By Michael Lin, Staff Writer
For centuries, humans have worshiped the stars and prayed to the heavens for answers, especially regarding their own lives. As early as 2,400 years BC, ancient Babylonians employed the symbols on the skies as celestial omens. By studying planetary movements, they attempted to predict the future. By the 16th century BC, there was an abundance of comprehensive scriptures left behind carved on stones, consisting of 7,000 celestial omens.
Upon the occupation of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Egypt came under the influence of Greek culture. The city of Alexandria, which was founded between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, created Horoscopic astrology by mixing Babylonian astrology and Egyptian tradition.
The new system included the Babylonian zodiac wheel, yet introduced the Egyptian concept of dividing it into 36 sections, 10 degrees each. The Egyptians also introduced the planetary gods, sign rulership, and the four elements. The word ascendant in Greek is horoskopos, which led to the creation of the English word “horoscope.”
In 140 CE, Ptolemy wrote Tetrabiblios, one of the famous astrology books to this day. The book explains planets, zodiac signs, and houses. The twelve houses are divisions of the ecliptic plane, they cover aspects of life including personal growth, survival methods, relationships, and existentialism. The houses are based on Earth’s 24-hour rotation, and once you are born, whichever sign that was rising in the east becomes your house.
Astrology remained a central part of medieval culture, practiced by doctors, astronomers, and mathematicians. In the midst of the following era, specifically the 16th century, men such as Nostradamus, a French astrologer, would peer to the skies and predict future events such as the great fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, world wars and the catastrophe caused by nuclear weapons.
India and China had their own versions of the Zodiac, whereas the West remained steadfast to Greek beliefs.
The main constellations consist of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. After the Roman conquest of Greece at 146 BC, Romans switched the Zodiac to planets: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. In China, astrology held close to Confucianism. The Chinese horoscope followed cycles of years and was represented by animals starting with the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. These animals each have distinctive personality traits that are to people who are born in that animal’s year.
Nowadays, astrology is shunned by modern scientific communities. Most people claim that the predictions are random and simply erroneous. We would appoint meaning and therefore fill the hole of fear and despair that is the uncertainties of life. In modern society where information is abundant, and accessible with clicks of our fingers, such information could be used as reference, entertainment, and perhaps a reassurance to the self. So perhaps Shakespeare was right after all when he said “It is not the stars that hold our destiny, but ourselves.”
