of Seville criticized the predictive

part of astrology.

In the seventh century, Isidore of Seville argued in his

Etymologiae that astronomy described the movements of
the heavens, while astrology had two parts: one was scientic, describing the movements of the sun, the moon and
the stars, while the other, making predictions, was theologically erroneous.* [49]* [50] In contrast, John Gower
in the fourteenth century dened astrology as essentially
limited to the making of predictions.* [49]* [51] The in-

Renaissance scholars often practised astrology to pay for

their research into other subjects.* [59] Gerolamo Cardano cast the horoscope of king Edward VI of England, while John Dee was the personal astrologer to
queen Elizabeth I of England.* [59] Catherine de Medici
paid Michael Nostradamus in 1566 to verify the prediction of the death of her husband, king Henry II of
France made by her astrologer Lucus Gauricus.* [59] Major astronomers who practised as court astrologers included Tycho Brahe in the royal court of Denmark,
Johannes Kepler to the Habsburgs and Galileo Galilei to
the Medici.* [59] The astronomer and spiritual astrologer

3 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE

Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for heresy in Rome tion.* [72]* [73] Though most cultural astrology systems
in 1600.* [59]
share common roots in ancient philosophies that inuEphemerides with complex astrological calculations, and enced each other, many use methods that dier from
almanacs interpreting celestial events for use in medicine those in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also
and for choosing times to plant crops, were popu- known as Indian astrologyand in modern times relar in Elizabethan England.* [60] In 1597, the English ferred to as Vedic astrology) and Chinese astrology,
mathematician and physician Thomas Hood made a set both of which have inuenced the world's cultural history.
of paper instruments that used revolving overlays to help
students work out relationships between xed stars or
constellations, the midheaven, and the twelve astrological
houses.* [61] 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.* [61]* [62] While Hood's presentation
was innovative, his astrological information was largely
standard and was taken from Gerard Mercator's astrological disc made in 1551, or a source used by Mercator.* [63]* [64]

3.1 Western
For more details on this topic, see Western astrology.

Western astrology is a form of divination based on the

construction of a horoscope for an exact moment, such as
a person's birth.* [74] It uses the tropical zodiac, which is
English astrology had reached its zenith by the 17th cenaligned to the equinoctial points.* [75]
tury.* [65] Astrologers were theorists, researchers, and
social engineers, as well as providing individual advice Western astrology is founded on the movements and
to everyone from monarchs downwards. Among other relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun,
things, astrologers could advise on the best time to take Moon and planets, which are analyzed by their movement
a journey or harvest a crop, diagnose and prescribe for through signs of the zodiac (twelve spatial divisions of
physical or mental illnesses, and predict natural disasters. the ecliptic) and by their aspects (based on geometric anThis underpinned a system in which everything peo- gles) relative to one another. They are also considered by
ple, the world, the universewas understood to be inter- their placement in houses (twelve spatial divisions of the
*
connected, and astrology co-existed happily with religion, sky). [76] Astrology's modern representation in western
*
popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology,
magic and science. [66]
which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the
2.6 Enlightenment period and onwards
total chart.* [77]
During The Enlightenment, intellectual sympathy for astrology fell away, leaving only a popular following supported by cheap almanacs.* [67] One English almanac
compiler, Richard Saunders, followed the spirit of the
age by printing a derisive Discourse on the Invalidity of
Astrology, while in France Pierre Bayle's Dictionnaire of
1697 stated that the subject was puerile.* [67] The AngloIrish satirist Jonathan Swift ridiculed the Whig political
astrologer John Partridge.* [67]

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.* [78] 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 conicted
relationship.* [79]* [80] Together these relationships and
their interpretations supposedly form "...the language of
the heavens speaking to learned men.* [78]

Astrology saw a popular revival starting in the 19th century, as part of a general revival of spiritualism and
later, New Age philosophy,* [68]* :239249 and through
the inuence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes.* [68]* :259263 Early in the 20th century the psyAlong with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core
chiatrist Carl Jung developed some concepts concernstudies of Western esotericism, and as such has inuenced
ing astrology,* [69] which led to the development of
systems
of magical belief not only among Western esopsychological astrology.* [68]* :251256* [70]* [71]
tericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such
as Wicca that have borrowed from or been inuenced by
the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said
3 Principles and practice
that all magicians know something about astrology,
and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The
Advocates have dened astrology as a symbolic lan- Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the
guage, an art form, a science, and a method of divina- astrological lore studied by magicians.* [81]

