Long before the invention of writing, people of the ancient world began observing celestial bodies. After starting agriculture, they quickly grasped the importance of the equinoxes and solstices. Approximately 6,000 years ago, the Sumerians, who built magnificent cities like Ur, Uruk, and Babylon in Mesopotamia, were likely the first civilization to use a calendar based on the moon's cycles and utilize astrology.
The earliest surviving tablet related to astronomy dates back to the 8th century BC. One such tablet records all lunar eclipses that occurred in Babylon over a 400-year period, between the reign of Nebu-nassar and 317 BC. Some tablets contain daily observations, forming astronomical sky journals. Concurrently with these methodical observations, highly complex mathematical astronomy also developed. It is known that the "Ziggurats," large structures rising on a tower, also enabled astronomers to conduct their work.
In Egypt, around 3000 BC, it was taught only to those specially initiated and trained within the temples. The specialized priests who served as the state's astrologers, tasked with measuring time, were called "horoscopoi," meaning "observers of the hour."
Astrology appears to have originated in its earliest form during the Hellenistic period, based on the conquests of Alexander the Great. A suitable foundation was established here through connections with Egyptians, Easterners, and Greeks.
According to Knappich, astrology is "a typical result of the convergence of Western star lore, the wisdom of Egyptian temples, Babylonian astronomy and mathematics, and naturalist Greek philosophy."
In ancient Greece, the astronomical tradition, from Thales (640 – 548 BC) to Anaximenes, Pythagoras (6th century BC) and his students, involved the study of the geometry of the sky at the moment of birth. Empedocles introduced the concept of the four fundamental elements of the world (Fire, Earth, Air, and Water). Hippocrates dealt with the seasonal phases of diseases and defined the four temperaments. Plato was also influential in the development of astrology. Hellenistic Astrology forms the foundation of the Western Astrology widely used today.
The famous astronomer Klaudios Ptolemaios (AD 85 – 165), the author of the Almagest (which remained the definitive reference book for astronomy until the Middle Ages) and a geography book, compiled knowledge in the four-volume Tetrabiblos, which became the essential textbook for astrologers.
The Romans were not opposed to many different Eastern religions and star teachings. Cicero (106 – 43 BC) addressed astrology in many of his writings. Interest in astrology significantly strengthened and became fashionable throughout Roman society with the inclusion of the famous astrologer Thrasylles in the imperial court, who would later be associated with Tiberius.
Arabs made many important mathematical contributions to horoscope technique, especially with the "Arabic Parts." Charlemagne was heavily involved with astrology and chronology. Charles V had six astrologers. Charles VI, Louis XI, the King of Hungary, and Emperor Frederick III all used astrology and sometimes learned it themselves.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Astrology was accepted as a discipline intertwined with Astronomy, and was even utilized in fields such as Medicine and State administration. However, this situation fundamentally changed with the Age of Enlightenment (17th and 18th centuries).
The Enlightenment was founded on the view that reason was omnipotent, that the universe operated like a mechanical clock that could be completely explained by mathematical laws, and that scientific development relied solely on rationalism. During this period:
-
Newtonian Mechanics: Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation precisely explained the motion of the planets, proving that these movements had a causal (physical attraction) explanation. This eliminated the need for the teleological (purposeful) mechanism of influence that astrology presupposed.
-
The Need for Classification: Science began to be reduced to a methodology based on certainty, observation, and repeatable experiment. On the grounds that it did not meet these new and rigid scientific criteria, astrology was pushed aside from the exact sciences like mathematics and physics and was assigned to the category of pseudoscience or mystic belief.
The Result: Although this rationalist and materialist movement could not immediately destroy astrology’s place among the populace, it distanced it from universities and intellectual circles; Astronomy ceased to be a practical application of astrology and came to be accepted as a high and independent science in its own right.
Preservation Underground: Occultism and Philosophical Teachings
Despite all this rationalist pressure, certain secret formations and esoteric circles continued to preserve ancient occult knowledge and symbolism within their structure. Astrology was thus symbolically maintained as a symbolic tool within philosophical teachings and Western mysticism. These movements, which questioned the deep meaning of life and the integrity between the universe and humanity, transmitted the cosmic patterns of astrology to future generations.
Following the rationalist pressure, astrology resurfaced from two main branches at the beginning of the 20th century, particularly around the 1930s:
Psychological Discovery: Depth psychologists like Carl Gustav Jung began to study astrological archetypes and symbolism as the language of the collective unconscious, opening a scientific and psychological door to ancient wisdom. This approach started to restore credibility to astrology in intellectual circles. Spread Through Popular Press: During this period, astrology quickly became part of popular culture through daily horoscopes published in newspapers. This spread was a significant step that brought astrology to all continents for the first time.
