A Foundation For Astrology

Astrology studies the celestial bodies affects on humanity. In particular human fate, destiny, and personality were described by the celestial influences of the stars and planets. The roots of Astrology can be traced back to the first or second century BC. Many ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Chinese practiced forms of Astrology. Although, the methods of Astrological forecast differed slightly from culture to culture there still remained many fundamental similarities between them.

For example Chinese Astrology which evolved convergent to western Astrology had some major differences. The most fundamental difference being was the use of the moons 28 day cycle through the heavens. The earliest Chinese zodiac divided the lunar cycles into 4 groups each corresponding to a different season and 7 sub groups corresponding to specific “lunar mansions” in the season. The seasons were given animal based names for example: Spring=The Green Dragon of spring, summer=The Red Bird of Summer, fall=The White Tiger of autumn, and winter= The Black Tortoise of Winter.

Even though the use of the moon in Chinese Astrology opposed the use of the suns “movement” through the celestial bodies in the Babylonian and Egyptian disciplines some similarities still existed. These similarities included the use of elemental attributes assigned to the planets. For example Saturn= Earth, Mars=Fire, Mercury=Water, Venus=Metal, and Jupiter=Wood. In addition to this similarity the Chinese zodiac also has 12 signs like its western counterpart.

The western use of the sun as the foci for Astrological studies stemmed from the pre heliocentric model of the universe. In particular Egyptians may have contributed greatly to the earth centered model of the solar system. They believed a giant dung beetle pushed the sun through the sky like a giant piece of dung. This earth centered model of our solar system coincidentally seemed to arise around 1.5 BC right around the time the Egyptian and Babylonian studies of celestial objects began.

As you may suspect there are different schools of thought on Astrology. Moon signs, Sun Signs, and animal signs exist in these various schools. The popular horoscope used in your local newspaper for example is probably based on your sun sign. In contrast the Indian Vedic school of thought would be more concerned with your moon sign. While the Chinese system uses animal signs in their zodiac and is based on the twelve year Jovan cycle. Some even speculate that there may be correlation between Astrological studies and the Tarot deck.