Astrology: A science or not?

Astrology is a pseudoscience or superstition by the scientific community, which sites a lack of statistically significant astrological predictions. It is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative position of celesial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs and other “earthly” matters. The word astrology comes from the latin term “astrologia” (astronomy) which in term derives from the greek noun “astron” (constellation or star) and “logia” (the study of). A practioner of astrology is called astrologer. Astrologers believe that the movements and positions of celestial bodies either directly influenced life on Earth or correspond to events experienced on a human scale.

Modern astrologers define astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, or a form of divinition. Despite differences in definitions, a common assumption of astrologers is that celestial placements can aid in the interpretation of past and present events, and in the prediction of the future.

Astrology has played an important role in the shaping of culture, early astronomy, the Vedas, and various disciplines throughout history. In fact, astrology and astronomy were often indistinguishable before the modern era, with the desire for predictive and divinatory knowledge one of the motivating factors for astronomical observation. Astronomy began to diverge from astrology after a period of gradual separation from the Renaissance up until the 18th century. Eventually, astronomy distinguished itself as the empirical study of astronomical objects and phenomena, without regard to the terrestrial implications of astrology.