Knowledge Ofastrology

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Karma yoga (Sanskrit: करà¥à¤® योग), or the "discipline of action" is a form of yoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the four paths to realization, karma yoga is the process of achieving perfection in action. Karma yoga is an intrinsic part of many derivative types of yoga, such as Natya Yoga. Karma yoga is often understood as a yoga of selfless (altruistic) service.

The Bhagavad Gita gives a summary of the karma yoga process.[1] The Gita itself is a chapter from the epic known as Mahabharata, wherein a dialogue takes place between the prince Arjuna, and his friend and chariot driver, Lord Krishna, on the brink of a great dynastic war. Their conversation is prompted by Arjuna as he is engulfed by sorrow and misgivings regarding the oncoming battle in which he has friends and relatives on both sides. In reply, Krishna then elucidates upon a number of philosophical yoga systems and practices (including karma yoga) by/through which he should indeed continue with the fight on righteous principles.

The word karma is derived from the Sanskrit kri, meaning 'to do'. In its most basic sense karma simply means action, and yoga translates to union. Thus karma yoga literally translates to the path of union through action. However, in Vedantic philosophy the word karma means both action and the effects of such action. Karma yoga is described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which one orients oneself toward realization by acting in accordance with one's duty (dharma) without consideration of personal self-centered desires, likes or dislikes. One acts without being attached to the fruits of one's deeds.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says:"tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samacara asakto hy acaran karma param apnoti purushah"Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.[2]Krishna then goes on to describe how Arjuna should surrender the fruits of his actions (good or bad) to him, Krishna, (as the Supreme Person or avatar) :Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.[3]

Another important quotations from the Bhagavad Gita which elucidates karma yoga is "योगः करà¥à¤®à¤¸à¥ कौशलं॥" (yoga is skill in karma.).

Any conscious action is motivated by some expectation about the outcome, yet one is to be careful to not let this expectation be selfish in a certain sense. This is accomplished by surrendering ownership of action to Krishna. This surrender is called sAttvika tyAga (to contrast it with tAmasika tyAga or abandoning action itself as Arjuna was about to).

The Shrivaishnava tradition formalizes this by recommending the chanting of a shlOka prior (also called Sattvika tyaga) to the performance of any such significant karma. This shloka (using ITRANS), with its meaning is given below:bhagavAn eva svaniyAmya sva-sheSha-bhUtena mayA sva-ArAdhana-eka-prayojanAya idam svasmai svaprItyai svayam eva kArayati.This translates to:The auspicious deity, exerting control on himself, using me (his other part) as an instrument, himself effects , with his pleasure/ worship being the only purpose.The same shloka may be repeated after the performance of the action, except one replaces kArayati to kArayitavAn to indicate past tense.

As with a number of other philosophies in Hinduism, karma yoga is based on a general understanding of karma and reincarnation (sanskara). It is believed that a man is born with certain tendencies (Sanskaras), both positive and negative, from his previous lives, which push him toward performing certain actions in his present one. This process continues until the individual attains a zero balance (no karma remaining), wherein one achieves liberation.

Man is threefold in his nature. He consists of Iccha, Jnana and Kriya. Iccha is desire or feeling. Jnana is knowing. Kriya is willing. These three fashion his Karma. He knows objects like chair, tree. He feels joy and sorrow. He wills - to do this, or not to do that.Behind the action, there are desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind. Then you think how to get it. Then you exert to possess it. Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads, as it were, that are twisted into the cord of Karma.Desire produces Karma. You work and exert to acquire the objects of your desire. Karma produces its fruits as pain or pleasure. You will have to take births after births to reap the fruits of your Karma. This is the Law of Karma.

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.Through 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. At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentric and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.

Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.[4]:424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.[5]:249[6]Contents [hide] 1 Etymology2 Principles and practice2.1 Western2.2 Indian and South Asian2.3 Chinese and East-Asian3 History3.1 Ancient world3.2 Medieval Islamic world3.3 Early Modern3.4 Since 19004 Scientific appraisal4.1 Perspectives from psychology4.2 Lack of consistency4.3 Lack of mechanism4.4 Carlson's experiment4.5 Gauquelin's research5 Theological viewpoints6 See also7 Notes8 References9 Further reading10 External links[edit]EtymologyMarcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia, deriving from the Greek noun ἀστÏολογία, 'account of the stars'. Astrologia later passed into �meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.

Principles and practice

Robert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosmAdvocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination.Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.

WesternFor 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. It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points.Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic) and by their aspects (angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky).Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart. The names of the zodiac correspond to the names of the constellations originally within the respective segment and are in Latin.[citation needed]Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.Page from an Astrological Treatise, ca. 1750

Indian and South AsianFor more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.Hindu astrology originated with western astrology.[16]:361 In the earliest Indian astronomy texts, the year was believed to be 360 days long, similar to that of Babylonian astrology, but the rest of the early astrological system bears little resemblance.[17]:229 Later, the Indian techniques were augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.[17]:231[edit]Chinese and East-AsianFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.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 (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of

auspicious days for events and decisions.[18]:22,85,176The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sÄn yuán), and �Twenty-eight Mansions (二å八宿 èrshÃbÄ xiù) in twelve Ci (å二次).[19] The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different 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.[20] 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 (simplified Chinese: 紫微斗数; traditional Chinese: 紫微斗數; pinyin: zÇwÄ“idÇ’ushù) are still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.[21]The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[22]

HistoryMain article: History of astrology[edit]Ancient worldFor more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[23]:2,3 Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[24]:81ff Agricultural needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[25][verification needed] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[26]There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).[27] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144–2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[28] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely

ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950–1651 BCE).The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[18]:3,4

Medieval Islamic worldFor more details on this topic, see Astrology in medieval Islam.Latin translation of Abū Maʿshar's De Magnis Coniunctionibus (‘Of the great conjunctions’), Venice, 1515.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 (754–775) 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 ‘Storehouse 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,[29] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the Latin translations of the 12th century, the effect of which was to help initiate the European Renaissance.

Early ModernBy the 17th century, in England, astrology had reached its zenith.[30] Astrologers were theorists, researchers, and social engineers, as well as providing individual advice to everyone from monarchs downwards. Among other things, astrologers could advise on the best time to take a journey or harvest a crop, diagnose and prescribe for physical or mental illnesses, and predict natural disasters. This underpinned a system in which everything - people, the world, the universe - was understood to be interconnected, and astrology co-existed happily with religion, magic and science.[31]Since 1900Main article: Cultural influence of astrologyAstrology saw a popular revival from the nineteenth century as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy[32]:239-249, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes[32]:259-263 and astrology software. Early in the twentieth century psychologist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology,[33] which led to the development of psychological astrology.[32]:251-256[34][35]In the West there have been occasional reports of political leaders consulting astrologers. Louis de Wohl worked as an astrologer for the British intelligence agency MI5, after it was claimed that Hitler used astrology to time his actions. The War Office was "interested to know what Hitler's own astrologers would be telling him from week to week".[36] In fact de Wohl's predictions were so inaccurate that he was soon labelled a "complete charlatan" and it was later

shown that Hitler considered astrology to be "complete nonsense".[37] After John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, first 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 staff, Donald Regan.[38]Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic astrology.[39][40] Indian politics has also been influenced by astrology.[41] It remains considered a branch of the Vedanga.[42][43] In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,[44] resulting in permission for Indian universities to offer courses in Vedic astrology.[45] In February 2011, the Bombay High Court reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case which had challenged its status as a science.[46]In Japan, a strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years of "Fire Horse". Women born in hinoeuma years are believed to be unmarriageable and to 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.[47][48]

Scientific appraisalAstrology is a pseudoscience[49][50]:1350 that has not demonstrated its effectiveness in controlled studies and has no scientific validity.[4][51]:85 The majority of professional astrologers rely on performing astrology-based personality tests and making relevant predictions about the remunerators future.[51]:83 Those who continue to have faith in astrology have been characterized as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary".[52] Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on astrological belief, saying that "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".[53]The former astrologer, and scientist, Geoffrey Dean and psychologist Ivan Kelly[54] conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, but found no support for astrology.[55] Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted pooling 40 studies consisting of 700 astrologers and over 1,000 birth charts. Ten of the tests, which had a total of 300 participants, involved subjects picking the correct chart interpretation out of a number of others which were not the astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually 3 to 5 others). When the date and other obvious clues were removed no significant results were found to suggest there was any preferred chart.[55]:190 A further test involved 45 confident[a] astrologers, with an average of 10 years experience and 160 participants (out of an original sample size of 1198 participants) who strongly favoured certain characteristics in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to extremes.[55]:191 The astrologers performed much worse than merely basing decisions off the individuals age, and much worse than 45 control subjects who did not use birth charts at all.[b]

[55]:191Science and non-science are often distinguished by the criterion of falsifiability. The criterion was first proposed by philosopher of science Karl Popper. To Popper, science does not rely on induction, instead scientific investigations are inherently attempts to falsify existing theories through novel tests. If a single test fails, then the theory is falsified. Therefore, any test of a scientific theory must prohibit certain results which will falsify the theory, and expect other specific results which will be consistent with the theory. Using this criterion of falsifiability, astrology is a pseudoscience.[56] Popper regarded astrology as "pseudo-empirical" in that "it appeals to observation and experiment", but "nevertheless does not come up to scientific standards".[57]:44In 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. Adorno concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation of systematic irrationalism, where individuals were subtly being led to believe that the author of the column was addressing them directly through the use of flattery and vague generalizations.[58]

Perspectives from psychologySee also: Forer effectIt has also been suggested that confirmation bias could be a psychological factor that contributes to belief in astrology.[59]:344[60]:180-181[61]:42-48 Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias.[c][62]:553 From the literature, Astrology believers often tend to selectively remember those predictions which have turned out to be true, and don't remember those predictions which happen to be false. Another, separate, form of confirmation bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinguish between messages that demonstrate special ability and those which do not.[60]:180-181 Thus there are two distinct forms of confirmation bias that are under study with respect to astrological belief.[60]:180-181The Barnum effect is where people accept unclear expositions of their personality if there is the appearance of some complex process in the derivation of the personality profile. If more information is requested for a prediction, the more accepting people are of the results.[59]:344 In 1949 Bertram Forer conducted a personality test on students in his classroom.[59]:344 While seemingly giving the students individualized results, he instead gave each student exactly the same sheet that discussed their personality. The personality descriptions were taken from a book on Astrology. When the students were asked to comment on the accuracy of the test, more than 40% gave it the top mark of 5 out of 5, and the average rating was 4.2.[63]:134, 135 The results of this study have been replicated in numerous other studies.[64]:382 The study of this Barnum/Forer effect has been mostly focused on the level of acceptance of fake horoscopes and fake astrological personality profiles.[64]:382 Recipients of these personality assessments consistently fail to distinguish common and uncommon personality descriptors.[64]:383 In a study by Paul Rogers and Janice Soule (2009), which was consistent with previous research on the issue, it was found that those who believed in astrology are generally more susceptible to giving more credence to the Barnum profile than skeptics.[64]:393By a process known as self-attribution, it has been shown in numerous studies that individuals with knowledge of astrology tend to describe their personality in terms of traits compatible with their sun sign. The effect is heightened when the

individuals were aware the personality description was being used to discuss astrology. Individuals who were not familiar with astrology had no such tendency.[65]

