Vol.8 No.4

What’s Your Sign?
Where did the modern horoscope come from? Should Christians consult the stars to find God’s will for their lives?
by Antonella Assimiti

So what’s your sign?”

“I’m a Taurus.”

“Really? I’m a Scorpio.”

Today astrological signs are identifiers, like age, academic degrees, or political preference. How did this odd nomenclature of animals, humans, and objects become so generally used and accepted today? What does history reveal about the roots of this popular worldview called astrology?

People have always gazed upon the starry skies with awe, curiosity, fear, amazement, even adoration. Observations of the celestial spectacle led to the development of astronomy, a science, on one side, and astrology, a pseudo-science, on the other. Astrology is the practice of associating the movements of the celestial bodies with the destinies of individuals, groups or nations. It has influenced many civilizations and cultures, both ancient and modern.

Astrology’s Origins

The practice of astrology originated in Mesopotamia probably in the third millennium B.C. It was widely practiced in ancient Babylon and it reached a peak in its development in the Greek civilization of the Hellenistic period. It spread to India, China, and was incorporated into Islamic culture. The Mayas also practiced astrology. At the time of the conquest of Mexico, the Spanish found numerous astrological writings.

The Egyptians were the first to construct a calendar containing twelve months of thirty days each, with five days added at the end of each year. The Greeks took over this system as a standard of reference for astronomical observations. Then they selected 36 bright stars whose risings were separated from each other by intervals of ten days. Each of these stars,  called “decans” by the Latin writers, was believed to have power over the period of time which it served. Later, astrologers came up with the zodiac with its twelve subdivisions. 

At first, astrology was exclusively the privilege of royalty. Kings and princes consulted their astrologers about what the future held, both for their destiny and that of their nations. Gradually, astrology became popular with the masses. In later centuries of Imperial China, the astrologer witnessed the birth of every child, to cast a horoscope and determine his or her fate. Horoscopes were consulted and interpreted at all decisive junctures in life, particularly on the eve of a marriage. Astrological principles also invaded the sciences, especially medicine and its allied disciplines.

Until the Christian era, astronomy (the science of stars) and astrology (the art of divination by the stars) were synonymous. In the first Christian centuries however, astrology and the philosophy behind it were formally rejected. But the practice of astrology was not by any means uprooted, neither was the belief in the world view it implies shaken, although various Christian councils condemned astrology. In the late Middle Ages, several universities, like the one in Paris, Bologna, and Florence, had chairs of astrology. The most famous of the astrological treatises written during this time are the so-called prophecies of Nostradamus published in 1555.

The Humanists revived the interest in ancient studies, among them astrology, which persisted into the Renaissance and the age of Reformation. The Copernican revolution and the departure of science from the geocentric worldview dealt a heavy blow to the acceptance of astrology in the scientific world.

Nevertheless, today astrology still engages the attention of many. This interest is fed by articles in the daily press, by special almanacs, and manuals. Fortune-tellers and astrologers are still in business even in the Western world. In some parts of the world, like in India, astrology is still considered a science; some universities offer advanced degrees in astrology.

The Bottom Line

Astrology postulates a direct influence of the movements of stars and planets upon the destinies of humans. This determinism stems from the pagan worship of stars. People consulted the stars before starting on a serious undertaking to find out if the influence of the stars was conducive to the success of the action begun. The stars were also consulted to answer people’s various inquiries. The underlying philosophy of all astrological practice is a mechanistic world view, denying God’s power to intervene in people’s lives and man’s power of the free will. In other words, both God and man are slaves of the capricious movements and conjunctions of the stars.

Astrologists believed in a special relation between the configurations and movements of the celestial bodies, and the process of generation and decay apparent in the world of fire, air, water, and earth. Astrologers designed complicated charts and maps, and wrote treatises on these mysterious relations. These relations, they claimed, were so complex, that no human could completely grasp them, so that in case of a false prediction, the astrologer might  be readily excused. In the process of interpreting the horoscope or the astrological charts, astrologers did not rely on their knowledge alone but also on the prompting of their “spiritual guides.”

Since astrological practice bypasses God and denies His power, the spirits that guide astrologers cannot be from God. There are no neutral spirits out there in the universe. Spirits are either good or bad, from God or from the devil. It may sound like an arbitrary classification, but that is what the Bible teaches. When the great controversy started in heaven, angels decided whether to remain on God’s side or to join the ranks of the Archdeceiver. There was no middle ground, and today there still is no spiritual Switzerland. If a spirit is not from God, it is from Satan.

The Real Alternative

The Bible talks about astrology. Daniel was one of the chief counselors at the Babylonian royal court. He is referred to as the “master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers” (Daniel 5:11). He was Babylonian trained, but he was also a servant of God. When confronted with a problem that required insights into the future of nations and kingdoms, Daniel turned to God for the answer.

Daniel knew that God was the supreme decision-maker in this universe, and nothing happened without His direction or permission. After God revealed to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation, Daniel praised God: “Wisdom and might are his: and he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him” (Daniel 2:20-22).

God knows the future. He overseas the destinies of nations and kingdoms, and He revealed all we need to know about the future through the prophecies of the Bible. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). God’s channels are not the celestial omens, but His revelation through His Word. As Daniel put it: “The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days” (Daniel 2:27-28).

He also takes care of the future of those who commit their lives into His hands. It is God, and not the stars, who we must go to for guidance for our futures. And we can trust God about our futures: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Astrology not only takes God totally out of the picture, but it denies the power of free will and free choice for humans. We are not puppets drawn by the chords of celestial motions. We are ultimately responsible for the decisions we make with our lives. We cannot blame the stars for the unwise decisions we make.

Finally, God forbids the practice of astrology: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter pass through fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all these things are an abomination unto the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Astrologers —observers of times—are in the same list with idolaters, witches and magicians. So serious was God’s command, that in Bible times these people were to be punished with death (Leviticus 20:27). It is because of the association with evil spirits that the practice of astrology was and should be shunned.

Astrology has also proven to be unreliable (Isaiah 47:13) and relative in its predictions. God’s revealed Word is the map for our lives on the road to heaven: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).