Astrology

Detail from the astronomical clock of the Piazza San Marco, Venice.

Astrology is the study of celestial bodies as they relate to personality, human affairs, and natural events.^[1] The primary astrological bodies are the Sun, Moon, and planets, which are analyzed by their aspects (relative positions to one another), by their placement in 'houses' (spatial divisions of the sky), and their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic).

Astrology’s origins trace to the third millennium BCE. Ancient civilizations developed it as a calendric system to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as ‘signs’ of ‘divine communications’.^[2] Historically it was a learned tradition, sustained in courts, cultural centers and universities, and was closely related to the studies of astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine.^[3] Yet despite their closely connected histories, astrology and astronomy separated at the end of the 17th century, when astronomy redefined many of the theoretical concepts that the two disciplines had previously shared. Subsequently, astrology suffered a decline in academic and theoretical credibility. The 20th century brought renewed attention, partly through the popularizing effect of newspaper horoscopes and New Age philosophies, and through re-kindled intellectual interest in statistically testing astrology's claims.^[4]

Astrologers have long debated the degree of determinism in astrology. Some believe that celestial movements control fate, others that they determine only disposition and potential. While most astrologers contend there is no direct influence from the stars (only a synchronistic correlation between the celestial and terrestrial) astrology has been criticized for not offering a clear account of its physical mechanism and failing to develop new theories in line with modern scientific principles.^[5] It has thus been called a pseudoscientific subject by members of the modern scientific community.^[6]

Astrology
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Sidereal vs. Tropical
Traditions
Babylonian  · Hellenistic
Islamic  · Western
Hindu  · Chinese
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Etymology and basic definitions

Marcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.

Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky,^[7] the acquisition of significance being drawn from a combination of observation, correlation, philosophy, logic and lore.

The word astrology comes from the Latin astrologia,^[8] deriving from the Greek noun αστρολογία, which combines ἄστρο astro, 'star / celestial body' with λογία logia, 'study of / theory / discourse (about)'.^[9]

Hence astrology, in its original meaning, describes the theory of celestial significance; as distinct from astronomy, the technical counterpart which aims to establish the mathematical principles (laws) of celestial events (from the Greek:ἄστρο and νόμος nomos, 'custom / law / ordinance'). Although the two studies are historically twinned, and anciently the terms astrologos ‘astrologer’ and astronomos ‘astronomer’ were used interchangeably,^[10] texts dating from the classical period show a conceptual differentiation between them, demonstrated by Ptolemy’s authoritative 2nd-century text on astronomy (Almagest) remaining entirely free of the themes presented in his astrological treatise (Tetrabiblos). (The two disciplines formally separated at the end of the 17th century when astronomy redefined many of the theoretical concepts it had previously shared with astrology.)^[11]

Historically, the word star has had a loose definition, by which it can refer to planets or any luminous celestial object.^[12] The notion of it signifying all heavenly bodies is evident in early Babylonian astrology where cuneiform depictions for the determinative MUL (star) present a symbol of stars alongside planetary and other stellar references to indicate deified objects which reside in the heavens.^[a] The word planet (based on the Greek verb πλανάω planaō 'to wander/stray'), was introduced by the Greeks as a reference to how seven notable 'stars' were seen to 'wander' through others which remained static in their relationship to each other. The Greeks employed the terms ἀστέρες ἀπλανεῖς asteres aplaneis ‘fixed stars’, and ἀστέρες πλανῆται asteres planetai, ‘wandering stars’.^[13] The word planet assumed astronomical formality over time, although Pliny (77 AD) illustrated its irony once the planetary cycles were known to be regular and predictable: "...the seven stars, which owing to their motion we call planets, though no stars wander less than they do".^[14]

The seven Classical planets therefore comprise the Sun and Moon along with the solar-system planets that are visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. This remained the standard definition of the word 'planet' until the discovery of Uranus in 1781 created a need for revision.^[15] Although the modern IAU definition of planet does not include the Sun and the Moon, astrology retains historical convention in its description of those astronomical bodies, and also generally maintains reference to Pluto as being an astrological planet.^[b]

Core principles

Robert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosm.

