Ancient Sumerian priests, who observed the heavens through a 700-foot tower, believed that whatever happens to mankind is intimately connected to the stars.
Some say mathematics was born in order to make astrological calculations. The sixth century Greek philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras, was an astrologer; he taught that every star and planet emitted its own unique vibration in its journey through time and space.”There is geometry in the humming of the strings; there is music in the spacing of the spheres.”
Astrology and Medicine
Modern medicine also has important roots in astrology. Paracelsus, the sixteenth century physician and professor immortalized as the most original thinker of his time pioneered the use of chemical pharmacology in medicine (he introduced the use of mercury and opium) and is credited with amazing cures. A practicing astrologer as well as physician, as were most European trained 16th century Doctors, he would not prescribe a medicine until he had seen a patient's natal chart. Understanding and examining 'the notes of a patient's inner harmony' first, he believed that true healing involved alchemy as well as astrology, “because human beings have a firmament body, which is the corporeal equivalent of the astrological heaven. And since the astrological constellation makes a diagnosis possible, it also indicates the therapy.”
Astrology's Decline
The seventeenth century saw astrology's decline due in part to theological differences stirred amongst the Church, as well as political upheaval in England's conservative Restoration period when it increasingly became associated with the superstition of the masses, instead of the privilege of the elite. William Lilly, the last of the great European astrologers predicted the Great Fire of London fourteen years before the event and drew up war charts for the Royalists as well as Parliamentarians. Famous scientists of the period who were also astrologers included Galileo, Johannes Kepler and Brahe.
In literature, both Chaucer and Shakespeare are laden with astrological references, while biblical passages have stirred controversy and devotion in theologians for centuries. Pope Leo X had many astrologers in his court during his reign from 1475 to 1521.
Biblical References to Astrology
From the Book of Revelations: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the Sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars...and they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev. 12:1-6).
The last phrase is said to refer to a time period that is 1,260 days long. It is referring to the solar eclipse cycle of 1,260 years. Every solar eclipse repeats itself in the exact degree of the same sign every 1,260 years. (See: Windows of Time: The August Eclipses of 2008)