7
Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the three harmonies: heaven, earth and
man) and uses concepts such as yin and yang, the Five
phases, the 10 Celestial stems, the 12 Earthly Branches,
and shichen ( a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology
was mainly conned to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identication of portents
and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.* [18]* :22,85,176
The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three
Enclosures ( sn yun), and Twenty-eight Mansions
( rshb xi) in twelve Ci ().* [88] The
Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve dierent types of personality. 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 the Rat, and the cycle proceeds through
11 other animals signs: the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon,
Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.* [89]
Complex systems of predicting fate and destiny based on
one's birthday, birth season, and birth hours, such as ziping and Zi Wei Dou Shu (simplied Chinese:
; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: zwidush)
are still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology.
They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.* [90]
The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The
Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac
Page from an Indian astrological treatise, c. 1750
except the second animal is the Water Bualo instead of
the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the
Rabbit. The Japanese have since 1873 celebrated the be3.2 Hindu
ginning of the new year on 1 January as per the Gregorian
Calendar. The Thai zodiac begins, not at Chinese New
Main article: Hindu astrology
Year, but either on the rst day of fth month in the Thai
lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celThe earliest Vedic text on astronomy is the Vedanga Jyebrated every 1315 April), depending on the purpose of
otisha; Vedic thought later came to include astrology as
the use.* [91]
well.* [82]
Hindu natal astrology originated with Hellenistic astrology by the 3rd century BCE,* [83]* :361* [84] though incorporating the Hindu lunar mansions.* [85] The names 4 Theological viewpoints
of the signs (e.g. Greek 'Kpios' for Aries, Hindi 'Kriya'),
the planets (e.g. Greek 'Helios' for Sun, astrological See also: Christian views on astrology, Jewish views on
Hindi 'Heli'), and astrological terms (e.g. Greek 'apok- astrology and Muslim views on astrology
lima' 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.* [86] The Indian
techniques may also have been augmented with some of 4.1 Ancient
the Babylonian techniques.* [87]* :231
St. Augustine (354-430) believed that the determinism of
astrology conicted with the Christian doctrines of man's
free will and responsibility, and God not being the cause
3.3 Chinese and East-Asian
of evil,* [92] but he also grounded his opposition philoFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and sophically, citing the failure of astrology to explain twins
Chinese zodiac.
who behave dierently although conceived at the same
moment and born at approximately the same time.* [93]

4.2

Medieval

SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM

5 Scientic analysis and criticism

Some of the practices of astrology were contested on the- Main article: Astrology and science
ological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such The scientic community rejects astrology as having
as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen)
and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers
conicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars, by suggesting that the Will of God can be known
and predicted in advance.* [94] For example, Avicenna's
'Refutation against astrology', Risla f ibl akm alnojm, 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 inuenced life on earth in a deterministic way, but argued against the possibility of determining the exact inuence of the stars.* [95] 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.* [96] Ibn
Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (12921350), in his Miftah Dar alSaCadah, also used physical arguments in astronomy to
question the practice of judicial astrology.* [97] He recognized that the stars are much larger than the planets,
and argued:
And if you astrologers answer that it is precisely because of this distance and smallness
that their inuences are negligible, then why
is it that you claim a great inuence for the
smallest heavenly body, Mercury? Why is it
that you have given an inuence to al-Ra's and
al-Dhanab, which are two imaginary points
[ascending and descending nodes]?
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya* [97]

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

no explanatory power for describing the universe, and

consider it a pseudoscience.* [100]* [101]* [102]* :1350
Scientic testing of astrology has been conducted, and
no evidence has been found to support any of the
premises or purported eects outlined in astrological tra4.3 Modern
ditions.* [7]* :424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planThe Catechism of the Catholic Church maintains that div- ets could aect people and events on Earth that does not
ination, including predictive astrology, is incompatible contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and
with modern Catholic beliefs* [98] such as free will:* [93] physics.* [5]* :249* [6] Those who continue to have faith in
astrology have been characterized as doing so "...in spite
of the fact that there is no veried scientic basis for their
All forms of divination are to be rejected:
beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the
recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up
contrary.* [103]
the dead or other practices falsely supposed to
It has also been shown that conrmation bias is a
unveilthe future. Consulting horoscopes,
psychological factor that contributes to belief in astrolastrology, palm reading, interpretation of
ogy.* [104]* :344* [105]* :180181* [106]* :4248 Conromens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoymation bias is a form of cognitive bias.* [lower-alpha
ance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a
1]* [107]* :553 According to available literature, astroldesire for power over time, history, and, in
ogy believers tend to selectively remember predictions
the last analysis, other human beings, as well
that turn out to be true, and do not remember those that
as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They
turn out false. Another, separate, form of conrmation
contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear
bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinthat we owe to God alone.* [99]
Catechism of the Catholic Church
guish between messages that demonstrate special ability
and those that do not.* [105]* :180181 Thus there are two