One of the precepts of astrology is integration within the cosmos. The Earth and its environment are viewed as a single organism, all parts of which are subject to the same universal laws.^[16] Cycles of change which occur in the heavens are therefore reflective (not causative) of similar cycles of change on earth. This finds expression in the Hermetic maxim "as above, so below; as below, so above",^[17] a Pythagorean principle which assumes symmetry between the individual as a microcosm and the macrocosm of the cosmos.^[18] Following this, the natal horoscope presents a stylized map of the universe at the time of birth, specifically focussed on the individual at its centre, with the Sun, Moon, and celestial bodies considered to be that individual’s personal planets or stars, which are uniquely relevant to that individual alone.^[19]

The core principle behind the mathematical symbolism built into astrology, according to its ancient philosophy, is that each numerical or geometrical relationship expresses a distinct quality, or ‘tone’ of energy. The recognition of this philosophy feeds into most of the doctrines that the classical world knew as ‘natural sciences’, which is why astronomy became one of the seven liberal arts of medieval education.^[20] The studies of sight (optics, astronomy, appearances) and sound (music, harmony) were especially interrelated, since they share a common reliance upon mathematics to explain external and internal realities. In the study of optics, themed upon the sense of sight and the way that radiations allow things to be seen, treatises which became known under the title De Aspectibus demonstrate mathematical connections between distance and the angular relationship of the viewer to the object seen, and these have contributed directly to the astrological theory of aspects.^[21]

Illustration of the mathematical and geometrical principles demonstrated within Kepler's Harmony of the World, 1619.

Plato, for example, explains how the study of motion unites the sensual disciplines of astronomy and music – one meant for the eyes and one meant for the ears, both are explicable through their quantitative proportions.^[22] His text was also influenced by the teachings of Pythagoras, who had shown how the pitch of a musical note depends on the length of string that produces it, demonstrating that harmonious intervals in the musical scale are created by simple numerical ratios.^[23] One of the esoteric teachings of the Pythagoreans was that the Sun, Moon, planets all emit their own unique hum as they revolve through the Cosmos, the pitch of the note dependant upon the speed of revolution and length of orbit. The imperceptible sound they create is known as the harmony of the spheres, a perpetually changing hum which reflects the quality of life on Earth.^[24] Later philosophers retained the close association between astronomy, optics, music, planetary appearances and astrology, including Ptolemy, who wrote influential texts on all of these topics.^[25] In his Harmonica Ptolemy’s theoretical justification for astrological influence, based upon this theory, is far more philosophically oriented than that presented in the Tetrabiblos, which was designed to suit the needs of practical application.^[26]

Ptolemy’s Harmonica was also to act as a major influence upon Kepler in the 17th century, when he developed his theory of optical perceptions and musical consonances to argue that minor planetary aspects should also be given recognition in astrology.^[27] Kepler regarded his Harmony of the World as his most important work of his career, and the fifth book, concerning the role of planetary harmony in creation, the crown of it (“for the sake of which I applied the best part of my life to astronomical studies”).^[28] Kepler’s premise was that, as an integral part of Universal Law, mathematical astronomy is the key that binds all parts together. His work is filled with astrological and symbolic assumptions on numbers and geometrical shapes which draw directly from the ancient conviction that numbers are more than mere quantities, being the unyielding code by which the Universe is generated, and by which it becomes intelligently understood.

Another founding principle was epitomised by the statement of the leader of early modern science, Francis Bacon: "The last rule (which has always been held by the wiser astrologers) is that there is no fatal necessity in the stars; but that they rather incline than compel".^[29] Bacon advocated an emphasis on what he called 'sane astrology' based on the study the influences that "lie concealed in the depths of Physic".^[29] His comment is indicative of how astrology has always involved consideration of the psyche, a concept that is well established in the works of historical astrologers and which finds obvious expression in Jungian terms within the developments of modern psychological astrology.

History

Traditions

Historically, alchemy in the Western World was particularly allied and intertwined with traditional Babylonian-Greek style astrology; in numerous ways they were built to complement each other in the search for occult or hidden knowledge.^[30] Astrology has used the concept of the four classical elements of alchemy from antiquity up until the present day. Traditionally, each of the seven planets in the solar system known to the ancients was associated with, held dominion over, and "ruled" a certain metal.^[31]

Horoscopic astrology

Horoscopic astrology is a system that some claim to have developed in the Mediterranean region and specifically Hellenistic Egypt around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE.^[32] The tradition deals with two-dimensional diagrams of the heavens, or horoscopes, created for specific moments in time.

