In the beginning, astrology and religion were very closely connected. Astronomy and astrology were the same science--the split came only during modern times when it became expedient for the Church to redirect attention toward dogma and the scientific schools were looking to elevate logical study of the heavens by displacing the current science, much the same way allopathic medicine has displaced naturopathic medicine. Long before recorded history, the stars, sun, moon, eclipses, etc., were studied by men who charted the heavens and helped their contemporaries to understand the events and goings-on as they endured and celebrated with the "as above, so below" philosophy that still does and always will prevail in astrological thought. Because of these attempts to harness the knowledge of the heavens, calenders were made possible. Eventually, the ancient star mappers were able to see the power each of the planets, the sun , the moon and even the eclipses had on people and nations here below. The sun, being the most powerful, correlates to the individual or nation as a representation of self, which is why sun sign astrology has become so popular.

Hindu Astrology

This culture was at its peak from about 5,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE. Their mythology/religion was based on the seven Rishis (word means "to shine") who were seven ancient sages and who have their place in the heavens, in the constellation Ursa Major.

The Hindu zodiac has twelve signs, but the sky is divided into twenty-eight equal parts called Lunar Mansions. Each Mansion corresponds to the twenty-eight day cycle of the moon, which makes the lunar cycle the basis of Hindu, also called Eastern Astrology, which is why often you will hear of the Eastern world being referred to as children of the moon and the Western world, as children of the sun.

In Eastern astrology is the concept of Karma, which is absent in Western astrology. This doctrine of karma and reincarnation is the journey of the soul through a series of lives. Partly the use of astrology is to find out at what stage the soul is at in development. Karma is based on the acts performed and actions not taken in previous lives, their impact on the current life and the actions taken and not taken in this life and the influence they may have on the next life.

Today, there is a movement within Western astrology to use karma and reincarnation within the delineation of a natal chart. The nodes of the moon, sign and placement, Pluto, retrograde planets--there are several ways in which it is being delineated.

The Hindu Zodiac as they correlate to the Western Zodiac:

Western Tropical-------------------------Hindu Tropical

Aries-----------------------------------------Mesham--Miash

Taurus-----------------------------------Rishabham--Vrishab

Gemini-----------------------------------Mithunam---Mithun

Cancer----------------------------------Karkatakam---Karka

Leo-----------------------------------------Simham---Simha

Virgo----------------------------------------------Kanya

Libra-------------------------------------------Tula---Tulam

Scorpio--------------------------------Vrishikam---Vrishchik

Sagittarius--------------------------------Dhanus---Dhanu

Capricorn--------------------------------Makaram---Makar

Aquarius--------------------------------Kumbham---Kumbh

Pisces------------------------------Meenam---Meena---Minam

Babylonian Astrology

Babylonia, the southern part of Mesopotamia was first settled by the Sumerians, a simple folk who lived close to nature, but spent much time looking up at the heavens. Over the generations, they charted the movements of the known bodies in the heavens, gave them names, assigned a god to each, complete with personalities. It was the early Babylonian priest--astrologers who set down what has come down to us in the form of modern astrology. It was they who divided the heavens into twelve equal parts of 30 degrees each in a 360 degree circle. Each division was called a "house" and ruled various aspects of life.

House                   Babylonian                                    Modern

1...............................Life.............................................Self

2.....................Riches and Poverty..........................Possessions

3............................Brothers..........................Siblings and Short Journeys

4............................Parents................................Home and End of Life

5...........................Children................................Creativity and Children

6....................Health and Illness......................Health, Work and Service

7...................Wife and Husband......................Partnerships and Marriage

8.............................Death........................Death, Legacies, Regeneration

9...........................Religion..........................Philosophy and Long Journeys

10........................Dignities................................Profession and Status

11.......................Friendship..........................Friends, Hopes and Wishes

12..........................Enmity...........................Limitations and Self-Undoing

Personal astrology did not come into being until about the middle of the 5th Century BCE. Until then, astrology was used for general forecasting of common events such as floods, planting and harvesting, war issues and the rule of kings. Babylonian astrology was popular until about the time of the Romans, circa 125 BCE.

The Zodiac list below correlates the Babylonian and Modern signs.

