The basic premise of Astrology is that the sun, moon, planets and constellations have influence over, or are correlated with, earthly events. Astrology uses a set of rules about the relative positions and movements of these heavenly bodies to make predictions about events on Earth and explain human personality traits.
While many of people who browse the horoscopes in the back of popular magazines are left sceptical by these generalised predictions, others who have had full personalised horoscopes drawn up for them have found them accurate and compelling.
If you are a sceptic, here are seven facts about astrology that might make you think differently.
Astrology is a 5,000-year-old practice
Astrology is known to have been practiced in Mesopotamia from about 3,000 BC, and was later practiced in Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, China, Japan and many more places. Modern astrology in the west is based on the Greek practice which described the stars and their influence through the paradigm of the Greek gods.
Many of the earliest scientists in Medieval Europe were astrologers and astronomers. So while today many people consider astrology pseudoscience, it was a well-respected science for almost 5,000 years.
Astrology is practiced all over the world
As well as Western astrology with its 12 signs of the zodiac that travelled from Mesopotamia to Greece, before being disseminated across Europe by the Roman empire, astrology developed independently all over the world in countries such as India, China (whose astrological charts were adopted by Japan), Nepal and Sri Lanka.
While the names and descriptions used differ, the underlying concept that the movement of the heavenly bodies influences or reflects what happens on Earth and the lives and personalities of its people is consistent.
The Western and Chinese systems both have 12 signs, though while the Western ones are based on Greek myths, the Chinese ones are all animals. In the Chinese system, as well as each year being assigned a zodiac animal, each animal has a month in the traditional Chinese solar calendar, which correspond with the Western zodiac calendar.
Famous astrologers and believers
The most famous astrologist is Nostradamus, a French physician and philosopher from the 15th century. Interpreters of his work claim that he predicted the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rises of both Napoleon and Hitler, both world wars, the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Apollo moon landing, the death of Princess Diana and the September 11 attacks.
In the Christian tradition many argue that the three wise men were astronomers, who divined the birth of Jesus from looking at the stars. Several Catholic Popes also famously relied on astrology: Sixtus IV was the first pope to draw and interpret a horoscope; Julius II chose his coronation date astrologically; and Leo X and Paul III relied heavily of Astrologers for advice.
In modern times, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt are all said to have consulted astrologers to help them make crucial decisions.
The effect of the moon and sun on the tides
It is common knowledge that the ocean’s tides are caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun. Astrologers believe that these same gravitational forces act on the human body, which is also 75% water.
As proof of this possibility it is often pointed out that there is documentary evidence that more assaults occur around the full moon than at other times in the month, suggesting that the moon has some influence over human behaviour.
Evidence for personality traits
Research shows that people born under Sagittarius make up the largest number of people in the entertainment business, and Leos receive more academic awards than any other sign.
Meanwhile Aquarius outnumber users of website ashleymadison.com, a website for cheating spouses, by about 50%, and also provide the largest number of American presidents.
These and other trends are more pronounced than can be explained by chance and lend credence to the suggestion that the different signs have common personality traits.
Popularity
Astrology is extremely popular. In a recent study 75% of Americans reported that the believed in Astrology on some level. Alongside this level of belief, Astrology is very popular. According to Google the keywords ‘astrology’ and ‘horoscope’ are searched for about one million times per month on their search engine. According to a 1999 study by searchterms.com, at that time it was the most searched for topic on the internet. A great website to learn more on astrology is numerologysign.com.
Academic Interest
Astrology is considered as both science and art because it requires knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to understand the stars and their movements, but interpreting the results for each individual is an art.
The first institution in the west to offer BA and MA degrees in astrology is the Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences in Seattle, USA. Courses started in 2010. You can also now do an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at the University of Wales.
Other academic institutions have dedicated resources to understanding Astrology. A research group into the critical study of Astrology has been set up at Southampton University in the UK. PhD students attached to the group are currently researching alcoholism’s link to Jupiter, the correlation between prostitutes and their date of birth, and the link between women’s fertility and the movements of Jupiter and Saturn.