A History of Astrology

ORIGINS OF ASTROLOGY

PRE 4,000 BCE

The origins of astrology could be said to date back as far as 15, 000 BCE, to the Stone Age, when humans carved markings on animal bones to record the lunar phases. Although a very basic form of astrology, it is evident that human beings identified a relationship with the movement of the ‘stars’ from a very early time.

Prior to established civilisation, evidence exists that humans discovered a relevant connection between at least one other planetary body and mundane life, i.e., the Sun. Megalithic monuments found throughout Europe and beyond, including Stonehenge in England, Newgrange in Ireland, Nabta Playa in Egypt, Amazon Stonehenge in Brazil and many more, testify to this revelation. Further research suggests that the people responsible for building these colossal structures would have possessed astronomical and mathematical knowledge equivalent to that of Renaissance Europe.

The majority of these monuments, constructed between 4,000-2,000 BCE, were most likely used as early astronomical observatories, specifically for predicting celestial events such as Solstice and Equinox dates, which would have been important for early farming cultures, as well as the rising and setting of certain stars and possibly eclipses. Archaeological evidence implies a communal effort in erecting the larger monuments, indicating a structured society. These people had an understanding of life and the Universe beyond anything expected of that time and their knowledge was passed on to the first recorded civilisations in history.

MESOPOTAMIAN ASTROLOGY

C. 4,000 BCE - 0CE

The great civilisations that developed around 4,000 BCE, in the Mesopotamian lands, (present day Iraq, Syria, Kuwait), mark a significant point in the historical timeline of astrology. Although predated by earlier cultures, it was here that astrology spawned from the merging of mathematics, astronomy and mythology.

These civilisations required some method of regulating their lives, mostly to determine the planting and growing of crops. The coherent cycles and motions of the planets, namely the Sun and Moon, coinciding with the seasons and cycles in nature permitted such an accomplishment.

Why each of the constellations, subsequent Zodiac Signs and planets came to have so many characteristics ascribed to them remains largely a mystery. However, one of the first ever astrological texts to be recorded - the Venus tablet of Amisaduqa c. 1,600 BCE, created by the Sumerians, already attributed beneficial links to this planet.

The Babylonian Empire replaced the Sumerian cities c. 1,830 BCE, a time when records of the notable prophet/astrologer Daniel, who served the King Nebuchadnezzar, can be found in the Bible. When the Assyrians overthrew the Babylonian Empire around 1,000 BCE, they brought yet more developments to astrology.

These first civilisations were more concerned with using stars for divination than with natal astrology, which had not then been established. A whole collection of tablets containing astrological predictions, dating back to around 1,600 BCE, known as the Enuma Anu Enlil, were preserved by the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (669-626 BCE). His library also contained the first known star catalogue, the Mul Apin, dating from c. 687 BCE, testifying to the mapping of stars and constellations. Traces of the Enuma Anu Enlil have also been recovered in Eastern Turkey, dating back to before 1360BCE, indicating that astrology had already begun to spread beyond Mesopotamia. The Assyrian King Nabonassar purportedly began keeping detailed astronomical records around 747 BCE; although this is not a concrete assertion, some form of record-keeping did begin during this period. Between the 7th and 5th Centuries BCE, the first important step was taken with the subdividing of the path of the Sun into twelve separate sections, each indicated by a constellation, which would later become the Zodiac.

Around 600 BCE the Greeks also began to study astronomy. Pythagoras is believed to have spent time studying in Greece, between 569 and 510 BCE, where it is likely that scholars followed his example. After the Persians invaded Babylon c. 538 BCE, major developments occurred in astrology, such as the birth of the Zodiac Signs, around 432 BCE, as opposed to the constellations and the first individual horoscope to be drawn up c. 409 BCE. Alexander the Great invaded the Mesopotamian lands in 331 BCE, heralding an astrological revelation, as both Greek and Mesopotamian cultures merged resulting in the birth of contemporary astrology.

Astrology developed rapidly following this period, with little evidence of exact details however certain dates can be identified that give an idea of its progress. The Babylonians created the ‘sexagesimal’ system responsible for the 12-hour day, which was also applied to the theory of great astrological ages, based on multiples of 6, such as the current Age of Aquarius. Natal astrology grew in popularity but the use of an Ascendant and the houses were still quite rare. The first known ephemeris dates back to c. 308 BCE while zodiacal degrees were first implemented around 263 BCE. The last known cuneiform horoscope to be written dates from 68 BCE and there is evidence to suggest that the Greeks were also casting horoscopes from around this time. The first such horoscope dates from 61 BCE, which was actually an event chart for Antiochus I, a Mesopotamian Greek ruler who had the chart carved into a cliff on Nimrud Dagh. And finally, the first known natal chart to use an Ascendant dates from 4 BCE, around the same time as the birth of Jesus Christ.

CLASSICAL GREECE

c. 800BCE - 0CE

During the second era of Greek civilisation, c. 1,000 BCE, astrology made rapid progress with several figures contributing vitally to its development and spread.

Probably the earliest references to astronomy and astrology are from the works of the poet Hesiod, c. 705 BCE, who often commented on the movement of stars in relation to certain activities, such as harvesting at the rising of a particular star.

Thales, the founder of Greek astronomy (624 BCE), was most famous for predicting an eclipse, probably around 585 BCE, which apparently signalled the end of a war between the Medes and Lydians in Turkey. More importantly he founded the Ionian school where many great philosophers studied. One of those, Anaximander, first presented the theory of ‘planetary spheres’, i.e., that the sky contained several spheres through which the planets travelled, a theory that remained dominant in astronomical thought until the 17th century CE. Thales began looking for natural causes of celestial phenomenon rather than just accepting mythology as an explanation.

