ABSTRACT
Astrology is the study of the effects of the heavenly bodies on earthly events, encompassing in its broadest sense both popular star lore and the intricate mathematical computations of professional astrologers that are termed “technical astrology.” Technical astrology arose in the last few centuries B.C. and was an important part of the Western worldview (and inseparable from astronomy) through the seventeenth century, after which it became increasingly popularized and vulgarized, resulting in the newspaper and magazine columns that are familiar today. Technical astrology has undergone a minor revival in the twentieth century, largely at the hands of self-styled pagans, magicians, and occultists, who claim to have revived ancient esoteric knowledge and religious practices. Throughout its long history, astrology has had links to science, religion, and magic. It has also come under attack on numerous occasions on both rational and theological grounds.