Origins

Many^[who?] believe that the origins of much of the astrological doctrine and method that would later develop in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are found among the ancient Babylonians and their system of celestial omens that began to be compiled around the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE.^[33] They believe this system of celestial omens later spread, either directly or indirectly through the Babylonians and Assyrians, to other areas such as the Middle East, and Greece, where it merged with pre-existing indigenous forms of astrology.^[34]

Before the modern era

The differentiation between astronomy and astrology varied from place to place; they were strongly linked in ancient India,^[35] ancient Babylonia and medieval Europe, but separated to an extent in the Hellenistic world. The first semantic distinction between astrology and astronomy was probably given by Isidore of Seville^[36] (see astrology and astronomy).

Astrology was not without criticism before the modern era; it was often challenged by Hellenistic skeptics, church authorities, and medieval Muslim astronomers, such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, Avicenna and Averroes. Their reasons for refuting astrology were often due to both scientific (the methods used by astrologers being conjectural rather than empirical) and religious (conflicts with orthodox Islamic scholars) reasons.^[37] Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350), in his Miftah Dar al-SaCadah, used empirical arguments in astronomy in order to refute astrology and divination.^[38]

Contemporary changes

Several innovations have occurred in contemporary astrological practice:

Western

Early in the 20th century, Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, developed sophisticated theories concerning astrology.^[39] These included concepts such as archetypes, the collective unconscious^[40] and with the collaboration of pioneer theoretical physicist (and Nobel laureate), Wolfgang Pauli, synchronicity.^[41] Astrologers like Dane Rudhyar^[42] pursued a similar path to Jung and others such as Liz Greene^[43][44] and Stephen Arroyo^[45] were influenced by the Jungian model leading to the development of psychological astrology.^[46]

During the middle of the 20th century, Alfred Witte and, following him, Reinhold Ebertin pioneered the use of midpoints (see Midpoint Astrology) in horoscopic analysis.^[47] A new kind of Locational Astrology began in 1957–58, when Donald Bradley, published a hand-plotted geographic astrology map. In the 1970s, American astrologer Jim Lewis developed and popularized this technique under the name of Astro*Carto*Graphy.^[48] The world map displays lines where the Sun, Moon, planets and other celestial points appear to be on any of the Four Angles (Rising, Setting, MC and IC) at a given moment in time. By comparing these lines with the horoscope, an astrologer attempts to identify the potential in any location.^[49]

Hindu

Hindu astrology uses a different zodiac than Western astrology and is a branch of Vedic science.^[50][51] In India, there is a long-established widespread belief in astrology, and it is commonly used for daily life, foremost with regard to marriages, and secondarily with regard to career and electional and karmic astrology.^[52][53] In the 1960s, H.R. Seshadri Iyer, introduced a system including the concepts of yogi and avayogi. It generated interest with research oriented astrologers in the West. From the early 1990s, Western Vedic astrologer and author V.K. Choudhry created and developed the Systems' Approach for Interpreting Horoscopes, a simplified system of Jyotish (predictive astrology)^[54] The system, also known as "SA", helps those who are trying to learn Jyotisha. The late K.S. Krishnamurti developed the Krishnamurti Paddhati system based on the analysis of the stars (nakshatras), by sub-dividing the stars in the ratio of the dasha of the concerned planets. The system is also known as "KP" and "sub theory". In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology.^[55] In February, 2001, the science of vedic astrology, Jyotir Vigyan, was introduced into the curriculum of Indian universities.^[56]

Notable personalities

Many thinkers, philosophers and scientists, such as Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galen, Paracelsus, Girolamo Cardan, Taqi al-Din, Manilius, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and almost all great scholars during the Renaissance significantly contributed to astrology.^[57][58]

Effects on world culture

Très Riches Heures du Duc Jean de Berry: 15th cent.