5.2

Eectiveness

distinct forms of conrmation bias that are under study anisms and falsication due to experiments, but because
with respect to astrological belief.* [105]* :180181
an analysis of the astrological literature shows that it is infused with fallacious logic and poor reasoning.* [115]* :34

5.1

Demarcation

Under the criterion of falsiability, rst proposed by

philosopher of science Karl Popper, astrology is a pseudoscience.* [108] Popper regarded astrology aspseudoempiricalin that it appeals to observation and experiment,but nevertheless does not come up to scientic standards.* [109]* :44 In contrast to scientic
disciplines, astrology has not responded to falsication
through experiment.* [110]* :206 In contrast to Popper,
the philosopher Thomas Kuhn argued that it was not
lack of falsiability that makes astrology unscientic, but
rather that the process and concepts of astrology are nonempirical.* [111]* :401
Kuhn thought that, though astrologers had, historically,
made predictions that categorically failed, this in itself
does not make it unscientic, nor do attempts by astrologers to explain away failures by claiming that creating a horoscope is very dicult. Rather, in Kuhn's
eyes, astrology is not science because it was always more
akin to medieval medicine; they followed a sequence of
rules and guidelines for a seemingly necessary eld with
known shortcomings, but they did no research because
the elds are not amenable to research,* [112]* :8 and so
they had no puzzles to solve and therefore no science
to practise.* [111]* :401* [112]* :8 While an astronomer
could correct for failure, an astrologer could not. An astrologer could only explain away failure but could not revise the astrological hypothesis in a meaningful way. As
such, to Kuhn, even if the stars could inuence the path of
humans through life astrology is not scientic.* [112]* :8
Philosopher Paul Thagard believed that astrology cannot be regarded as falsied in this sense until it has
been replaced with a successor. In the case of predicting behaviour, psychology is the alternative.* [113]* :228
To Thagard a further criterion of demarcation of science from pseudoscience was 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
conrmations and disconrmations.* [113]* :227228
Progress is dened here as explaining new phenomena
and solving existing problems, yet astrology has failed
to progress having only changed little in nearly 2000
years.* [113]* :228* [114]* :549 To Thagard, astrologers
are acting as though engaged in Normal science believing 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 viewed astrology as pseudoscience.* [113]* [114]* :228

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
unwillingless to pursue an argument where it
leads, stark naivete concerning the eacacy
of explanation and so on? In that case, I think,
we are perfectly justied in rejecting astrology
as irrational. ... Astrology simply fails to
meet the multifarious demands of legitimate
reasoning.
Edward W. James* [115]* :34

5.2 Eectiveness
Astrology has not demonstrated its eectiveness
in controlled studies and has no scientic validity.* [2]* :85* [7] Where it has made falsiable predictions
under controlled conditions, they have been falsied.* [7]* :424 One famous experiment included 28
astrologers who were asked to match over a hundred
natal charts to psychological proles generated by
the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) questionnaire.* [116]* [117] The double-blind experimental
protocol used in this study was agreed upon by a group of
physicists and a group of astrologers* [7] nominated by
the National Council for Geocosmic Research, who advised the experimenters, helped ensure that the test was
fair* [117]* :117* [118]* :420 and helped draw the central
proposition of natal astrology to be tested.* [118]* :419
They also chose 26 out of the 28 eight astrologers for
the tests (two more volunteered afterwards).* [118]* :420
The study, published in Nature in 1985, found that
predictions based on natal astrology were no better
than chance, and that the testing "...clearly refutes the
astrological hypothesis.* [118]