Anaximenes (550 BCE), another significant figure in the development of astronomy, is thought to have come up with the idea of ‘macrocosm and microcosm’ (as above, so below); not much else is known about his work.

Around 600 BCE the human race benefited greatly from such prominent figures as Confucius of China, Lao Tzu of India and Zoroaster of Persia, each bringing their own unique wisdom and philosophies to the world. In Palestine, Ezekiel established the systems of thought that still dominate major world religions today. Pythagoras (586 - 572 BCE), undoubtedly one of the greatest thinkers of all time, has continued to influence the minds of many for centuries and is still famous for his Pythagoras Theorem today. He successfully combined science and religion and even formed his own order, the Pythagoreans. He also contributed a significant theory on how the Universe could be explained by numbers and their relationships, e.g. 1 is Oneness, 2 is Duality, etc, which corresponds to the very basic meaning of the houses in modern astrology.

Heracleitus (500 BCE), a philosopher from Ephesus, put forward the idea of two states of existence in the Universe, Being and Becoming. From this comes the concept of polarity and balance found in the Feminine or Receptive Zodiac Signs versus the Masculine or Active, which also has similarities to the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang. Around the same time Anaxagoras, a pupil of Anaximenes, began studying the Moon’s surface, without the aid of a telescope, noticing its irregularities and also confirming the Sun to be a burning matter. He proposed that everything in the Universe is permeated with a greater, higher intelligence as opposed to the theory that everything has its own innate intelligence. This was an important turning point in the thinking behind the reasoning of astrology because it raised questions about whether the planets caused events to happen themselves or simply acted as mediums for the will of a Divine greater intelligence.

The next notable character in Greek history concerning astrology was perhaps Empedolces, c.495-430 BCE, whose theory emphasised the importance of the elements, in that everything in the Universe consists of at least one or more or all of the four elements: Earth Air, Water and Fire. The Zodiac Signs were divided under these elements, with three attributed to each.

Hippocrates, c. 460 BCE, studied at a school on the island of Cos, where he applied Empedocles’ theory of the elements to his work, relating them to the four physical conditions of the human body, eventually giving rise to medical astrology. Hippocrates believed that the patient should be treated and not the disease, a concept which is once again growing in popularity with Holistic therapies.

Plato (c.428 - 348 BCE), a magnificent Greek philosopher associated with Pythagoras, was possibly the most important individual behind the creation of astrological theory. His own work and followers have always been fervent supporters of astrology, although they continued to believe in the geocentric model, which Plato insisted upon. He described the stars as divine beings created from the same material as humans and that it was our destiny to return to be amongst them. He also reaffirmed the theory of Anaxagoras that everything was interrelated, a ‘world soul’, extremely similar to beliefs originating from the Eastern cultures. In his work Timaeus he stated that periodic conjunctions and oppositions of planets sparked fear and anxiety amongst people, suggesting that there must have been astrologers capable of calculating such movements at the time.

Aristotle (384-323 BCE), a pupil of Plato’s, did not share in all of his beliefs, namely mythology and the world-soul theory. Instead, he saw a Creator existing outside the Universe, which was more acceptable to those who later raised the issue of free will. His discovery that motion was the primary cause of change was a vital contribution to astrology and he also suggested that the Sun’s movement coincided with changes on Earth, such as the birth-death cycle.

Aristarchus (310 BCE) first suggested the idea of the Sun being at the centre of the solar system with all the planets and Earth in orbit. This theory was initially rejected and had it not been for the Roman writers, who made his work available to the Arab and European worlds, it may have been forgotten altogether. In 280 BCE he formally introduced astrology to Greece where Berossus, a priest from Babylon, opened a school on the island of Cos. Astrology rapidly caught on amongst the Greeks and many philosophers proudly studied at the school on Cos, although no official records exist until around 200 years later.

Hipparchus (c. 190-120 BCE), often referred to as the ‘Father of Astronomy’, discovered the Precession of the Equinoxes, a major breakthrough that caused a shift in use between the Sidereal and Tropical zodiacs. The Sidereal was more commonly used in Asia, based on the perceived constellations, while the Tropical Zodiac remained popular throughout Europe based around the Seasons – the basis of Western astrology today. Hipparchus also invented latitude and longitude, the co-ordinates that allow geographical measurements to be made; it would be impossible to calculate natal charts without this development.

Towards the end of the last century BCE, astrological texts vastly outweighed astronomical texts, a reversal from the time of the Assyrians. This emphasis on astrology helped to develop it further, with houses and different branches, such as natal and mundane. There is little evidence of who is responsible for this period of major growth but by the time of Claudius Ptomley, c. 150 CE astrology appears fully developed.

FROM EGYPT TO INDIA AND CHINA

Astrology did not reach Egypt until after Alexander the Great invaded, around 322 BCE. Although they did use the Moon for divination, as early as the 5th century BCE, the Zodiac was not introduced until 250 BCE. The Egyptians did possess some astronomical knowledge before this time and were aware of the importance of the stars, most notably the rising of Sirius, which appeared to coincide with the annual flooding of the Nile. Other debatable theories suggest that the construction of the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx aligned with certain constellations, namely Orion and Leo respectively. Regardless, Egyptian mathematics and astronomy were not as advanced as in Mesopotamia and this is perhaps why they did not develop their own astrology.

The most significant contribution from Egypt was the introduction of decans, 36 star groups used for time measurement since 1,000 BCE. These were incorporated into the Babylonian zodiac, resulting in the 10 divisions of each Sign, which is depicted in the impressive Dendera Zodiac.