Babylonian.....................Modern

Aries...............................Aries

Pleiades..........................Taurus

Gemini............................Gemini

Presepe..........................Cancer

Leo.................................Leo

Spica..............................Virgo

Libra...............................Libra

Scorpio...........................Scorpio

Sagittarius......................Sagittarius

Capricornus....................Capricorn

Aquarius.........................Aquarius

Pisces............................Pisces

Egyptian Astrology

From about 3,000 BCE to 300 BCE, astrology and religion were synonymous in practice with the priests holding the knowledge of the heavens. The main focus of life in Egypt was the Nile River and it is not surprising that water is a basic imagery used in Egyptian astrology. The sky became a large river (a goddess named Nut) and the lesser gods crossed the sky-river in boats. From this came the custom of supplying deceased pharaohs, with all they would need to cross the great river. The Egyptians believed the sun god controlled the Nile River and made it possible for the Nile to flood its banks making agriculture possible. The moon and Venus held superior places also.

In the beginning, the Egyptians divided the sky into 36 sections. These 36 sections became what the Greek astrologers called the dekanoi (ten days apart) and come down to us in tact as the decanates, which we still use today. Later, the sky was divided into 12 sections and each section was given a name and assigned three stars. Each was given a boat to cross the sky river. There as a special deity or god for each month and each day of the year.

Individual chart forecasting using the date of birth was first developed by the Egyptians in the 5th century BCE. Until that time astrology was used, as in other cultures, to predict wide-scale common events like weather, war, famine and leadership issues.

The Egyptian Zodiac:

Egyptian.................................................Modern

The Sheep...........................................Aries the Ram

The Bull.............................................Taurus the Bull

Two Men Clasping Hands...................Gemini the Twins

The Scarab.......................................Cancer the Crab

The Lion................................................Leo the Lion

The Maiden.......................................Virgo the Virgin

The Horizon......................................Libra the Scales

The Scorpion..................................Scorpio the Scorpion

He Who Draws a Bow.....................Sagittarius the Archer

The Goat.........................................Capricorn the Goat

The Water Man............................Aquarius the Waterbearer

The Fishes....................................Pisces the Two Fishes

Chinese Astrology

Historically, some mark the beginning of Chinese astrology at around 2800 BCE during the reign or Emperor Fu Hsi. The Emperors were the center of life literally and spiritually and it was the emperor who maintained the balance between the heavens and the earth... between gods and human beings. Isolated from outside influences, the Chinese developed an astrology that was unlike any other.

According to The Bamboo Annals, which was unearthed in 128 CE, the Emperor Yao named the 12 signs of the Zodiac and divided the sky into 28 Mansions of the Moon. The 12 signs were named for animals and stand for the 12 years in the cycle, not for 12 months in the year. Chinese astrology does not account for the influence of celestial bodies.

The Animal Signs of the Chinese Zodiac:

Rat...........Ox ...........Tiger ..............Hare .........Dragon ..........Snake

Horse ......Ram .........Monkey..........Cock.........Dog................Boar

There are 5 elements in Chinese Astrology : Metal, Wood, Fire, Water and Earth. Only 4 are used to divide the animals of the zodiac.

They break into these groups:

Metal: Positive: Monkey and Dog............Negative: Cock and Boar or Pig

Water: Positive: Rat...............................Negative: Ox

Wood: Positive: Tiger and Dragon............Negative: Hare or Cat

Fire:    Positive: Horse............................Negative: Snake and Goat

The Qualities in Chinese Astrology are Yin (subjective, outward, social) and Yang (objective, receptive, solitary). The signs are opposite but equal. Yin is born of light ..seeking darkness and Yang is born of darkness...seeking light. There is a natural moving toward balance between the two.

There has been an attempt to correlate the signs with those of Western Astrology. For further understanding of this read The New Astrology by Suzanne White (ISBN#...0-312-01797-9).

Greek Astrology

Pythagoras was the most important influence in astronomy/astrology in Greece from the 6th to the 4th century BCE. The next great influence came from Eudoxos in the 4th century BCE. He was an astronomer and mathematician who introduced a Greek calendar based on the Babylonian calendar. He was the first astronomer to relate planetary movement in scientific terms, giving us the term planet from the Greek word, plenetes, which means wanderer, identifying a clear difference between planets and fixed stars, which do not vary in their heavenly position.

When Greece assimilated Babylon into its empire in the 3rd century BCE, Babylonian astrology was taken and given a Greek flavor by Callisthenes, creating the Hellenistic Zodiac The Greek zodiac is the first zodiac apparently free of fixed stars and is accredited to Hipparchus in the 2nd century BCE.