In 1955, astrologer and psychologist Michel Gauquelin

stated that though he had failed to nd evidence that supported indicators like zodiacal signs and planetary aspects in astrology, he did nd positive correlations between the diurnal positions of some planets and success in professions that astrology traditionally associates with those planets.* [119]* [120] The best-known of
Gauquelin's ndings is based on the positions of Mars in
the natal charts of successful athletes and became known
as the Mars eect.* [121]* :213 A study conducted by
seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim,
but found no statistical evidence.* [121]* :213214 They
attributed the eect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part,
For the philosopher Edward W. James, astrology is irra- accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or
tional not because of the numerous problems with mech- delete names from their study.* [122]

10

6 CULTURAL IMPACT

Georey Dean has suggested that the eect 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 sample
group was taken from a time where belief in astrology was
more common. Gauquelin had failed to nd the Mars effect in more recent populations, where a nurse or doctor
recorded the birth information. The number of births under astrologically undesirable conditions was also lower,
indicating more evidence that parents choose dates and
times to suit their beliefs.* [117]* :116

or correspondence with the stars.* [129] Sole use of the

tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by
the same astrologers, to the Age of Aquarius, which depends on when the vernal point enters the constellation of
Aquarius.* [7]
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 of Elizabeth Teissier, who
claimed that, The sun ends up in the same place in the
sky on the same date each year,as the basis for claims
that two people with the same birthday, but a number of
years apart, should be under the same planetary inuence.
Charpak and Broch noted that,There is a dierence of
about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specic date in two successive years,and
that thus they should not be under the same inuence according to astrology. Over a 40 years period there would
be a dierence greater than 780,000 miles.* [129]* :67

Dean, a scientist and former astrologer, and psychologist Ivan Kelly conducted a large scale scientic test that
involved more than one hundred cognitive, behavioural,
physical, and other variables but found no support
for astrology.* [123]* [124] Furthermore, a meta-analysis
pooled 40 studies that involved 700 astrologers and over
1,000 birth charts. Ten of the testswhich involved 300
participantshad the astrologers pick the correct chart
interpretation out of a number of others that were not the
astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually three 6
to ve others). When date and other obvious clues were
removed, no signicant results suggested there was any
6.1
preferred chart.* [124]* :190

5.3

Lack of mechanisms and consistency

Testing the validity of astrology can be dicult, because

there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.* [2]* :83 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.* [2]* [106]* :83

Cultural impact
Western politics and society

In the West, political leaders have sometimes consulted

astrologers. Louis de Wohl worked as an astrologer for
the British intelligence agency MI5, after claims surfaced
that Adolf Hitler used astrology to time his actions. The
War Oce was "...interested to know what Hitler's own
astrologers would be telling him from week to week.
*
[130] 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.* [131] After John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan,
rst lady Nancy Reagan commissioned astrologer Joan
Quigley to 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 sta, Donald Regan.* [132]

Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientic,* [125]

while some have proposed conventional causal agents
such as electromagnetism and gravity.* [125]* [126] Scientists reject these mechanisms as implausible* [125]
since, for example, the magnetic eld, when measured
from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter There was a boom in interest in astrology in the late
is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household 1960s. The sociologist Marcello Truzzi described three
appliances.* [126]* [127]
levels of involvement ofAstrology-believersto account
Western astrology has taken the earth's axial precession for its revived popularity in the face of scientic discredit(also called precession of the equinoxes) into account ing. He found that most astrology-believers did not claim
since Ptolemy's Almagest, so the 'rst point of Aries', the it was a scientic explanation with predictive power. Instart of the astrological year, continually moves against stead, those supercially involved, knowing next to
the background of the stars.* [128] The tropical zodiac nothingabout astrology's 'mechanics', read newspaper
has no connection to the stars, and as long as no claims astrology columns, and could benet from tensionare made that the constellations themselves are in the as- management of anxietiesanda cognitive belief-system
sociated sign, astrologers avoid the concept that preces- that transcends science.* [133] Those at the second level
sion seemingly moves the constellations.* [129] Charpak usually had their horoscopes cast and sought advice and
and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the predictions. They were much younger than those at the
tropical zodiac as being "...empty boxes that have noth- rst level, and could benet from knowledge of the laning to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency guage of astrology and the resulting ability to belong

