Astrology may or may not be "science," depending on who you ask.  But, one similarity it does bear to science is a large collection of terms.  Natal charts and horoscopes can be as simple as "your sun sign is Gemini."  Or, they can be extremely complex, taking into account exactly where and when the individual was born, where each of the planets, sun, and moon were positioned at...

Have you ever finally just given in to the temptation and read your horoscope in the newspaper on Sunday morning?  Sure, we all have. For most of us, it’s a curiosity, an amusement to see what they say our day will be like based on the sign of the zodiac that we were born under.  Sometimes we forget that this little diversion is actually part of an ancient science called...

The ancient Chinese astrologers worked with little to no contact with those of the Greek world. This relative isolation means the constellations we know in the western world are unheard of in Chinese astrology. They have a system entirely their own. The astrologers of ancient China divided their sky into 31 sections or regions. The three sections, which make up the north celestial pole are...

In ancient Sumeria, the sign of Capricorn was often associated with the planet Saturn and the Sumerian deity Enki.  But the full picture of Capricorn as we know it today comes from the ancient Greeks.  In Greek mythology, Cronus was a Titan, and the father of the gods.  Just as he overthrew his own father, Uranos, Cronus knew he would be overthrown by one of his children....

"By looking up, I see downward."  --Tycho Brahe The core belief behind astrology is that the positions and the motions of the heavens influence the lives of the people on Earth. The 360 degrees of the sky are broken up into thirty-six Decans of ten degrees each.  These decals are grouped in sets of three. Each set is associated with an astrological sign. The positions of the...

The actual drawing of a horoscope is very simple in theory but carries a variety of complex calculations.  The horoscope chart can be considered a two-dimensional snapshot of a four-dimensional concept—because the horoscope is meant to not only track the locations of the planets in space but to tie them down to an exact time, also.  It’s a snapshot of the solar system from...

"Hey, the constellations don't line up anymore!" When the ancient Babylonians first started tracking the motions of the heavens, they divided the sky into 30-degree increments and gave each section over to the rule of a constellation.  This is the Zodiac, the band of the sky that all of the heavenly bodies move through.  It's a strip of sky about seven degrees across.  But...

If you are a serious astronomy fanatic like a lot of us are, you can probably remember that one event in childhood that started you along with this exciting hobby.  It might have been that first time you looked through a telescope.  But for many of us, it was the first time we saw a rain of fire from the sky that we eventually came to know as a meteoroid shower. At the time when you...

The Azure Dragon of the East represents the season of Spring and the east. There is no traditional relationship between the Azure Dragon of the East and the mythological yellow dragon of the Emperor.  There are seven mansions, which make up the Azure Dragon of the East. These mansions are referred to as Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, and Winnowing Basket. Each mansion is further...

The history of astrology is actually quite interesting. Astrology has been a major part of many cultures going back to prehistoric times. Some of the histories of astrology are masked in controversy and mystery because astrology was used before tools were developed to see planets that cannot be seen without the naked eye. Astrology made its first appearance in pre-historic times. Maps of the...