Lack of consistencyTesting the validity of astrology can be difficult because there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.[51]: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.[51]:83 Astrologers avoid making verifiable predictions and instead rely on making vague statements which allows them to try to avoid falsification.[57]:48-49Georges Charpak and Henri Broch dealt with claims from astrology in the book Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and other Pseudoscience.[66] They pointed out that astrologers have only a small knowledge of astronomy and that they often do not take into account basic features such as the precession of the equinoxes which would change 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 influence. Charpak and Broch noted that "there is a difference of about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specific date in two successive years" and that thus they should not be under the same influence according to astrology. Over a 40 years period there would be a difference greater than 780,000 miles.[67]The tropical zodiac has no connection to the stars and as long as no claims are made that the constellations themselves are in the associated sign it avoids the issue of precession seemingly moving the constellations.[67] Charpak and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the tropical zodiac as being "empty boxes that have nothing to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency or correspondence with the stars".[67] Sole usage of the tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by the same astrologers, to the Age of Aquarius which is dependent on when the vernal point enters the constellation of Aquarius.[4]Some astrologers make claims that the position of all the planets must be taken into account, but astrologers were unable to predict the existence of Neptune based on mistakes in horoscopes. Instead Neptune was predicted using Newton's law of universal gravitation.[51] The grafting on of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into the astrology discourse was done on an ad-hoc basis.[4]On the demotion of Pluto to the status of dwarf planet, Philip Zarka of the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France wondered how astrologers should respond:[4]Should astrologers remove it from the list of luminars [Sun, Moon and the 8 planets other than earth] and confess that it did not actually bring any improvement? If they decide to keep it, what about the growing list of other recently discovered similar bodies (Sedna, Quaoar. etc), some of which even have satellites (Xena, 2003EL61)?

Lack of mechanismAstrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behaviour. 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."[68] In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[52] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur: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.[52][69]

Astronomer Carl Sagan declined to sign the statement. Sagan said he took this stance not because he thought astrology had any validity, but because he thought that the tone of the statement was authoritarian, and that dismissing astrology because there was no mechanism (while "certainly a relevant point") was not in itself convincing. In a letter published in a follow-up edition of The Humanist, Sagan confirmed that he would have been willing to sign such a statement had it described and refuted the principal tenets of astrological belief. This, he argued, would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.[70]

Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientific.[71] Some of these astrologers have proposed conventional causal agents such as electromagnetism and gravity.[71][72] Scientists dismiss these mechanisms as implausible[71] since, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.[72] Other astrologers prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[73][dubious – discuss] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination.[74]:xxii Carl Jung sought to invoke synchronicity to explain results on astrology from a single study he conducted, where no statistically significant results were observed. Sychronicity itself is considered to be neither testable nor falsifiable.[75] The study was subsequently heavily criticised for its non-random sample and its use of statistics and also its lack of consistency with astrology.[d][76]

Carlson's experimentAcross several centuries of testing, the predictions of astrology have never been more accurate than that expected by chance alone.[51] One approach used in testing astrology quantitatively is through blind experiment. When specific predictions from astrologers were tested in rigorous experimental procedures in the Carlson test, the predictions were falsified.[4]The Shawn Carlson's double-blind chart matching tests, in which 28 astrologers agreed to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test, is one of the most renowned tests of astrology.[77][78] The experimental protocol used in Carlson's study was agreed to by a group of physicists and astrologers prior to the experiment.[4] Astrologers, nominated by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, acted as

the astrological advisors, and helped to ensure, and agreed, that the test was fair.[78]:117[79]:420 They also chose 26 of the 28 astrologers for the tests, the other 2 being interested astrologers who volunteered afterwards.[79]:420 The astrologers came from Europe and the United States.[78]:117 The astrologers helped to draw up the central proposition of natal astrology to be tested.[79]:419 Published in Nature in 1985, the study found that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".[79]

Gauquelin's researchMain article: Mars effectThe 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][80]In 1955, astrologer, and psychologist Michel Gauquelin stated 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.[80] The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".[81] A study conducted by seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence, and attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.[82]Geoffrey Dean has suggested that the effect 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 find 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.[78]:116

Theological viewpointsSee also: Christianity and astrology, Jewish views on astrology, and Muslim views on astrology. Some of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.[83]For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' RisÄla fÄ« ibá¹� Äl �aḥkÄm al-nojÅ«m, 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.[84] 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.[85]

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.[86] 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 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]?—Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya[87]Belief in astrology is incompatible with Catholic beliefs[88] such as free will.[89] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.[90]—Catechism of the Catholic ChurchSt. Augustine believed that astrology conflicted with church doctrine, but he grounded his opposition with non-theological reasons such as the failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although are conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time.[89]

See alsoList of astrological traditions, types, and systems[edit]Notes^ The level of confidence was self rated by the astrologers themselves.^ Also discussed in Martens, Ronny; Trachet, Tim (1998). Making sense of astrology. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573922188.^ see Heuristics in judgment and decision making^ Jung made the claims, despite being aware that there was no statistical significance in the results. Looking for coincidences post hoc is of very dubious value, see Misuse_of_statistics#Data_dredging.[75][edit]References^ 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.^ Kassell, Lauren (5 May 2010). "Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 1100–1800". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (2): 67–69. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.001.^ "Astrology - Astrology in modern times". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 October 2012.^ a b c d e f g Zarka, Philippe (2011). "Astronomy and astrology". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 5 (S260): 420–425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602.^ 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 0521343542.^ Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association,

vol. 1. Dordrecht u.a.: Reidel u.a.. 1978. 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 pseudoscientific 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 affect 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-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."^ Harper, Douglas. "astrology". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by 17c. this word was limited to "reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.""^ "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 affairs, and thus gradually limited by 17th cent. to the reputed influences of the stars, unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare."^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica,' v.5, 1974, p. 916^ Dietrich, Thomas: 'The Origin of Culture and Civilization, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, 2005, p. 305^ Dictionary of the history of ideas. New York: Scribner. 1974. ISBN 0-684-13293-1.^ James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.^ Hone, Margaret (1978). The Modern Text-Book of Astrology. Romford, U.K.: L. N. Fowler & Co. Ltd.. pp. 21–89. ISBN 0852433573.^ Riske, Kris (2007). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology. Minnesota, USA: Llewellyn Publications. pp. 5–6; 27. ISBN 978-0-7387-1071-6.^ Luhrmann, Tanya (1991). Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.^ Pingree, David (18). "Indian Astronomy". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society 122 (6): 361–364. Retrieved 4 August 2012.^ a b Pingree, David (June 1963). "Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran". Isis. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society 54 (2): 229–246.^ a b The Chinese sky during the Han : constellating stars and society. Leiden: Brill. 1997. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.^ F. Richard Stephenson, "Chinese Roots of Modern Astronomy", New Scientist, 26 June 1980. See also 二å八宿的形æˆä¸Žæ¼”å˜�� � �^ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp2-8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005^ Selin, Helaine, ed. (1997). "Astrology in China". Encyclopaedia of the History of

Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer. Retrieved July 22, 2012.^ "à¸à¸²à¸£à¹€à¸›à¸¥à¸µà¹ˆà¸¢à¸™à¸§à¸±à¸™à¹ƒà¸«à¸¡à¹ˆ �à¸à¸²à¸£à¸™à¸±à¸šà¸§à¸±à¸™ à� ¸—างโหราศาสตร์ไทย à¸à¸²à¸£à¹€à¸›à¸¥à¸µà¹ˆà¸¢à¸™à¸›à¸µà¸™à¸±à¸à¸©à¸±à¸•à¸£ � �โหราศาสตร์ ดูดวง ทำนายทายทัà¸".�^ Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.]: Continuum.. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.^ Marshack, Alexander (1991). The roots of civilization : the cognitive beginnings of man's first art, symbol and notation (Rev. and expanded. ed.). Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Moyer Bell. ISBN 978-1-55921-041-6.^ Evelyn-White, Hesiod ; with an English translation by Hugh G. (1977). The Homeric hymns and Homerica (Reprinted. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 663–677. 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"^ Aveni, David H. Kelley, Eugene F. Milone ; foreword by Anthony F. (2005). Exploring ancient skies an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (Online-Ausg. ed.). New York: Springer. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-387-95310-6.^ Two texts which 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.^ From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 – VI 13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 2, 1–3. Gütersloh, 1986–1991. Also quoted in A. Falkenstein, ‘Wahrsagung in der sumerischen Ãœberlieferung’, La divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et dans les régions voisines. Paris, 1966.^ BÄ«rÅ«nÄ«, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (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.^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.3. France:Hadean Press^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.43-45. France:Hadean Press^ a b c Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1.

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to

interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.[4]:424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.[5]:249[6]Contents [hide] 1 Etymology2 Principles and practice2.1 Western2.2 Indian and South Asian2.3 Chinese and East-Asian3 History3.1 Ancient world3.2 Medieval Islamic world3.3 Early Modern3.4 Since 19004 Scientific appraisal4.1 Perspectives from psychology4.2 Lack of consistency4.3 Lack of mechanism4.4 Carlson's experiment4.5 Gauquelin's research5 Theological viewpoints6 See also7 Notes8 References9 Further reading10 External links[edit]EtymologyMarcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia,[7] deriving from the Greek noun á¼€ÃĀÃ� � �Âολογία, 'account of �the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.[8][edit]Principles and practiceRobert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosmAdvocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination.[9][10]

Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.[edit]WesternFor 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.[11] It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points.[12]Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic) and by their aspects (angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky).[13] Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart.[14] The names of the zodiac correspond to the names of the constellations originally within the respective segment and are in Latin.[citation needed]Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.[15]Page from an Astrological Treatise, ca. 1750[edit]Indian and South AsianFor more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.Hindu astrology originated with western astrology.[16]:361 In the earliest Indian astronomy texts, the year was believed to be 360 days long, similar to that of Babylonian astrology, but the rest of the early astrological system bears little resemblance.[17]:229 Later, the Indian techniques were augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.[17]:231[edit]Chinese and East-AsianFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.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 (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.[18]:22,85,176The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sÄÂn �yuán), and Twenty-eight Mansions (二åÂÂ八宿 èrshÃÂ� � -bÄ xiù) in twelve Ci (Ã¥ÂÂ二次).[19] The Chinese zodiac of tw� � � elve animal signs is said to represent twelve different 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.[20] 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 (simplified Chinese: 紫微斗数; traditional Chinese: 紫微斗數; pinyin: zÇÂwÄ“idÇ’ushù) are still used regularly in modern day Chinese �astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.[21]The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[22][edit]HistoryMain article: History of astrology[edit]Ancient worldFor more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[23]:2,3 Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[24]:81ff Agricultural needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[25][verification needed] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[26]There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).[27] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144–2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[28] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950–1651 BCE).The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture

– the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[18]:3,4[edit]Medieval Islamic worldFor more details on this topic, see Astrology in medieval Islam.Latin translation of Abū Maʿshar's De Magnis Coniunctionibus (‘Of the great conjunctions’), Venice, 1515.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 (754–775) 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 ‘Storehouse 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,[29] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the Latin translations of the 12th century, the effect of which was to help initiate the European Renaissance.[edit]Early ModernBy the 17th century, in England, astrology had reached its zenith.[30] Astrologers were theorists, researchers, and social engineers, as well as providing individual advice to everyone from monarchs downwards. Among other things, astrologers could advise on the best time to take a journey or harvest a crop, diagnose and prescribe for physical or mental illnesses, and predict natural disasters. This underpinned a system in which everything - people, the world, the universe - was understood to be interconnected, and astrology co-existed happily with religion, magic and science.[31][edit]Since 1900Main article: Cultural influence of astrologyAstrology saw a popular revival from the nineteenth century as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy[32]:239-249, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes[32]:259-263 and astrology software. Early in the twentieth century psychologist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology,[33] which led to the development of psychological astrology.[32]:251-256[34][35]In the West there have been occasional reports of political leaders consulting astrologers. Louis de Wohl worked as an astrologer for the British intelligence agency MI5, after it was claimed that Hitler used astrology to time his actions. The War Office was "interested to know what Hitler's own astrologers would be telling him from week to week".[36] In fact de Wohl's predictions were so inaccurate that he was soon labelled a "complete charlatan" and it was later shown that Hitler considered astrology to be "complete nonsense".[37] After John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, first 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 staff, Donald Regan.[38]Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)

In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic astrology.[39][40] Indian politics has also been influenced by astrology.[41] It remains considered a branch of the Vedanga.[42][43] In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,[44] resulting in permission for Indian universities to offer courses in Vedic astrology.[45] In February 2011, the Bombay High Court reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case which had challenged its status as a science.[46]In Japan, a strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years of "Fire Horse". Women born in hinoeuma years are believed to be unmarriageable and to 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.[47][48][edit]Scientific appraisalAstrology is a pseudoscience[49][50]:1350 that has not demonstrated its effectiveness in controlled studies and has no scientific validity.[4][51]:85 The majority of professional astrologers rely on performing astrology-based personality tests and making relevant predictions about the remunerators future.[51]:83 Those who continue to have faith in astrology have been characterized as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary".[52] Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on astrological belief, saying that "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".[53]The former astrologer, and scientist, Geoffrey Dean and psychologist Ivan Kelly[54] conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, but found no support for astrology.[55] Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted pooling 40 studies consisting of 700 astrologers and over 1,000 birth charts. Ten of the tests, which had a total of 300 participants, involved subjects picking the correct chart interpretation out of a number of others which were not the astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually 3 to 5 others). When the date and other obvious clues were removed no significant results were found to suggest there was any preferred chart.[55]:190 A further test involved 45 confident[a] astrologers, with an average of 10 years experience and 160 participants (out of an original sample size of 1198 participants) who strongly favoured certain characteristics in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to extremes.[55]:191 The astrologers performed much worse than merely basing decisions off the individuals age, and much worse than 45 control subjects who did not use birth charts at all.[b][55]:191Science and non-science are often distinguished by the criterion of falsifiability. The criterion was first proposed by philosopher of science Karl Popper. To Popper, science does not rely on induction, instead scientific investigations are inherently attempts to falsify existing theories through novel tests. If a single test fails, then the theory is falsified. Therefore, any test of a scientific theory must prohibit certain results which will falsify the theory, and expect other specific results which will be consistent with the theory. Using this criterion of falsifiability,

astrology is a pseudoscience.[56] Popper regarded astrology as "pseudo-empirical" in that "it appeals to observation and experiment", but "nevertheless does not come up to scientific standards".[57]:44In 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. Adorno concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation of systematic irrationalism, where individuals were subtly being led to believe that the author of the column was addressing them directly through the use of flattery and vague generalizations.[58][edit]Perspectives from psychologySee also: Forer effectIt has also been suggested that confirmation bias could be a psychological factor that contributes to belief in astrology.[59]:344[60]:180-181[61]:42-48 Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias.[c][62]:553 From the literature, Astrology believers often tend to selectively remember those predictions which have turned out to be true, and don't remember those predictions which happen to be false. Another, separate, form of confirmation bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinguish between messages that demonstrate special ability and those which do not.[60]:180-181 Thus there are two distinct forms of confirmation bias that are under study with respect to astrological belief.[60]:180-181The Barnum effect is where people accept unclear expositions of their personality if there is the appearance of some complex process in the derivation of the personality profile. If more information is requested for a prediction, the more accepting people are of the results.[59]:344 In 1949 Bertram Forer conducted a personality test on students in his classroom.[59]:344 While seemingly giving the students individualized results, he instead gave each student exactly the same sheet that discussed their personality. The personality descriptions were taken from a book on Astrology. When the students were asked to comment on the accuracy of the test, more than 40% gave it the top mark of 5 out of 5, and the average rating was 4.2.[63]:134, 135 The results of this study have been replicated in numerous other studies.[64]:382 The study of this Barnum/Forer effect has been mostly focused on the level of acceptance of fake horoscopes and fake astrological personality profiles.[64]:382 Recipients of these personality assessments consistently fail to distinguish common and uncommon personality descriptors.[64]:383 In a study by Paul Rogers and Janice Soule (2009), which was consistent with previous research on the issue, it was found that those who believed in astrology are generally more susceptible to giving more credence to the Barnum profile than skeptics.[64]:393By a process known as self-attribution, it has been shown in numerous studies that individuals with knowledge of astrology tend to describe their personality in terms of traits compatible with their sun sign. The effect is heightened when the individuals were aware the personality description was being used to discuss astrology. Individuals who were not familiar with astrology had no such tendency.[65][edit]Lack of consistencyTesting the validity of astrology can be difficult because there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.[51]: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.[51]:83 Astrologers avoid making

verifiable predictions and instead rely on making vague statements which allows them to try to avoid falsification.[57]:48-49Georges Charpak and Henri Broch dealt with claims from astrology in the book Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and other Pseudoscience.[66] They pointed out that astrologers have only a small knowledge of astronomy and that they often do not take into account basic features such as the precession of the equinoxes which would change 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 influence. Charpak and Broch noted that "there is a difference of about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specific date in two successive years" and that thus they should not be under the same influence according to astrology. Over a 40 years period there would be a difference greater than 780,000 miles.[67]The tropical zodiac has no connection to the stars and as long as no claims are made that the constellations themselves are in the associated sign it avoids the issue of precession seemingly moving the constellations.[67] Charpak and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the tropical zodiac as being "empty boxes that have nothing to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency or correspondence with the stars".[67] Sole usage of the tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by the same astrologers, to the Age of Aquarius which is dependent on when the vernal point enters the constellation of Aquarius.[4]Some astrologers make claims that the position of all the planets must be taken into account, but astrologers were unable to predict the existence of Neptune based on mistakes in horoscopes. Instead Neptune was predicted using Newton's law of universal gravitation.[51] The grafting on of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into the astrology discourse was done on an ad-hoc basis.[4]On the demotion of Pluto to the status of dwarf planet, Philip Zarka of the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France wondered how astrologers should respond:[4]Should astrologers remove it from the list of luminars [Sun, Moon and the 8 planets other than earth] and confess that it did not actually bring any improvement? If they decide to keep it, what about the growing list of other recently discovered similar bodies (Sedna, Quaoar. etc), some of which even have satellites (Xena, 2003EL61)?[edit]Lack of mechanismAstrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behaviour. 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."[68] In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[52] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur: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.[52][69]Astronomer Carl Sagan declined to sign the statement. Sagan said he took this stance not because he thought astrology had any validity, but because he thought that the tone of the statement was authoritarian, and that dismissing astrology because there was no mechanism (while "certainly a relevant point") was not in itself convincing. In a letter published in a follow-up edition of The Humanist, Sagan confirmed that he would have been willing to sign such a statement had it described and refuted the principal tenets of astrological belief. This, he argued, would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.[70]Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientific.[71] Some of these astrologers have proposed conventional causal agents such as electromagnetism and gravity.[71][72] Scientists dismiss these mechanisms as implausible[71] since, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.[72] Other astrologers prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[73][dubious – discuss] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination.[74]:xxii Carl Jung sought to invoke synchronicity to explain results on astrology from a single study he conducted, where no statistically significant results were observed. Sychronicity itself is considered to be neither testable nor falsifiable.[75] The study was subsequently heavily criticised for its non-random sample and its use of statistics and also its lack of consistency with astrology.[d][76][edit]Carlson's experimentAcross several centuries of testing, the predictions of astrology have never been more accurate than that expected by chance alone.[51] One approach used in testing astrology quantitatively is through blind experiment. When specific predictions from astrologers were tested in rigorous experimental procedures in the Carlson test, the predictions were falsified.[4]The Shawn Carlson's double-blind chart matching tests, in which 28 astrologers agreed to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test, is one of the most renowned tests of astrology.[77][78] The experimental protocol used in Carlson's study was agreed to by a group of physicists and astrologers prior to the experiment.[4] Astrologers, nominated by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, acted as the astrological advisors, and helped to ensure, and agreed, that the test was fair.[78]:117[79]:420 They also chose 26 of the 28 astrologers for the tests, the other 2 being interested astrologers who volunteered afterwards.[79]:420 The astrologers came from Europe and the United States.[78]:117 The astrologers helped to draw up the central proposition of natal astrology to be tested.[79]:419 Published in Nature in 1985, the study found that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".[79][edit]Gauquelin's researchMain article: Mars effectThe 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][80]In 1955, astrologer, and psychologist Michel Gauquelin stated 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.[80] The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".[81] A study conducted by seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence, and attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.[82]Geoffrey Dean has suggested that the effect 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 find 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.[78]:116[edit]Theological viewpointsSee also: Christianity and astrology, Jewish views on astrology, and Muslim views on astrologySome of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.[83]For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' RisÄÂla fÄ« ibá¹ÂÄÂl aḥkÄÂm al-nojÅ«m, 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.[84] 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.[85]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.[86] 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 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]?â€â€Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya[87� ]Belief in astrology is incompatible with Catholic beliefs[88] such as free will.[89] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the

phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.[90]â€â€Catechism of the Catholic Churc� hSt. Augustine believed that astrology conflicted with church doctrine, but he grounded his opposition with non-theological reasons such as the failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although are conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time.[89][edit]See alsoList of astrological traditions, types, and systems[edit]Notes^ The level of confidence was self rated by the astrologers themselves.^ Also discussed in Martens, Ronny; Trachet, Tim (1998). Making sense of astrology. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573922188.^ see Heuristics in judgment and decision making^ Jung made the claims, despite being aware that there was no statistical significance in the results. Looking for coincidences post hoc is of very dubious value, see Misuse_of_statistics#Data_dredging.[75][edit]References^ 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.^ Kassell, Lauren (5 May 2010). "Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 1100–1800". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (2): 67–69. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.001.^ "Astrology - Astrology in modern times". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 October 2012.^ a b c d e f g Zarka, Philippe (2011). "Astronomy and astrology". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 5 (S260): 420–425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602.^ 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 0521343542.^ Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1. Dordrecht u.a.: Reidel u.a.. 1978. 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 pseudoscientific 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 affect 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-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."^ Harper, Douglas. "astrology". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by

