About the Author. Shelly Wu is the author of Chinese Astrology, Chinese Sexual Astrology, and The Karma Sutra. Her columns and feature articles have appeared in the Associated Press, on ABC News and the BBC, as well as in Psychic Interactive, Your Stars, InTouch, and LIFE magazines. Wu teaches Chinese astrology at the International Academy.

Can you remember the moment when you first discovered astrology? I was walking through a bookstore with my mom when I was around 5 or 6 years old, and together, we stumbled across the astrology section.

On a shelf was a series of pocket books, each one titled with a mysterious sounding word that sparked my interest. My mom explained that each title was a zodiac sign, and every single one of us has one.

Zodiac Astrology Scorpio

'What's mine?' I asked her curiously. 'You're a Gemini,' she told me. We flipped through the Gemini pocket book together, and I learned that Geminis are charismatic, clever, intelligent, enthusiastic, and social butterflies. Suddenly, I was flushed with confidence. From that day forward, I was a Gemini, and I wore that badge with pride.

My love for astrology all started with a book, and here I am, a student who remains eager to learn more. If you'd like to expand your cosmic knowledge, these will take you to the next level.

As anyone who delves beyond the surface of astrology knows, it is so much more than just your sun sign. In fact, your sun sign is only the tip of the iceberg. There are planets, houses, aspects, nodes, degrees, and a whole flurry of key components to astrology, so beware. Once you start the process of learning about it, astrology becomes addicting. Here are a few books to encourage your newfound love: The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need by Joanna Martine Woolfolk. This gorgeous book takes you through the entire narrative of astrology.

Beginning at its ancient origins, you'll learn everything there is to know about astrology, while flipping through its colorful and ornate pages. The writing is clear and concise and the imagery delivers a vivid perspective of astrology that moves beyond words. Along with some candles and some crystals, it's what every astrology lover needs at the center of their coffee table.

Chart Interpretation Handbook: Guidelines for Understanding the Essentials of the Birth Chart by Stephen Arroyo. Astrology is so much more than the 12 zodiac signs and the planets in our solar system. In fact, your birth chart goes way further than that.

The astrological houses explain the area of your life that each planet and each sign expresses itself. For example, your sun sign could be in the fourth house, meaning that family and home life are central to your character. Your moon sign could also be in your 10th house, meaning that your emotions are irrevocably tied to your career. This book explains everything you need to know about the houses. Linda Goodman's Love Signs: A New Approach to the Human Heart by Linda Goodman. Have you ever felt like you don't completely click with your sun sign? For much of my life, I wondered why I'm so sensitive and emotionally attached when Geminis are supposed to be more focused on the head than the heart.

Then, I realized that my moon is in Pisces, a teary-eyed and deeply romantic water sign. Because the moon rules over your internal world, it has the power to change your personality completely.

Through this book, you'll learn about how your moon sign affects your sun sign, giving you a more accurate idea of the way astrology describes who you are.

. beliefs in correspondences between observations and terrestrial events have influenced various aspects of human history, including world-views, language and many elements of social. Among peoples, astrology has been dated to the 3rd millenniumwith roots in systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.

Until the 17th century, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition, and it helped drive the. It was commonly accepted in political and cultural circles, and some of its concepts were used in other traditional studies, such as,. By the end of the 17th century, emerging scientific concepts in astronomy, such as, undermined the theoretical basis of astrology, which subsequently lost its academic standing and became regarded as a.

Empirical scientific investigation has shown that predictions and recommendations based on these systems are not accurate.: 85;: 424 In the 20th century, astrology gained broader consumer popularity through the influence of regular mass media products, such as newspaper horoscopes. Contents. Early origins Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for human meaning in the sky; it seeks to understand general and specific human behavior through the influence of planets and other celestial objects.

It has 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. 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. With the new needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances in the night-time sky change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities. By the 3rd millennium BC, widespread civilisations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the of the stars. There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period, particularly in (, and ).

Two, from the (compiled in round 1700 BC) are reported to have been made during the reign of king (2334-2279 BC). Another, showing an early use of, is ascribed to the reign of the ruler (c. 2144 - 2124 BC).