6.3

Literature and music

11

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 "meaningful view of their
universe and [gave] them an understanding of their place
in it.* [lower-alpha 2] This third group took astrology
seriously, possibly as a sacred canopy, whereas the other
two groups took it playfully and irreverently.* [133]
In 1953, sociologist Theodor W. Adorno conducted a
study of the astrology column of a Los Angeles newspaper as part of a project examining mass culture in
capitalist society.* [134]* :326 Adorno believed that popular astrology, as a device, invariably leads to statements that encouraged conformityand that astrologers
who go against conformity, by discouraging performance
at work etc., risk losing their jobs.* [134]* :327 Adorno
concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation
of systematic irrationalism, where individuals are subtly
ledthrough attery and vague generalisationsto believe that the author of the column is addressing them
directly.* [135] Adorno drew a parallel with the phrase
opium of the people, by Karl Marx, by commenting,occultism is the metaphysic of the dopes.* [134]* :329

trology.* [139]* [140] Indian politics have also been inuenced by astrology.* [141] It is still considered a branch
of the Vedanga.* [142]* [143] In 2001, Indian scientists
and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use
state money to fund research into astrology,* [144] resulting in permission for Indian universities to oer courses
in Vedic astrology.* [145]
On February 2011, the Bombay High Court rearmed
astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case that
challenged its status as a science.* [146]
In Japan, strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic
changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions
in the years of Fire Horse. Adherents believe that women
born in hinoeuma years 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.* [147]* [148]

6.3 Literature and music

A 2005 Gallup poll and a 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center reported that 25% of U.S. adults believe
in astrology.* [136]* [137] According to data released in
the National Science Foundation's 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators study, Fewer Americans rejected
astrology in 2012 than in recent years.* [138] The NSF
study noted that in 2012, slightly more than half of
Americans said that astrology was 'not at all scientic,'
whereas nearly two-thirds gave this response in 2010.
The comparable percentage has not been this low since
1983.* [138]

6.2

India and Japan

30
Births
Deaths

Rates per thousand

25

20

15

10

0
1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2008

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

Title page of John Lyly's astrological play, The Woman in the

Moon, 1597

In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, par- The fourteenth-century English poets John Gower
ticularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and and Georey Chaucer both referred to astrology in
makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic as- their works, including Gower's Confessio Amantis and

12

Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.* [149] Chaucer commented explicitly on astrology in his Treatise on the Astrolabe, demonstrating personal knowledge of one area,
judicial astrology, with an account of how to nd the ascendant or rising sign.* [150]
In the fteenth century, references to astrology, such as
with similes, became a matter of coursein English
literature.* [149]
In the sixteenth century, John Lyly's 1597 play, The
Woman in the Moon, is wholly motivated by astrology,* [151] while Christopher Marlowe makes astrological references in his plays Doctor Faustus and
Tamburlaine (both c. 1590),* [151] and Sir Philip Sidney refers to astrology at least four times in his romance
The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (c. 1580).* [151]
Edmund Spenser uses 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.* [151] George Chapman's play,
Byron's Conspiracy (1608), similarly uses astrology as a
causal mechanism in the drama.* [152] William Shakespeare's attitude towards astrology is unclear, with contradictory references in plays including King Lear, Antony
and Cleopatra, and Richard II.* [152] Shakespeare was familiar with astrology and made use of his knowledge of
astrology in nearly every play he wrote,* [152] assuming
a basic familiarity with the subject in his commercial audience.* [152] Outside theatre, the physician and mystic
Robert Fludd practised astrology, as did the quack doctor Simon Forman.* [152] In Elizabethan England,The
usual feeling about astrology ... [was] that it is the most
useful of the sciences.* [152]
The most famous piece of music inuenced by astrology
is the orchestral suite The Planets. Written by the British
composer Gustav Holst (18741934), and rst performed
in 1918, the framework of The Planets is based upon
the astrological symbolism of the planets.* [153] 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 composer Colin
Matthews wrote an eighth movement entitled Pluto, the
Renewer, rst performed in 2000.* [154] In 1937, another
British composer, Constant Lambert, wrote a ballet on astrological themes, called Horoscope.* [155] In 1974, the
New Zealand composer Edwin Carr wrote The Twelve
Signs: An Astrological Entertainment for orchestra without strings.* [156]

See also
Cultural inuence of astrology
Forer eect
List of astrological traditions, types, and systems
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