17c. this word was limited to "reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.""^ "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 affairs, and thus gradually limited by 17th cent. to the reputed influences of the stars, unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare."^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica,' v.5, 1974, p. 916^ Dietrich, Thomas: 'The Origin of Culture and Civilization, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, 2005, p. 305^ Dictionary of the history of ideas. New York: Scribner. 1974. ISBN 0-684-13293-1.^ James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.^ Hone, Margaret (1978). The Modern Text-Book of Astrology. Romford, U.K.: L. N. Fowler & Co. Ltd.. pp. 21–89. ISBN 0852433573.^ Riske, Kris (2007). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology. Minnesota, USA: Llewellyn Publications. pp. 5–6; 27. ISBN 978-0-7387-1071-6.^ Luhrmann, Tanya (1991). Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.^ Pingree, David (18). "Indian Astronomy". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society 122 (6): 361–364. Retrieved 4 August 2012.^ a b Pingree, David (June 1963). "Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran". Isis. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society 54 (2): 229–246.^ a b The Chinese sky during the Han : constellating stars and society. Leiden: Brill. 1997. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.^ F. Richard Stephenson, "Chinese Roots of Modern Astronomy", New Scientist, 26 June 1980. See also 二åÂÂ八宿的å½Â� �¢Ã¦Ë†Â与æ¼â€Ã¥ÂË� � � œ^ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp2-8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005^ Selin, Helaine, ed. (1997). "Astrology in China". Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer. Retrieved July 22, 2012.^ "à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¹Æ’หม่ à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸Å¡Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢ ทางโหราศาสตร์ไทย à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸ÂµÃ Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â©Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â€¢Ã Â¸Â£ โหราศาสตร์ à¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â¹Ã Â¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â§Ã Â¸â€¡ ทำนายทายทัà¸Â"� .^ Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The

medieval and modern worlds. (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.]: Continuum.. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.^ Marshack, Alexander (1991). The roots of civilization : the cognitive beginnings of man's first art, symbol and notation (Rev. and expanded. ed.). Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Moyer Bell. ISBN 978-1-55921-041-6.^ Evelyn-White, Hesiod ; with an English translation by Hugh G. (1977). The Homeric hymns and Homerica (Reprinted. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 663–677. 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"^ Aveni, David H. Kelley, Eugene F. Milone ; foreword by Anthony F. (2005). Exploring ancient skies an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (Online-Ausg. ed.). New York: Springer. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-387-95310-6.^ Two texts which 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.^ From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 – VI 13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 2, 1–3. Gütersloh, 1986–1991. Also quoted in A. Falkenstein, ‘Wahrsagung in der sumerischen Überlieferung’, La divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et dans les régions voisines. Paris, 1966.^ Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (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.^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.3. France:Hadean Press^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.43-45. France:Hadean Press^ a b c Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1.

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its

academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.[4]:424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.[5]:249[6]Contents [hide] 1 Etymology2 Principles and practice2.1 Western2.2 Indian and South Asian2.3 Chinese and East-Asian3 History3.1 Ancient world3.2 Medieval Islamic world3.3 Early Modern3.4 Since 19004 Scientific appraisal4.1 Perspectives from psychology4.2 Lack of consistency4.3 Lack of mechanism4.4 Carlson's experiment4.5 Gauquelin's research5 Theological viewpoints6 See also7 Notes8 References9 Further reading10 External links[edit]EtymologyMarcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia,[7] deriving from the Greek noun á¼€ÃĀÃÂολογία, 'account of � �the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.[8][edit]Principles and practiceRobert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosmAdvocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination.[9][10]Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.[edit]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.[11] It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points.[12]Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic) and by their aspects (angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky).[13] Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart.[14] The names of the zodiac correspond to the names of the constellations originally within the respective segment and are in Latin.[citation needed]Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.[15]Page from an Astrological Treatise, ca. 1750[edit]Indian and South AsianFor more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.Hindu astrology originated with western astrology.[16]:361 In the earliest Indian astronomy texts, the year was believed to be 360 days long, similar to that of Babylonian astrology, but the rest of the early astrological system bears little resemblance.[17]:229 Later, the Indian techniques were augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.[17]:231[edit]Chinese and East-AsianFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.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 (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.[18]:22,85,176The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sÄÂn �yuán), and Twenty-eight Mansions (二åÂÂ八宿 èrshÃÂ� � -bÄ xiù) in twelve Ci (Ã¥ÂÂ二æ� � � ¬¡).[19] The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different 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.[20] 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 (simplified Chinese: 紫微斗数; traditional Chinese: 紫微斗數; pinyin:

zÇÂwÄ“idÇ’ushù) are still used regularly in modern day Chinese �astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.[21]The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[22][edit]HistoryMain article: History of astrology[edit]Ancient worldFor more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[23]:2,3 Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[24]:81ff Agricultural needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[25][verification needed] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[26]There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).[27] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144–2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[28] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950–1651 BCE).The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[18]:3,4[edit]Medieval Islamic worldFor more details on this topic, see Astrology in medieval Islam.Latin translation of AbÅ« MaÊ¿shar's De Magnis Coniunctionibus (Ã

¢â‚¬ËœOf the great conjunctions’), Venice, 1515.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 (754–775) 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 ‘Storehouse 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,[29] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the Latin translations of the 12th century, the effect of which was to help initiate the European Renaissance.[edit]Early ModernBy the 17th century, in England, astrology had reached its zenith.[30] Astrologers were theorists, researchers, and social engineers, as well as providing individual advice to everyone from monarchs downwards. Among other things, astrologers could advise on the best time to take a journey or harvest a crop, diagnose and prescribe for physical or mental illnesses, and predict natural disasters. This underpinned a system in which everything - people, the world, the universe - was understood to be interconnected, and astrology co-existed happily with religion, magic and science.[31][edit]Since 1900Main article: Cultural influence of astrologyAstrology saw a popular revival from the nineteenth century as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy[32]:239-249, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes[32]:259-263 and astrology software. Early in the twentieth century psychologist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology,[33] which led to the development of psychological astrology.[32]:251-256[34][35]In the West there have been occasional reports of political leaders consulting astrologers. Louis de Wohl worked as an astrologer for the British intelligence agency MI5, after it was claimed that Hitler used astrology to time his actions. The War Office was "interested to know what Hitler's own astrologers would be telling him from week to week".[36] In fact de Wohl's predictions were so inaccurate that he was soon labelled a "complete charlatan" and it was later shown that Hitler considered astrology to be "complete nonsense".[37] After John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, first 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 staff, Donald Regan.[38]Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic astrology.[39][40] Indian politics has also been influenced by astrology.[41] It remains considered a branch of the Vedanga.[42][43] In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,[44] resulting in permission for Indian universities to offer courses

in Vedic astrology.[45] In February 2011, the Bombay High Court reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case which had challenged its status as a science.[46]In Japan, a strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years of "Fire Horse". Women born in hinoeuma years are believed to be unmarriageable and to 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.[47][48][edit]Scientific appraisalAstrology is a pseudoscience[49][50]:1350 that has not demonstrated its effectiveness in controlled studies and has no scientific validity.[4][51]:85 The majority of professional astrologers rely on performing astrology-based personality tests and making relevant predictions about the remunerators future.[51]:83 Those who continue to have faith in astrology have been characterized as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary".[52] Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on astrological belief, saying that "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".[53]The former astrologer, and scientist, Geoffrey Dean and psychologist Ivan Kelly[54] conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, but found no support for astrology.[55] Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted pooling 40 studies consisting of 700 astrologers and over 1,000 birth charts. Ten of the tests, which had a total of 300 participants, involved subjects picking the correct chart interpretation out of a number of others which were not the astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually 3 to 5 others). When the date and other obvious clues were removed no significant results were found to suggest there was any preferred chart.[55]:190 A further test involved 45 confident[a] astrologers, with an average of 10 years experience and 160 participants (out of an original sample size of 1198 participants) who strongly favoured certain characteristics in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to extremes.[55]:191 The astrologers performed much worse than merely basing decisions off the individuals age, and much worse than 45 control subjects who did not use birth charts at all.[b][55]:191Science and non-science are often distinguished by the criterion of falsifiability. The criterion was first proposed by philosopher of science Karl Popper. To Popper, science does not rely on induction, instead scientific investigations are inherently attempts to falsify existing theories through novel tests. If a single test fails, then the theory is falsified. Therefore, any test of a scientific theory must prohibit certain results which will falsify the theory, and expect other specific results which will be consistent with the theory. Using this criterion of falsifiability, astrology is a pseudoscience.[56] Popper regarded astrology as "pseudo-empirical" in that "it appeals to observation and experiment", but "nevertheless does not come up to scientific standards".[57]:44In 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. Adorno concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation of systematic irrationalism, where individuals were subtly being led

