Astrology: where it came from and how it works
Omens on clay tablets, Greek horoscopes, the Sunday paper. How the twelve signs got here, sourced line by line.
In brief
Astrology is a form of divination that reads the positions and movements of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars as signs about earthly and human affairs.1
It grew out of Mesopotamian sky omens and Babylonian birth horoscopes, and was later reshaped by Greek, Indian and Islamic scholars.213
Today it is widely considered a pseudoscience, yet millions follow the Western zodiac, Hindu astrology or the Chinese zodiac, whether for meaning or for fun.1
On this shelf
Down the midway
Sources for this page
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Astrology. Read on · Encyclopedia
- New York University Faculty Digital Archive: Alexander Jones, The Horoscope Casters (Archaeology Odyssey 3.6, 2000). Read on · University
- University of Edinburgh Archives and Manuscript Collections: 'Dicta Albumassar' by Abu Ma'shar, a Latin version of his Introduction to Astrology, 12th century. Read on · Archive
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