Astrology

Astrology (from Greek:

Description

In past centuries astrology often relied on close observation of astronomical objects, and the charting of their movements, and might be considered a protoscience in this regard. In modern times astrologers have tended to rely on data drawn up by astronomers and set out in a set of tables called an ephemeris, which shows the changing positions of the heavenly bodies through time. It is the interpretation of these science based tables that makes astrology a target for the label pseudoscience.

Related Topics:
Protoscience - Astronomers - Ephemeris - Pseudoscience

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Central to all astrology is the horoscope. This is a diagrammatic representation in two dimensions of the celestial bodies' apparent positions in the heavens from the vantage of a location on Earth at a given time and place. The horoscope of an individual's birth is called a natal chart (other names for this diagram in English include natus, nativity, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, birth chart, sky-map, cosmogram, vitasphere, soulprint, radical chart, radix, or simply chart).

Related Topics:
Horoscope - Earth - Natal chart - English

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To determine the astrological signs in which the Sun, Moon, and the other celestial bodies fall on any given day, hour, minute, or second, it is necessary to consult an ephemeris or use an astrological computer program which will have a built-in ephemeris; these computer programs make it quick and very easy to calculate the horoscope (also called natal chart, astro-chart, etc.) so that the astrologer can spend more time interpreting the chart rather than actually calculating it. Interpretation of a horoscope/natal chart is governed by:

Related Topics:
Sun - Moon - Ephemeris

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• astrological aspects: the positions of the major planetary bodies relative to each other,
• their positions relative to the astrological signs of one of the zodiac sytems,
• their position in one of the systems of astrological houses,
• their positions relative to the horizon line (namely the ascendant/descendant axes, zenith/midheaven and nadir/immum coeli axes).

Significant traditions of astrology include but are not limited to:

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• Western astrology,
• Chinese astrology,
• Jyotish (Vedic astrology),
• Mesoamerican astrology,
• Tibetan astrology, and
• Kabbalistic astrology.

Some of these can be subdivided by type, such as

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• natal astrology (the study of a person's birth, or natal chart),
• horary astrology (a chart drawn up to answer a specific question), and
• electional astrology (a chart drawn up ahead of time to determine the best moment to begin an enterprise or undertaking).
• medical astrology (using the client's natal chart and/or a horary chart to diagnose and treat various illnesses)

Mundane astrologers believe that correlations exist between geological phenomena (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.) and astronomical phenomena (the movement of celestial bodies in relation to Earth). Political astrology has existed for thousands of years as well, while some astrologers use ancient methods which are supposed to be able to predict the weather and weather-related phenomena (storms, floods, etc.), which is collectively known as meteorological astrology.

Related Topics:
Mundane astrologers - Earthquakes - Volcanic eruptions - Astronomical - Earth - Political astrology - Weather - Storm - Floods - Meteorological astrology

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A few Western and all Jyotish (Hindu) astrologers use the sidereal zodiac, which uses the true astronomical positions of the stars. The majority of Western astrologers base their work on the tropical zodiac, which uses the same reference point (First Point of Aries) as modern astronomy.

Related Topics:
Jyotish - Hindu - Sidereal zodiac - Tropical zodiac

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