Superb general account.' Times Literary Supplement The story of the history of Western astrology begins with the philosophers of Greece in the 5th century BC. To the magic and stargazing of Egypt the Greeks added numerology, geometryand rational thought. The philosophy of Plato and later of the Stoics made astrology respectable, and by the time Ptolemy wrote his textbook the Tetrabiblos, in the second century AD, the main lines of astrological practice as it is known today had already been laid down. In future centuries astrology shifted to Islam only to return to the West in medieval times where it flourished until the shift of ideas during the Renaissance.

This thoroughly researched book is a history of the development of Western horoscopic astrology from its origin among the Babylonians and its subsequent creation in its present form by the Alexandrians down to modern times. Special attention is given to background history and to the working conditions and techniques used by astrologers during the last two thousand years. Numerous footnotes provide additional information and bibliographic references. A separate bibliography lists reference sources of particular importance. Two comprehensive indices containing more than 2,800 individual entries enable the reader to locate persons, publishers, topics, and book and periodical titles that are mentioned in the history. The book also contains discussions of several questions and topics relating to astrology. James Herschel Holden is Research Director of the American Federation of Astrologers and has been especially interested in the history of astrology.

This book explores an area of contemporary religion, spirituality and popular culture which has not so far been investigated in depth, the phenomenon of astrology in the modern west. Locating modern astrology historically and sociologically in its religious, New Age and millenarian contexts, Nicholas Campion considers astrology's relation to modernity and draws on extensive fieldwork and interviews with leading modern astrologers to present an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the origins and nature of New Age ideology. This book challenges the notion that astrology is either 'marginal' or a feature of postmodernism. Concluding that astrology is more popular than the usual figures suggest, Campion argues that modern astrology is largely shaped by New Age thought, influenced by the European Millenarian tradition, that it can be seen as an heir to classical Gnosticism and is part of the vernacular religion of the modern west.

Astrology is a major feature of contemporary popular culture. Recent research indicates that 99% of adults in the modern west know their birth sign. In the modern west astrology thrives as part of our culture despite being a pre-Christian, pre-scientific world-view. Medieval and Renaissance Europe marked the high water mark for astrology. It was a subject of high theological speculation, was used to advise kings and popes, and to arrange any activity from the beginning of battles to the most auspicious time to have one's hair cut. Nicholas Campion examines the foundation of modern astrology in the medieval and Renaissance worlds. Spanning the period between the collapse of classical astrology in the fifth century and the rise of popular astrology on the web in the twentieth, Campion challenges the historical convention that astrology flourished only between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. Concluding with a discussion of astrology's popularity and appeal in the twenty-first century, Campion asks whether it should be seen as an integral part of modernity or as an element of the post-modern world.

Hellenistic astrology is a tradition of horoscopic astrology that was practiced in the Mediterranean region from approximately the first century BCE until the seventh century CE. It is the source of many of the modern traditions of astrology that still flourish around the world today, although it is only recently that many of the surviving texts of this tradition have become available again for astrologers to study. Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune is one of the first comprehensive surveys of this tradition in modern times. The book covers the history, philosophy, and techniques of ancient astrology, with a special focus on demonstrating how many of the fundamental concepts underlying the practice of western astrology originated during the Hellenistic period.

This panoramic investigation of political and historical thought extends from ancient Mesopotamian times to the present day, and raises important questions about the nature and function of political prophecy in late twentieth-century society.

'The Fated Sky' looks at famous figures and important historical events that were influenced by astrology.

This is the first comprehensive examination of astrology's origins and it examines the foundations of a major feature of popular culture in the contemporary west, one which has its origins in the ancient world. Campion explores the relationship between astrology and religion, magic and science, and explores its use in politics and the arts. Beginning with the theories of the origins of religion in sun-worship, it spans the period between the first Paleolithic lunar counters around 30,000 BC and the end of the classical world and rise of Christianity. Campion challenges the idea that astrology was invented by the Greeks, and asks whether its origins lie in Near-Eastern religion, or whether it can be considered a decadent Eastern import to the West. He considers the evidence for reverence for the stars in Neolithic culture, Mesopotamian astral divination, Egyptian stellar religion, and examines attitudes to astrology and celestial prophecy in the Bible. He considers such artefacts as the mysterious, 15,000-year-old 'Venus of Lauselle', the reasons for the orientation of the pyramids, the latest theories on Stonehenge as a sacred observatory, Greek theories of the ascent of the soul to the stars and the Roman emporer Nero's use of astrology to persecute his rivals.

The easiest way to learn astrology is to start with yourself. Your astrological birth chart is a powerful tool for gaining a deeper understanding of your unique gifts, talents, challenges, and life's purpose. As you begin to decipher the wealth of information in your own birth chart, you'll experience astrology in a personally meaningful way—which makes it easier to understand and remember. Once you learn the basics of astrology, you'll be able to read the birth charts of yourself and others. This friendly guidebook is the most complete introduction to astrology available. Popular astrologer Kris Brandt Riske presents the essentials of astrology in a clear, step-by-step way, paying special attention to three areas of popular interest: relationships, career, and money. She explains the meaning of the planets, zodiac signs, houses, and aspects, and how to interpret their significance in your chart. Over 30 illustrations, including the birth charts of several famous people—Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, and Tiger Woods, to name just a few—add a helpful visual dimension to your learning experience. Practical and positive, Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology offers techniques for using astrology to identify the qualities you seek in an ideal mate, realize your career and financial potential, calculate your luck, and discover your inner strength.

"Ever since my first journey to India I have desired to share the knowledge I was fortunate enough to receive. I have also felt a need to dispel some rather major misconceptions, the main one being the fact that Hindu astrology is extraordinarily difficult. This is not true, as will soon hopefully be revealed. Although I have always been most fascinated with astrology because of the philosophical implications and revelations which can be extracted. I have done my best to keep philosophy from this work, as that is not my present purpose. It is my intention only to present Hindu astrology in a way that it deserves to be presented, which is long overdue -- a way which western astrologers can understand and utilise, and which will clear away the mystery and finally put into perspective the enormously complex techniques which make up the bulk of most textbooks on the subject. Having worked with both Hindu and western systems, it is my experience that the two greatly complement each other and together form the basis for a complete and profound astrology." -- taken from the Introduction.