Astrology is the study of the positions and movements of celestial objects—in particular, the sun, moon, and planets—and their supposed effect on life and events on earth.
The word astronomy dates to the 13th century but originally meant what we now call astrology.
The Magi were a class of Babylonian astrologers, who are best known today for predicting the birth of King Jesus.
The Magi were pretty good at predicting things such as solar and lunar eclipses, so they used this to predict people's future. An eclipse of the sun was considered so unlucky for a king that the Magi advised them to put someone else on the throne that day so the bad luck would fall on them.
Erra-Imittī, meaning “Support of Erra” ca. 1805–1799 BC was king of Isin, an important city-state in modern Iraq, who according to the Sumerian King List ruled for eight years. He took the Magi’s advice and put his gardener on the throne. But doing the day Erra-Imittī died, so the gardener remained King.
Pope Julius II set the time of his coronation in 1503 according to astrological calculations, despite the fact that the church during the Renaissance frowned on the occult as bordering on heresy.
Astrologer Girolamo Cardono predicted his death on September 21, 1576. He had been studying his own horoscope and determined that this was the day he would die. He made his prediction known to his friends and family, and on the appointed day, he went to bed and refused to get up. He died later that day, apparently of natural causes.
In Europe during the Middle Ages astrology had a powerful influence, as kings and other public figures had their own astrologers. Queen Elizabeth I was crowned Queen on a day chosen as propitious by her astrologer John Dee.
The most famous astrologer of the 17th century William Lilly (May 1, 1602 – June 9, 1681) published a renowned book that is still in print today - Christian Astrology. He is most famous for predicting the Great Fire of London in 1666 on the basis of the stars. Lilly also predicted the downfall of the king in 1666, citing September 3 (the day after the fire) as an auspicious date. Some anti monarchists took this forecast so seriously that they planned to start a fire to help it happen, but their plot was discovered. Although the fire happened anyway, by accident it still didn't result in the overthrow of the king as Lilly predicted.
No one would have been surprised if their monarchy had fallen. Charles I had been executed 17 years earlier and Charles II had many enemies. And there were often fires in London (after 1666 they rebuilt houses in stone instead of wood). So predicting at fire or a king’s downfall was a good bet for Lilly.
Benjamin Franklin, while feuding with Titan Leeds, used astrology to predict his death and published this in the Poor Richards Almanac. When Leeds didn't die on that date, referred to him as "the ghost of Titan Leeds" thereafter and encouraged him to pass on.
In 1981 an assassination attempt was made on United States President Ronald Reagan. For the next seven years his wife, Nancy, consulted a California Astrologer. On May 3, 1988, The White House acknowledged that First Lady Nancy Reagan used astrological advice.
Susan Miller, the founder of Astrology Zone, placed responsibility for the 2020 coronavirus pandemic on the dwarf planet Pluto in March 2020 after her earlier, pre-COVID-19 prediction of a “great” 2020 seemed to miss the mark. However, the fact that astrologers did not see the virus coming didn't make their practice any less popular. In fact, horoscope sites reported rising traffic in April and May 2020 as people looked to the stars to give shape to a formless quarantine life.
The Magi were a class of Babylonian astrologers, who are best known today for predicting the birth of King Jesus.
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| Conventional post-12th century depiction of the Biblical magi |
The Magi were pretty good at predicting things such as solar and lunar eclipses, so they used this to predict people's future. An eclipse of the sun was considered so unlucky for a king that the Magi advised them to put someone else on the throne that day so the bad luck would fall on them.
Erra-Imittī, meaning “Support of Erra” ca. 1805–1799 BC was king of Isin, an important city-state in modern Iraq, who according to the Sumerian King List ruled for eight years. He took the Magi’s advice and put his gardener on the throne. But doing the day Erra-Imittī died, so the gardener remained King.
Pope Julius II set the time of his coronation in 1503 according to astrological calculations, despite the fact that the church during the Renaissance frowned on the occult as bordering on heresy.
Astrologer Girolamo Cardono predicted his death on September 21, 1576. He had been studying his own horoscope and determined that this was the day he would die. He made his prediction known to his friends and family, and on the appointed day, he went to bed and refused to get up. He died later that day, apparently of natural causes.
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| Gerolamo Cardano |
In Europe during the Middle Ages astrology had a powerful influence, as kings and other public figures had their own astrologers. Queen Elizabeth I was crowned Queen on a day chosen as propitious by her astrologer John Dee.
The most famous astrologer of the 17th century William Lilly (May 1, 1602 – June 9, 1681) published a renowned book that is still in print today - Christian Astrology. He is most famous for predicting the Great Fire of London in 1666 on the basis of the stars. Lilly also predicted the downfall of the king in 1666, citing September 3 (the day after the fire) as an auspicious date. Some anti monarchists took this forecast so seriously that they planned to start a fire to help it happen, but their plot was discovered. Although the fire happened anyway, by accident it still didn't result in the overthrow of the king as Lilly predicted.
No one would have been surprised if their monarchy had fallen. Charles I had been executed 17 years earlier and Charles II had many enemies. And there were often fires in London (after 1666 they rebuilt houses in stone instead of wood). So predicting at fire or a king’s downfall was a good bet for Lilly.
Benjamin Franklin, while feuding with Titan Leeds, used astrology to predict his death and published this in the Poor Richards Almanac. When Leeds didn't die on that date, referred to him as "the ghost of Titan Leeds" thereafter and encouraged him to pass on.
In 1981 an assassination attempt was made on United States President Ronald Reagan. For the next seven years his wife, Nancy, consulted a California Astrologer. On May 3, 1988, The White House acknowledged that First Lady Nancy Reagan used astrological advice.
 |
| Nancy Reagan |
Susan Miller, the founder of Astrology Zone, placed responsibility for the 2020 coronavirus pandemic on the dwarf planet Pluto in March 2020 after her earlier, pre-COVID-19 prediction of a “great” 2020 seemed to miss the mark. However, the fact that astrologers did not see the virus coming didn't make their practice any less popular. In fact, horoscope sites reported rising traffic in April and May 2020 as people looked to the stars to give shape to a formless quarantine life.
A 1985 double blind study found that participants were unable to pick their personalized astrological descriptions out of a line up any better than random chance.
A research that analyzed the birthdays of all 20 million husbands and wives in England and Wales failed to reveal any evidence of attraction or compatibility between people of particular star signs.
Seventy-five per cent of people who believe in astrology are women.
Sources Christianity magazine, New York Times
Sources Christianity magazine, New York Times
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