to believe that the author of the column was addressing them directly through the use of flattery and vague generalizations.[58][edit]Perspectives from psychologySee also: Forer effectIt has also been suggested that confirmation bias could be a psychological factor that contributes to belief in astrology.[59]:344[60]:180-181[61]:42-48 Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias.[c][62]:553 From the literature, Astrology believers often tend to selectively remember those predictions which have turned out to be true, and don't remember those predictions which happen to be false. Another, separate, form of confirmation bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinguish between messages that demonstrate special ability and those which do not.[60]:180-181 Thus there are two distinct forms of confirmation bias that are under study with respect to astrological belief.[60]:180-181The Barnum effect is where people accept unclear expositions of their personality if there is the appearance of some complex process in the derivation of the personality profile. If more information is requested for a prediction, the more accepting people are of the results.[59]:344 In 1949 Bertram Forer conducted a personality test on students in his classroom.[59]:344 While seemingly giving the students individualized results, he instead gave each student exactly the same sheet that discussed their personality. The personality descriptions were taken from a book on Astrology. When the students were asked to comment on the accuracy of the test, more than 40% gave it the top mark of 5 out of 5, and the average rating was 4.2.[63]:134, 135 The results of this study have been replicated in numerous other studies.[64]:382 The study of this Barnum/Forer effect has been mostly focused on the level of acceptance of fake horoscopes and fake astrological personality profiles.[64]:382 Recipients of these personality assessments consistently fail to distinguish common and uncommon personality descriptors.[64]:383 In a study by Paul Rogers and Janice Soule (2009), which was consistent with previous research on the issue, it was found that those who believed in astrology are generally more susceptible to giving more credence to the Barnum profile than skeptics.[64]:393By a process known as self-attribution, it has been shown in numerous studies that individuals with knowledge of astrology tend to describe their personality in terms of traits compatible with their sun sign. The effect is heightened when the individuals were aware the personality description was being used to discuss astrology. Individuals who were not familiar with astrology had no such tendency.[65][edit]Lack of consistencyTesting the validity of astrology can be difficult because there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.[51]: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.[51]:83 Astrologers avoid making verifiable predictions and instead rely on making vague statements which allows them to try to avoid falsification.[57]:48-49Georges Charpak and Henri Broch dealt with claims from astrology in the book Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and other Pseudoscience.[66] They pointed out that astrologers have only a small knowledge of astronomy and that they often do not take into account basic features such as the precession of the equinoxes which would change 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 influence. Charpak and Broch noted that "there is a difference of about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specific date in two successive years" and that thus they should not be under the same influence according to astrology. Over a 40 years period there would be a difference greater than 780,000 miles.[67]The tropical zodiac has no connection to the stars and as long as no claims are made that the constellations themselves are in the associated sign it avoids the issue of precession seemingly moving the constellations.[67] Charpak and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the tropical zodiac as being "empty boxes that have nothing to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency or correspondence with the stars".[67] Sole usage of the tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by the same astrologers, to the Age of Aquarius which is dependent on when the vernal point enters the constellation of Aquarius.[4]Some astrologers make claims that the position of all the planets must be taken into account, but astrologers were unable to predict the existence of Neptune based on mistakes in horoscopes. Instead Neptune was predicted using Newton's law of universal gravitation.[51] The grafting on of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into the astrology discourse was done on an ad-hoc basis.[4]On the demotion of Pluto to the status of dwarf planet, Philip Zarka of the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France wondered how astrologers should respond:[4]Should astrologers remove it from the list of luminars [Sun, Moon and the 8 planets other than earth] and confess that it did not actually bring any improvement? If they decide to keep it, what about the growing list of other recently discovered similar bodies (Sedna, Quaoar. etc), some of which even have satellites (Xena, 2003EL61)?[edit]Lack of mechanismAstrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behaviour. 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."[68] In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[52] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur: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.[52][69]Astronomer Carl Sagan declined to sign the statement. Sagan said he took this stance not because he thought astrology had any validity, but because he thought that the tone of the statement was authoritarian, and that dismissing astrology because there was no mechanism (while "certainly a relevant point")

was not in itself convincing. In a letter published in a follow-up edition of The Humanist, Sagan confirmed that he would have been willing to sign such a statement had it described and refuted the principal tenets of astrological belief. This, he argued, would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.[70]Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientific.[71] Some of these astrologers have proposed conventional causal agents such as electromagnetism and gravity.[71][72] Scientists dismiss these mechanisms as implausible[71] since, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.[72] Other astrologers prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[73][dubious – discuss] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination.[74]:xxii Carl Jung sought to invoke synchronicity to explain results on astrology from a single study he conducted, where no statistically significant results were observed. Sychronicity itself is considered to be neither testable nor falsifiable.[75] The study was subsequently heavily criticised for its non-random sample and its use of statistics and also its lack of consistency with astrology.[d][76][edit]Carlson's experimentAcross several centuries of testing, the predictions of astrology have never been more accurate than that expected by chance alone.[51] One approach used in testing astrology quantitatively is through blind experiment. When specific predictions from astrologers were tested in rigorous experimental procedures in the Carlson test, the predictions were falsified.[4]The Shawn Carlson's double-blind chart matching tests, in which 28 astrologers agreed to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test, is one of the most renowned tests of astrology.[77][78] The experimental protocol used in Carlson's study was agreed to by a group of physicists and astrologers prior to the experiment.[4] Astrologers, nominated by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, acted as the astrological advisors, and helped to ensure, and agreed, that the test was fair.[78]:117[79]:420 They also chose 26 of the 28 astrologers for the tests, the other 2 being interested astrologers who volunteered afterwards.[79]:420 The astrologers came from Europe and the United States.[78]:117 The astrologers helped to draw up the central proposition of natal astrology to be tested.[79]:419 Published in Nature in 1985, the study found that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".[79][edit]Gauquelin's researchMain article: Mars effectThe 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][80]In 1955, astrologer, and psychologist Michel Gauquelin stated 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.[80] The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".[81] A study conducted by

seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence, and attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.[82]Geoffrey Dean has suggested that the effect 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 find 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.[78]:116[edit]Theological viewpointsSee also: Christianity and astrology, Jewish views on astrology, and Muslim views on astrologySome of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.[83]For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' RisÄÂla fÄ« ibá¹ÂÄÂl aḥkÄÂm al-nojÅ«m, 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.[84] 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.[85]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.[86] 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 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]?â€â€Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya[87� ]Belief in astrology is incompatible with Catholic beliefs[88] such as free will.[89] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.[90]â€â€Catechism of the Catholic Churc� hSt. Augustine believed that astrology conflicted with church doctrine, but he grounded his opposition with non-theological reasons such as the failure of

astrology to explain twins who behave differently although are conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time.[89][edit]See alsoList of astrological traditions, types, and systems[edit]Notes^ The level of confidence was self rated by the astrologers themselves.^ Also discussed in Martens, Ronny; Trachet, Tim (1998). Making sense of astrology. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573922188.^ see Heuristics in judgment and decision making^ Jung made the claims, despite being aware that there was no statistical significance in the results. Looking for coincidences post hoc is of very dubious value, see Misuse_of_statistics#Data_dredging.[75][edit]References^ 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.^ Kassell, Lauren (5 May 2010). "Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 1100–1800". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (2): 67–69. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.001.^ "Astrology - Astrology in modern times". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 October 2012.^ a b c d e f g Zarka, Philippe (2011). "Astronomy and astrology". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 5 (S260): 420–425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602.^ 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 0521343542.^ Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1. Dordrecht u.a.: Reidel u.a.. 1978. 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 pseudoscientific 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 affect 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-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."^ Harper, Douglas. "astrology". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by 17c. this word was limited to "reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.""^ "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 affairs, and thus gradually limited by 17th cent. to the

reputed influences of the stars, unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare."^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica,' v.5, 1974, p. 916^ Dietrich, Thomas: 'The Origin of Culture and Civilization, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, 2005, p. 305^ Dictionary of the history of ideas. New York: Scribner. 1974. ISBN 0-684-13293-1.^ James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.^ Hone, Margaret (1978). The Modern Text-Book of Astrology. Romford, U.K.: L. N. Fowler & Co. Ltd.. pp. 21–89. ISBN 0852433573.^ Riske, Kris (2007). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology. Minnesota, USA: Llewellyn Publications. pp. 5–6; 27. ISBN 978-0-7387-1071-6.^ Luhrmann, Tanya (1991). Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.^ Pingree, David (18). "Indian Astronomy". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society 122 (6): 361–364. Retrieved 4 August 2012.^ a b Pingree, David (June 1963). "Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran". Isis. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society 54 (2): 229–246.^ a b The Chinese sky during the Han : constellating stars and society. Leiden: Brill. 1997. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.^ F. Richard Stephenson, "Chinese Roots of Modern Astronomy", New Scientist, 26 June 1980. See also 二åÂÂ八宿的å½Â� �¢Ã¦Ë†Â与æ¼â€Ã¥ÂË� � � œ^ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp2-8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005^ Selin, Helaine, ed. (1997). "Astrology in China". Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer. Retrieved July 22, 2012.^ "à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¹Æ’หม่ à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸Å¡Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢ ทางโหราศาสตร์ไทย à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸ÂµÃ Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â©Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â€¢Ã Â¸Â£ โหราศาสตร์ à¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â¹Ã Â¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â§Ã Â¸â€¡ ทำนายทายทัà¸Â"� .^ Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.]: Continuum.. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.^ Marshack, Alexander (1991). The roots of civilization : the cognitive beginnings of man's first art, symbol and notation (Rev. and expanded. ed.). Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Moyer Bell. ISBN 978-1-55921-041-6.^ Evelyn-White, Hesiod ; with an English translation by Hugh G. (1977). The Homeric hymns and Homerica (Reprinted. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard

University Press. pp. 663–677. 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"^ Aveni, David H. Kelley, Eugene F. Milone ; foreword by Anthony F. (2005). Exploring ancient skies an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (Online-Ausg. ed.). New York: Springer. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-387-95310-6.^ Two texts which 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.^ From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 – VI 13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 2, 1–3. Gütersloh, 1986–1991. Also quoted in A. Falkenstein, ‘Wahrsagung in der sumerischen Überlieferung’, La divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et dans les régions voisines. Paris, 1966.^ Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (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.^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.3. France:Hadean Press^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.43-45. France:Hadean Press^ a b c Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1.

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.

[4]:424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.[5]:249[6]Contents [hide] 1 Etymology2 Principles and practice2.1 Western2.2 Indian and South Asian2.3 Chinese and East-Asian3 History3.1 Ancient world3.2 Medieval Islamic world3.3 Early Modern3.4 Since 19004 Scientific appraisal4.1 Perspectives from psychology4.2 Lack of consistency4.3 Lack of mechanism4.4 Carlson's experiment4.5 Gauquelin's research5 Theological viewpoints6 See also7 Notes8 References9 Further reading10 External links[edit]EtymologyMarcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia,[7] deriving from the Greek noun á¼€ÃĀÃÂολογία, 'account of � � � �the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.[8][edit]Principles and practiceRobert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosmAdvocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination.[9][10]Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.[edit]WesternFor 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.[11] It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points.[12]Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic) and by

their aspects (angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky).[13] Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart.[14] The names of the zodiac correspond to the names of the constellations originally within the respective segment and are in Latin.[citation needed]Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.[15]Page from an Astrological Treatise, ca. 1750[edit]Indian and South AsianFor more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.Hindu astrology originated with western astrology.[16]:361 In the earliest Indian astronomy texts, the year was believed to be 360 days long, similar to that of Babylonian astrology, but the rest of the early astrological system bears little resemblance.[17]:229 Later, the Indian techniques were augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.[17]:231[edit]Chinese and East-AsianFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.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 (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.[18]:22,85,176The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sÄÂn �yuán), and Twenty-eight Mansions (二åÂÂ八宿 èrshÃÂ� � -bÄ xiù) in twelve Ci (Ã¥ÂÂ� � �二次).[19] The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different 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.[20] 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 (simplified Chinese: 紫微斗数; traditional Chinese: 紫微斗數; pinyin: zÇÂwÄ“idÇ’ushù) are still used regularly in modern day Chinese �astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.[21]The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but

