117-587: Camelopardalis is a large but faint constellation of the northern sky representing a giraffe . The constellation was introduced in 1612 or 1613 by Petrus Plancius . Some older astronomy books give Camelopardalus or Camelopardus as alternative forms of the name, but the version recognized by the International Astronomical Union matches the genitive form, seen suffixed to most of its key stars. First attested in English in 1785,
234-425: A celestial coordinate system lies in one of the modern constellations. Some astronomical naming systems include the constellation where a given celestial object is found to convey its approximate location in the sky. The Flamsteed designation of a star, for example, consists of a number and the genitive form of the constellation's name. Other star patterns or groups called asterisms are not constellations under
351-483: A neoplatonist , argued that since the fixed stars are much more distant than the planets, it is laughable to imagine the planets' effect on human affairs should depend on their position with respect to the zodiac. He also argues that the interpretation of the Moon's conjunction with a planet as good when the moon is full, but bad when the moon is waning, is clearly wrong, as from the Moon's point of view, half of its surface
468-516: A "convincing distinction between astrology and astronomy that remains valid in the twenty-first century." Cicero stated the twins objection (that with close birth times, personal outcomes can be very different), later developed by Augustine . He argued that since the other planets are much more distant from the Earth than the Moon, they could have only very tiny influence compared to the Moon's. He also argued that if astrology explains everything about
585-400: A "rationalistic and critical thinker", was much more sanguine about astrology and critical of Pico's attack. Renaissance scholars commonly practised astrology. Gerolamo Cardano cast the horoscope of king Edward VI of England , while John Dee was the personal astrologer to queen Elizabeth I of England . Catherine de Medici paid Michael Nostradamus in 1566 to verify the prediction of
702-580: A Greek origin for Hindu astrology. The Indian techniques may also have been augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques. Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the three harmonies: heaven, earth and man) and uses concepts such as yin and yang , the Five phases , the 10 Celestial stems , the 12 Earthly Branches , and shichen (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology
819-400: A communal calendar. Farmers addressed agricultural needs with increasing knowledge of the constellations that appear in the different seasons—and used the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities. By the 3rd millennium BCE, civilisations had sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignment with heliacal risings of
936-683: A fearful consideration for the sky and the stars, which they held to be ultimately responsible for every phenomena that occurs on Earth and for the destiny of humankind. Accordingly, they shaped their entire lives in accordance with their interpretations of astral configurations and phenomena. The Hellenistic schools of philosophical skepticism criticized the rationality of astrology. Criticism of astrology by academic skeptics such as Cicero , Carneades , and Favorinus ; and Pyrrhonists such as Sextus Empiricus has been preserved. Carneades argued that belief in fate denies free will and morality ; that people born at different times can all die in
1053-452: A list of 88 constellations with three-letter abbreviations for them. However, these constellations did not have clear borders between them. In 1928, the IAU formally accepted the 88 modern constellations, with contiguous boundaries along vertical and horizontal lines of right ascension and declination developed by Eugene Delporte that, together, cover the entire celestial sphere; this list
1170-421: A long tradition of observing celestial phenomena. Nonspecific Chinese star names , later categorized in the twenty-eight mansions , have been found on oracle bones from Anyang , dating back to the middle Shang dynasty . These constellations are some of the most important observations of Chinese sky, attested from the 5th century BC. Parallels to the earliest Babylonian (Sumerian) star catalogues suggest that
1287-446: A person's fate, then it wrongly ignores the visible effect of inherited ability and parenting, changes in health worked by medicine, or the effects of the weather on people. Favorinus argued that it was absurd to imagine that stars and planets would affect human bodies in the same way as they affect the tides, and equally absurd that small motions in the heavens cause large changes in people's fates. Sextus Empiricus argued that it
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#17327828670541404-582: A popular following supported by cheap almanacs. One English almanac compiler, Richard Saunders, followed the spirit of the age by printing a derisive Discourse on the Invalidity of Astrology , while in France Pierre Bayle's Dictionnaire of 1697 stated that the subject was puerile. The Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift ridiculed the Whig political astrologer John Partridge . In
1521-579: Is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned 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
1638-595: Is always in sunlight; and from the planet's point of view, waning should be better, as then the planet sees some light from the Moon, but when the Moon is full to us, it is dark, and therefore bad, on the side facing the planet in question. In 525 BCE, Egypt was conquered by the Persians. The 1st century BCE Egyptian Dendera Zodiac shares two signs – the Balance and the Scorpion – with Mesopotamian astrology. With
1755-443: Is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellations were likely defined in prehistory . People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation , and mythology . Different cultures and countries invented their own constellations, some of which lasted into