REFERENCES

8 Notes
[1] see Heuristics in judgement and decision making
[2] Italics in original.

9 References
[1] Astrology. Encyclopdia Britannica.
[2] Jerey Bennett, Megan Donohue, Nicholas Schneider,
Mark Voit (2007). The cosmic perspective (4th ed.). San
Francisco, CA: Pearson/Addison-Wesley. pp. 8284.
ISBN 0-8053-9283-1.
[3] Kassell, Lauren (5 May 2010). Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 11001800. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History
and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41
(2): 6769. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.001.
[4] David E. Pingree, Robert Andrew Gilbert. Astrology Astrology in modern times. Encyclopdia Britannica.
Retrieved 7 October 2012.
[5] Vishveshwara, edited by S.K. Biswas, D.C.V. Mallik,
C.V. (1989). Cosmic Perspectives: Essays Dedicated to
the Memory of M.K.V. Bappu (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521-34354-2.
[6] Peter D. Asquith, ed. (1978). Proceedings of the Biennial
Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1.
Dordrecht u.a.: Reidel u.a. ISBN 978-0-917586-05-7.
Chapter 7: Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding. science and engineering indicators 2006. National Science Foundation.
Retrieved 28 July 2012. About three-fourths of
Americans hold at least one pseudoscientic belief; i.e., they believed in at least 1 of the 10 survey items[29]"... " Those 10 items were extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted,
ghosts/that spirits of dead people can come back in
certain places/situations, telepathy/communication
between minds without using traditional senses,
clairvoyance/the power of the mind to know the
past and predict the future, astrology/that the position of the stars and planets can aect people's
lives, that people can communicate mentally with
someone who has died, witches, reincarnation/the
rebirth of the soul in a new body after death, and
channeling/allowing a spirit-beingto temporarily assume control of a body.
[7] Zarka, Philippe (2011). Astronomy and astrology
. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 5
(S260): 420425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602.
[8] Koch-Westenholz, Ulla (1995). Mesopotamian astrology:
an introduction to Babylonian and Assyrian celestial divination. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. pp.
Foreword, 11. ISBN 978-87-7289-287-0.

13

[9] Harper, Douglas. astrology. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 6 December 2011. Dierentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by
17c. this word was limited to reading inuences of the
stars and their eects on human destiny.
[10] astrology, n.. Oxford English Dictionary (Second ed.).
Oxford University Press. 1989; online version September 2011. In Old French and Middle English astronomie
seems to be the earlier and general word, astrologie having
been subseq. introduced for the 'art' or practical application of astronomy to mundane aairs, and thus gradually
limited by 17th cent. to the reputed inuences of the stars,
unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare. Check date values in: |date= (help)

[22] Long, 2005. p. 174.

[23] Long, 2005. p. 184.
[24] Long, 2005. p. 186.
[25] Hughes, Richard (2004). Lament, Death, and Destiny.
Peter Lang. p. 87.
[26] Barton, 1994. p. 24.
[27] Holden, 1996. pp. 1113.
[28] Barton, 1994. p. 20.
[29] Robbins, 1940. 'Introduction' p. xii.
[30] Campion, 2008. p. 173.

[11] Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology.

Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (rst ed.).
Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.
[12] Marshack, Alexander (1991). The roots of civilization :
the cognitive beginnings of man's rst art, symbol and notation (Rev. and expanded. ed.). Moyer Bell. ISBN 9781-55921-041-6.
[13] Evelyn-White, Hesiod ; with an English translation by
Hugh G. (1977). The Homeric hymns and Homerica
(Reprinted. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
Press. pp. 663677. ISBN 978-0-674-99063-0. Fifty
days after the solstice, when the season of wearisome heat
is come to an end, is the right time to go sailing. Then
you will not wreck your ship, nor will the sea destroy the
sailors, unless Poseidon the Earth-Shaker be set upon it,
or Zeus, the king of the deathless gods
[14] Aveni, David H. Kelley, Eugene F. Milone (2005). Exploring ancient skies an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (Online ed.). New York: Springer. p. 268. ISBN
978-0-387-95310-6.
[15] Two texts that refer to the 'omens of Sargon' are reported
in E. F. Weidner, 'Historiches Material in der Babyonischen Omina-Literatur' Altorientalische Studien, ed. Bruno
Meissner, (Leipzig, 1928-9), v. 231 and 236.
[16] From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 VI
13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments,
Bd. 2, 13. Gtersloh, 19861991. Also quoted in A.
Falkenstein, 'Wahrsagung in der sumerischen berlieferung', La divination en Msopotamie ancienne et dans les
rgions voisines. Paris, 1966.
[17] Rochberg-Halton, F. (1988). Elements of the Babylonian Contribution to Hellenistic Astrology. Journal of
the American Oriental Society 108 (1): 5162. JSTOR
603245.
[18] Kistemaker, Jacob, Sun, Xiaochun (1997). The Chinese
sky during the Han: constellating stars and society. Leiden:
Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.
[19] Long, 2005. p. 173.
[20] Long, 2005. pp. 173174.
[21] Long, 2005. p. 177.