The Greek Zodiac

Aries....................................Krios

Taurus................................Tauros

Gemini.............................Didymoi

Cancer.............................Karkinos

Leo.......................................Leon

Virgo.............................Parthenos

Libra.......................Chelai (Zugos)

Scorpio...........................Scorpios

Sagittarius........................Toxotes

Capricorn......................Aigokeros

Aquarius.......................Hydroxous

Pisces..............................Ichthys

The Greeks were late comers to astrology. They were an impatient force and did not early realize that Venus, the morning star which they called the Heralder of Dawn was also the evening star which they called Vespertine. When the sixth century philosopher, Pythagorus wrote his Harmony of the Spheres he indicated:

The Greek Planets:

Sun.............................................................Helios

Moon...........................................................Selene

Mercury, the Twinkling Star ..........................Hermes....Stilbon

Venus, noted above.........................Phosphoros, Hesperus, Aphrodite

Mars, the Fiery Star.....................................Pyroeis......Ares

Jupiter, Luminous Star..................................Phaethon....Zeus

Saturn, Brilliant Star.....................................Phainon...Kronos

In 140 CE, Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer from Alexandria wrote Tetrabiblos (which means The Four Books) and it is considered to be the first textbook on astrology. In this work he set down his observations and theories describing the function of the planets, houses and signs of the zodiac. Aspects were set forth as the way to determine a planets good or bad influence in a persons chart and are still of major importance today. Ptolemys teachings were authoritative for the next 1,400 years.

Roman Astrology

Along with their religions, traditions and literature, Greek slaves brought astrology to Rome. Generally, they used their skill to pick winners in the chariot races at the Roman Circus for their masters. In the scheme of things Roman astrology was short-termed lasting from about 300 BCE until about 400 CE.

Julius Caesar and indeed all of the emperors of Rome believed very strongly in astrology and divinations. It is during this time that the Romans gave the planets and signs their names...the names which come down to us today.

Planets during Roman times:

Sun.........................linked with Apollo.......................god of the sun

Moon.....................linked with Diana................goddess of the hunt

Mercury........................................................messenger of the gods

       Mercury was also the god of thieves and merchants

Venus................................goddess of love and beauty and pleasure

Mars..................................................god of war and aggressiveness

Jupiter..........................................god of luck, health and happiness

Saturn...................symbol of Father Time...the Celestial Taskmaster

These were the only planets used until the advent of very powerful telescopes gave us the ability to see more deeply into the Cosmos in the 1700s

Modern Astrology

With the fall of Rome and the rise to power of the Church, astrology was condemned as a tool of the devil and it virtually disappeared from Europe during the Dark Ages. The Arabic and Orientals practiced astrology as a serious science. Finally the Renaissance blossomed forth from the ashes of the Dark Ages and with men such as St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) astrology made a comeback in popularity and not only did some of the great families of Europe, like the di Medici's, support astrology like they did the arts and sciences, the papal courts had staff astrologers. Michel de Nostradamus was perhaps the most famous astrologer of his day. Down through the centuries astrologers advised kings, popes, princes and queens.

In the late seventeenth century astrology again fell into disrepute and with the Age of Enlightenment it was relegated to a position of superstition and occultism. During this time, the planet Herschel, later renamed Uranus was discovered.in 1781. It was now widely believed that astrology could not have been a correct, because astrologers hadn't used all of the planets. Then another planet, Neptune, was discovered in 1846 and later Pluto, in 1930. The universe was expanding; astrologers were expanding their use of the universe and astrology began making a slow comeback among the intellectual class.

In 1875, Madame Helena Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society, the purpose of which was to study comparative religion and the unexplained laws of the universe. Many influential astrologers of the day were active in this society. In the past hundred and twenty-five years, astrology has been put on trial as in the famous cases of Alan Leo, a British astrologer who was once acquitted and once fined 25 pounds for "fortune telling". In America, Evangeline Adams was tried and acquitted for the same charge. Later she had a successful radio program and Leo's Astrology Magazine was renamed.... Modern Astrology.

Astrology played an important role in World War II, as Ernst Krafft, chief astrologer for the Nazi's translated Nostradamus's predictions with a bent toward Nazi victory. The Americans countered with translations of their own. When Rudolph Hess defected to England, the Nazi's said he was "crazed by astrologers" and astrology met with sudden disfavor. Krafft later died in a concentration camp.

In the past few years astrology has been in the forefront with the late Jeanne Dixon who predicted the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Joan Quigley, who advises Nancy Reagan. Today astrology again enjoys a position of acceptance in society. As intelligent, enlightened people understand, astrology is not occult in nature. It is an understandable science and it certainly is not a tool of the "devil". It is not evil, nor are astrologers evil. Evil exists in ignorance, intolerance and injustice.

My sources were:

The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need by Joanna Martine Woolfolk, ISBN# 0-8128-8506-6

Dictionary of Astrology by Fred Gettings, ISBN# 0-7102-0650-X

Mythic Astrology Archetypal Powers in the Horoscope by Ariel Guttman & Kenneth Johnson, ISBN-0-87542-248-9