Western Zodiac

Introduction

Since ancient times, the stars and planets have fascinated the human mind with their mystery and have inspired unwavering curiosity, wonderment, and awe. Two disciplines of knowledge—astronomy and astrology—inseparable at first, have sought an understanding of the physical and metaphysical nature of the sky and its relationship with the Earth and humans.

Astronomy eventually became a science of the physical laws governing the universe while astrology concentrated on the mythical and metaphysical connections between the universe and the Earth. In the West, astrology has endured ups and downs in acceptance but has remained alive and popular, and has developed into a complex psychological system of interest to psychologists.

What Is Astrology?

According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1993), the word astrology comes from Greek astr, denoting a star, plus logia/logy, denoting a study. It has two meanings:the first, archaic—astronomy; and, second,—“the divination that treats of the supposed influences of the stars upon human affairs and of foretelling terrestrial events by their positions and aspects”(Webster’s, 1993, p. 135). Another definition of astrology was given by Gauquelin (1991), a French psychologist and one of the most devoted researchers of astrological claims: “astrology is the art or science, opinions differ on this point, of describing the character or destiny of a person by observing the position of the stars at the moment of the person’s birth”(p. 13). This later argument on whether astrology “is the art or science”will find its reflection in a flurry of controversial findings and opinions on the value of the ancient discipline. Before the 17th century, astrology was considered a science and often studied in conjunction with astronomy (Gauquelin, 1969). A few prominent scientists whose discoveries laid the foundation for modern science also contributed to the development of astronomy and astrology. Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler studied and used astrology in conjunction with their astronomical research (Rutkin, 2001). Following the separation of the mystical and spiritual from the material prompted by Descartes‘, Kant‘s, and many others‘ philosophical ideas, astrology lost its status, and began to be considered a pseudoscience.

Historically, different systems of astrology have developed all over the world. Vedic, Chinese, and Tibetan astrologies have evolved in the East for thousands of years. Western astrology has been practiced in Europe and North America, and is believed to have originated in Babylonia, Egypt, and Chaldea as far back as 3,000 BCE (Gauquelin, 1969). Over 2000 years ago, Plato (1961