The library of Alexander, discovered in the 3rd century BCE, became a centre of astrological learning after Egypt was absorbed into the Roman Empire c. 30 BCE.

Indian civilisation, almost as old as Mesopotamian, did not record their history and so it remains difficult to tell when astrology became integrated with their culture. Their mathematics was advanced, equivalent to that of the Sumerians and these two cultures were likely in contact before 2,000 BCE. They also kept astronomical data, although not very precise but did not make the necessary connections between astronomy, mythology and mathematics to develop a complete astrological system.

Indians preferred the use of the Sidereal zodiac (based on constellations) and focused more on the Moon’s nodes and Lunar Mansions, 28 star groups associated with the Moon and each with their own characteristics.

By the late 5th century BCE, Indian astrological texts increased and the Greek names for the Zodiac Signs and planets were adopted. It is thought that India influenced Chinese astrology, the 28 hsui (houses) corresponding to the 28 lunar mansions. As no scientific revolution occurred in India, astrology has remained a large part of their popular culture.

Chinese astrology is vastly different and nowhere near as sophisticated as that of other cultures, due to its relative isolation from the rest of the ancient world. However, they did develop the 28 hsui (houses) and 12 animal types, from constellations surrounding the pole star, very similar to the 12 Zodiac Signs in Western astrology.

Additionally, there are remarkable similarities between Chinese omen texts and the Enuma Anu Enlil suggesting some contact with Mesopotamian culture. A similar thought process concerning astrology also developed in China around the time of Christ, the same period as in Greece. The earliest known Chinese astrologer was Wei Ning, c. 550 CE.

THE ROMANS

C. 200BCE - 529CE

Roman civilisation integrated astrology with their everyday lives, having been introduced to their culture by a slave named Artiochus in the 2nd Century BCE and encouraged by more slaves arriving from the East. It had great influence over the public to the extent that it was expelled from Rome in 139 CE.

The first significant work was the Astronomica Manilius, inspired by Posidonious (a stoic who taught at the Rhode School). Astrology was also studied by the likes of Mark Anthony and Octavian, later Augustus, in 27 BCE.

Claudius Ptolemy was the greatest figure in astronomy/astrology in the Roman world, c. 70 CE, creating two major texts, one being the Tetrabiblus, a collection of all Mesopotamian and Greek work still popular today. It also helped to establish the Tropical Zodiac.

Galen produced the next major advances in medical astrology, following Hippocrates, whose system was used up until the 16th century.

Plontinus, (230 CE), was the last major Pagan philosopher whose Neo-Platonism philosophy combined ideas from Plato and Aristotle and was favoured by Christians, while Porphyry (232-304 CE) originated the house systems.

Christianity became the main religion around 313 CE, adopting some astrology into its beliefs but largely rejecting it due to associations with Pagan culture. However, Julius Firmicus Maternus, a Christian convert and the last major astrologer in Rome at the start of the 4th Century CE, helped to bridge a divide between the Pagan and Christian beliefs. He published his great work, The Mathesis, which was rediscovered in Medieval Europe.

In 410 CE, Rome was sacked by the Goths and astrology went into decline over the following years, although continuing in Babylonia. Then in 453 CE, the Turks sacked Constantinople and by 529 CE the Emperor Justinian had closed the Platonic academy in Athens, its scholars moving to Mesopotamia or Alexandria and the practice of astrology and pagan culture in Greece and Rome ceased.

ARAB AND ISLAMIC ASTROLOGY AND ASTRONOMY

Following the Roman Empire, a significant catalyst in the history of astrology came with the Arabs and Islamic astrology.

An Arabic horoscope, dating back to 18th August 531 CE, shows a chart cast for the coronation of the Sassanian Persian king Khosro Anosharwan. Around 625 CE, the varying cultures of the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Jews and Indians all came together under one large empire following the conquest by Mohammed’s Arab armies. However soon after, in 642 CE, nomads destroyed the great library of Alexander and it wasn’t until c.700 CE that the Arabs, who used astronomy for navigation, began to study the knowledge of the past, with Moslem scholars preserving the works of the ancient Greeks.

Despite criticisms from orthodox religions, Islamic astrology endured three separate periods in Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus between the 8th-9th centuries, again in Spain between the 10th-12th centuries and finally in Persia from the 13th-14th centuries.

A few of the key figures during the first period are Abu Ma’shar (787-886 CE), who created the ‘Introduction to Astrology’ that was still popular in Europe by the 12th century and al-Farghani (c.847-861 CE), also known as Alfreganus and al-Biruni (973-1048 CE), whose work on astronomy and mysticism is being largely recovered now. The first set of planetary tables since Ptolemy, the Hakemite Tables, was also created during this time by Ibn Junus in Cairo.

During the second wave of Islamic astrology, in 10th century Spain, a flourishing Moslem culture, inspired by the joint influence of Moors, Jews and Christians, saw the establishment of three observatories in Toledo, Seville and Cordova. France, Germany and Spain all witnessed a revival in astrology at this time. Averroes (1126-1198), a great philosopher, as well as the Jewish Maimonedes (1135-1204) supported Aristotle’s homocentric spheres. Averroes also argued that it is the symbolic meaning of planetary cycles that matter to astrologers, which justifies the use of today’s geocentric astrology in a heliocentric solar system. The Alfonsine Tables were also created, as ordered by Alfonso X of Castile (1251-1284), which remained the standard astronomical tables until Copernicus in the 16th century.