at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[22][edit]HistoryMain article: History of astrology[edit]Ancient worldFor more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[23]:2,3 Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[24]:81ff Agricultural needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[25][verification needed] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[26]There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).[27] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144–2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[28] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950–1651 BCE).The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[18]:3,4[edit]Medieval Islamic worldFor more details on this topic, see Astrology in medieval Islam.Latin translation of Abū Maʿshar's De Magnis Coniunctionibus (‘Of the great conjunctions’), Venice, 1515.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 (754–775) 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 ‘Storehouse 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,[29] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the Latin translations of the 12th century, the effect of which was to help initiate the European Renaissance.[edit]Early ModernBy the 17th century, in England, astrology had reached its zenith.[30] Astrologers were theorists, researchers, and social engineers, as well as providing individual advice to everyone from monarchs downwards. Among other things, astrologers could advise on the best time to take a journey or harvest a crop, diagnose and prescribe for physical or mental illnesses, and predict natural disasters. This underpinned a system in which everything - people, the world, the universe - was understood to be interconnected, and astrology co-existed happily with religion, magic and science.[31][edit]Since 1900Main article: Cultural influence of astrologyAstrology saw a popular revival from the nineteenth century as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy[32]:239-249, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes[32]:259-263 and astrology software. Early in the twentieth century psychologist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology,[33] which led to the development of psychological astrology.[32]:251-256[34][35]In the West there have been occasional reports of political leaders consulting astrologers. Louis de Wohl worked as an astrologer for the British intelligence agency MI5, after it was claimed that Hitler used astrology to time his actions. The War Office was "interested to know what Hitler's own astrologers would be telling him from week to week".[36] In fact de Wohl's predictions were so inaccurate that he was soon labelled a "complete charlatan" and it was later shown that Hitler considered astrology to be "complete nonsense".[37] After John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, first 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 staff, Donald Regan.[38]Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic astrology.[39][40] Indian politics has also been influenced by astrology.[41] It remains considered a branch of the Vedanga.[42][43] In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,[44] resulting in permission for Indian universities to offer courses in Vedic astrology.[45] In February 2011, the Bombay High Court reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case which had challenged its status as a science.[46]In Japan, a strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years of "Fire Horse". Women born in hinoeuma years are believed to be unmarriageable and to 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.[47][48][edit]Scientific appraisalAstrology is a pseudoscience[49][50]:1350 that has not demonstrated its effectiveness in controlled studies and has no scientific validity.[4][51]:85 The majority of professional astrologers rely on performing astrology-based personality tests and making relevant predictions about the remunerators future.[51]:83 Those who continue to have faith in astrology have been characterized as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary".[52] Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on astrological belief, saying that "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".[53]The former astrologer, and scientist, Geoffrey Dean and psychologist Ivan Kelly[54] conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, but found no support for astrology.[55] Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted pooling 40 studies consisting of 700 astrologers and over 1,000 birth charts. Ten of the tests, which had a total of 300 participants, involved subjects picking the correct chart interpretation out of a number of others which were not the astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually 3 to 5 others). When the date and other obvious clues were removed no significant results were found to suggest there was any preferred chart.[55]:190 A further test involved 45 confident[a] astrologers, with an average of 10 years experience and 160 participants (out of an original sample size of 1198 participants) who strongly favoured certain characteristics in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to extremes.[55]:191 The astrologers performed much worse than merely basing decisions off the individuals age, and much worse than 45 control subjects who did not use birth charts at all.[b][55]:191Science and non-science are often distinguished by the criterion of falsifiability. The criterion was first proposed by philosopher of science Karl Popper. To Popper, science does not rely on induction, instead scientific investigations are inherently attempts to falsify existing theories through novel tests. If a single test fails, then the theory is falsified. Therefore, any test of a scientific theory must prohibit certain results which will falsify the theory, and expect other specific results which will be consistent with the theory. Using this criterion of falsifiability, astrology is a pseudoscience.[56] Popper regarded astrology as "pseudo-empirical" in that "it appeals to observation and experiment", but "nevertheless does not come up to scientific standards".[57]:44In 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. Adorno concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation of systematic irrationalism, where individuals were subtly being led to believe that the author of the column was addressing them directly through the use of flattery and vague generalizations.[58][edit]Perspectives from psychologySee also: Forer effectIt has also been suggested that confirmation bias could be a psychological factor that contributes to belief in astrology.[59]:344[60]:180-181[61]:42-48 Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias.[c][62]:553 From the literature,

Astrology believers often tend to selectively remember those predictions which have turned out to be true, and don't remember those predictions which happen to be false. Another, separate, form of confirmation bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinguish between messages that demonstrate special ability and those which do not.[60]:180-181 Thus there are two distinct forms of confirmation bias that are under study with respect to astrological belief.[60]:180-181The Barnum effect is where people accept unclear expositions of their personality if there is the appearance of some complex process in the derivation of the personality profile. If more information is requested for a prediction, the more accepting people are of the results.[59]:344 In 1949 Bertram Forer conducted a personality test on students in his classroom.[59]:344 While seemingly giving the students individualized results, he instead gave each student exactly the same sheet that discussed their personality. The personality descriptions were taken from a book on Astrology. When the students were asked to comment on the accuracy of the test, more than 40% gave it the top mark of 5 out of 5, and the average rating was 4.2.[63]:134, 135 The results of this study have been replicated in numerous other studies.[64]:382 The study of this Barnum/Forer effect has been mostly focused on the level of acceptance of fake horoscopes and fake astrological personality profiles.[64]:382 Recipients of these personality assessments consistently fail to distinguish common and uncommon personality descriptors.[64]:383 In a study by Paul Rogers and Janice Soule (2009), which was consistent with previous research on the issue, it was found that those who believed in astrology are generally more susceptible to giving more credence to the Barnum profile than skeptics.[64]:393By a process known as self-attribution, it has been shown in numerous studies that individuals with knowledge of astrology tend to describe their personality in terms of traits compatible with their sun sign. The effect is heightened when the individuals were aware the personality description was being used to discuss astrology. Individuals who were not familiar with astrology had no such tendency.[65][edit]Lack of consistencyTesting the validity of astrology can be difficult because there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.[51]: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.[51]:83 Astrologers avoid making verifiable predictions and instead rely on making vague statements which allows them to try to avoid falsification.[57]:48-49Georges Charpak and Henri Broch dealt with claims from astrology in the book Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and other Pseudoscience.[66] They pointed out that astrologers have only a small knowledge of astronomy and that they often do not take into account basic features such as the precession of the equinoxes which would change 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 influence. Charpak and Broch noted that "there is a difference of about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specific date in two successive years" and that thus they should not be under the same influence according to astrology. Over a 40 years period there would be a difference

greater than 780,000 miles.[67]The tropical zodiac has no connection to the stars and as long as no claims are made that the constellations themselves are in the associated sign it avoids the issue of precession seemingly moving the constellations.[67] Charpak and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the tropical zodiac as being "empty boxes that have nothing to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency or correspondence with the stars".[67] Sole usage of the tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by the same astrologers, to the Age of Aquarius which is dependent on when the vernal point enters the constellation of Aquarius.[4]Some astrologers make claims that the position of all the planets must be taken into account, but astrologers were unable to predict the existence of Neptune based on mistakes in horoscopes. Instead Neptune was predicted using Newton's law of universal gravitation.[51] The grafting on of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into the astrology discourse was done on an ad-hoc basis.[4]On the demotion of Pluto to the status of dwarf planet, Philip Zarka of the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France wondered how astrologers should respond:[4]Should astrologers remove it from the list of luminars [Sun, Moon and the 8 planets other than earth] and confess that it did not actually bring any improvement? If they decide to keep it, what about the growing list of other recently discovered similar bodies (Sedna, Quaoar. etc), some of which even have satellites (Xena, 2003EL61)?[edit]Lack of mechanismAstrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behaviour. 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."[68] In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[52] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur: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.[52][69]Astronomer Carl Sagan declined to sign the statement. Sagan said he took this stance not because he thought astrology had any validity, but because he thought that the tone of the statement was authoritarian, and that dismissing astrology because there was no mechanism (while "certainly a relevant point") was not in itself convincing. In a letter published in a follow-up edition of The Humanist, Sagan confirmed that he would have been willing to sign such a statement had it described and refuted the principal tenets of astrological belief. This, he argued, would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.[70]Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientific.[71] Some of these astrologers have proposed conventional causal agents such as electromagnetism and

gravity.[71][72] Scientists dismiss these mechanisms as implausible[71] since, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.[72] Other astrologers prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[73][dubious – discuss] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination.[74]:xxii Carl Jung sought to invoke synchronicity to explain results on astrology from a single study he conducted, where no statistically significant results were observed. Sychronicity itself is considered to be neither testable nor falsifiable.[75] The study was subsequently heavily criticised for its non-random sample and its use of statistics and also its lack of consistency with astrology.[d][76][edit]Carlson's experimentAcross several centuries of testing, the predictions of astrology have never been more accurate than that expected by chance alone.[51] One approach used in testing astrology quantitatively is through blind experiment. When specific predictions from astrologers were tested in rigorous experimental procedures in the Carlson test, the predictions were falsified.[4]The Shawn Carlson's double-blind chart matching tests, in which 28 astrologers agreed to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test, is one of the most renowned tests of astrology.[77][78] The experimental protocol used in Carlson's study was agreed to by a group of physicists and astrologers prior to the experiment.[4] Astrologers, nominated by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, acted as the astrological advisors, and helped to ensure, and agreed, that the test was fair.[78]:117[79]:420 They also chose 26 of the 28 astrologers for the tests, the other 2 being interested astrologers who volunteered afterwards.[79]:420 The astrologers came from Europe and the United States.[78]:117 The astrologers helped to draw up the central proposition of natal astrology to be tested.[79]:419 Published in Nature in 1985, the study found that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".[79][edit]Gauquelin's researchMain article: Mars effectThe 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][80]In 1955, astrologer, and psychologist Michel Gauquelin stated 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.[80] The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".[81] A study conducted by seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence, and attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.[82]Geoffrey Dean has suggested that the effect 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 find 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.[78]:116[edit]Theological viewpointsSee also: Christianity and astrology, Jewish views on astrology, and Muslim views on astrologySome of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.[83]For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' RisÄÂla fÄ« ibá¹ÂÄÂl aḥkÄÂm al-nojÅ«m, 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.[84] 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.[85]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.[86] 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 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]?â€â€Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya[87� ]Belief in astrology is incompatible with Catholic beliefs[88] such as free will.[89] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.[90]â€â€Catechism of the Catholic Churc� hSt. Augustine believed that astrology conflicted with church doctrine, but he grounded his opposition with non-theological reasons such as the failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although are conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time.[89][edit]See alsoList of astrological traditions, types, and systems[edit]Notes^ The level of confidence was self rated by the astrologers themselves.^ Also discussed in Martens, Ronny; Trachet, Tim (1998). Making sense of

astrology. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573922188.^ see Heuristics in judgment and decision making^ Jung made the claims, despite being aware that there was no statistical significance in the results. Looking for coincidences post hoc is of very dubious value, see Misuse_of_statistics#Data_dredging.[75][edit]References^ 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.^ Kassell, Lauren (5 May 2010). "Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 1100–1800". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (2): 67–69. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.001.^ "Astrology - Astrology in modern times". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 October 2012.^ a b c d e f g Zarka, Philippe (2011). "Astronomy and astrology". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 5 (S260): 420–425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602.^ 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 0521343542.^ Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1. Dordrecht u.a.: Reidel u.a.. 1978. 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 pseudoscientific 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 affect 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-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."^ Harper, Douglas. "astrology". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by 17c. this word was limited to "reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.""^ "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 affairs, and thus gradually limited by 17th cent. to the reputed influences of the stars, unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare."^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica,' v.5, 1974, p. 916^ Dietrich, Thomas: 'The Origin of Culture and Civilization, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, 2005, p. 305^ Dictionary of the history of ideas. New York: Scribner. 1974. ISBN 0-684-13293-1.^ James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly

Influences. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.^ Hone, Margaret (1978). The Modern Text-Book of Astrology. Romford, U.K.: L. N. Fowler & Co. Ltd.. pp. 21–89. ISBN 0852433573.^ Riske, Kris (2007). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology. Minnesota, USA: Llewellyn Publications. pp. 5–6; 27. ISBN 978-0-7387-1071-6.^ Luhrmann, Tanya (1991). Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.^ Pingree, David (18). "Indian Astronomy". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society 122 (6): 361–364. Retrieved 4 August 2012.^ a b Pingree, David (June 1963). "Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran". Isis. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society 54 (2): 229–246.^ a b The Chinese sky during the Han : constellating stars and society. Leiden: Brill. 1997. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.^ F. Richard Stephenson, "Chinese Roots of Modern Astronomy", New Scientist, 26 June 1980. See also 二åÂÂ八宿的å½Â� �¢Ã¦Ë†Â与æ¼â€Ã¥ÂË� � � œ^ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp2-8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005^ Selin, Helaine, ed. (1997). "Astrology in China". Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer. Retrieved July 22, 2012.^ "à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¹Æ’หม่ à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸Å¡Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢ ทางโหราศาสตร์ไทย à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸ÂµÃ Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â©Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â€¢Ã Â¸Â£ โหราศาสตร์ à¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â¹Ã Â¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â§Ã Â¸â€¡ ทำนายทายทัà¸Â"� .^ Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.]: Continuum.. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.^ Marshack, Alexander (1991). The roots of civilization : the cognitive beginnings of man's first art, symbol and notation (Rev. and expanded. ed.). Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Moyer Bell. ISBN 978-1-55921-041-6.^ Evelyn-White, Hesiod ; with an English translation by Hugh G. (1977). The Homeric hymns and Homerica (Reprinted. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 663–677. 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"^ Aveni, David H. Kelley, Eugene F. Milone ; foreword by Anthony F. (2005). Exploring ancient skies an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (Online-

Ausg. ed.). New York: Springer. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-387-95310-6.^ Two texts which 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.^ From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 – VI 13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 2, 1–3. Gütersloh, 1986–1991. Also quoted in A. Falkenstein, ‘Wahrsagung in der sumerischen Überlieferung’, La divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et dans les régions voisines. Paris, 1966.^ Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (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.^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.3. France:Hadean Press^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.43-45. France:Hadean Press^ a b c Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1.

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.[4]:424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.[5]:249[6]Contents [hide] 1 Etymology2 Principles and practice

2.1 Western2.2 Indian and South Asian2.3 Chinese and East-Asian3 History3.1 Ancient world3.2 Medieval Islamic world3.3 Early Modern3.4 Since 19004 Scientific appraisal4.1 Perspectives from psychology4.2 Lack of consistency4.3 Lack of mechanism4.4 Carlson's experiment4.5 Gauquelin's research5 Theological viewpoints6 See also7 Notes8 References9 Further reading10 External links[edit]EtymologyMarcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia,[7] deriving from the Greek noun á¼€ÃĀÃÂολογία, 'account of � �the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.[8][edit]Principles and practiceRobert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosmAdvocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination.[9][10]Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.[edit]WesternFor 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.[11] It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points.[12]Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic) and by their aspects (angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky).[13] Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart.[14] The names of the zodiac correspond to the names of the constellations originally within the respective

segment and are in Latin.[citation needed]Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.[15]Page from an Astrological Treatise, ca. 1750[edit]Indian and South AsianFor more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.Hindu astrology originated with western astrology.[16]:361 In the earliest Indian astronomy texts, the year was believed to be 360 days long, similar to that of Babylonian astrology, but the rest of the early astrological system bears little resemblance.[17]:229 Later, the Indian techniques were augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.[17]:231[edit]Chinese and East-AsianFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.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 (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.[18]:22,85,176The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sÄÂn �yuán), and Twenty-eight Mansions (二åÂÂå…Â� � «Ã¥Â®Â¿ èrshÃÂ-bÄ xiù) in twelve Ci (Ã¥ÂÂ二次).[19] The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different 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.[20] 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 (simplified Chinese: 紫微斗数; traditional Chinese: 紫微斗數; pinyin: zÇÂwÄ“idÇ’ushù) are still used regularly in mod� ern day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.[21]The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[22][edit]HistoryMain article: History of astrology[edit]Ancient world

For more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[23]:2,3 Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[24]:81ff Agricultural needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[25][verification needed] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[26]There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).[27] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144–2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[28] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950–1651 BCE).The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[18]:3,4[edit]Medieval Islamic worldFor more details on this topic, see Astrology in medieval Islam.Latin translation of Abū Maʿshar's De Magnis Coniunctionibus (‘Of the great conjunctions’), Venice, 1515.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 (754–775) 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 ‘Storehouse 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,[29] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the Latin translations of the 12th

century, the effect of which was to help initiate the European Renaissance.[edit]Early ModernBy the 17th century, in England, astrology had reached its zenith.[30] Astrologers were theorists, researchers, and social engineers, as well as providing individual advice to everyone from monarchs downwards. Among other things, astrologers could advise on the best time to take a journey or harvest a crop, diagnose and prescribe for physical or mental illnesses, and predict natural disasters. This underpinned a system in which everything - people, the world, the universe - was understood to be interconnected, and astrology co-existed happily with religion, magic and science.[31][edit]Since 1900Main article: Cultural influence of astrologyAstrology saw a popular revival from the nineteenth century as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy[32]:239-249, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes[32]:259-263 and astrology software. Early in the twentieth century psychologist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology,[33] which led to the development of psychological astrology.[32]:251-256[34][35]In the West there have been occasional reports of political leaders consulting astrologers. Louis de Wohl worked as an astrologer for the British intelligence agency MI5, after it was claimed that Hitler used astrology to time his actions. The War Office was "interested to know what Hitler's own astrologers would be telling him from week to week".[36] In fact de Wohl's predictions were so inaccurate that he was soon labelled a "complete charlatan" and it was later shown that Hitler considered astrology to be "complete nonsense".[37] After John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, first 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 staff, Donald Regan.[38]Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic astrology.[39][40] Indian politics has also been influenced by astrology.[41] It remains considered a branch of the Vedanga.[42][43] In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,[44] resulting in permission for Indian universities to offer courses in Vedic astrology.[45] In February 2011, the Bombay High Court reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case which had challenged its status as a science.[46]In Japan, a strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years of "Fire Horse". Women born in hinoeuma years are believed to be unmarriageable and to 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.[47][48][edit]Scientific appraisalAstrology is a pseudoscience[49][50]:1350 that has not demonstrated its effectiveness in controlled studies and has no scientific validity.[4][51]:85 The majority of professional astrologers rely on performing astrology-based

personality tests and making relevant predictions about the remunerators future.[51]:83 Those who continue to have faith in astrology have been characterized as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary".[52] Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on astrological belief, saying that "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".[53]The former astrologer, and scientist, Geoffrey Dean and psychologist Ivan Kelly[54] conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, but found no support for astrology.[55] Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted pooling 40 studies consisting of 700 astrologers and over 1,000 birth charts. Ten of the tests, which had a total of 300 participants, involved subjects picking the correct chart interpretation out of a number of others which were not the astrologically correct chart interpretation (usually 3 to 5 others). When the date and other obvious clues were removed no significant results were found to suggest there was any preferred chart.[55]:190 A further test involved 45 confident[a] astrologers, with an average of 10 years experience and 160 participants (out of an original sample size of 1198 participants) who strongly favoured certain characteristics in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to extremes.[55]:191 The astrologers performed much worse than merely basing decisions off the individuals age, and much worse than 45 control subjects who did not use birth charts at all.[b][55]:191Science and non-science are often distinguished by the criterion of falsifiability. The criterion was first proposed by philosopher of science Karl Popper. To Popper, science does not rely on induction, instead scientific investigations are inherently attempts to falsify existing theories through novel tests. If a single test fails, then the theory is falsified. Therefore, any test of a scientific theory must prohibit certain results which will falsify the theory, and expect other specific results which will be consistent with the theory. Using this criterion of falsifiability, astrology is a pseudoscience.[56] Popper regarded astrology as "pseudo-empirical" in that "it appeals to observation and experiment", but "nevertheless does not come up to scientific standards".[57]:44In 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. Adorno concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation of systematic irrationalism, where individuals were subtly being led to believe that the author of the column was addressing them directly through the use of flattery and vague generalizations.[58][edit]Perspectives from psychologySee also: Forer effectIt has also been suggested that confirmation bias could be a psychological factor that contributes to belief in astrology.[59]:344[60]:180-181[61]:42-48 Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias.[c][62]:553 From the literature, Astrology believers often tend to selectively remember those predictions which have turned out to be true, and don't remember those predictions which happen to be false. Another, separate, form of confirmation bias also plays a role, where believers often fail to distinguish between messages that demonstrate special ability and those which do not.[60]:180-181 Thus there are two distinct forms of confirmation bias that are under study with respect to astrological belief.

[60]:180-181The Barnum effect is where people accept unclear expositions of their personality if there is the appearance of some complex process in the derivation of the personality profile. If more information is requested for a prediction, the more accepting people are of the results.[59]:344 In 1949 Bertram Forer conducted a personality test on students in his classroom.[59]:344 While seemingly giving the students individualized results, he instead gave each student exactly the same sheet that discussed their personality. The personality descriptions were taken from a book on Astrology. When the students were asked to comment on the accuracy of the test, more than 40% gave it the top mark of 5 out of 5, and the average rating was 4.2.[63]:134, 135 The results of this study have been replicated in numerous other studies.[64]:382 The study of this Barnum/Forer effect has been mostly focused on the level of acceptance of fake horoscopes and fake astrological personality profiles.[64]:382 Recipients of these personality assessments consistently fail to distinguish common and uncommon personality descriptors.[64]:383 In a study by Paul Rogers and Janice Soule (2009), which was consistent with previous research on the issue, it was found that those who believed in astrology are generally more susceptible to giving more credence to the Barnum profile than skeptics.[64]:393By a process known as self-attribution, it has been shown in numerous studies that individuals with knowledge of astrology tend to describe their personality in terms of traits compatible with their sun sign. The effect is heightened when the individuals were aware the personality description was being used to discuss astrology. Individuals who were not familiar with astrology had no such tendency.[65][edit]Lack of consistencyTesting the validity of astrology can be difficult because there is no consensus amongst astrologers as to what astrology is or what it can predict.[51]: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.[51]:83 Astrologers avoid making verifiable predictions and instead rely on making vague statements which allows them to try to avoid falsification.[57]:48-49Georges Charpak and Henri Broch dealt with claims from astrology in the book Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and other Pseudoscience.[66] They pointed out that astrologers have only a small knowledge of astronomy and that they often do not take into account basic features such as the precession of the equinoxes which would change 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 influence. Charpak and Broch noted that "there is a difference of about twenty-two thousand miles between Earth's location on any specific date in two successive years" and that thus they should not be under the same influence according to astrology. Over a 40 years period there would be a difference greater than 780,000 miles.[67]The tropical zodiac has no connection to the stars and as long as no claims are made that the constellations themselves are in the associated sign it avoids the issue of precession seemingly moving the constellations.[67] Charpak and Broch, noting this, referred to astrology based on the tropical zodiac as being "empty boxes that have nothing to do with anything and are devoid of any consistency or