1872-571: Is based are early medieval compilations, notably the Bṛhat Parāśara Horāśāstra , and Sārāvalī by Kalyāṇavarma . The Horāshastra is a composite work of 71 chapters, of which the first part (chapters 1–51) dates to the 7th to early 8th centuries and the second part (chapters 52–71) to the later 8th century. The Sārāvalī likewise dates to around 800 CE. English translations of these texts were published by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhari in 1963 and 1961, respectively. Astrology
1989-487: Is not one of Ptolemy 's 48 constellations in the Almagest . It was created by Petrus Plancius in 1613. It first appeared in a globe designed by him and produced by Pieter van den Keere . One year later, Jakob Bartsch featured it in his atlas. Johannes Hevelius depicted this constellation in his works which were so influential that it was referred to as Camelopardali Hevelii or abbreviated as Camelopard. Hevel. Part of
2106-442: 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. Throughout its history, astrology has had its detractors, competitors and skeptics who opposed it for moral, religious, political, and empirical reasons. Nonetheless, prior to
2223-478: Is one of the brighter Type II Cepheids visible in the night sky. In 2011 a supernova was discovered in the constellation. Camelopardalis is in the part of the celestial sphere facing away from the galactic plane . Accordingly, many distant galaxies are visible within its borders. The annual May meteor shower Camelopardalids from comet 209P/LINEAR have a radiant in Camelopardalis. Camelopardalis
2340-811: Is said to represent twelve different types of personality . It is based on cycles of years, lunar months, and two-hour periods of the day (the shichen). The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat , and the cycle proceeds through 11 other animal signs: the Ox , Tiger , Rabbit , Dragon , Snake , Horse , Goat , Monkey , Rooster , Dog , and Pig . Complex systems of predicting fate and destiny based on one's birthday, birth season, and birth hours, such as ziping and Zi Wei Dou Shu ( simplified Chinese : 紫微斗数 ; traditional Chinese : 紫微斗數 ; pinyin : zǐwēidǒushù ) are still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of
2457-645: Is the Suzhou Astronomical Chart , which was prepared with carvings of stars on the planisphere of the Chinese sky on a stone plate; it is done accurately based on observations, and it shows the supernova of the year of 1054 in Taurus. Influenced by European astronomy during the late Ming dynasty , charts depicted more stars but retained the traditional constellations. Newly observed stars were incorporated as supplementary to old constellations in
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#17327828670542574-638: Is the aspect of each planet to every other planet, where for example two planets 120° apart (in 'trine') are in a harmonious relationship, but two planets 90° apart ('square') are in a conflicted relationship. Together these relationships and their interpretations are said to form "...the language of the heavens speaking to learned men." Along with tarot divination , astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism , and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists , but also belief systems such as Wicca , which have borrowed from or been influenced by
2691-407: Is the search for meaning in the sky. Early evidence for humans making conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles, appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago. This was a first step towards recording the Moon's influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organising
2808-654: The Tetrabiblos formed the basis of Western astrology, and, "...enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more." The conquest of Asia by Alexander the Great exposed the Greeks to ideas from Syria , Babylon, Persia and central Asia. Around 280 BCE, Berossus , a priest of Bel from Babylon, moved to the Greek island of Kos , teaching astrology and Babylonian culture. By
2925-578: The Inca civilization identified various dark areas or dark nebulae in the Milky Way as animals and associated their appearance with the seasonal rains. Australian Aboriginal astronomy also describes dark cloud constellations, the most famous being the "emu in the sky" whose head is formed by the Coalsack , a dark nebula, instead of the stars. Footnotes Citations Astrology Astrology
3042-564: The KJV , but ‘Ayish "the bier" actually corresponding to Ursa Major. The term Mazzaroth מַזָּרוֹת , translated as a garland of crowns , is a hapax legomenon in Job 38:32, and it might refer to the zodiacal constellations. There is only limited information on ancient Greek constellations, with some fragmentary evidence being found in the Works and Days of the Greek poet Hesiod , who mentioned
3159-560: The Latin translations of the 12th century . In the seventh century, Isidore of Seville argued in his Etymologiae that astronomy described the movements of the heavens, while astrology had two parts: one was scientific, describing the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars, while the other, making predictions, was theologically erroneous. The first astrological book published in Europe
3276-622: The Zodiac of Dendera ; it remains unclear when this occurred, but most were placed during the Roman period between 2nd to 4th centuries AD. The oldest known depiction of the zodiac showing all the now familiar constellations, along with some original Egyptian constellations, decans , and planets . Ptolemy's Almagest remained the standard definition of constellations in the medieval period both in Europe and in Islamic astronomy . Ancient China had
3393-592: The horizon when viewed from a particular latitude on Earth is termed circumpolar . From the North Pole or South Pole , all constellations south or north of the celestial equator are circumpolar . Depending on the definition, equatorial constellations may include those that lie between declinations 45° north and 45° south, or those that pass through the declination range of the ecliptic (or zodiac ) ranging between 23.5° north and 23.5° south . Stars in constellations can appear near each other in
3510-611: The planets , and argued: And if you astrologers answer that it is precisely because of this distance and smallness that their influences are negligible, then why is it that you claim a great influence for the smallest heavenly body, Mercury? Why is it that you have given an influence to al-Ra's [the head] and al-Dhanab [the tail], which are two imaginary points [ascending and descending nodes] ? Martin Luther denounced astrology in his Table Talk . He asked why twins like Esau and Jacob had two different natures yet were born at