Finally, the third period of Islamic astrology occurred in Persia during the 13th-14th centuries when, in 1259 CE, Hulagu Kahn (son of Genghis Khan) established an observatory, albeit short-lived, at Meghara where several astrologers gathered, among them the noteworthy Juhanna Abu’l Farag. Another founder of an observatory, this time at Samarkand (now central Asia), was Ulug Begh c. 1420. Advances here included the first star catalogue since Ptolemy and a new set of planetary tables. Conversely, this is when astrology began to wane, with only a few from the Persian and Turkish Empires continuing the study of the subject.

Moslem scientists used astronomy to assist in philosophical and astrological studies but did not make many significant advances in astronomy or astrology. However, they meticulously preserved the knowledge of the past and contributed their own wisdom, developing techniques such as the Arabic Parts.

ASTROLOGY AND ASTRONOMY IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire in Europe, a time often pessimistically referred to as ‘The Dark Ages’, when civilised societies and learning were obliterated, it is believed that the first Frankish and Gothic Kings had connections with astrology. A prevailing monarch in Saxon England, Edwin, King of Northumbria (c.616-623 CE) is known to have used a Spanish astrologer, named Pellitus, to obtain information on his war with the Celtic British. Principle works, such as the ‘Etymologiae of Isidore’, ‘Bishop of Seville’ - containing discussions on divination and Boethius’ ‘Consolation of Philosophy’, on a Neo-Platonic worldview, were kept in monastic libraries. It is believed that certain monks from the Celtic Church of Ireland were in contact with the Coptic Church in Egypt until around 624 CE and therefore would have been aware of the debates into the relationship between astrology and Christianity.

With the advent of Christianity, in particular, the Roman Catholic Church, Pagan learning and knowledge were condemned by Church fathers, eager to eradicate opposing and contradictory beliefs. Augustine himself rejected his previous Gnostic teachings, including astrology, to follow the masses and the ideas of the new faith despite the fact that Greek texts still remained, supported by scholars such as Bede (672-735 CE), an English monk, who was familiar with the works of the Roman Pliny regarding a spherical Earth that orbited the Sun. But such astronomical discoveries were put aside and many chose to believe instead that the Earth was a scale model of the Tabernacle of Moses, an idea originally put forward, allegorically, by Clement of Alexandria (c. 200 CE), but then taken literally by Christians. A merchant seaman, Cosmas, who later became a monk and produced the ‘Topographica Christiana’, in the mid 6th century, further encouraged the idea of a flat Earth. Augustine’s views were likely influenced by the Neo-Platonic idea of a corrupted Earth (the World of Becoming) and a perfect Heaven (the World of Being) existing beyond the fixed stars, originally suggested by Heracleitus and later translated into Christianity.

Astrology came to the fore again in Western Europe, around 770 CE. An English monk, Alcuin (b. 735 CE), taught by a pupil of Bede’s named Egbert, met the future Emperor Charlemagne, who founded the Holy Roman Empire and was a skilled astrologer himself. Alcuin went on to find the first great medieval school, at the Abbey of St. Martin near Tours. Astrology is likely to have featured prominently in his teachings and many respectable Frankish Princes, Dukes and Counts had personal astrologers during this time, with evidence that priests were even teaching the subject.

The onset of new learning and studying in Western Europe encouraged the search for more in-depth astrological texts, coinciding with the flourishing of civilization in Moorish Spain. Gerbert, who later became Pope Sylvester II (999-1003 CE), inquired about astrological texts in Spain and travelled there himself to discover the Mathesis of Julius Firmicus Maternus, contacting Lupitus of Barcelona, who translated Arab works of astrology into Latin. Other translated Arab works included the Introduction to Astrology by Abu Ma’shar and the publication of the first astrological book (between 1010 and 1027 CE), the Lieber Planetis et Mundi Climatibus, probably written by Gerbert and published after his death. At the beginning of the 12th century the first mention of Indian astrology was brought by John of Spain, another translator and then in 1138 CE European astrology was firmly established by the publication of Plato of Tivloi’s first Latin translation of the Tetrabiblos.

The 11th-13th centuries saw the thriving of ecclesiastical schools, following the rediscovery of Greek classics, in particular those of Aristotle and was named the Age of Scholasticism. The first European universities were founded, Chartres in France and Oxford in England, while the greatest minds of the time contemplated the issues surrounding astrology, such as Peter Abelard (1079-1142 CE), Abelard of Bath (11th-12th centuries) and Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253 CE). Astrology became a fundamental part of everyday life yet, no doubt, their Christian faith conflicted heavily with many aspects of astrology, particularly the idea that the planets could exert greater control over humans than God. Even so, Gothic cathedrals built during this period reflect, in their architecture, the importance of a belief in celestial harmony, for example, the Zodiac window in the Chartres Cathedral.

With the translation of yet more Greek texts, the views of soceity became more Aristotelian in nature, whose system was more compatible with Christianity than Plato’s by suggesting that the planets were merely agents of God’s will. Roger Bacon (1214-1294 CE), an accomplished scientist (regarded as Europe’s first) and astrologer, put forth the argument that the Earth was simply one planet in a vast universe, while Albertus Magnus (1193-c.1280 CE) and his pupil Thomas Aquinas (1227-1274) explored and speculated on philosophical matters relating to astrology. Aquinas suggested that the stars rule the body while God rules the soul, an apparent resolution for the ongoing conflict between astrology and Christianity. Johannes Campanus (c.1297 CE), a prominent mathematician of the age, devised a new house system and John Duns Scotus, leading scientist and founder of the Scotus School of philosophy, approved of astrology.