This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favourable for the planned construction of a temple. However, controversy attends the question of 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 that emerge from the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950-1651 BC). Ancient world. Detail of the Ishtar Gate in Babylon Babylonian astrology was the first organized system of astrology, arising in the 2nd millennium BC. There is speculation that astrology of some form appeared in the Sumerian period in the 3rd millennium BC, but the isolated references to ancient celestial omens dated to this period are not considered sufficient evidence to demonstrate an integrated theory of astrology.

The history of scholarly celestial divination is therefore generally reported to begin with late texts ( c. 1800 BC), continuing through the Middle Babylonian and periods ( c. By the 16th century BC the extensive employment of omen-based astrology can be evidenced in the compilation of a comprehensive reference work known as.

Its contents consisted of 70 tablets comprising 7,000 celestial omens. Texts from this time also refer to an oral tradition - the origin and content of which can only be speculated upon. At this time Babylonian astrology was solely, concerned with the prediction of weather and political matters, and prior to the 7th century BC the practitioners' understanding of was fairly rudimentary. Astrological symbols likely represented seasonal tasks, and were used as a yearly almanac of listed activities to remind a community to do things appropriate to the season or weather (such as symbols representing times for harvesting, gathering shell-fish, fishing by net or line, sowing crops, collecting or managing water reserves, hunting, and seasonal tasks critical in ensuring the survival of children and young animals for the larger group). By the 4th century, their mathematical methods had progressed enough to calculate future planetary positions with reasonable accuracy, at which point extensive began to appear. Babylonian astrology developed within the context of divination.

A collection of 32 tablets with inscribed liver models, dating from about 1875 BC, are the oldest known detailed texts of Babylonian divination, and these demonstrate the same interpretational format as that employed in celestial omen analysis. Blemishes and marks found on the liver of the sacrificial animal were interpreted as symbolic signs which presented messages from the gods to the king. The gods were also believed to present themselves in the celestial images of the or with whom they were associated. Evil celestial omens attached to any particular planet were therefore seen as indications of dissatisfaction or disturbance of the god that planet represented. Such indications were met with attempts to appease the god and find manageable ways by which the god’s expression could be realised without significant harm to the king and his nation. An astronomical report to the king concerning a lunar eclipse of January 673 BC shows how the ritualistic use of substitute kings, or substitute events, combined an unquestioning belief in magic and omens with a purely mechanical view that the astrological event must have some kind of correlate within the natural world.

In the beginning of the year a flood will come and break the dikes. When the Moon has made the eclipse, the king, my lord, should write to me. As a substitute for the king, I will cut through a dike, here in Babylonia, in the middle of the night. No one will know about it. Ulla Koch-Westenholz, in her 1995 book Mesopotamian Astrology, argues that this ambivalence between a theistic and mechanic worldview defines the Babylonian concept of celestial divination as one which, despite its heavy reliance on magic, remains free of implications of targeted punishment with the purpose of revenge, and so “shares some of the defining traits of modern science: it is objective and value-free, it operates according to known rules, and its data are considered universally valid and can be looked up in written tabulations”. Koch-Westenholz also establishes the most important distinction between ancient Babylonian astrology and other divinatory disciplines as being that the former was originally exclusively concerned with, being geographically oriented and specifically applied to countries cities and nations, and almost wholly concerned with the welfare of the state and the king as the governing head of the nation. Is therefore known to be one of the oldest branches of astrology.

It was only with the gradual emergence of, from the 6th century BC, that astrology developed the techniques and practice of. Hellenistic Egypt. Main article: In 525 BC Egypt was conquered by the Persians so there is likely to have been some Mesopotamian influence on Egyptian astrology. Arguing in favour of this, historian Tamsyn Barton gives an example of what appears to be Mesopotamian influence on the Egyptian, which shared two signs – the Balance and the Scorpion, as evidenced in the (in the Greek version the Balance was known as the Scorpion’s Claws).

After the occupation by in 332 BC, Egypt came under rule and influence. The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander after the conquest and during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the scholars of Alexandria were prolific writers.

It was in Ptolemaic Alexandria that was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of to create. This contained the Babylonian zodiac with its system of planetary, the triplicities of the signs and the importance of eclipses. Along with this it incorporated the Egyptian concept of dividing the zodiac into thirty-six decans of ten degrees each, with an emphasis on the rising decan, the Greek system of planetary Gods, sign rulership.