3627-583: The zodiac (straddling the ecliptic , which the Sun , Moon , and planets all traverse). The origins of the zodiac remain historically uncertain; its astrological divisions became prominent c. 400 BC in Babylonian or Chaldean astronomy. Constellations appear in Western culture via Greece and are mentioned in the works of Hesiod , Eudoxus and Aratus . The traditional 48 constellations, consisting of
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3744-442: The zodiac (twelve spatial divisions of the ecliptic ) and by their aspects (based on geometric angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (twelve spatial divisions of the sky). Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology , which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of
3861-598: The zodiac , a norming point near 9 degrees in Aries, the trine aspect, planetary exaltations, and the dodekatemoria (the twelve divisions of 30 degrees each). The Babylonians viewed celestial events as possible signs rather than as causes of physical events. The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE) and flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE), during which all
3978-458: The "heavenly bodies". Greek astronomy essentially adopted the older Babylonian system in the Hellenistic era , first introduced to Greece by Eudoxus of Cnidus in the 4th century BC. The original work of Eudoxus is lost, but it survives as a versification by Aratus , dating to the 3rd century BC. The most complete existing works dealing with the mythical origins of the constellations are by
4095-520: The 14th century. The Ancient Greek word for constellation is ἄστρον ( astron ). These terms historically referred to any recognisable pattern of stars whose appearance was associated with mythological characters or creatures, earthbound animals, or objects. Over time, among European astronomers, the constellations became clearly defined and widely recognised. In the 20th century, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognized 88 constellations . A constellation or star that never sets below
4212-529: The 17,000-year-old cave paintings in Lascaux , southern France, depict star constellations such as Taurus, Orion's Belt, and the Pleiades. However, this view is not generally accepted among scientists. Inscribed stones and clay writing tablets from Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq) dating to 3000 BC provide the earliest generally accepted evidence for humankind's identification of constellations. It seems that
4329-799: The 1st century BCE, there were two varieties of astrology, one using horoscopes to describe the past, present and future; the other, theurgic , emphasising the soul's ascent to the stars. Greek influence played a crucial role in the transmission of astrological theory to Rome . The first definite reference to astrology in Rome comes from the orator Cato , who in 160 BCE warned farm overseers against consulting with Chaldeans, who were described as Babylonian 'star-gazers'. Among both Greeks and Romans , Babylonia (also known as Chaldea ) became so identified with astrology that 'Chaldean wisdom' became synonymous with divination using planets and stars. The 2nd-century Roman poet and satirist Juvenal complains about
4446-536: The 3rd century BCE, though incorporating the Hindu lunar mansions. The names of the signs (e.g. Greek 'Krios' for Aries, Hindi 'Kriya'), the planets (e.g. Greek 'Helios' for Sun, astrological Hindi 'Heli'), and astrological terms (e.g. Greek 'apoklima' and 'sunaphe' for declination and planetary conjunction, Hindi 'apoklima' and 'sunapha' respectively) in Varaha Mihira's texts are considered conclusive evidence of
4563-556: The 88 IAU-recognized constellations in this region first appeared on celestial globes developed in the late 16th century by Petrus Plancius , based mainly on observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman . These became widely known through Johann Bayer 's star atlas Uranometria of 1603. Fourteen more were created in 1763 by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille , who also split
4680-518: The Catholic Church maintains that divination, including predictive astrology, is incompatible with modern Catholic beliefs such as free will: All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal
4797-529: The Egyptian concept of dividing the zodiac into thirty-six decans of ten degrees each, with an emphasis on the rising decan, and the Greek system of planetary Gods, sign rulership and four elements . 2nd century BCE texts predict positions of planets in zodiac signs at the time of the rising of certain decans, particularly Sothis. The astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy lived in Alexandria. Ptolemy's work
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4914-404: The English mathematician and physician Thomas Hood made a set of paper instruments that used revolving overlays to help students work out relationships between fixed stars or constellations, the midheaven, and the twelve astrological houses . Hood's instruments also illustrated, for pedagogical purposes, the supposed relationships between the signs of the zodiac, the planets, and the parts of
5031-493: The Enlightenment , however, astrology lost its status as an area of legitimate scholarly pursuit. Following the end of the 19th century and the wide-scale adoption of the scientific method , researchers have successfully challenged astrology on both theoretical and experimental grounds, and have shown it to have no scientific validity or explanatory power . Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing in
5148-409: The Enlightenment, astrology was generally considered a scholarly tradition and was common in learned circles, often in close relation with astronomy , meteorology , medicine , and alchemy . It was present in political circles and is mentioned in various works of literature, from Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer to William Shakespeare , Lope de Vega , and Pedro Calderón de la Barca . During
5265-553: The Great's conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome . In Rome, astrology was associated with " Chaldean wisdom". After the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe and translated into Latin . Major astronomers including Tycho Brahe , Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court astrologers. Astrological references appear in literature in