Astrologers set up private practices during the 12th century, with practitioners in England by its end, Richard Trewythian being the first known astrologer with a practice in London specialising in horary astrology (although unheard of until 1442). The public began making demands for practical astrologers, Guido Bonatti (c. 1210 CE) being one such key practitioner, who produced the textbook Liber Astronomicus, which became a classic. Bonatti also worked for the well-known Italian noble Guido de Montefeltro, elected to consult his astrolabe and texts to signal when de Montefeltro’s armies should march.

It wasn’t long, however, before criticism of astrology emerged following the new philosophy of ‘Humanism’. The major critics were Nicholas Oresme (1320-1382 CE), Henry of Hesse and Pico della Mirandalo (1463-1494 CE) who exploited both the dependence astrology had on authorities to teach the subject and the low quality of practitioners. Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499 CE), a traditional astrologer, engaged in a debate with Pico that was probably the first time astrology in Europe had to defend itself.

During the first half of the 15th century, astrological works could be distributed in their hundreds, even thousands, following Guthenburg’s invention of printing with moveable type, establishing the world of mass media. In 1469 CE the first almanac was printed and by 1490 CE, also partly due to new universities, almanacs were becoming available in Eastern Europe in counties such as Germany, Poland and Hungary.

The following two centuries saw enormous success for astrology, including employment at courts with the likes of the Italian Jerome Cardan (1501-1576 CE) casting the chart of Edward VI of England, Queen Elizabeth’s personal astrologer, John Dee (1527-1608 CE) and the founders of modern astronomy Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei working as court astrologers in Denmark, the Hapsburgs and the Medici respectively.

John Dee was also a distinguished astronomer, mathematician, geographer and navigator and one of England’s greatest Renaissance scholars, as well as being one of the founders of the English secret services. Dee had quite a creative nature, attempting to develop a national library, inventing the term ‘British Empire’ and becoming involved in espionage, science, occultism, necromancy and alchemy.

In 1566 Lucus Gauricus predicted the death of King Henry II and so his wife, Catherine de Medici, queen of France, employed the renowned Michael Nostradamus to check on his predictions. Nostradamus (1503-1566 CE), born in St Remy in Province, is perhaps one of the most recognisable astrologers. His parents converted to Christianity to avoid Jewish persecution but Nostradamus pursued a successful career in astrology and medicine and this, along with his unconventional approach, provoked jealousy and even hostility from his rivals, who eventually accused him of heresy in 1538 CE. After being called to appear before the Inquisition, he went into hiding and travelled through France and Italy for six years studying healing. After several years he began concentrating more on occult work and writing. By 1550 CE he had begun issuing an annual almanac and then, in 1555 CE, completed the first part of his popular book The Centuries. This is the work that brought him to the attention of Queen Catherine de Medici. It is rumoured that he met a young monk, Felix Peretti, in Italy who went on to become Pope Sixtus V in 1585 CE - twenty-one ears after Nostradamus’ death. And ironically Sixtus V issued the first Papal Bull prohibiting court astrologers.

In 1572 CE, Tycho Brahe (1546-1601 CE) made his most famous prediction based upon the appearance of the New Star, which was in fact a supernova. He specified that there would be disruption between 1592 and 1632 CE, a prince would be born in the north, conquer Germany and disappear by 1632 CE. Then in the 17th century Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden (b. 1594 CE) controlled most of northern Germany and died in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632 CE. Interestingly, in 1581 CE, the English government issued a ban on predictions concerning the death of the Queen and successions to the throne and so astrologers, for fear of execution, became cautious of making such predictions until later years, when government power weakened (1620s-1630s CE). Tycho himself went on to become court astrologer and astronomer to Frederick II of Denmark in 1576 CE and later his son Christian IV. His final employment was as Imperial Mathematicus to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II of Austria, where he met Johannes Kepler.

Kepler, a Pythagorean, succeeded Brahe in 1601 CE as Mathematicus to Rudolph II, but his approach was more scientific. He did issue predictions in 1602 CE but these were very tentative. He took the post of astrologer to the Count of Wallenstein in 1628 CE but continued to focus more on astronomy.

Jean Baptiste Morin (1583-1656 CE) in France and William Lilly (1602-1681 CE) in England were two of the more notable astrologers during the 17th century. Lilly gave advice to both King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War, in the 1640’s, before becoming the official astrologer to the Commonwealth Council of State in 1649 CE. He was also the first author of an astrology newspaper column while Morin published his Astrologica Gallica in the same year. Lilly was briefly locked up on a charge of treason, by King Charles II, accused of fortune-telling in 1655 CE and in 1666 CE was again summoned following his prediction of the Great Fire of London. Probably his most respected work of the 17th century, the textbook Christian Astrology, is still widely available today and it is fair to say that Lilly, along with John Dee, was the last great English astrologer until the 19th century. However, there were a few notable names to follow. These included Thomas and Leonard Digges (16th & 17th Centuries), John Booker (b. 1601 CE), Nicholas Culpeper (1640s CE), Elias Ashmole (1617-1692 CE), Henry Coley (b. 1633 CE), John Partridge (b. 1644 CE), John Gadbury (1627-1692 CE) and William Ramesay. All of these men were involved in various aspects of astrology, from issuing almanacs to philosophy and theoretical work to acting as consultants for kings and queens.

Around the 1670s-1680s CE, Renaissance astrologers had a great deal more clients and their work seems to have been more diverse compared to the focus on nativity astrology, which is popular today. In London, astrologers had even organised themselves into a society that held and an ‘annual feast’ and other such exclusive events. The last surviving almanac in England is most likely Old Moore’s Almanac. Astrology was truly back in style during this period, similar to the days of the Roman Empire, but this was not to last.

ASTROLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY

Modern Christianity remains largely opposed to astrology due to criticism in the Bible (namely Isaiah, Chapter 47, verses 13-14) thus the two are viewed as rival beliefs. Paradoxically, astrology featured quite heavily in the early days of Christianity and is in fact present in several Biblical stories. An obvious example is the Star of Bethlehem signifying the importance of Christ’s birth and Daniel himself being a principal astrologer for kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, as well as the Persian emperor Darius.

Early Christians, such as Augustine, objected to astrology because of its ties with Pagan wisdom and the Greek philosophers. However not all Christian sects rebuked astrology, including the Gnostics and Nestorians who were responsible for passing on their astrological knowledge to the Moslems in the 8th century.

Priests of the Roman Catholic Church rejected astrology on the grounds that they were to be the only intermediaries between people and God and that the influence of planets imposed upon God’s will and free will. Boethius and Isidore, in the 5th–6th centuries, offered solutions to these dilemmas, later clarified by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, by suggesting that God ruled the soul while the planets governed the human body; this became known as Natural Astrology. However other forms of astrology, such as natal, horary and electional, could not be explained in this manner and were still viewed as opposing God’s will. The Papacy eventually issued Bulls barring astrology in 1586 and 1681 CE, although Natural astrology would not likely have been affected. Judicial astrology continued to be taught in the ecclesiastical schools and remained popular amongst Churchmen, supported by Roger Bacon in the 13th century. The Dominicans, Franciscans and the powerful Renaissance group, the Jesuits, were all great supporters of astrology too. A number of Popes even used astrology in their studies, including Julius II (1503-1549 CE) and Paul III (1534-1549 CE).

Protestant leaders were not so approving of astrology and it was initially rejected by the likes of Martin Luther and Calvin, in the 1510s-1550s, probably more so because of its association with Catholicism, which they saw as corrupt. However astrological nativities were supported by a close friend of Luther’s, Melanchthon.

Astrologers were rarely persecuted for their practice except when it challenged or contradicted Church doctrine, for instance, Cecco d’Ascoli was burnt by the Inquisition in Florence, in 1327CE, for his writings on necromancy. Although Bulls were passed prohibiting astrology (the second being in 1631 CE - indicating that the first was unsuccessful), it was science that ultimately caused its demise.

ASTROLOGY AND THE ARTS, MEDICINE AND SCIENCE

Medicine was one of the more important areas of astrology, particularly during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, when it was common to arrange medical treatments in accordance with Moon phases. The main aim was to restore health by way of balance with the Cosmos. But it wasn’t until around the 13th century when physicians gained access to the works of Galen and Hippocrates, preserved by the Arabs.

Three notable names in medical astrology are Paracelsus (c.1493 CE), Nostradamus (1503-1566 CE) and Culpeper (161-1654 CE), famous even today for his Culpepper’s Herbal and whose Astrological Decumbiture of Disease is the basic text on medical astrology. Robert Boyle (late 17th century), who discovered the circulation of blood, also supported medical astrology.

As astrology gained popularity in European culture, it found expression through various creative mediums including art, literature, music and architecture. Many Gothic cathedrals of the time are testament to this, such as King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, constructed by King Henry VI (d. 1471 CE).

Medieval music was often composed according to the harmony of the planetary spheres, such as Georgian chants. Astrological symbolism is also incorporated into many art works, probably the best example being the French Book of Hours, from the 14th and 15th centuries, depicting different activities carried out during the four seasons.

Astrology had its most noticeable influence over the world of literature. Geoffrey Chaucer’s (14th century) Wife of Bath’s Tale includes an astrological description of the main character, to explain her behaviour to its audience, while William Shakespeare’s plays(16th century) are famous for their references to astrology and alchemy, The Tempest being the prime example. Rabelais, the French poet who himself was an astrologer, focused on the subject in his satire the Pantagrueline Prognostication, written in 1552-53 CE. Thomas Chatterton and William Blake were two other poets interested in astrology, Blake actually being a friend of the astrologer Ebenezer Sibley and it is though his picture of the Human Flea is an example of the Gemini type. The artistic and literary interest in astrology was upheld during the 18th century although it eventually faced decline, as in other areas.

During the Renaissance many efforts were made to improve the accuracy of astrology by the likes of Regiomontanus (1436-1476 CE) and Placidus de Tito (1603-1668 CE), two leading mathematicians would devised new house systems. King Alphonso’s erroneous planetary tables were revised and improved by Regiomontanus, Copernicus and Tycho Brahe. Astrologers, with the likes of John Dee supporting Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, also welcomed astronomical innovations.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, astronomers such as Kepler, Galileo and Brahe who were also court astrologers, put new planetary theories forward. Lucus Gauricus tried to set up a statistical basis for astrological assumptions by publishing a collection of natal data in 1552 CE, while Kepler made his own cautious predictions for 1602 CE and the English astrologer John Goad published his Astro-Meteorologica in 1686 CE in an attempt to correlate weather patterns with astronomical data. Isaac Newton attempted using astronomical patterns to establish historical chronology in his Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms and was one of several scholars, including Francis Bacon and the geographer Mercator, who envisioned a universe based on natural causes. Essentially, they were poised to complete the work started by Thales in 600 BCE.

REVOLUTION IN ASTRONOMY

Certain aspects of astronomy and science were initially rejected in favour of symbolism, for example, using the geocentric model of the Universe as opposed to the heliocentric. The Moorish-Spanish philosopher Averroes (1126-1198 CE) supported such ideas, which dominated the minds of Medieval Europe.