Belief in astrology holds firm today in many parts of the world: in one poll, 31% of Americans expressed a belief in astrology and, according to another study, 39% considered it scientific.^[59][60] According to Gallup opinion polls, around 25% of adults in the UK and USA accept that astrology or the position of the stars and planets affect people’s lives, whilst other sources report the figure to be much higher.^[61]

Astrology has had an influence on both language and literature. For example, influenza, from medieval Latin influentia meaning influence, was so named because doctors once believed epidemics to be caused by unfavorable planetary and stellar influences.^[62] The word "disaster" comes from the Greek "δυσαστρία","disastria", derived from the negative prefix "δυσ-" "dis-" and "αστήρ" "aster" "star", thus meaning "no-starred" or "badly-starred".^[63] Adjectives "lunatic" (Luna/Moon), "mercurial" (Mercury), "venereal" (Venus), "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.

In literature, many writers, notably Geoffrey Chaucer^[64][65][66] and William Shakespeare,^[67][68] used astrological symbolism to add subtlety and nuance to the description of their characters' motivation(s). More recently, Michael Ward has proposed that C.S. Lewis imbued his Chronicles of Narnia with the characteristics and symbols of the seven planets that comprised the heavens in medieval astrology.^[69] In 1978, notes from Margaret Mitchell’s library revealed that the author had based each character from her classic prize-winning novel, Gone with Wind (1936) including the central star-crossed lovers, Scarlett (Aries) and Rhett (Leo), around an archetype of the zodiac.^[70] In 2010, a detailed personal horoscope analyzed and illustrated by J K Rowling at the time she was writing her first Harry Potter novel, came up for sale. The auctioneer commented that Rowling “displays a detailed knowledge of Western astrology which was later to play an important part in her books".^[71] Often, an understanding of astrological symbolism is needed to fully appreciate such literature.

Some modern thinkers, notably Carl Jung,^[72] believe in astrology's descriptive powers regarding the mind without necessarily subscribing to its predictive claims. In music the best known example of astrology's influence is in the orchestral suite called "The Planets" by the British composer Gustav Holst, the framework of which is based upon the astrological symbolism of the planets.^[73]

Astrological techniques and practices

In the past, astrologers often relied on close observation of celestial objects and the charting of their movements. Modern astrologers use data provided by astronomers which are transformed to a set of astrological tables called ephemerides,^[74] showing the changing zodiacal positions of the heavenly bodies through time.

There are several techniques of forecasting in Western astrology. Transits, the most popular, are based on the actual motion of planets moving through a sign or house within the horoscope. Another technique, progressions are based on the movements of the planets after birth, symbolically related to a time period or cycle of life.^[75][76] Most Western astrologers no longer try to forecast actual events, but focus instead on general trends and developments. Skeptics respond that this practice of western astrologers allows them to avoid making verifiable predictions, and gives them the ability to attach significance to arbitrary and unrelated events, in a way that suits their purpose.^[77] By comparison, Hindu astrologers make predictions about both trends and events.

Astrology and science

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss)

By the time of Francis Bacon and the scientific revolution, newly emerging scientific disciplines acquired a method of systematic empirical induction based upon experimental observations.^[78] At this point, astrology and astronomy began to diverge; astronomy became regarded as one of the empirical sciences, while astrology came to be understood as a part of scholastic metaphysics,^{[citation needed]} and was increasingly viewed as an occult science or superstition by natural scientists.^{[citation needed]} This separation accelerated through the 18th and 19th centuries.^[79]

Although astrology has not been considered a science for some time, it has been the subject of research studies by astrologers since before the 20th century.^[80]

Research

The initial Mars effect finding, showing the relative frequency of the diurnal position of Mars in the birth charts (N = 570) of "eminent athletes" (red solid line) compared to the expected results [after Michel Gauquelin 1955].^[81]

Methods

The investigation of astrology has used the empirical methods of both qualitative research and quantitative research. The most common forms of qualitative research are case study and pattern matching (cycle research), but data coding, and grounded theory have also been used. These are all methods that astrology shares with the social sciences and observers have called for a more disciplined approach in their use.^[82] One area of cycle research examines correspondences between the long term revolutions of planetary alignments and recurrent historic cultural themes as researched, for example, by Richard Tarnas.^[83] Another area that combines cycle research with data coding is referred to as cosmic cybernetics, a term coined by Theodor Landscheidt. This method compares the harmonic frequencies and structures of planetary positions to statistical evaluations of data, including economic indexes. This approach, which hearkens back to 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, has been increasingly developed through trend fitting and computer modeling.^{[47][84][85][86][87]}

