Editing Astrology (section)

== Principles and practice ==
Advocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an [[art]] form, a [[science]], and a method of divination.<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica'', v.5, 1974, p. 916</ref><ref>Dietrich, Thomas: ''The Origin of Culture and Civilization'', Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, 2005, p. 305</ref> 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 the world's cultural history.

=== Western ===

[[Western astrology]] is a form of [[divination]] based on the construction of a [[horoscope]] for an exact moment, such as a person's birth.<ref>{{cite book |editor=[[Philip P. Wiener]] |title=Dictionary of the history of ideas |year=1974 |publisher=Scribner |location=New York |isbn=978-0-684-13293-8 |url=http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaBook/tei/DicHist1.xml;brand=default; |access-date=16 July 2011 |archive-date=25 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925152742/http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaBook/tei/DicHist1.xml;brand=default; |url-status=live }}</ref> It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the [[Equinox|equinoctial points]].<ref>James R. Lewis, 2003. ''The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences''. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.</ref>

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 [[Astrological sign|signs]] of the [[zodiac]] (twelve spatial divisions of the [[ecliptic]]) and by their [[Astrological aspect|aspects]] (based on geometric angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in [[House (astrology)|houses]] (twelve spatial divisions of the sky).<ref>{{cite book |last=Hone |first=Margaret |title=The Modern Text-Book of Astrology |year=1978 |publisher=L. N. Fowler |location=Romford |isbn=978-0-85243-357-7 |pages=21–89}}</ref> 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 the total chart.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riske |first=Kris |title=Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology |year=2007 |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |location=Minnesota, US |isbn=978-0-7387-1071-6 |pages=5–6; 27}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Kremer-1990">{{cite journal | title=Horoscopes and History. by J. D. North; A History of Western Astrology. by S. J. Tester |last=Kremer |first=Richard | journal=Speculum | year=1990 | volume=65 | issue=1 | pages=206–209 | jstor=2864524 | doi=10.2307/2864524}}</ref> A third kind 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.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Pelletier, Robert |author2=Cataldo, Leonard | title=Be Your Own Astrologer | pages=57–60 | publisher=Pan | year=1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Fenton, Sasha | title=Rising Signs | pages=137–9 | publisher =Aquarian Press | year=1991}}</ref> Together these relationships and their interpretations are said to form "...the language of the heavens speaking to learned men."<ref name="Kremer-1990"/>

Along with [[tarot divination]], astrology is one of the core studies of [[Western esotericism]], and as such has influenced systems of [[magic (paranormal)|magical]] belief not only among Western esotericists and [[Hermeticism|Hermeticists]], but also belief systems such as [[Wicca]], which have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. [[Tanya Luhrmann]] has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a [[table of correspondences]] in [[Starhawk|Starhawk's]] ''[[The Spiral Dance]]'', organised by [[planets in astrology|planet]], as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.<ref>{{cite book | title=Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England | publisher=Harvard University Press | author=Luhrmann, Tanya | year=1991 | pages=147–151 | isbn=978-0-674-66324-4}}</ref>

=== Hindu ===

{{Main|Hindu astrology}}

[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Page from an Astrological Treatise.jpg|upright|thumb|Page from an Indian astrological treatise, c. 1750]]

The earliest [[Veda|Vedic]] text on astronomy is the ''[[Vedanga Jyotisha]]''; Vedic thought later came to include astrology as well.<ref>{{cite book|last=Subbarayappa|first=B. V.|editor=Biswas, S. K. |editor2=Mallik, D. C. V. |editor3=[[C. V. Vishveshwara|Vishveshwara, C. V.]] | title=Cosmic Perspectives | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFTGKi8fjvoC&pg=FA25 | date=14 September 1989 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-34354-1 | pages=25–40 | chapter=Indian astronomy: An historical perspective | quote=In the Vedic literature Jyotis[h]a, which connotes 'astronomy' and later began to encompass astrology, was one of the most important subjects of study... The earliest Vedic astronomical text has the title, Vedanga Jyotis[h]a...}}</ref>