This division between science and philosophy continued until around the 13th century when the likes of Roger Bacon (1214-1294 CE), Albertus Magnus (1193-1280 CE) and Thomas Aquinas (1227-1274 CE) injected new life into scientific exploration. However they lacked essential scientific instruments and society’s views regarding philosophy and theology were seldom up for debate. Modern scientific astronomy truly began around the start of the 15th century, despite the growing interest of scholars in magic and hermeticism at the time, with the revival based mainly in Germany where many new universities had been built in the 14th century.

Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464 CE) was the first modern astronomer who was critical of astrology and put forth such arguments as a spherical Earth, irregular planetary orbits and an infinite Universe. A ‘scientific astrology’ was proposed and supported by the English Francis Bacon (1561-1626 CE) however its pursuit did not appeal to the Renaissance intellectuals, who concentrated on a new astronomy. George Puerback (1423-1461 CE) followed Cusa and expanded upon Ptolemy’s theories while his pupil, Regiomontanus (1436-1476 CE), a great astrologer, contributed very much to astronomy by collecting and translating Greek manuscripts. But the real revolution was made by Copernicus (1473-1543 CE) when he attempted to better explain Ptolemy’s epicycles theory of the solar system and instead created the accurate model, by having the Sun at the centre orbited by the planets. This theory was first written in 1510 CE in his manuscript The Commentariolus but it was never published. He attracted the attention of George Rheticus (1514-1576 CE) who became Copernicus’ pupil and published the first account of the heliocentric theory in 1540 CE. He was later persuaded to have it published in the Book of the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in 1543 CE.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630 CE), a professional astrologer and noteworthy supporter of Copernicus’ system, met Tycho Brahe between 1600-1601 CE. Kepler’s first book, the Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596 CE) leaned more towards the idea of natural forces behind the movement of the planets, as opposed to spirits, which ironically proved more popular amongst old-fashioned Platonists. Brahe’s wealth and support from the first Kings of Denmark and the Holy Roman Emperor helped his astronomical work. Frederick II gave Brahe his own island complete with an observatory and astronomical instruments, from which he made many of his observations that Kepler later based his theories upon, even though Brahe did not support the Copernicus heliocentric theory.

Following Brahe’s death, Kepler took over as astronomer and astrologer to the Holy Roman Emperor. He published his findings of an eight-year study of Mars’ orbit, New Astronomy in 1608 CE, describing his first two laws of planetary motion, but his best work is said to be The Harmony of the World (1618 CE), which described his third planetary law and universal principles according to Pythagoras.

The invention of the telescope, in 1608 CE, brought an end to Medieval cosmology when Galileo Galilei went on to discover the moons of Jupiter, Saturn’s rings and the seasons of Venus, confirming that it orbited the sun.

Copernicus and Galileo were both held in high esteem by the Church, who did not object to astronomers unless they challenged their theology. However, when Galileo raised theological arguments in relation to astronomy on two separate occasions (1613 and 16340 CE), he was put to trial by the Church resulting in the condemnation of the heliocentric theory in 1633 CE.

Sir Isaac Newton was the last astronomer of the age (1643-1727 CE). He established the scientific theory, used to describe planetary motion until Einstein, by astronomical observation alone without any influence from astrological theories and based upon his discovery of the laws of universal gravitation, published in his work Principia. A colleague of his, Edmund Halley, had an interest in modern astrologers of the time but he mocked Newton’s interest in the subject, to which he famously replied: ‘Sir, I have studied it, you have not.’

THE DECLINE OF ASTROLOGY

There seems to be little historical evidence for the decline in astrology at the end of the 17th century. Many of the great minds who spawned the scientific revolution were also astrologers or at least had connections to the subject, such as Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley, Robert Boyle and England’s first astronomer royal John Flamsteed (1649-1719 CE), as well as the President of the Royal Society Sir Hans Sloane. Jean Baptiste Morin tried to convince Louis XVI to have astrologers on the Royal Council but only twenty-four years after his death, in 1860 CE, the philosopher Pierre Bayle celebrated that the French court had been cured of the ‘disease’ of astrology; other philosophers like Thomas Hobbes had no time for the subject either. So it is therefore likely that astrology saw a decline because it was no longer practised in educated and intellectual circles.

However, astrology did not disappear completely and was taught at the University of Salamanca until 1776 CE and a ‘Zodiac Club’ existed for a short time at Cambridge University in the mid-18th century. Rumours circulated that the likes of Americans such as Jefferson, Franklin and Adams practised astrology but there is little evidence, apart from Jefferson owning an astrology book and the three men being involved in occultism through Freemasonry.

Although astrology’s popularity endured in society, only one major English book was published during the 18th century – the New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences, by Ebenezer Sibley, in 1790 CE.

THE REVIVAL OF ASTROLOGY

Current research shows that Great Britain was probably the only country in Europe to continue studying astrology during the 18th century, therefore making it the place of astrology’s revival.

The first astrologer’s magazine was published in 1791 CE, the Conjurors Magazine and the foremost remaining almanac, the Vox Stellarum, sold 560, 000 copies in 1839 CE. John Worsdale (b. 1766 CE) made the move towards more objective astrology with the publication of his work Astronomy and Elementary Philosophy in 1820 CE. Two great astrologers followed him, Richard Cross Smith – known as Raphael (1795 – 1832 CE) and Commander Richard James Morrison, known as Zadkiel (1795-1874 CE), both of whom founded a British astrological society named the Society of the Mercurii in the 1820s and who published periodicals, books, gave lectures and annual predictions.