The use of statistical inference as an empirical method of quantitative research in astrology was recognized by early modern scientists and one of the first attempts at this method of experimentation was John Goad's 30-year astrological study of weather Astro-Meteorologia published in 1686. By the latter half of the 20th century, statistical methods and access to accurate birth data had improved and sophisticated research efforts on larger scales became possible. Some of these experiments attempted to definitively test whether astrological propositions and practices could be either supported or falsified.^[80] Two examples stand out as the most closely scrutinized and best documented of this type of research. The first is the large scale statistical experiments that challenged astrological propositions by the late French psychologist and statistician Michel Gauquelin. The second is the double-blind chart interpretation experiment that challenged astrological practice by American science educator Shawn Carlson. Controversy, skepticism, and accusations have dogged both of these famous studies through many twists and turns.

Gauquelin's research

In 1955, Michel Gauquelin published the claim that although he had failed to find evidence to support such indicators as the zodiacal signs and planetary aspects in astrology, he had found positive correlations between the diurnal positions of some of the planets and success in professions (such as doctors, scientists, athletes, actors, writers, painters, etc.) which astrology traditionally associates with those planets.^[81] The immense weight of the Gauquelin claim, which in the words of American astronomer George Abell, "would lie well beyond anything that science could at present understand,"^[88] was grounds for skeptics to maintain, as long as possible, "less incredible explanations" of those results.^[89] The most well-known of Gauquelin's results, which has been repeatedly tested in various studies and fought over, is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".^[90]

In a long series of tests and counter-tests spanning decades of discourse, Gauquelin and independent studies by other scientists verified that the Mars effect is not due to astronomical or demographic artifacts,^[91] that the methodologies were free from error,^[92] that studies of independently collected data demonstrated the effect,^[93][94][95] that birth-time shuffle tests supported the presence of the effect,^[96] that the Mars effect is not found in ordinary people,^[97] and that the effect cannot be explained by data selection bias.^[90][98]

The issue of selection bias, as to who was a "successful" athlete, had been a major bone of contention. As a method of “raising the hurdle” to objectively eliminate selection bias in the Mars tests, German professor Suitbert Ertel developed a stringent data ranking protocol based on citation frequencies. When the entire Gauquelin database for athletes, from the famous to the inferior (N = 4,391) was tested, this data-ranking hurdle heightened the astrological effect.^[98] Other planetary effects discovered by Gauquelin also crossed this hurdle.^[89] However, no challenge of these planetary effects has ever successfully passed this data-ranking criterion but instead it has been ignored in subsequent skeptical research without any reason given.^[99] Ertel and others have since found the eminence effect present in every data set collected by the skeptical groups.^[100][101]

Carlson's experiment

A different approach to quantitatively testing astrology uses double-blind chart matching tests. The most renowned^[102] of these is Shawn Carlson's double-blind experiment in which he challenged 28 astrologers to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test. When Carlson's study was published in Nature in 1985, his conclusion was that that natal astrology as practiced by reputable astrologers was no better than chance.^[103]

Initially, the Carlson experiment was criticized as having a biased design that made the astrologers' tasks more difficult than they needed to be,^[104][105] but deeper flaws in method and analysis emerged. Carlson had disregarded his own stated criteria of evaluation, grouped data into irrelevant categories, rejected unexpected results without reporting them, and drew an illogical conclusion based on the null hypothesis.^{[106][107][108]} When the stated measurement criterion was applied, and the published data was evaluated according to the normal conventions of the social sciences, the two tests performed by the participating astrologers provided significant evidence (astrologers' ranking test p = .054 with ES = .15, and astrologers' rating test p = .037 with ES = .10), despite the unfair design, of their ability to successfully match CPIs to natal charts.^[108] Observers have called for more detailed and stringent double-blind experiments.^[107]

Obstacles to research

Astrologers have argued that there are significant obstacles in carrying out scientific research into astrology today, including lack of funding,^[109][110] insufficient background in statistics, and limited experience within the scientific community on the part of proponents, and insufficient expertise in astrology by opposing researchers.^{[109][110][111]} Some astrologers have argued that few practitioners today have the time or even care to pursue scientific testing of astrology because they feel that working with clients on a daily basis provides personal validation for their clients.^[110][112]

