History of Astrology
The History of Astrology to 1500
• Early Man
• Ancient Mesopotamia
• India, China, Mesoamerica
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
After the Fall of Rome
• Renaissance and the Decline of Astrology
• The Reformation
• The Loss of Royal Patronage
• Astrology Today
Lunar and Planetary Nodes
• Nodes
• Hypothetical Planets
• The Fixed Stars

The History of Astrology to 1500

Since ancient times, agricultural communities have relied on a knowledge of the changes of the seasons and the fertility cycles of animals. Observing the movements of the Sun and Moon and their correlations with these crucial biological rhythms led to the development of the first science -- astrology, astronomy, and the calendar, which were essential for civilization and an orderly community life.

Back to Top

Early Man

Early humans lived close to nature. They noticed that the point in the east at which the Sun rises every day changes throughout the year, and that this movement coincides with the changes of the seasons. They saw that the cycle of the Moon was linked to mammalian fertility cycles. They built calendar sites and temples aligned to the points on the horizon where these regular astronomical phenomena occurred. Pyramids and temples in Egypt and Mexico, as well as stone circles like Stonehenge in the British Isles, have survived from ancient times, testifying to the importance of skywatching in the development of civilization.

As civilization progressed, the phases of the Moon, eclipses, and the cycles of the planets were recorded and compared with events on earth. Floods, political changes, wars, economic fluctuations, and events in people's lives were correlated with activity in the sky. Over the years, certain relationships became apparent. These empirical correlations became the basis for the astrology practiced today. The linking of the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets with human life was obvious to humanity worldwide.

Although religious significance was often attached to the planets and to particular days in the yearly cycle (as it still is today), astrology was not, in itself, a religion. It was a system of knowledge based on accumulated observations, and it gave early humanity some sense of security and order in an otherwise unpredictable world.

Back to Top

Ancient Mesopotamia

It was in ancient Mesopotamia, a region of acute instability, that the activity of observing, recording and interpreting astronomical and atmospheric phenomena reached its zenith . This may have begun with the Sumerians, perhaps the oldest civilization in the Near East, but it was sustained and developed by the Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and other civilizations that flourished in the region up to the age of the Romans. Detailed observations were made more or less continuously for several thousand years. Ultimately, astrology in Mesopotamia became a highly sophisticated omen system based on rigorous astronomical observations and the accumulated experience of generations of sky interpreters. Our seven-day week, each day of which is named for a planet, is an astrological remnant of ancient Near Eastern sky-consciousness.

Back to Top

India, China and Mesoamerica

In India, an ancient native astrology blended with Greco-Mesopotamian astrology to produce a unique system still practiced today where it continues to be popular. There are astrological colleges in India and the subject is employed at the highest levels of government.

In China, astrologers favored a polar-based system of measurement, in contrast to the Mesopotamian measuring system which was based on the Sun's path or ecliptic. The Chinese, as well as the Indians, also used something like a twenty-eight-sign zodiac, based on the motion of the Moon. The popular 12-year cycle of animals in Chinese astrology is only one part of a more complex system based around cycles of 12 and 10 that is still virtually unknown in the West.

At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Mesoamerica employed a unique form of astrology that emphasized time. (In the West, sky events were measured spatially; in Mexico, time itself acted like a zodiacal sign.) The ancient Maya, Toltec, and Aztec astrologers used a sequence of 20 days that acted like zodiacal signs and which repeated endlessly, much like our 7-day week. These 20 day-signs cycled with 13 sacred numbers, producing an astrological calendar of 260 days. Other astronomical cycles, ranging from days to millennia, were part of this astrological system. The ancient Mesoamericans also held the planet Venus in high regard and made predictions based on its movements. Click here to order a Mayan-Aztec report.

Back to Top

Ancient Greece

During the centuries before and after Alexander's conquest of the Near East, there was contact between Greece and Mesopotamia which led to significant developments in astrology. The Greek mind, which sought neatness and organization, arranged the various components of Mesopotamian astrology into a system structured by spatial geometry. With the emphasis on the geometrical properties of planetary relationships (the aspects), a more complex analysis of the sky developed. Simultaneously, the 12-sign zodiac, which had been developing for hundreds of years, became a major feature.

The notion of a map of the heavens calculated for the time and place of a person's birth (the horoscope) was probably the most important development during this period. Although the oldest surviving horoscope (410 B.C.) was made for a commoner, original Mesopotamian astrology concerned itself mainly with the life of the nation or kingdom. The king was the center of the human world and only the planets at his birth were considered worth examining. The Greeks, who placed a high value on the individual, stimulated the transition in astrology from a study of the King and the kingdom to the study of individual lives.

Back to Top

Ancient Rome

When Rome became the dominant Mediterranean power, astrology gained in prestige and influence. During the Roman Empire, with the patronage of astrologer-emporers like Tiberius and Hadrian as well as extensive public practitioners, many books on astrology were written, several of which survive. The most famous, the Tetra-biblos of Claudius Ptolemy, was written around A.D. 150 and became the major handbook of astrology during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The techniques of Roman astrologers were very sophisticated, and many are still used today or have served to stimulate new developments in the field.

