Astrology

(the science of the stars, anciently equivalent to astronomy, which was known as natural astrology, and used to predict such natural events as eclipses, the date of Easter, and meteorological phenomena)

Astrology, Past and Present

By the 17th century, the term astronomy became limited to another branch of study, judicial or mundane astrology, which purports to trace the influence of the heavenly bodies (stars, planets, sun, moon, etc.) on the course and events of human life.

This star-divination, or astromancy, attempts to determine, usually by the configuration of the heavens at the time of a crucial event, like birth, the future destiny and general temperament of people.

Astrology is one of the most ancient forms of divination, and prevailed among the nations of the East (Egypt, Chaldea, India, and China) at the very dawn of history. The Jews became much addicted to it after the Captivity.