History of Astrology
The history of astrology is very much the history of human civilization. Astrology has been with us the entire way, which makes it very much a part of the history of mankind.
There is no definitive date in history when astrology was first discovered. Instead, most astrologers and historians believe the history of astrology started in Babylonia roughly 3,600 years ago. For reference purposes, Babylonia is today known as Iraq although the boundaries of Babylonia were very different.
The Babylonians were an advanced culture. They were proficient in many areas of science. One of the stronger areas was that of astronomy. They developed a calendar by which they could map out the year for everything from planting food to building to holding festivals.
It wasn’t much of a jump from astronomy to astrology for the Babylonians. They started observing the tendencies that occurred in certain celestial formations. They even presented us with the first names for planets. For instance, the brightest planet in the sky was named Nergal and its ascendancy was considered a good time for war. Never heard of Nergal? That is not surprising. The Greeks absconded with the astrology idea and renamed the planet Mars.
It is believed that by 600 BC, the Babylonians had settled on the 12 zodiac signs. They then began to make forecasts based on the position of planets in the night sky, the month this occurred in and so on. Indeed, the historical record shows hard evidence of the earliest horoscope we have found as being written down in 410 BC. That, my friend, is a very long time ago!
The history of astrology is one based in popularity. Simply put, it was hugely popular. Whereas many of the concepts of the East and West were in conflict, astrology spread through Europe like a wildfire. That is until it ran into a rather large problem – Christianity. The “one God” basis of Christianity did not allow for the concept of astrology and it was banished across Europe. Fortunately, it survived in the Mid-East and East where it was not considered a threat to Islam and other religions.
The Babylonians, however, would have their revenge. Why? Astrology made a come back after World War I in the western world. British Astrologer RH Naylor is given credit for the revival because he started publishing a column of horoscope readings in a newspaper that became insanely popular. In truth, it was the newspaper industry that probably deserves more the credit. Why? They saw a good thing and went with it. Nearly every paper in Europe and the United States soon had a daily horoscope column!
The history of astrology is one that really involves a history because there are literally thousands and thousands of years involved. The fact it has survived for so long and been used by such luminaries as Queen Elizabeth I, President Regan and a vast horde of celebrities tells us that its future should be a long one as well.
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