Back to Top

After the Fall of Rome

While Europe was in the Dark Ages, the Islamic world became the bright light of Western civilization. The scientific works of the Greeks and Romans had suffered at the hands of Christian fanatics, but in intellectual centers like Baghdad and in Moslem Spain they were copied and recopied. Arab scientists also made some significant advancement in the field. In order to avoid potential religious conflicts, Arabic astrology focused on historical and political astrology rather than on human births. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Arab manuscripts began to circulate in Europe. This influx of information brought about a revival of astrology, accompanied by Christian rationalizations for its existence by none other than the Church father, Thomas Aquinas. Within a few centuries astrology was being taught in the universities, and most Italian courts included an astrologer. By the 15th century, astrology had regained the social position it had held in the West for most of its earlier history. It was practiced by the most learned men, used by leaders for decision-making, and served as a model for understanding the cosmos and the meaning of life.

Back to Top

Renaissance and the Decline of Astrology

In the middle of the High Renaissance, the early sixteenth century, astrology was being taught in the universities and practiced in the courts of kings. By the end of the century, its prestige had declined considerably primarily due to religion and the scientific principle. It could be said that the decline of astrology began in 1497 when Pico della Mirandola, the great humanist and religious fanatic, published his religion backed book Disputes on Astrology. Pico argued that astrology should be rejected because it denied free will to humans and power to God. In his view, humans were self-contained beings having the power to improve themselves. "If this is so," he argued, "how can he [Man] be controlled by the planets?" Pico saw God as the ultimate power who would send angels to help men on special occasions. He argued that God certainly wouldn't use the planets as agents of His will, so the planets could also have no real effects on Man in this sense.

Although Pico's attack on astrology had all the conviction and supreme confidence of a religious fanatic his book became an encyclopedia of arguments against astrology that were used by other objectors. Many other works were written against astrology over the next two hundred years, and much of the material was taken directly from Pico. Most of these attacks on astrology were for religious reasons.

Back to Top

The Reformation

With the arousal of religious passions, wars and conflicts all over Europe, the educational, political, and economic landscape changed. Religious reforms, initiated by powerful men like Luther and Calvin, emphasized the importance of the individual and his relationship to God, not the planets or stars. In a world of uncertainty, death, and famine, people sought explanations which both astrologer and priest were able to provide. Religious leaders therefore saw astrology as serious competition. Although the astrologers were more flexible and inclusive (they could believe in God, be Christians, and still practice their art), the clergy attacked astrology with a vengeance for the next 150 years.

Back to Top

The Loss of Royal Patronage

During the Middle Ages, astrologers had held relatively secure position as private consultants to kings and nobility. But as the fabric of the provincial medieval world was torn apart and the commercially-oriented world of the Renaissance came into being, astrologers were freed from their supporting ties to a single patron. Additionally, with the creation of the printing press and the possibility of serving a greater audience, Astrologers soon found themselves competing with one another for popularity. As would be expected, the most outrageous and vocal astrologers were heard and the more cautious were not.

By the mid-17th century the practice of astrology had changed dramatically. Most full-time astrologers were peddling their services in big cities, especially London, or were publishing almanacs. Some, like the great astrologer William Lilly, were very successful. Lilly was consulted by royalty and members of Parliament. But in an age where few people knew their birth times, most of the astrology practiced was horary astrology (answering questions using a chart cast for the time that the client poses the query). More a form of divination than an exact science, horary astrology was even more out of step than natal astrology with the big happenings in the newly emerging scientific community. The new science of astronomy and the practice of astrology had begun to part ways.

Back to Top

Astrology Today

Today astrology is again on the rise. While it has changed in many ways, it retains many of its traditional elements. The chief difference is in its adaptation to our present culture and its accessibility through the advent of the computer. Most astrologers today practice natal astrology and use psychological knowledge in their interpretations of birth charts. To those who understand its possibilities, astrology has much to contribute to our lives in this modern age. As in the ancient past, astrology integrates humankind with nature and gives meaning to seemingly incomprehensible situations. Astrologers and students of astrology need to better understand its history and let the world know of its great and ancient tradition.

Back to Top

Lunar and Planetary Nodes

Nodes

The Moon's nodes are not physical objects, they simply mark the intersection of the plane defined by the Moon's orbit with the orbital plane of the earth. The Moon's nodes are generally interpreted as sensitive points in the birth chart that symbolize connections with family, friends, and other nurturing associations.

Back to Top

Hypothetical Planets

During the 20th century, some astrologers have proposed the existence and astrological use of planets that have not been verified astronomically. The orbits and symbolic nature of many of these hypothetical planets have been determined on the basis of astrological observation alone. Most of them are said to have orbits beyond that of Pluto. While most astrologers do not use them in their work, the Hamburg School of Astrology in Germany, also known as Uranian Astrology in the U.S., utilizes eight of these hypothetical planets in their methodology. Transpluto, also known as Persephone, is one hypothetical planet whose orbital parameters have been calculated by astronomers but which has not yet been sighted. It is believed by some astrologers to be a feminine planet that symbolizes female maturity, ecological balance, and the dynamics of gender-balanced relationships.

Back to Top

The Fixed Stars

Some astrologers use stars for an expanded interpretation of the horoscope which are "fixed" because they remain more or less in the same place with respect to the other stars around them.. Their degree positions in the zodiac seem to have a definite "charge" to them, and planets located near them appear to gain in power.

Back to Top