Astrology is an ancient pseudoscience which claims to divine secret information regarding earthly events and human affairs by analyzing the movement and relative positions of heavenly objects. It was popularized by such luminaries as astronomy’s Galileo Galilei and Ptolemy, both of whom wrote important books on it. While there is considerable debate as to how astronomy and astrology really began, some scholars hold that it evolved from an interest in knowing how the planets worked with the sun as a child watched over a telescope. In addition, ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphics give some indication of the conception of astrology and its role in ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean region.
Astrology, as defined by Wikipedia, is “the science that seeks to understand the relationship between celestial bodies and earthly objects”. It is also defined as “the application of celestial navigation, astrology, and cartography to determine the positioning and positions of heavenly bodies as well as their alignment with the fixed stars. This includes determining the positions of the Sun, planets, comets, and stars in relation to human astrological and cartographic positioning and navigation.” Astrology is used for various types of divination, usually to foretell future events or outcomes, and to help people make decisions concerning marriage, death, inheritance, business transactions, travel, and others.
The work of astrologers can be divided into two main categories, terrestrial and celestial. Terrestrial astrology concerns itself with the movement and position of the planets and stars. This type of astrology can be used to examine the various aspects of our lives, especially those related to our interactions with other living things. For example, a star may indicate a possible opportunity to meet someone new or simply to observe a stellar event. Celestial astrology is different however. It is concerned with the movements of the planets and other solar-system elements, and the effects they have on each other and on our individual lives.
An important aspect of astrology, both terrestrial and celestial, is the study of stellarae. Stellarae are basically just short descriptions of planetary positions and movements. They are not, however, depictions of future events. Different stellarae describe different astrological progressions, such as transits (where the planet crosses or enters a distinct orbit around the star), perigrams (a transit that occurs twice around the star and is not accompanied by an accompanying transiting phase), semi-synodic (a phase that lasts for about five days and is not accompanied by a transiting phase) and octennial (a period that lasts for approximately 40 days and is not accompanied by a transiting phase).
These different periods and progressions enable us to understand how the planets affect one another and how we can use this knowledge to our benefit. A well devised astrology chart can predict with great accuracy the precise time when certain planetary transits or movements will take place. This way we can use this knowledge to our advantage and effectively plan our events in advance. A good astrology chart can also enable us to gain a more accurate understanding of stellar parallax, which is the difference between the horizontal and vertical positions of a fixed star.
The primary focus of astrology, at least in ancient times, was the study of the heavenly bodies. However, modern astrology makes use of the data gathered from the planets in the solar system. There are four standard astrological zodiac signs, namely, Aries (the ram), Taurus (the bull), Gemini (the twins) and Cancer (the crab). In addition there are minor astrological signs, as I call them, that are based on the movement of the planets through the inner and outer zones of the constellations.