Carl Gustav Jung: The Collective Unconscious and Astrological Archetypes
The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) is an important figure who was a contemporary and initially a student (and seen as the closest colleague and heir) of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. As the founder of analytical psychology, Jung was an expert who valued astrology and frequently referenced it in his work, even after modern science pushed it aside. Jung viewed astrology as the symbolic language of human psychology and the unconscious.
Jung stated that when analyzing a case, a client's birth chart could be useful in understanding that person's fundamental archetypal patterns and accelerating the therapeutic process.
1. The Unconscious and Collective Archetypes
In the model of psychology he developed after separating from Freud, Jung proposed that beneath the layer of the Personal Unconscious (formed by individual experiences), the human psyche harbors the Collective Unconscious, a shared heritage of all humanity. The fundamental building blocks of this collective layer are the Archetypes.
Archetypes: These are universal, innate symbolic images representing patterns of experience. Examples include the Hero, the Wise Man, the Shadow, the Anima and the Animus, and the Persona (the social mask worn towards the outside world).
2. Collective Masks (Persona) and Astrological Similarities
The Persona (Mask) mentioned by Jung is the social identity or role that the individual presents to the outside world. The basic character tendencies and roles represented by the zodiac signs, houses, and planets in astrology offer a universal mapping of these collective masks and fundamental archetypes.
Jung believed that astrological factors symbolically explained the person's innate psychological predispositions and spiritual potential. According to him, astrology is a useful tool for initiating a psychological analysis because it reveals these innate archetypal tendencies through a synchronistic (simultaneous) language.
3. Astrology: A Tool of Synchronicity for Understanding Human Nature
Rather than using astrology as a predictive system, Jung used it to explain the concept of Synchronicity.
Synchronicity: These are events that have no causal connection but occur simultaneously in a meaningful way. Jung argued that the quality of celestial time (the astrological aspect) resonates simultaneously with the individual's inner psychological state. Thus, the heavens function as a mirror reflecting the Earth's state of soul.
Psychological Astrology Pioneers: Rudhyar and Perry
The person who transformed this bridge between Jung's depth psychology and astrology into a practical discipline in the 20th century and is considered the "Father of Modern Psychological Astrology" is the French-born American composer, author, and astrologer Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985).
In his works written in the 1930s, Rudhyar argued that the purpose of astrology was not prediction (fortune-telling) but understanding the individual's spiritual potential and psychological path of development (purpose). His approach:
Focused on Transformation: Rudhyar proposed that the planetary placements in the birth chart symbolized not a person's absolute fate, but the psychological challenges, opportunities, and potential crisis periods encountered throughout the individual's life. Holistic Approach: He viewed the chart as a map of the individual's evolutionary journey, thereby redefining astrology entirely as a tool for spiritual and psychological counseling. This approach was one of the most important movements that restored intellectual respectability to astrology.
This current is continued today by psychologist-astrologers like Glenn Perry, Ph.D., and psychological astrology has become a vital tool for understanding an individual's subconscious dynamics, basic needs, and relational patterns.
However, some interpretations of this psychological approach risk treating astrology too superficially by reducing it merely to an archetypal language. In an attempt to align with science, these interpretations can overlook astrology's holistic and comprehensive structure, its deep-level pattern analysis that multiplies possibilities, and its potential for physical resonance.
Today, astrology is unfortunately reduced to a tiny shadow of its millennia-old depth through daily horoscopes in newspaper columns or superficial content consumed quickly on social media. Astrology is neither just an amusing game of fortune-telling, nor is it merely a psychological archetypal language.
The True Potential Lies in the Holistic Perspective.
At its core, astrology harbors a multi-dimensional, holistic, and comprehensive science of probability that studies the correlation between celestial cycles and terrestrial life patterns. This holistic perspective encompasses not only mood, but also strategic timing, individual potential, and resonance with universal laws.
This is why we position astrology at the intersection of ancient and modern science:
Science and Philosophy: We explore universal mechanics and synchronicity philosophically, based on Quantum Physics and Philosophy. Statistical Data: We analyze the historical records of celestial patterns using modern Statistical Analysis methods. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration: The most powerful tool in this approach is Artificial Intelligence. AI can analyze, visualize, and synthesize thousands of probabilities, data points, and patterns within a single chart or time cycle that are beyond the grasp of human perception and memory, yielding a much more comprehensive and layered interpretation framework in seconds.
The Human Factor: Evaluating this immense dataset and rapid, comprehensive interpretation provided by AI with a holistic, ethically committed, and highly competent human (expert astrologer) will always yield the greatest benefit. For the final decision, wisdom, and personalized guidance require the AI data to be blended with human intuition, synthesis, and experience.
This multidisciplinary approach preserves the holistic power of astrology, transforming it into a scientifically grounded guidance tool that transcends superficial popularity.