[31] Campion, 2008. p. 84.

[32] Campion, 2008. pp. 173174.
[33] Barton, 1994. p. 32.
[34] Barton, 1994. p. 3233.
[35] Campion, 2008. pp. 227228.
[36] Parker, 1983. p. 16.
[37] Juvenal, Satire 6: The Ways of Women (translated by G.
G. Ramsay, 1918, retrieved 5 July 2012).
[38] Barton, 1994. p. 43.
[39] Barton, 1994. p. 63.
[40] David Pingree, Jyotistra (J. Gonda (Ed.) A History of
Indian Literature, Vol VI Fasc 4), p.81
[41] Brn, Muammad ibn Amad (1879). VIII. The
chronology of ancient nations. London, Pub. for the Oriental translations fund of Great Britain & Ireland by W.
H. Allen and co. LCCN 01006783.
[42] Houlding, Deborah (2010). 6: Historical sources and
traditional approaches. Essays on the History of Western
Astrology. STA. pp. 27.
[43] Campion, 1982. p. 44.
[44] Campion, 1982. p. 45.
[45] Campion, 1982. p. 46.
[46] North, John David (1986). The eastern origins of the
Campanus (Prime Vertical) method. Evidence from alBrn". Horoscopes and history. Warburg Institute. pp.
175176.
[47] Durling, Robert M. (January 1997). Dante's Christian
Astrology. by Richard Kay. Review. Speculum 72 (1):
185187. JSTOR 2865916. Dante's interest in astrology
has only slowly been gaining the attention it deserves. In
1940 Rudolf Palgen published his pioneering eighty-page
Dantes Sternglaube: Beitrge zur Erklrung des Paradiso,
which concisely surveyed Dante's treatment of the planets
and of the sphere of xed stars; he demonstrated that it is
governed by the astrological concept of the children of
the planets(in each sphere the pilgrim meets souls whose

14

lives reected the dominant inuence of that planet) and

that in countless details the imagery of the Paradiso is derived from the astrological tradition. ... Like Palgen, he
[Kay] argues (again, in more detail) that Dante adapted
traditional astrological views to his own Christian ones;
he nds this process intensied in the upper heavens.
[48] Woody, Kennerly M. (1977). Dante and the Doctrine of the Great Conjunctions. Dante Studies, with
the Annual Report of the Dante Society 95: 119134.
JSTOR 40166243. It can hardly be doubted, I think, that
Dante was thinking in astrological terms when he made
his prophecies. [The attached footnote cites Inferno. I,
lOO.; Purgatorio. xx, 13-15 and xxxiii, 41; Paradiso.
xxii, 13-15 and xxvii, 142-148.]
[49] Wood, 1970. p. 5
[50] Isidore of Seville (c. 600). Etymologiae. pp. L, 82, col.
170.
[51] Gower, John (1390). Confessio Amantis. pp. VII, 670
84. Assembled with Astronomie / Is ek that ilke Astrologie / The which in juggementz acompteth / Theect, what
every sterre amonteth, / And hou thei causen many a wonder / To tho climatz that stonde hem under.
[52] Wood, 1970. p. 6
[53] Allen, Don Cameron (1941). Star-crossed Renaissance.
Duke University Press. p. 148.
[54] Wood, 1970. pp. 811
[55] Coopland, G. W. (1952). Nicole Oresme and the Astrologers: A Study of his Livre de Divinacions. Harvard
University Press; Liverpool University Press.
[56] Vanderjagt, A.J. (1985). Laurens Pignon, O.P.: Confessor
of Philip the Good. Venlo, The Netherlands: Jean Mielot.
[57] Veenstra, 1997. pp. 5, 32, passim
[58] Veenstra, 1997. p. 184
[59] Campion, 1982. p. 47.
[60] Harkness, Deborah E. (2007). The Jewel House. Elizabethan London and the Scientic Revolution. Yale University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-300-14316-4.
[61] Harkness, Deborah E. (2007). The Jewel House. Elizabethan London and the Scientic Revolution. Yale University Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-300-14316-4.
[62] Astronomical diagrams by Thomas Hood, Mathematician
(Vellum, in oaken cases). British Library (Add. MSS.
71494, 71495): British Library. c. 1597.
[63] Johnston, Stephen (July 1998). The astrological instruments of Thomas Hood. XVII International Scientic
Instrument Symposium. Soro. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
[64] Vanden Broeke, Steven (2001). Dee, Mercator, and
Louvain Instrument Making: An Undescribed Astrological Disc by Gerard Mercator (1551)". Annals of Science
58: 219240. doi:10.1080/00033790016703.

