Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as
pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information
about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent
positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of
astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having
originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to
interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not
all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky,
and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate
systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.
Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use , can trace its roots to 19th thru 17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from
where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamic world, and eventually
Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often
associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to
explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant
events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects
; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.
