Astrology

Astrology was originally the greek science of heavens (αστρός = star | λόγος = word/speech), which was based on a proper rule or method, the Astronomy (νόμος = law/rule), and which concerned the effects that the celestial world have generally in material world. The ancient astronomers, like Hipparchus and Ptolemy, are no longer important astrologers, and saw in astronomy a mathematical (geometrical) mean to obtain a more reliable astrological knowledge.

After scientific revolution, the word "science" gained a more restrict usage, deal with investigate efficient causes, not final or formal ones, of the phenomenon of universe. In addition, much of the cosmological pressupposements that support the classical ancient astrological knowledge has turned out, and the relations between stars and human life in general fall in descredit. In that time, the scientific investigation associated to the celestial rule, searching for efficient causes of the stars' movements and processes, in a new un-earth-centered, planets-like-earth, stars-like-sun and perhaps infinite Universe, was made origin to Astrophysics; and and Astrology, like other ancient disciplines (as Alchemy and Cabala) was legated to mysticism.

Today, however, astrology is still an active field of knowlege, and very popular in certain means (so that all periodic newspaper have your own astrologer), although not seriously recognized in academics.

See also

• Ancient astronomy
• Astronomy
• Astrophysics