Despite a few cases of astrologers being prosecuted as vagrants, during the middle of the 19th century, many were well respected such as the Englishman W. J. Simmonite (d. 1861/2 CE), Alfred James Pearce (1840-1923 CE), Richard Garnett (1835-1906 CE) and Walter Gorn Old, known as Sepharial (1864-1929 CE). But the most notable 19th century astrologer is perhaps William Frederick Allen, known as Alan Leo, who published a magazine titled Modern Astrologer, had a postal horoscopes service and founded around three societies devoted to its study. He also founded the Astrological Lodge of the Theosophical Society in London in 1917 CE, which has gone on to become the parent of all other British astrological societies. Probably his greatest achievement was producing a series of texts that helped to portray astrology in an easy but intelligent manner and so it became available to the educated for the first time since the 17th century. Charles Carter (b.1887 CE) continued Leo’s work and published a series of books on astrological theory and practice. And John Addey (1920-1982) used statistical research in conjunction with traditional astrology to create the harmonics theory.

In France, a revival of astrology was started by Dr Gerard Encausse (1865-1916 CE), known as Papus, followed by Albert Faucheux (1838-1931 CE), Abbe Charles Nicoullaud, known as Formalhaut (1854-1925 CE), who predicted the discovery of Pluto and Paul Choisnard, known as Paul Flambert (1867-1920 CE), who established astrology on a statistical basis.

Germany had the likes of Karl Brandler-Pracht (b.1864 CE), Reinhold Ebertin (b.1901 CE), who developed the mid-point theory and Aquilin Backmund, known as Alexander Bethor (1876-1938 CE) who founded the first German astrology magazine, the Zodiakus, in 1909 CE. Astrology was most popular in Germany during the 1920’s, with publicists such as Elsbeth Ebertin (b.1880 CE) while Alfred Witte (1878-1941 CE) founded the Hamburg School, bringing intellectual advance. Several leading Nazis followed astrology, including Hess, Himmler and Goebbels although the extent to which the Germans used astrology during World War 2 has been exaggerated.

During the 1930’s astrology continued to grow in popularity, following R.H. Naylor’s publication of an astrological profile on the newborn Princess Margaret, in August 1930, in the London Daily Express. He went on to become the first astrological newspaper columnist, since William Lilly, inspiring The People to employ Edward Lyndoe to write their horoscope column. Thus newspapers became the new medium for delivering astrology to the masses albeit in a far more simplified form.

In the USA, the first major American astrologer was Luke Broughton (1828-1899 CE) who had emigrated from Leeds, England, while the first astrological literature appeared c. 1840 CE. Broughton’s pupil W. H. Chaney (b. 1821 CE) was another outstanding astrologer in America during its revival. Dane Rudhyar (b. 1895 CE) established the concept of ‘person-centred’ astrology while Marc Edmund Jones (1888-1980 CE) created the ‘Sabian Symbols’ and the concept of interpreting chart shapes.

The popularity of astrology permitted the growth of more serious study once again and this expansion of interest and awareness benefited from the establishment of the Faculty of Astrological Studies in England, in 1948, which taught and offered examinations on the subject. Although modern science is generally considered to be unsupportive of astrology, the French researcher Michael Gauquelin carried out a statistical investigation into a possible astrological effect, which yielded some positive though debatable evidence. Carl Jung, the renowned psychologist, supported ‘transpersonal’ astrologers, who used the natal chart as a map of the psyche, believing that it could offer valuable insight into the human mind.

Today’s astrologers are primarily concerned with natal chart readings while other branches, such as mundane, composite, horary and electional, are gaining interest as well. Indeed, natural astrology appears to be growing in popularity once more, with renewed interest in the correlation between natural cycles and planetary cycles, despite advances in our scientific understanding of the Solar System and cosmos.

Astrology and astronomy are no longer unified in study yet astrology continues to integrate the discoveries of its estranged cousin. This is similar to when William Herschel discovered Uranus, in 1781 and the subsequent discoveries of Neptune, in 1846 (by Johann Gottfried Galle working from Urbain Le Verrier’s calculations) and Clyde Tombaugh’s famous discovery of Pluto in 1930, pursuing Percival Lowell’s search for a Planet X. More recently, asteroids and dwarf planets have been incorporated into astrological lore, including Chiron, Juno, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Eris. Astrological thought posits that such discoveries coincide with significant developments in human progress and evolution, or turning points within the global consciousness, thereby representing such developments. Contemporary science rejects the idea of any causal link between planetary cycles and events on Earth or among humans. And indeed no reliable evidence or any logical explanation has been offered to support such a notion.

Contrary to the evolution of thought, astrology’s popularity persists even in the 21st century. Instead of leaving behind its study, new advocates continue the search for revised concepts and theories, such as with current systems of psychological and evolutionary astrology and universal archetypes related to planetary and zodiacal symbolism (akin to Jungian archetypes). Areas of study in new science further tempt astrologers to seek answers, for instance, in speculations of unified fields of energy in the Universe or the purported harmonics of planets, sounds produced by their orbital motions and recent experiments on the tangible effects of sound waves on human brain development and modification. Although such studies are considered pseudo-science, it is clear that astrology is still valued by many. Indeed it holds a rich history and played an invaluable role in our early understanding of the Solar System thus heralding the birth of our contemporary studies in astronomy and cosmology.

REFERENCES

Book:

Peter Whitefield (2001) Astrology, A History (1st Edition).

London: British Library Board.

Book:

Peter Marshall (2004) World Astrology (1st Edition).

London: Pan Macmillan Ltd.