5382-688: The Hellenistic writer termed pseudo-Eratosthenes and an early Roman writer styled pseudo- Hyginus . The basis of Western astronomy as taught during Late Antiquity and until the Early Modern period is the Almagest by Ptolemy , written in the 2nd century. In the Ptolemaic Kingdom , native Egyptian tradition of anthropomorphic figures represented the planets, stars, and various constellations. Some of these were combined with Greek and Babylonian astronomical systems culminating in
5499-504: The IAU as well as those by cultures throughout history are imagined figures and shapes derived from the patterns of stars in the observable sky. Many officially recognized constellations are based on the imaginations of ancient, Near Eastern and Mediterranean mythologies. Some of these stories seem to relate to the appearance of the constellations, e.g. the assassination of Orion by Scorpius, their constellations appearing at opposite times of year. Constellation positions change throughout
5616-512: The Latin astronomia ). By the 17th century , astronomy became established as the scientific term, with astrology referring to divinations and schemes for predicting human affairs. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians , Chinese , and Maya developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. A form of astrology
5733-572: The Navigator in c. 500 BC. The history of southern constellations is not straightforward. Different groupings and different names were proposed by various observers, some reflecting national traditions or designed to promote various sponsors. Southern constellations were important from the 14th to 16th centuries, when sailors used the stars for celestial navigation . Italian explorers who recorded new southern constellations include Andrea Corsali , Antonio Pigafetta , and Amerigo Vespucci . Many of
5850-587: The Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance , organised by planet , as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians. The earliest Vedic text on astronomy is the Vedanga Jyotisha ; Vedic thought later came to include astrology as well. Hindu natal astrology originated with Hellenistic astrology by
5967-461: The Will of God can be known and predicted. For example, Avicenna's 'Refutation against astrology', Risāla fī ibṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm , argues against the practice of astrology while supporting the principle that planets may act as agents of divine causation. Avicenna considered that the movement of the planets influenced life on earth in a deterministic way, but argued against the possibility of determining
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#17327828670546084-599: The ancient Chinese system did not arise independently. Three schools of classical Chinese astronomy in the Han period are attributed to astronomers of the earlier Warring States period . The constellations of the three schools were conflated into a single system by Chen Zhuo , an astronomer of the 3rd century ( Three Kingdoms period ). Chen Zhuo's work has been lost, but information on his system of constellations survives in Tang period records, notably by Qutan Xida . The oldest extant Chinese star chart dates to that period and
6201-409: The ancient constellation Argo Navis into three; these new figures appeared in his star catalogue, published in 1756. Several modern proposals have not survived. The French astronomers Pierre Lemonnier and Joseph Lalande , for example, proposed constellations that were once popular but have since been dropped. The northern constellation Quadrans Muralis survived into the 19th century (when its name
6318-733: The bulk of the Mesopotamian constellations were created within a relatively short interval from around 1300 to 1000 BC. Mesopotamian constellations appeared later in many of the classical Greek constellations. The oldest Babylonian catalogues of stars and constellations date back to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age , most notably the Three Stars Each texts and the MUL.APIN , an expanded and revised version based on more accurate observation from around 1000 BC. However,
6435-655: The celestial equator), and southern constellations Puppis , Vela , Carina , Crux , Centaurus , Triangulum Australe , and Ara . Polaris , being the North Star, is the approximate center of the northern celestial hemisphere. It is part of Ursa Minor , constituting the end of the Little Dipper's handle. From latitudes of around 35° north, in January, Ursa Major (containing the Big Dipper ) appears to
6552-571: The constellation was hived off to form the constellation Sciurus Volans, the Flying Squirrel, by William Croswell in 1810. However this was not taken up by later cartographers. In Chinese astronomy , the stars of Camelopardalis are located within a group of circumpolar stars called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure (紫微垣 Zǐ Wēi Yuán ). Constellation Four views of the constellation Orion : A constellation
6669-717: The daytime and lower at night, while in winter the reverse is true, for both hemispheres. Due to the Solar System 's 60° tilt, the galactic plane of the Milky Way is inclined 60° from the ecliptic, between Taurus and Gemini (north) and Scorpius and Sagittarius (south and near which the Galactic Center can be found). The galaxy appears to pass through Aquila (near the celestial equator) and northern constellations Cygnus , Cassiopeia , Perseus , Auriga , and Orion (near Betelgeuse ), as well as Monoceros (near
6786-573: The death of her husband, king Henry II of France made by her astrologer Lucus Gauricus. Major astronomers who practised as court astrologers included Tycho Brahe in the royal court of Denmark, Johannes Kepler to the Habsburgs , Galileo Galilei to the Medici , and Giordano Bruno who was burnt at the stake for heresy in Rome in 1600. The distinction between astrology and astronomy was not entirely clear. Advances in astronomy were often motivated by
6903-502: The desire to improve the accuracy of astrology. Kepler, for example, was driven by a belief in harmonies between Earthly and celestial affairs, yet he disparaged the activities of most astrologers as "evil-smelling dung". Ephemerides with complex astrological calculations, and almanacs interpreting celestial events for use in medicine and for choosing times to plant crops, were popular in Elizabethan England. In 1597,
