Astrology and Astronomy: From Conjunction to Opposition Resources Daniel Kunth Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, France E-mail:
[email protected] Summary Key Words As science communicators dealing with astronomy we often find a strong interest amongst the public in astrology — how the stars and planets directly Astrology affect our individual lives. Nowadays astrology is at odds with the scientific Society nature of astronomy, but this has not always been the case. Presented here is a background to astrology, to give a deeper understanding of where it has come from and why it has such an enduring place in all forms of global media. Astrology has adapted to changes in soci- be considered a science. Astrological analy- constitutes a psychological alienation that ety throughout history, and as a result it sis, while sometimes quite sophisticated, can easily be over-exploited by those inter- continues to benefit from a positive public does not utilise any traditional scientific ested in financial gain. image. The commercial and social success methodology. Astrology even skips the nec- of astrology, largely driven by the media, is essary confrontation between hypothesis Throughout our own civilisation, astrology surprising given the dominance that science and proof, the opposite of a rigorous scien- has had both fervent and casual believers enjoys within our society. Its foundations tific approach. Astronomers oppose not only within nearly all social classes or cultures. exploit the widely held belief that pervasive the astrological assertion that cosmological From ancient times to the present, humans connections exist between the macrocosm positioning can directly impact a person’s have been challenged to predict and pre- (the Universe as a whole) and our microcosm destiny, but also astrology’s ignorance of pare for life events from the joyous to the (human society and social relationships).