correspondence with the stars".[67] Sole usage of the tropical zodiac is inconsistent with references made, by the same astrologers, to the Age of Aquarius which is dependent on when the vernal point enters the constellation of Aquarius.[4]Some astrologers make claims that the position of all the planets must be taken into account, but astrologers were unable to predict the existence of Neptune based on mistakes in horoscopes. Instead Neptune was predicted using Newton's law of universal gravitation.[51] The grafting on of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into the astrology discourse was done on an ad-hoc basis.[4]On the demotion of Pluto to the status of dwarf planet, Philip Zarka of the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France wondered how astrologers should respond:[4]Should astrologers remove it from the list of luminars [Sun, Moon and the 8 planets other than earth] and confess that it did not actually bring any improvement? If they decide to keep it, what about the growing list of other recently discovered similar bodies (Sedna, Quaoar. etc), some of which even have satellites (Xena, 2003EL61)?[edit]Lack of mechanismAstrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behaviour. 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."[68] In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[52] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur: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.[52][69]Astronomer Carl Sagan declined to sign the statement. Sagan said he took this stance not because he thought astrology had any validity, but because he thought that the tone of the statement was authoritarian, and that dismissing astrology because there was no mechanism (while "certainly a relevant point") was not in itself convincing. In a letter published in a follow-up edition of The Humanist, Sagan confirmed that he would have been willing to sign such a statement had it described and refuted the principal tenets of astrological belief. This, he argued, would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.[70]Many astrologers claim that astrology is scientific.[71] Some of these astrologers have proposed conventional causal agents such as electromagnetism and gravity.[71][72] Scientists dismiss these mechanisms as implausible[71] since, for example, the magnetic field, when measured from earth, of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances.[72] Other astrologers prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[73][dubious – discuss] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination.[74]:xxii Carl Jung sought to invoke synchronicity

to explain results on astrology from a single study he conducted, where no statistically significant results were observed. Sychronicity itself is considered to be neither testable nor falsifiable.[75] The study was subsequently heavily criticised for its non-random sample and its use of statistics and also its lack of consistency with astrology.[d][76][edit]Carlson's experimentAcross several centuries of testing, the predictions of astrology have never been more accurate than that expected by chance alone.[51] One approach used in testing astrology quantitatively is through blind experiment. When specific predictions from astrologers were tested in rigorous experimental procedures in the Carlson test, the predictions were falsified.[4]The Shawn Carlson's double-blind chart matching tests, in which 28 astrologers agreed to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test, is one of the most renowned tests of astrology.[77][78] The experimental protocol used in Carlson's study was agreed to by a group of physicists and astrologers prior to the experiment.[4] Astrologers, nominated by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, acted as the astrological advisors, and helped to ensure, and agreed, that the test was fair.[78]:117[79]:420 They also chose 26 of the 28 astrologers for the tests, the other 2 being interested astrologers who volunteered afterwards.[79]:420 The astrologers came from Europe and the United States.[78]:117 The astrologers helped to draw up the central proposition of natal astrology to be tested.[79]:419 Published in Nature in 1985, the study found that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".[79][edit]Gauquelin's researchMain article: Mars effectThe 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][80]In 1955, astrologer, and psychologist Michel Gauquelin stated 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.[80] The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".[81] A study conducted by seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence, and attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.[82]Geoffrey Dean has suggested that the effect 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 find 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.[78]:116[edit]Theological viewpoints

See also: Christianity and astrology, Jewish views on astrology, and Muslim views on astrologySome of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.[83]For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' RisÄÂla fÄ« ibá¹ÂÄÂl aḥkÄÂm al-nojÅ«m, 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.[84] 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.[85]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.[86] 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 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]?â€â€Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya[87� ]Belief in astrology is incompatible with Catholic beliefs[88] such as free will.[89] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.[90]â€â€Catechism of the Catholic Churc� hSt. Augustine believed that astrology conflicted with church doctrine, but he grounded his opposition with non-theological reasons such as the failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although are conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time.[89][edit]See alsoList of astrological traditions, types, and systems[edit]Notes^ The level of confidence was self rated by the astrologers themselves.^ Also discussed in Martens, Ronny; Trachet, Tim (1998). Making sense of astrology. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573922188.^ see Heuristics in judgment and decision making^ Jung made the claims, despite being aware that there was no statistical significance in the results. Looking for coincidences post hoc is of very dubious value, see Misuse_of_statistics#Data_dredging.[75][edit]References

^ 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.^ Kassell, Lauren (5 May 2010). "Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 1100–1800". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (2): 67–69. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.001.^ "Astrology - Astrology in modern times". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 October 2012.^ a b c d e f g Zarka, Philippe (2011). "Astronomy and astrology". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 5 (S260): 420–425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602.^ 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 0521343542.^ Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1. Dordrecht u.a.: Reidel u.a.. 1978. 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 pseudoscientific 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 affect 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-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."^ Harper, Douglas. "astrology". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by 17c. this word was limited to "reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.""^ "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 affairs, and thus gradually limited by 17th cent. to the reputed influences of the stars, unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare."^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica,' v.5, 1974, p. 916^ Dietrich, Thomas: 'The Origin of Culture and Civilization, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, 2005, p. 305^ Dictionary of the history of ideas. New York: Scribner. 1974. ISBN 0-684-13293-1.^ James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.^ Hone, Margaret (1978). The Modern Text-Book of Astrology. Romford, U.K.: L. N. Fowler & Co. Ltd.. pp. 21–89. ISBN 0852433573.^ Riske, Kris (2007). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology. Minnesota, USA: Llewellyn Publications. pp. 5–6; 27. ISBN 978-0-7387-1071-6.^ Luhrmann, Tanya (1991). Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in

contemporary England. Harvard University Press. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.^ Pingree, David (18). "Indian Astronomy". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society 122 (6): 361–364. Retrieved 4 August 2012.^ a b Pingree, David (June 1963). "Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran". Isis. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society 54 (2): 229–246.^ a b The Chinese sky during the Han : constellating stars and society. Leiden: Brill. 1997. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.^ F. Richard Stephenson, "Chinese Roots of Modern Astronomy", New Scientist, 26 June 1980. See also 二åÂÂ八宿的å½Â� �¢Ã¦Ë†Â与æ¼â€Ã¥ÂË� � � œ^ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp2-8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005^ Selin, Helaine, ed. (1997). "Astrology in China". Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer. Retrieved July 22, 2012.^ "à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¹Æ’หม่ à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸Å¡Ã Â¸Â§Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â„¢ ทางโหราศาสตร์ไทย à¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â²Ã Â¸Â£Ã Â¹â‚¬Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸Â¥Ã Â¸ÂµÃ Â¹Ë†Ã Â¸Â¢Ã Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸â€ºÃ Â¸ÂµÃ Â¸â„¢Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸ÂÃ�  Â¸Â©Ã Â¸Â±Ã Â¸â€¢Ã Â¸Â£ โหราศาสตร์ à¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â¹Ã Â¸â€Ã�  Â¸Â§Ã Â¸â€¡ ทำนายทายทัà¸Â"� .^ Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.]: Continuum.. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.^ Marshack, Alexander (1991). The roots of civilization : the cognitive beginnings of man's first art, symbol and notation (Rev. and expanded. ed.). Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Moyer Bell. ISBN 978-1-55921-041-6.^ Evelyn-White, Hesiod ; with an English translation by Hugh G. (1977). The Homeric hymns and Homerica (Reprinted. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 663–677. 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"^ Aveni, David H. Kelley, Eugene F. Milone ; foreword by Anthony F. (2005). Exploring ancient skies an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (Online-Ausg. ed.). New York: Springer. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-387-95310-6.^ Two texts which 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.^ From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 – VI 13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 2, 1–3. Gütersloh,

1986–1991. Also quoted in A. Falkenstein, ‘Wahrsagung in der sumerischen Überlieferung’, La divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et dans les régions voisines. Paris, 1966.^ Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (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.^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.3. France:Hadean Press^ Cummins A (2012) The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-Century English Astrology and Magic,p.43-45. France:Hadean Press^ a b c Campion, Nicholas (2009). History of western astrology. Volume II, The medieval and modern worlds. (1.

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.[4]:424 There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.[5]:249[6]Contents [hide] 1 Etymology2 Principles and practice2.1 Western2.2 Indian and South Asian2.3 Chinese and East-Asian3 History3.1 Ancient world3.2 Medieval Islamic world3.3 Early Modern3.4 Since 19004 Scientific appraisal4.1 Perspectives from psychology4.2 Lack of consistency4.3 Lack of mechanism4.4 Carlson's experiment4.5 Gauquelin's research5 Theological viewpoints

6 See also7 Notes8 References9 Further reading10 External links[edit]EtymologyMarcantonio Raimondi engraving: 15th cent.The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia,[7] deriving from the Greek noun á¼€ÃÂÆ’ÃÂÃ� �¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÂÂÂολογία, � �'account of the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.[8][edit]Principles and practiceRobert Fludd's 16th century illustration of man the microcosm within the universal macrocosmAdvocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science, and a method of divination.[9][10]Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced the world's cultural history.[edit]WesternFor 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.[11] It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points.[12]Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic) and by their aspects (angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky).[13] Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of the total chart.[14] The names of the zodiac correspond to the names of the constellations originally within the respective segment and are in Latin.[citation needed]Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.[15]Page from an Astrological Treatise, ca. 1750[edit]Indian and South AsianFor more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.Hindu astrology originated with western astrology.[16]:361 In the earliest Indian astronomy texts, the year was believed to be 360 days long, similar to that of

Babylonian astrology, but the rest of the early astrological system bears little resemblance.[17]:229 Later, the Indian techniques were augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.[17]:231[edit]Chinese and East-AsianFor more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.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 (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.[18]:22,85,176The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sÄÂÂn yuán), and Twenty-eight Mansions (äºÅ�’Ã¥ÂÂÂÂ八宿 èrshÃÂÂ� � bÄ �xiù) in twelve Ci (Ã¥ÂÂÂÂ二次).[19] The � �Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different 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.[20] 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 (simplified Chinese: ç´«å¾®æ–â€â€ÃƒÂ¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¢Ã‚°; traditional �Chinese: ç´«å¾®æ–â€â€ÃƒÂ¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¢Ã‚¸; �pinyin: zÇÂÂwÄ“idÇ’ushù) are still used �regularly in modern day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.[21]The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[22][edit]HistoryMain article: History of astrology[edit]Ancient worldFor more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[23]:2,3 Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[24]:81ff Agricultural needs were also met by

increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[25][verification needed] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[26]There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).[27] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144–2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[28] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evid

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th

century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through 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.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined.[3]