7020-550: The development of psychological astrology . Advocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science , and a method of divination. Though most cultural astrology systems share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many use methods that differ from those in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced
7137-524: The development of today's accepted modern constellations. The southern sky, below about −65° declination , was only partially catalogued by ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, and Persian astronomers of the north. The knowledge that northern and southern star patterns differed goes back to Classical writers, who describe, for example, the African circumnavigation expedition commissioned by Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II in c. 600 BC and those of Hanno
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#17327828670547254-432: The early 20th century before today's constellations were internationally recognized. The recognition of constellations has changed significantly over time. Many changed in size or shape. Some became popular, only to drop into obscurity. Some were limited to a single culture or nation. Naming constellations also helped astronomers and navigators identify stars more easily. Twelve (or thirteen) ancient constellations belong to
7371-399: The early constellations were never universally adopted. Stars were often grouped into constellations differently by different observers, and the arbitrary constellation boundaries often led to confusion as to which constellation a celestial object belonged. Before astronomers delineated precise boundaries (starting in the 19th century), constellations generally appeared as ill-defined regions of
7488-425: The ecliptic), approximating a great circle . Zodiacal constellations of the northern sky are Pisces , Aries , Taurus , Gemini , Cancer , and Leo . In the southern sky are Virgo , Libra , Scorpius , Sagittarius , Capricornus , and Aquarius . The zodiac appears directly overhead from latitudes of 23.5° north to 23.5° south, depending on the time of year. In summer, the ecliptic appears higher up in
7605-431: The exact influence of the stars. Essentially, Avicenna did not deny the core dogma of astrology, but denied our ability to understand it to the extent that precise and fatalistic predictions could be made from it. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292–1350), in his Miftah Dar al-SaCadah , also used physical arguments in astronomy to question the practice of judicial astrology. He recognised that the stars are much larger than
7722-454: The failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time. Some of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna . They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars , by suggesting that
7839-555: The familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the five elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology, and alchemy . The ancient Arabs that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam used to profess a widespread belief in fatalism ( ḳadar ) alongside
7956-546: The fifteenth century. In Paradiso , the final part of the Divine Comedy , the Italian poet Dante Alighieri referred "in countless details" to the astrological planets, though he adapted traditional astrology to suit his Christian viewpoint, for example using astrological thinking in his prophecies of the reform of Christendom . John Gower in the fourteenth century defined astrology as essentially limited to
8073-576: The first day of the fifth month in the Thai lunar calendar , or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use. Augustine (354–430) believed that the determinism of astrology conflicted with the Christian doctrines of man's free will and responsibility, and God not being the cause of evil, but he also grounded his opposition philosophically, citing
8190-507: The form of star charts , whose oldest representation appears on the statue known as the Farnese Atlas , based perhaps on the star catalogue of the Greek astronomer Hipparchus . Southern constellations are more modern inventions, sometimes as substitutes for ancient constellations (e.g. Argo Navis ). Some southern constellations had long names that were shortened to more usable forms; e.g. Musca Australis became simply Musca. Some of
8307-621: The formal definition, but are also used by observers to navigate the night sky. Asterisms may be several stars within a constellation, or they may share stars with more than one constellation. Examples of asterisms include the teapot within the constellation Sagittarius , or the big dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major . The word constellation comes from the Late Latin term cōnstellātiō , which can be translated as "set of stars"; it came into use in Middle English during
8424-536: The gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favourable for the planned construction of a temple. However, there is controversy about whether these were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Babylon (1950–1651 BCE). This astrology had some parallels with Hellenistic Greek (western) astrology, including
8541-525: The human body adherents believed were governed by the planets and signs. While Hood's presentation was innovative, his astrological information was largely standard and was taken from Gerard Mercator's astrological disc made in 1551, or a source used by Mercator. Despite its popularity, Renaissance astrology had what historian Gabor Almasi calls "elite debate", exemplified by the polemical letters of Swiss physician Thomas Erastus who fought against astrology, calling it "vanity" and "superstition." Then around
8658-503: The making of predictions. The influence of the stars was in turn divided into natural astrology, with for example effects on tides and the growth of plants, and judicial astrology, with supposedly predictable effects on people. The fourteenth-century sceptic Nicole Oresme however included astronomy as a part of astrology in his Livre de divinacions . Oresme argued that current approaches to prediction of events such as plagues, wars, and weather were inappropriate, but that such prediction