Another argument made by astrologers is that most studies of astrology do not reflect the nature of astrological practice.^[113][114] Some astrology proponents argue that the prevailing attitudes or motives of many opponents of astrology introduce conscious or unconscious bias in the formulation of hypotheses to be tested, the conduct of the tests, or the reporting of results.^{[57][115][111][116][117]}

Astrologers may also find it difficult to publish their research in mainstream scientific journals for several reasons, and a case has been made to underline this difficulty from a much wider perspective.^[118]

Mechanisms

In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, a widely publicized article, "Objections to Astrology," published in The Humanist in the form of a manifesto signed by 186 scientists, sparked a controversy over astrology. In particular, "Objections to Astrology" focused on the question of astrological mechanisms with the following words:

"We can see how infinitesimally small are the gravitational and other effects produced by the distant planets and the far more distant stars. It is simply a mistake to imagine that the forces exerted by stars and planets at the moment of birth can in any way shape our futures."^[115][119]

Astronomer Carl Sagan, host of the award-winning TV series Cosmos, said that he found himself unable sign the "Objections" statement, not because he thought that astrology was valid, but because he found the statement's tone authoritarian, and because objections on the grounds of an unavailable mechanism can be mistaken. "No mechanism was known," Sagan wrote, "for continental drift (now subsumed in plate tectonics) when it was proposed by Alfred Wegener... The notion was roundly dismissed by all the great geophysicists, who were certain that continents were fixed." Sagan stated that he would instead have been willing to sign a statement describing and refuting the principal tenets of astrological belief, which he believed would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.^[120][121]

Few astrologers believe that astrology can be explained by any direct causal mechanisms between planets and people. Researchers have posited acausal, purely correlational, relationships between astrological observations and events. For example, the theory of synchronicity proposed by Carl Jung, which draws from the ancient Hermetic principle of 'as above, so below,' postulates meaningful significance in unrelated events that occur simultaneously.^[122][123] Some astrologers have posited a basis in divination.^[124] Others have argued that empirical correlations stand on their own, and do not need the support of any theory or mechanism.^[111] A few researchers, such as astronomer Percy Seymour, have sought to describe a mechanism that could potentially explain astrology.^[125][126]

Criticisms

Since the late 17th century when astronomy and astrology became separate disciplines, astrology has been increasingly criticized by scientists. For example, Christiaan Huygens wrote in his Cosmotheoros: "And as for the Judicial Astrology, that pretends to foretel what is to come, it is such a ridiculous, and oftentimes mischievous Folly, that I do not think it fit to be so much as named."^[127]

Contemporary scientists, such as Richard Dawkins, regard astrology as unscientific,^[128] and those such as Andrew Fraknoi of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific have labeled it a pseudoscience.^[129] In a lecture in 2001, Stephen Hawking stated "The reason most scientists don't believe in astrology is because it is not consistent with our theories that have been tested by experiment."^[130]

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson asserted that "astrology was discredited 600 years ago with the birth of modern science. 'To teach it as though you are contributing to the fundamental knowledge of an informed electorate is astonishing in this, the 21st century'. Education should be about knowing how to think, 'And part of knowing how to think is knowing how the laws of nature shape the world around us. Without that knowledge, without that capacity to think, you can easily become a victim of people who seek to take advantage of you'".^[131][132]

Some of the practices of astrology were refuted on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. Their criticisms argued that the methods of astrologers were conjectural rather than empirical, and conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.^[133] Such refutations mainly concerned "judicial branches" (such as Horary astrology), rather than the more "natural branches" such as Medical and Meteorological astrology, these being seen as part of the natural sciences of the time.

For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' Resāla fī ebṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm, argues against the practice of astrology while supporting the principle of planets acting as the agents of divine causation which express God's absolute power over creation. Avicenna considered that the movement of the planets influenced life on earth in a deterministic way, but argued against the capability of determining the exact influence of the stars.^[134] In essence, Avicenna did not refute the essential dogma of astrology, but denied our ability to understand it to the extent that precise and fatalistic predictions could be made from it.^[135]

Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350), in his Miftah Dar al-SaCadah, also used physical arguments in astronomy to question the practice of judicial astrology.^[136] He recognized that the stars are much larger than the planets, and argued:^[137]

"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 to al-Ra's and al-Dhanab, which are two imaginary points [ascending and descending nodes]?"

