WHAT IS ASTROLOGY?
Astrology is the study which looks at the possible energies and influences of The Sun and the 9 planets within our Solar System, and what likely effects they may have on human affairs.
Astrology should not be confused with Astronomy, which is another fascinating study involving physics and scientific analysis of the celestial bodies and galaxies in the Universe.
THE HISTORY OF ASTROLOGY
It is rather unclear when the study of Astrology began, but from historical evidence supporting Man's preoccupation and fascination with the heavens suggests that Astrology and Astronomy were very closely related to each other, probably up until the 16th Century when a Scientist called Copernicus revealed new theories that the Earth was not the centre of the Solar System (as was once believed) but it was in fact The Sun itself that was the focal point of which all the other planets orbited.
It is thought that around 3000 BCE, the ancient Babylonian civilization studied the Stars, and made the first maps of the sky. Many of our ancient civilizations had particular interest in the stars and planets, including the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans. In ancient times, many of our worlds different cultures believed that the heavenly bodies influenced man, and the stars were associated with Gods and Deities.
Even in more recent years, It has been shown that our own planets Moon, for example, has physical affects on the tides of our oceans, and on the female menstrual cycle.
WHAT IS THE ZODIAC?
When the early great astrologers studied the heavens, they noticed that the fixed stars, or constellations, appeared to move or revolve around the Earth. They noticed a path on which the visible planets of that time also travelled through the sky. This path or belt was known as the ecliptic, which was divided into 12 sections. The Astrologers looked at the star constellations that lay beyond the individual sections of the ecliptic, and named these 12 sections after the background constellation formations, so that they had a convenient and recognisable symbol, and this became the zodiac band.
As the Astrologers had noticed that the other planets also appeared to pass through these sections in the sky, they felt that certain influences would occur on Earth, due to the position of the planets, especially at the time of birth.
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