Overview
Astrology refers to a range of divinatory practices that propose information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Forms of astrology have been employed by different cultures since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, originating in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communication. It has been recognised as pseudoscientific since the 18th century.
Many cultures have attached importance to celestial observation, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from such observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, traces 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 is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant events based on the positions of celestial objects. The majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. Throughout its history, astrology has had detractors, competitors and sceptics who opposed it for moral, religious, political and empirical reasons.
Prior to 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 featured 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 the Enlightenment, astrology lost its status as an area of legitimate scholarly pursuit, a position further reinforced from the late 19th century with the wider adoption of scientific methods.
References
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Astrology.