Hindu natal astrology originated with Hellenistic astrology by the 3rd century BCE,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |title=Indian Astronomy |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |date=18 December 1978 |volume=122 |series=American Philosophical Society |issue=6 |pages=361–364 <!--p. 361--> |jstor=986451}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=From Alexandria to Baghdād to Byzantium. The Transmission of Astrology | author=Pingree, David | journal=International Journal of the Classical Tradition | year=2001 | volume=8 | issue=1 | pages=3–37 | jstor=30224155 | doi=10.1007/bf02700227| bibcode=2003IJCT...10..487G | s2cid=162030487 }}</ref> though incorporating the Hindu lunar mansions.<ref>{{cite journal | jstor=620756 | title=The Circle of Stars: An Introduction to Indian Astrology by Valerie J. Roebuck. Review | author=Werner, Karel |author-link=Karel Werner | journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies | year=1993 | pages=645–646|doi=10.1017/s0041977x00008326 | volume=56| issue=3 | s2cid=162270467 }}</ref> 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 a Greek origin for Hindu astrology.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Notes on Hindu Astronomy and the History of Our Knowledge of It | author=Burgess, James | journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=October 1893 | pages=717–761 | jstor=25197168}}</ref> The Indian techniques may also have been augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |s2cid=128083594 |title=Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran |journal=Isis |date=June 1963 |volume=54 |series=The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society |issue=2 |page=232 <!--229–246--> |jstor=228540 |doi=10.1086/349703|bibcode=1963Isis...65..229P}}</ref>

=== Chinese and East Asian ===

{{Further|Chinese zodiac}}

[[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 [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Five phases]], the 10 [[Celestial stem]]s, the 12 [[Earthly Branches]], and [[Chinese units of measurement|shichen]] (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to [[History of astrology|political astrology]], the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of [[Omen|portent]]s and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.{{sfn|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|pp=22, 85, 176}}

The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into [[Chinese constellations|Three Enclosures]] (三垣 sān yuán), and [[Twenty-Eight Mansions]] (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù) in twelve Ci ([[:zh:分野|十二次]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Stephenson|first1=F. Richard|title=Chinese roots of modern astronomy|date=1980-06-26|journal=[[New Scientist]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqkoAAAAMAAJ&q=Chinese%20roots%20of%20modern%20astronomy%20Stephenson,%20F.%20Richard|volume=86|issue=1207|pages=380–383}}</ref> The Chinese zodiac of twelve [[Astrological sign#Chinese zodiac signs|animal signs]] 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 (zodiac)|Rat]], and the cycle proceeds through 11 other animal signs: the [[Ox (zodiac)|Ox]], [[Tiger (zodiac)|Tiger]], [[Rabbit (zodiac)|Rabbit]], [[Dragon (zodiac)|Dragon]], [[Snake (zodiac)|Snake]], [[Horse (zodiac)|Horse]], [[Goat (zodiac)|Goat]], [[Monkey (zodiac)|Monkey]], [[Rooster (zodiac)|Rooster]], [[Dog (zodiac)|Dog]], and [[Pig (zodiac)|Pig]].<ref>Theodora Lau, ''The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes'', pp&nbsp;2–8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005</ref> 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|Zi Wei Dou Shu]] ({{lang-zh|s=紫微斗数|t=紫微斗數|p=zǐwēidǒushù}}) are still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raKRY3KQspsC&q=astrology+in+China+Springer&pg=PA76 | title=Astrology in China | publisher=Springer | encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures | year=1997 | access-date=22 July 2012 | editor=Selin, Helaine|editor-link=Helaine Selin| isbn=978-0-7923-4066-9 }}</ref>

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 (zodiac)|Water Buffalo]]'' instead of the ''[[Ox (zodiac)|Ox]]'', and the fourth animal the ''[[Cat (zodiac)|Cat]]'' instead of the ''[[Rabbit (zodiac)|Rabbit]]''. The<!--'''Japanese zodiac''' includes the ''boar'' instead of the ''[[Pig (zodiac)|Pig]]'',{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} and the--> Japanese have since 1873 celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per the [[Gregorian calendar]]. The Thai zodiac <!--includes a ''[[naga (mythology)|Naga]]'' in place of the ''[[Dragon (zodiac)|Dragon]]''{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} and -->begins, not at [[Chinese New Year]], but either on the first day of the fifth month in the [[Thai lunar calendar]], or during the [[Songkran (Thailand)|Songkran]] festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.<ref>{{cite web|title=การเปลี่ยนวันใหม่ การนับวัน ทางโหราศาสตร์ไทย การเปลี่ยนปีนักษัตร โหราศาสตร์ ดูดวง ทำนายทายทัก ('The transition to the new astrological dates Thailand. Changing zodiac astrology horoscope prediction')|url=http://www.myhora.com/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C-004.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103152835/http://www.myhora.com/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C-004.aspx|archive-date=3 January 2011|df=dmy-all}} (in Thai)</ref>