The decans were a system of time measurement according to the constellations. They were led by the constellation Sothis or Sirius. The risings of the decans in the night were used to divide the night into ‘hours’. The rising of a constellation just before sunrise (its heliacal rising) was considered the last hour of the night. Over the course of the year, each constellation rose just before sunrise for ten days.

When they became part of the astrology of the Hellenistic Age, each decan was associated with ten degrees of the zodiac. Texts from the 2nd century BC list predictions relating to the positions of planets in zodiac signs at the time of the rising of certain decans, particularly Sothis. The earliest Zodiac found in Egypt dates to the 1st century BC, the. Particularly important in the development of horoscopic astrology was the and astronomer, who lived in Alexandria in Egypt. Ptolemy's work the laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition, and as a source of later reference is said to have 'enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more'. It was one of the first astrological texts to be circulated in Medieval Europe after being translated from Arabic into Latin by (Tiburtinus) in Spain, 1138.

According to (4th century), the system of horoscopic astrology was given early on to an Egyptian pharaoh named and his priest. The texts were also put together during this period and, writing in the, demonstrates the degree to which astrologers were expected to have knowledge of the texts in his description of Egyptian sacred rites: This is principally shown by their sacred ceremonial. For first advances the Singer, bearing some one of the symbols of music. For they say that he must learn two of the books of Hermes, the one of which contains the hymns of the gods, the second the regulations for the king's life. And after the Singer advances the Astrologer, with a horologe in his hand, and a palm, the symbols of astrology. He must have the astrological books of Hermes, which are four in number, always in his mouth.

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Greece and Rome The conquest of by exposed the Greeks to the cultures and ideas of, Babylon, Persia and central Asia. Greek overtook cuneiform script as the international language of intellectual communication and part of this process was the transmission of astrology from cuneiform to Greek. Sometime around 280 BC, a priest of from Babylon, moved to the Greek island of in order to teach astrology and Babylonian culture to the Greeks. With this, what historican calls, 'the innovative energy' in astrology moved west to the Hellenistic world of Greece and Egypt. According to Campion, the astrology that arrived from the was marked by its complexity, with different forms of astrology emerging. By the 1st century BC two varieties of astrology were in existence, one that required the reading of in order to establish precise details about the past, present and future; the other being (literally meaning 'god-work'), which emphasised the ascent to the stars.

While they were not mutually exclusive, the former sought information about the life, while the latter was concerned with personal transformation, where astrology served as a form of dialogue with the. As with much else, Greek influence played a crucial role in the transmission of astrological theory to. However, our earliest references to demonstrate its arrival in Rome reveal its initial influence upon the lower orders of society, and display concern about uncritical recourse to the ideas of Babylonian 'star-gazers'. Among the Greeks and, Babylonia (also known as ) became so identified with astrology that 'Chaldean wisdom' came to be a common for using planets and stars.

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The first definite reference to astrology comes from the work of the orator, who in 160 BC composed a treatise warning farm overseers against consulting with Chaldeans. The 2nd-century Roman poet, in his satirical attack on the habits of Roman women, also complains about the pervasive influence of Chaldeans, despite their lowly social status, saying 'Still more trusted are the Chaldaeans; every word uttered by the astrologer they will believe has come from fountain. Nowadays no astrologer has credit unless he has been imprisoned in some distant camp, with chains clanking on either arm'. One of the first astrologers to bring astrology to Rome was, who, in the first century CE, acted as the astrologer for the. Tiberius was the first emperor reported to have had a court astrologer, although his predecessor had also used astrology to help legitimise his rights.

In the second century CE, the astrologer Claudius Ptolemy was so obsessed with getting horoscopes accurate that he began the first attempt to make an accurate world map (maps before this were more relativistic or allegorical) so that he could chart the relationship between the person's birthplace and the heavenly bodies. While doing so, he coined the term 'geography'.

Even though some use of astrology by the emperors appears to have happened, there was also a prohibition on astrology to a certain extent as well. In the 1st century CE, was accused of the crime of funding the banished astrologer, and requesting his own horoscope and that of then emperor. For this crime, Nero forced Anteius to commit suicide. At this time, astrology was likely to result in charges of magic and treason.