8775-480: The mid-18th century when European explorers began traveling to the Southern Hemisphere . Due to Roman and European transmission, each constellation has a Latin name. In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally accepted the modern list of 88 constellations , and in 1928 adopted official constellation boundaries that together cover the entire celestial sphere. Any given point in
8892-449: The northeast, while Cassiopeia is the northwest. To the west are Pisces (above the horizon) and Aries. To the southwest Cetus is near the horizon. Up high and to the south are Orion and Taurus. To the southeast above the horizon is Canis Major . Appearing above and to the east of Orion is Gemini : also in the east (and progressively closer to the horizon) are Cancer and Leo. In addition to Taurus, Perseus and Auriga appear overhead. From
9009-543: The numerous Sumerian names in these catalogues suggest that they built on older, but otherwise unattested, Sumerian traditions of the Early Bronze Age . The classical Zodiac is a revision of Neo-Babylonian constellations from the 6th century BC. The Greeks adopted the Babylonian constellations in the 4th century BC. Twenty Ptolemaic constellations are from the Ancient Near East. Another ten have
9126-426: The occupation by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Egypt became Hellenistic . The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander after the conquest, becoming the place where Babylonian astrology was mixed with Egyptian Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology . This contained the Babylonian zodiac with its system of planetary exaltations , the triplicities of the signs and the importance of eclipses. It used
9243-538: The parts of the southern sky unknown to Ptolemy) by Petrus Plancius (1592, 1597/98 and 1613), Johannes Hevelius (1690) and Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1763), who introduced fourteen new constellations. Lacaille studied the stars of the southern hemisphere from 1751 until 1752 from the Cape of Good Hope , when he was said to have observed more than 10,000 stars using a refracting telescope with an aperture of 0.5 inches (13 mm). In 1922, Henry Norris Russell produced
9360-566: The pervasive influence of Chaldeans, saying, "Still more trusted are the Chaldaeans; every word uttered by the astrologer they will believe has come from Hammon's fountain." One of the first astrologers to bring Hermetic astrology to Rome was Thrasyllus , astrologer to the emperor Tiberius , the first emperor to have had a court astrologer, though his predecessor Augustus had used astrology to help legitimise his Imperial rights. The main texts upon which classical Indian astrology
9477-455: The pole star include Chamaeleon , Apus and Triangulum Australe (near Centaurus), Pavo , Hydrus , and Mensa . Sigma Octantis is the closest star approximating a southern pole star, but is faint in the night sky. Thus, the pole can be triangulated using the constellation Crux as well as the stars Alpha and Beta Centauri (about 30° counterclockwise from Crux) of the constellation Centaurus (arching over Crux). It has been suggested that
9594-540: The publication of sermons that depicted astrology as a legitimate biblical pursuit for Christians. They commissioned sermons that argued Astrology was divine, Hebraic, and scripturally supported by Bible passages about the Magi and the sons of Seth . According to historian Michelle Pfeffer, "The society's public relations campaign ultimately failed." Modern historians have mostly neglected the Society of Astrologers in favor of
9711-536: The same accident or battle; and that contrary to uniform influences from the stars, tribes and cultures are all different. Cicero , in De Divinatione , leveled a critique of astrology that some modern philosophers consider to be the first working definition of pseudoscience and the answer to the demarcation problem . Philosopher of Science Massimo Pigliucci , building on the work of Historian of Science, Damien Fernandez-Beanato, argues that Cicero outlined
9828-695: The same latitude, in July, Cassiopeia (low in the sky) and Cepheus appear to the northeast. Ursa Major is now in the northwest. Boötes is high up in the west. Virgo is to the west, with Libra southwest and Scorpius south. Sagittarius and Capricorn are southeast. Cygnus (containing the Northern Cross ) is to the east. Hercules is high in the sky along with Corona Borealis . January constellations include Pictor and Reticulum (near Hydrus and Mensa, respectively). In July, Ara (adjacent to Triangulum Australe) and Scorpius can be seen. Constellations near
9945-836: The same stars but different names. Biblical scholar E. W. Bullinger interpreted some of the creatures mentioned in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation as the middle signs of the four-quarters of the Zodiac, with the Lion as Leo , the Bull as Taurus , the Man representing Aquarius , and the Eagle standing in for Scorpio . The biblical Book of Job also makes reference to a number of constellations, including עיש ‘Ayish "bier", כסיל chesil "fool" and כימה chimah "heap" (Job 9:9, 38:31–32), rendered as "Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades" by
10062-415: The same time. Luther also compared astrologers to those who say their dice will always land on a certain number. Although the dice may roll on the number a couple of times, the predictor is silent for all the times the dice fails to land on that number. What is done by God, ought not to be ascribed to the stars. The upright and true Christian religion opposes and confutes all such fables. The Catechism of
10179-525: The second half of the 17th century, the Society of Astrologers (1647–1684), a trade, educational, and social organization, sought to unite London's often fractious astrologers in the task of revitalizing astrology. Following the template of the popular "Feasts of Mathematicians" they endeavored to defend their art in the face of growing religious criticism. The Society hosted banquets, exchanged "instruments and manuscripts", proposed research projects, and funded
10296-533: 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–17th century BCE Mesopotamia , from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamic world , and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology
10413-518: The sky, but they usually lie at a variety of distances away from the Earth. Since each star has its own independent motion, all constellations will change slowly over time. After tens to hundreds of thousands of years, familiar outlines will become unrecognizable. Astronomers can predict the past or future constellation outlines by measuring common proper motions of individual stars by accurate astrometry and their radial velocities by astronomical spectroscopy . The 88 constellations recognized by
10530-564: The sky. Today they now follow officially accepted designated lines of right ascension and declination based on those defined by Benjamin Gould in epoch 1875.0 in his star catalogue Uranometria Argentina . The 1603 star atlas " Uranometria " of Johann Bayer assigned stars to individual constellations and formalized the division by assigning a series of Greek and Latin letters to the stars within each constellation. These are known today as Bayer designations . Subsequent star atlases led to
10647-520: The soul. The thirteenth century mathematician Campanus of Novara is said to have devised a system of astrological houses that divides the prime vertical into 'houses' of equal 30° arcs, though the system was used earlier in the East. The thirteenth century astronomer Guido Bonatti wrote a textbook, the Liber Astronomicus , a copy of which King Henry VII of England owned at the end of
10764-536: The southern hemisphere of the sky based on the knowledge of Western star charts; with this improvement, the Chinese Sky was integrated with the World astronomy. Historically, the origins of the constellations of the northern and southern skies are distinctly different. Most northern constellations date to antiquity, with names based mostly on Classical Greek legends. Evidence of these constellations has survived in
10881-595: The southern sky, which did not depict the traditional stars recorded by ancient Chinese astronomers. Further improvements were made during the later part of the Ming dynasty by Xu Guangqi and Johann Adam Schall von Bell , the German Jesuit and was recorded in Chongzhen Lishu (Calendrical Treatise of Chongzhen period , 1628). Traditional Chinese star maps incorporated 23 new constellations with 125 stars of
10998-531: The stars. Scattered evidence suggests that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made in the ancient world. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa is thought to have been compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE. A scroll documenting an early use of electional astrology is doubtfully ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash ( c. 2144 – 2124 BCE). This describes how
11115-705: The stars. The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to the Chinese, except for second animal being the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox , and the fourth animal the Cat instead of the Rabbit . The Japanese have since 1873 celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per the Gregorian calendar . The Thai zodiac begins, not at Chinese New Year , but either on
11232-443: The still extant Royal Society (1660), even though both organizations initially had some of the same members. Astrology saw a popular revival starting in the 19th century, as part of a general revival of spiritualism and—later, New Age philosophy, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes. Early in the 20th century the psychiatrist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology, which led to
11349-423: The time of the new star of 1572 and the comet of 1577 there began what Almasi calls an "extended epistemological reform" which began the process of excluding religion, astrology and anthropocentrism from scientific debate. By 1679, the yearly publication La Connoissance des temps eschewed astrology as a legitimate topic. During the Enlightenment , intellectual sympathy for astrology fell away, leaving only
11466-439: The total chart. The horoscope visually expresses the set of relationships for the time and place of the chosen event. These relationships are between the seven 'planets', signifying tendencies such as war and love; the twelve signs of the zodiac; and the twelve houses. Each planet is in a particular sign and a particular house at the chosen time, when observed from the chosen place, creating two kinds of relationship. A third kind
11583-526: The western world, and common belief in it largely declined, until a continuing resurgence starting in the 1960s. The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia , which derives from the Greek ἀστρολογία —from ἄστρον astron ("star") and -λογία -logia , ("study of"—"account of the stars"). The word entered the English language via Latin and medieval French , and its use overlapped considerably with that of astronomy (derived from
11700-666: The word camelopardalis comes from Latin , and it is the romanization of the Greek "καμηλοπάρδαλις" meaning "giraffe", from "κάμηλος" ( kamēlos ), " camel " + "πάρδαλις" ( pardalis ), "spotted", because it has a long neck like a camel and spots like a leopard. Although Camelopardalis is the 18th largest constellation, it is not a particularly bright constellation, as the brightest stars are only of fourth magnitude. In fact, it only contains four stars brighter than magnitude 5.0. Other variable stars are U Camelopardalis , VZ Camelopardalis , and Mira variables T Camelopardalis , X Camelopardalis , and R Camelopardalis . RU Camelopardalis
11817-692: The works of poets such as Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer , and of playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare . Throughout 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 and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics ) called astrology into question. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined. Astrology, in its broadest sense,
11934-426: The world's cultural history. Western astrology is a form of divination based on the construction of a horoscope for an exact moment, such as a person's birth. It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points . Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon and planets, which are analysed by their movement through signs of
