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This page is just a brief "taster" of a huge subject.
Many books have
been written about the History of Astrology and researchers can also
find additional material on other websites.
...
The planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have been observed
and their movements correlated with events on earth for thousands of
years.
Around 5000 BC there was evidence of astrology and astronomy in stone
circles in Great Britain and France.
Babylonian astrology was introduced to the Greeks early in the 4th century
B.C. and, through the studies of Plato, Aristotle, and others, astrology
came to be highly regarded as a science. The
pathways of the planets became known as the "Zodiac". It was
then accepted by the Romans (the Roman names for the zodiacal
signs are still used today)
and the Arabs.
Modern astrology of today evolved from Mesopotamia (now known as Iraq)
and Sumeria, where the relationships of the celestial bodies with crop
planting
were studied. The seasons were important for agricultural reasons
and the sun was
worshipped for its important effects - both for agriculture, and also
for the whole of human life.
The phases of the moon were predicted for pattern, regularity,
and a measure of time. Early astrologers began to predict natural disasters,
wars, and then later personal horoscopes for national leaders.
Astrology spread towards India and China
and Egypt and Greece. At about the same time
Europeans and the people of the Americas were developing their own forms
of Astrology
and
Astronomy,
particularly the Mayans of Mexico.
The Greeks attributed their
gods and goddesses to the planets. Then the Romans adopted astrology
as a form of divination, and introduced the names used today.
In Alexandria, Ptolemy wrote the first books on astrology: the Almagest
and Tetrabiblios.
These books describe how the earth is surrounded by
a power, the forces of which are projected from the planets to affect
life on earth. They list positive and negative influences and begin
to relate astrology to individuals rather than just to countries (as
in the past).
It was at about
this time that many people who could afford to would have their horoscope
read - to learn about their personal health,
wealth, the best partner to share life with and
even the time and cause of his/her death.
Today, horoscopes are printed in many national newspapers and magazines.
They are a source of interest for some, a talking-point for others, and
ridicule for skeptics (who probably enjoy them as much as devotees of
astrology).
However, there are also some people who take personal horoscopes
seriously. That is, they are genuinely interested in predictions and
advice gained from horoscopes made for them personally - taking into
account their date, place, and time of birth. Use of this personal information
enables more meaningful calculations to be made - many of which are now
undertaken using powerful computers. The use of computers to generate
horoscopes has enabled personal horoscopes to be made available at much
lower costs than were possible in the past.
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