Astrology

Astrology is a system of belief in which the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars are used to explain human personality, fortune or future events. It is employed when one wishes to make a prediction or to interpret the character of a person born at a particular time.

Modern science does not accept astrology as a scientific system. It is classified as pseudoscience, because its predictions cannot be verified through controlled experimentation, and no clear mechanism has been found to explain how distant planets could affect an individual. Astrology differs from astronomy, which is a science based on measurement and observable observation.

History

Astrology originated in ancient Mesopotamia, where scholars observed the movements of planets and connected them to matters of state. It later spread to ancient Greece, India, the Islamic world and medieval Europe. Until recent centuries, astrology and astronomy were intertwined: many scholars who studied the sky interpreted both. The divergence occurred when the scientific method and Newton's view of the universe emerged.

Branches and methods

The most common form is natal astrology, which relies on a chart called a horoscope or birth chart: a diagram showing the positions of the planets at the time and place of a person's birth. This chart is divided into twelve signs (the zodiac) and houses. Astrologers also interpret planetary aspects (angular relationships). Other traditions exist that are not identical, such as Hindu astrology (jyotisha) and Chinese astrology, which is based on a twelve-year cycle.

Debate and research

Studies conducted have attempted to verify whether astrologers can distinguish birth charts from actual personalities. Overall results have not exceeded chance levels. Psychological explanations emphasize that people accept general traits applicable to anyone (the Barnum effect) and remember predictions that proved correct while forgetting those that failed.

Although unsupported by science, astrology remains a widespread cultural practice. Newspapers, social media and television horoscopes offer daily predictions based on signs, making it as much a matter of culture and commerce as of scientific inquiry.