12051-409: The year due to night on Earth occurring at gradually different portions of its orbit around the Sun. As Earth rotates toward the east, the celestial sphere appears to rotate west, with stars circling counterclockwise around the northern pole star and clockwise around the southern pole star. Because of Earth's 23.5° axial tilt , the zodiac is distributed equally across hemispheres (along
12168-451: The years and centuries to come. The constellations have no official symbols, though those of the ecliptic may take the signs of the zodiac. Symbols for the other modern constellations, as well as older ones that still occur in modern nomenclature, have occasionally been published. The Great Rift, a series of dark patches in the Milky Way, is most visible in the southern sky. Some cultures have discerned shapes in these patches. Members of
12285-473: The zodiac and 36 more (now 38, following the division of Argo Navis into three constellations) are listed by Ptolemy , a Greco-Roman astronomer from Alexandria , Egypt, in his Almagest . The formation of constellations was the subject of extensive mythology , most notably in the Metamorphoses of the Latin poet Ovid . Constellations in the far southern sky were added from the 15th century until
12402-415: Was a valid field of inquiry. However, he attacked the use of astrology to choose the timing of actions (so-called interrogation and election) as wholly false, and rejected the determination of human action by the stars on grounds of free will. The friar Laurens Pignon (c. 1368–1449) similarly rejected all forms of divination and determinism, including by the stars, in his 1411 Contre les Devineurs . This
12519-542: Was absurd to link human attributes with myths about the signs of the zodiac, and wrote an entire book, Against the Astrologers (Πρὸς ἀστρολόγους, Pros astrologous ), compiling arguments against astrology. Against the Astrologers was the fifth section of a larger work arguing against philosophical and scientific inquiry in general, Against the Professors (Πρὸς μαθηματικούς, Pros mathematikous ). Plotinus ,
12636-467: Was attached to the Quadrantid meteor shower), but is now divided between Boötes and Draco . A list of 88 constellations was produced for the IAU in 1922. It is roughly based on the traditional Greek constellations listed by Ptolemy in his Almagest in the 2nd century and Aratus ' work Phenomena , with early modern modifications and additions (most importantly introducing constellations covering
12753-498: Was finally published in 1930. Where possible, these modern constellations usually share the names of their Graeco-Roman predecessors, such as Orion, Leo, or Scorpius. The aim of this system is area-mapping, i.e. the division of the celestial sphere into contiguous fields. Out of the 88 modern constellations, 36 lie predominantly in the northern sky, and the other 52 predominantly in the southern. The boundaries developed by Delporte used data that originated back to epoch B1875.0 , which
12870-668: Was in opposition to the tradition carried by the Arab astronomer Albumasar (787–886) whose Introductorium in Astronomiam and De Magnis Coniunctionibus argued the view that both individual actions and larger scale history are determined by the stars. In the late 15th century, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola forcefully attacked astrology in Disputationes contra Astrologos , arguing that the heavens neither caused, nor heralded earthly events. His contemporary, Pietro Pomponazzi ,
12987-432: Was mainly confined to political astrology , the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions. The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sān yuán), and Twenty-Eight Mansions (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù) in twelve Ci ( 十二次 ). The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs
13104-673: Was practised in the Old Babylonian period of Mesopotamia , c. 1800 BCE . Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa is one of earliest known Hindu texts on astronomy and astrology ( Jyotisha ). The text is dated between 1400 BCE to final centuries BCE by various scholars according to astronomical and linguistic evidences. Chinese astrology was elaborated in the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE). Hellenistic astrology after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyptian Decanic astrology in Alexandria , creating horoscopic astrology . Alexander
13221-688: Was preserved as part of the Dunhuang Manuscripts . Native Chinese astronomy flourished during the Song dynasty , and during the Yuan dynasty became increasingly influenced by medieval Islamic astronomy (see Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era ). As maps were prepared during this period on more scientific lines, they were considered as more reliable. A well-known map from the Song period
13338-535: Was taken up by Islamic scholars following the collapse of Alexandria to the Arabs in the 7th century, and the founding of the Abbasid empire in the 8th. The second Abbasid caliph , Al Mansur (754–775) founded the city of Baghdad to act as a centre of learning, and included in its design a library-translation centre known as Bayt al-Hikma 'House of Wisdom', which continued to receive development from his heirs and
13455-625: Was the Liber Planetis et Mundi Climatibus ("Book of the Planets and Regions of the World"), which appeared between 1010 and 1027 AD, and may have been authored by Gerbert of Aurillac . Ptolemy's second century AD Tetrabiblos was translated into Latin by Plato of Tivoli in 1138. The Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas followed Aristotle in proposing that the stars ruled the imperfect 'sublunary' body, while attempting to reconcile astrology with Christianity by stating that God ruled
13572-472: Was to provide a major impetus for Arabic-Persian translations of Hellenistic astrological texts. The early translators included Mashallah , who helped to elect the time for the foundation of Baghdad, and Sahl ibn Bishr , ( a.k.a. Zael ), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during
13689-406: Was when Benjamin A. Gould first made his proposal to designate boundaries for the celestial sphere, a suggestion on which Delporte based his work. The consequence of this early date is that because of the precession of the equinoxes , the borders on a modern star map, such as epoch J2000 , are already somewhat skewed and no longer perfectly vertical or horizontal. This effect will increase over
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