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The History and Origins of Astrology

"The placement of the celestial bodies in the heavens at any given moment in time reflects the nature of that moment, including the nature of an individual born in that moment."

Astrology and Astronomy

From the classical period through the scientific revolution, astrological training played a critical role in advancing astronomical, mathematical, medical and psychological knowledge. Astrological influences included the observation and long-term tracking of celestial objects. It was astrologers who provided the first systematic documentation of the movements of the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars. The differentiation between astronomy and astrology varied from place to place; they were indistinguishable in ancient Babylonia and medieval Europe, but separated to an extent in the Hellenistic world. The first semantic distinction between astrology and astronomy was given in the 11th century by the Persian astronomer, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni

Many modern astrologers define astrology as an art form or a symbolic language. Some individuals in the mainstream scientific community still consider astrology a pseudoscience or even superstition. But Astrology has played a role in the shaping of culture, early astronomy, and other disciplines throughout history. Before the modern era, the science of Astronomy was often indistinguishable from Astrology. Both involved the observation and study of the motions of celestial objects in order to make predictions.

Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, the making of calendars, and even astrology. Professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics which deals with physical properties of the universe and their interactions. Astronomy began to diverge from astrology after a period of gradual separation from the Renaissance up until the 18th century. Eventually, astronomy distinguished itself as the scientific study of astronomical objects and phenomena without regard to the astrological speculation of these phenomena.

Many prominent thinkers, philosophers and scientists, such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Paracelsus, Girolamo Cardan, Nicholas Copernicus, Taqi al-Din, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Carl Jung and others, practiced or significantly contributed to astrology.

 The Origins and History of Astrology
 The Origins of Eastern Astrology
 The Origins of Western Astrology
 The History and Shaping of Modern Astrology
[Astrology and Astronomy]

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