Portal:Astrology

The Astrology Portal

Introduction

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.

Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Through most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition. It was accepted in political and academic contexts, and was connected with other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine. At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy (such as heliocentrism) called astrology into question, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing.

Astrology is a pseudoscience, and as such is rejected by the academic and scientific communities. Some scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. Furthermore, there is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well understood, basic aspects of biology and physics.

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Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617–18 May 1692), the celebrated English antiquary, was a politician, officer of arms, student of astrology and alchemy, and an early speculative Freemason. He supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices. Throughout his life he was an avid collector of curiosities and other artifacts. Many of these he acquired from the traveller, botanist, and collector John Tradescant the younger, and most he donated to Oxford University to create the Ashmolean Museum. He also donated his library and priceless manuscript collection to Oxford.

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Credit: Camille Flammarion

Original print of the Flammarion engraving, depicting the concept of an earth bounded by a solid sky.

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Gemini is the third astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Gemini. In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Gemini is considered a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered an air sign, and is one of four mutable signs. Gemini has been closely associated with the planet Mercury and is considered to be ruled by it.

Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Gemini individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in the sign of Gemini roughly from May 21 to June 21. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from June 15 to July 15.

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