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[65] Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: SeventeenthCentury English Astrology and Magic, p. 3. France:
Hadean Press
[66] Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: SeventeenthCentury English Astrology and Magic, p. 4345. France:
Hadean Press
[67] Porter, Roy (2001). Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World. Penguin. pp. 151152. ISBN
0-14-025028-X. he did not even trouble readers with formal disproofs!
[68] Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology.
Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (rst ed.).
London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9. At the
same time, in Switzerland, the psychologist Carl Gustav
Jung (18751961) was developing sophisticated theories
concerning astrology ...
[69] Jung, C.G.; Hull, edited by Gerhard Adler, in collaboration with Aniela Ja; translations from the German by
R.F.C. (19uu). C.G. Jung Letters: 19061950. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-098951. Letter from Jung to Freud, 12 June 1911I made horoscopic calculations in order to nd a clue to the core of
psychological truth.Check date values in: |date= (help)
[70] Gieser, Suzanne. The Innermost Kernel, Depth Psychology and Quantum Physics. Wolfgang Pauli's Dialogue with
C.G.Jung, (Springer, Berlin, 2005) p. 21 ISBN 3-54020856-9
[71] Campion, Nicholas. "Prophecy, Cosmology and the New
Age Movement. The Extent and Nature of Contemporary Belief in Astrology."(Bath Spa University College,
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EXTERNAL LINKS

Thorndike, Lynn (1955). The True Place of Astrology in the History of Science. Isis 46 (3).
doi:10.1086/348412.

12 External links
10

Sources

Barton, Tamsyn (1994). Ancient Astrology. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11029-7.

Campion, Nicholas (1982). An Introduction to the
History of Astrology. ISCWA.
Holden, James Herschel (2006). A History of Horoscopic Astrology (2nd ed.). AFA. ISBN 0-86690463-8.
Kay, Richard (1994). Dante's Christian Astrology.
Middle Ages Series. University of Pennsylvania
Press.
Long, A.A. (2005). 6: Astrology: arguments pro
and contra. In Barnes, Jonathan; Brunschwig,
J. Science and Speculation. Cambridge University
Press. pp. 165191.
Parker, Derek; Parker, Julia (1983). A history of
astrology. Deutsch. ISBN 978-0-233-97576-4.
Robbins, Frank E., ed. (1940). Ptolemy Tetrabiblos.
Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library).
ISBN 0-674-99479-5.
Tester, S. J. (1999). A History of Western Astrology.
Boydell & Brewer.
Veenstra, J.R. (1997). Magic and Divination at the
Courts of Burgundy and France: Text and Context
of Laurens Pignon'sContre les Devineurs(1411).
Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10925-4.
Wedel, Theodore Otto (1920). The Medival Attitude Toward Astrology: Particularly in England.
Yale University Press.
Wood, Chauncey (1970). Chaucer and the Country
of the Stars: Poetical Uses of Astrological Imagery.
Princeton University Press.

11

Further reading

Forer, Bertram R. (January 1949). The Fallacy of

Personal Validation: A Classroom Demonstration of
Gullibility. The Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology 44 (1). doi:10.1037/h0059240.
Osborn, M. (2002). Time and the Astrolabe in The
Canterbury Tales. University of Oklahoma Press.

Astrology at DMOZ
Digital International Astrology Library at International Astrology Research Center

19

13
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