Islamic world. Further information: Astrology was taken up enthusiastically by Islamic scholars following the collapse of to the Arabs in the 7th century, and the founding of the in the 8th century. The second Abbasid, (754-775) founded the city of 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 translations of Hellenistic astrological texts. The early translators included, who helped to elect the time for the foundation of Baghdad, and (a.k.a.

Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as in the 13th century, and in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the.

Amongst the important names of Arabic astrologers, one of the most influential was, whose work Introductorium in Astronomiam later became a popular treatise in medieval Europe. Another was the Persian mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and geographer. The Arabs greatly increased the knowledge of astronomy, and many of the that are commonly known today, such as, and retain the legacy of their language. They also developed the list of Hellenistic to the extent that they became historically known as, for which reason it is often wrongly claimed that the Arabic astrologers invented their use, whereas they are clearly known to have been an important feature of.

During the advance of Islamic science some of the practices of astrology were refuted on theological grounds by astronomers such as (Alpharabius), (Alhazen). Their criticisms argued that the methods of astrologers were rather than, and conflicted with orthodox religious views of through the suggestion that the Will of God can be precisely known and predicted in advance. Such refutations mainly concerned (such as ), rather than the more 'natural branches' such as medical and meteorological astrology, these being seen as part of the natural sciences of the time. For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' Resāla fī ebṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm, 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. 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. Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

Is shown measuring an with a pair of compasses in this 14th-century work Whilst astrology in the East flourished following the break up of the Roman world, with Indian, Persian and Islamic influences coming together and undergoing intellectual review through an active investment in translation projects, Western astrology in the same period had become “fragmented and unsophisticated. Partly due to the loss of Greek scientific astronomy and partly due to condemnations by the Church.” Translations of Arabic works into Latin started to make their way to Spain by the late 10th century, and in the 12th century the transmission of astrological works from Arabia to Europe “acquired great impetus”. By the 13th century astrology had become a part of everyday medical practice in Europe. Doctors combined Galenic medicine (inherited from the Greek physiologist - AD 129-216) with studies of the stars. By the end of the 1500s, physicians across Europe were required by law to calculate the position of the Moon before carrying out complicated medical procedures, such as surgery or bleeding. Ascension tympanum of Royal Portal of. The central theme is Christ's ascension, but around the edges are the signs of the and the.

In, a was divided into seven distinct areas, each represented by a particular planet and known as the seven. Dante attributed these arts to the planets. As the arts were seen as operating in ascending order, so were the planets in decreasing order of planetary speed: was assigned to the Moon, the quickest moving celestial body, was assigned to Mercury, to Venus, to the Sun, to Mars, to Jupiter and astrology/ to the slowest moving body, Saturn. Medieval writers used astrological symbolism in their literary themes. For example, Dante's Divine Comedy builds varied references to planetary associations within his described architecture of, and, (such as the seven layers of Purgatory's mountain purging the that correspond to astrology's ).

Similar astrological allegories and planetary themes are pursued through the works of. Chaucer's astrological passages are particularly frequent and knowledge of astrological basics is often assumed through his work. He knew enough of his period's astrology and astronomy to write a for his son.

He pinpoints the early spring season of the in the opening verses of the prologue by noting that the Sun 'hath in the his halfe cours yronne'. He makes the refer to 'sturdy hardiness' as an attribute of, and associates with 'clerkes'. In the early modern period, astrological references are also to be found in the works of. One of the earliest English astrologers to leave details of his practice was Richard Trewythian (b.

His notebook demonstrates that he had a wide range of clients, from all walks of life, and indicates that engagement with astrology in 15th-century England was not confined to those within learned, theological or political circles. During the Renaissance, court astrologers would complement their use of horoscopes with astronomical observations and discoveries. Many individuals now credited with having overturned the old astrological order, such as, and, were themselves practicing astrologers. At the end of the Renaissance the confidence placed in astrology diminished, with the breakdown of and rejection of the distinction between the and, which had historically acted as the foundation of astrological theory. Keith Thomas writes that although is consistent with astrology theory, 16th and 17th century astronomical advances meant that 'the world could no longer be envisaged as a compact inter-locking organism; it was now a mechanism of infinite dimensions, from which the hierarchical subordination of earth to heaven had irrefutably disappeared'.