The criticisms that have been raised against astrology by modern scientists are that it supplies no hypotheses, proves difficult to falsify, and resolves to describe natural events in terms of scientifically untestable supernatural causes.^{[138][not in citation given]} It has also been suggested that much of the continued faith in astrology could be psychologically explained as a matter of cognitive bias.^[139]

Astrological education

Education in astrology is offered in most countries of the world. Below is a sampler.

United States

In the United States, astrological education is offered at institutions such as Kepler College, a liberal arts college with an emphasis on astrology in Lynnwood, Washington, near Seattle, which opened in 2001^[140] and awarded its first 8 Bachelor of Arts degrees in Astrological Studies in 2004.^[141] Students attending Kepler College after March 9, 2010, however, unless they are completing a course of study,^[142] are not awarded degrees but certificates of completion of a course of study.^[143] The degrees granted by Kepler are not recognized by national or regional accrediting agencies.^[144] Other astrological organizations offer study programs and correspondence courses which, after examination, certifies astrologers.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, astrological education is offered at a number of institutions, some offering a diploma upon completion of the course and an examination. In addition, the University of Wales of Lampeter offers an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology.^[145]

India

In February, 2001, the "science" of vedic astrology, Jyotir Vigyan, was introduced into the curriculum of Indian universities. Undergraduate (called "graduate" in India) post-graduate and research courses of study were established. "Beneficiaries of these courses would be students, teachers, professionals from modern streams like doctors, architects, marketing, financial, economic and political analysts, etc."^[56] In April, 2001 the Andhra Pradesh High Court declined to consider a petition to overturn the curriculum guideline on the ground that astrology was a pseudoscience, a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2004 which declined as a matter of law to interfere with educational policy. The court noted that astrology studies were optional and that courses in astrology were offered by institutions of higher education in other countries.^[146]

• Some astrological organizations offer certification for astrologers

Notes

See also

For the numerous varieties of astrology, see the list of astrological traditions, types, and systems

Astrology portal

• Age of Aquarius
• Astrological age
• Astrological symbols
• Astrology and astronomy
• Astrology and computers
• List of astrologers
• List of Astrological organizations
• Planets in astrology
• Pseudoscience
• Season of birth

References

Sources

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Astrology

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• Astrology at the Open Directory Project

v · d · eAstrology History of astrology History of astrology  · Astrology and astronomy  · History of astronomy (Ancient astronomy)  · Musica universalis Astrologers Astrologers by nationality  · List of astrologers Traditions, types, branches, and systems Astrology by tradition: Babylonian astrology, Burmese astrology, Celtic astrology, Chinese astrology, Christian astrology (Magi), Egyptian astrology, German astrology (Cosmobiology, Hamburg School of Astrology, Huber School of Astrology, Rosicrucianism, Uranian astrology, etc), Hellenistic astrology, Hindu astrology (Nadi astrology), Jewish astrology (Hebrew astrology, Kabbalistic astrology), Mesoamerican astrology (Aztec astrology, Mayan astrology), Persian and Arab astrology (Islamic astrology), Sri Lankan Astrology (Sinhalese Astrology), Tibetan astrology, Vietnamese astrology, Western astrology  · Astrology by type: Agricultural astrology, Electional astrology, Esoteric astrology (Alchemy and astrology, Chiromancy and astrology, Geomancy and astrology, Numerology and astrology, Physiognomy and astrology, Tarot divination and astrology, Evolutionary astrology, Financial astrology, Harmonic astrology, Heliocentric astrology, Horary astrology, Horoscopic astrology, Judicial astrology, Katarchic astrology, Locational astrology (Astrocartography), Medical astrology, Medieval astrology, Meteorological astrology, Mundane astrology (Political astrology), Natal astrology (Natal chart), Psychological astrology, Sidereal astrology, Sun sign astrology, Tropical astrology Miscellaneous astrological topics Archaeoastronomy  · Astrological Ages  · Astrological aspects  · Astrological signs  · Astrological symbols  · Astrological texts  · Astrology and the classical elements  · Chronobiology  · Cultural influence of astrology  · Ephemeris  · Planets in astrology  · Technical factors of astrology  · Zodiac  · See also: Astrology Portal