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Initially, amongst the astronomers of the time, 'scarcely anyone attempted a serious refutation in the light of the new principles' and in fact astronomers 'were reluctant to give up the emotional satisfaction provided by a coherent and interrelated universe'. By the 18th century the intellectual investment which had previously maintained astrology's standing was largely abandoned. Historian of science Ann Geneva writes: Astrology in seventeenth century England was not a science. It was not a Religion.

It was not magic. Nor was it astronomy, mathematics, puritanism, neo Platism, psychology, meteorology, alchemy or witchcraft.

It used some of these as tools; it held tenets in common with others; and some people were adept at several of these skills. But in the final analysis it was only itself: a unique divinatory and prognostic art embodying centuries of accreted methodology and tradition. Main articles: and The earliest use of the term jyotiṣa is in the sense of a, an auxiliary discipline of. The only work of this class to have survived is the, which contains rules for tracking the motions of the sun and the moon in the context of a five-year intercalation cycle.

The date of this work is uncertain, as its late style of language and composition, consistent with the last centuries BC, albeit pre-, conflicts with some internal evidence of a much earlier date in the 2nd millennium BC. The documented history of in the subsequent newer sense of modern is associated with the interaction of Indian and cultures in the period. Greek became a of the Indus valley region following the military conquests of Alexander the Great and the. The oldest surviving treatises, such as the or the, date to the early centuries AD. The oldest astrological treatise in is the ('Sayings of the Greeks'), a versification by in 269/270 AD of a now lost translation of a Greek treatise by during the 2nd century AD under the patronage of the king. Indian astronomy and astrology developed together.

The earliest treatise on jyotish, the, dates from the Vedic era. The sage Bhrigu is one of the Saptarshi, the seven sages who assisted in the creation of the universe. Written on pages of tree bark, the Samhita (Compilation) is said to contain five million horoscopes comprising all who have lived in the past or will live in the future. The first named authors writing treatises on astronomy are from the 5th century AD, the date when the classical period of Indian astronomy can be said to begin.

Besides the theories of in the and the lost Arya-siddhānta, there is the of. An oracle bone – turtle shell Chinese system is based on and and its significant development is tied to that of, which came to flourish during the (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with (theory of the three harmony, heaven, earth and water) and uses the principles of and concepts that are not found in Western astrology, such as the teachings, the 10, the 12, the (moon calendar and sun calendar), and the time calculation after year, month, day and (時辰). Astrology was traditionally regarded highly in China, and Confucius is said to have treated astrology with respect saying: 'Heaven sends down its good or evil symbols and wise men act accordingly'. The 60-year cycle combining the five elements with the twelve animal signs of the zodiac has been documented in China since at least the time of the (ca 1766 BC – ca 1050 BC). Have been found dating from that period with the date according to the 60-year cycle inscribed on them, along with the name of the diviner and the topic being divined about.

One of the most famous astrologers in China was who lived in around 300 BC, and who wrote: 'When some new dynasty is going to arise, heaven exhibits auspicious signs for the people'. Mesoamerica.

Main articles: and The calendars of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 6th century BC. The earliest calendars were employed by peoples such as the Zapotecs and, and later by such peoples as the,. Although the did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements to it were the most sophisticated. Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most completely understood.

The distinctive Mayan calendar used two main systems, one plotting the solar year of 360 days, which governed the planting of crops and other domestic matters; the other called the of 260 days, which governed ritual use. Each was linked to an elaborate astrological system to cover every facet of life. On the fifth day after the birth of a boy, the Mayan astrologer-priests would cast his horoscope to see what his profession was to be: soldier, priest, civil servant or sacrificial victim. A 584-day cycle was also maintained, which tracked the appearance and conjunctions of Venus. Venus was seen as a generally inauspicious and baleful influence, and Mayan rulers often planned the beginning of warfare to coincide with when Venus rose.

There is evidence that the Maya also tracked the movements of Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, and possessed a zodiac of some kind. The Mayan name for the constellation Scorpio was also 'scorpion', while the name of the constellation Gemini was 'peccary'. There is some evidence for other constellations being named after various beasts. The most famous Mayan astrological observatory still intact is the Caracol observatory in the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in modern-day Mexico.

The Aztec calendar shares the same basic structure as the Mayan calendar, with two main cycles of 360 days and 260 days. The 260-day calendar was called and was used primarily for divinatory purposes. Like the Mayan calendar, these two cycles formed a 52-year 'century', sometimes called the. See also.

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