Astrology: A Convergence of Science and Superstition
Astronomy and astrology are two of the most often "wrongly" understood of disciplines in the world today. Wrongly, in the sense that both sciences are often distinguished by many as the same, when in fact the two are different arenas of study. Astrology hails from the Greek, "star" and the word "theory". In combination, it would result to the study of the stars. Astronomy basically entails the same area of study, but bears a different "angle" to it, particularly as to how people view Astronomy as a body of knowledge.
Astrology is often defined by many proponents as a symbolic language, as well as a "science". But the most often used concept behind astrology entails its being seen as a method of divination, and is seen as a form of pseudoscience bearing superstitious elements to its nature. Contrary to Astronomy, which is seen by most as the more "scientific" between the two star-related studies, astrology is known to entail predictions of the future, as well as the belief that everyone's lives in the world could be mapped out in the stars.
Astrology is known to be classified in various systems, applied in various traditions, and is also known to have a belief aspect credited to it. Records have shown that it has been around since the 2nd Millennium BCE, and history also notes that its prevalence then has had significance to the shaping of history up to today. Cultures have risen, as well as other areas of disciplines, since the inception of astrology as well.
For a time, both astrology and astronomy were seen as one body of knowledge. This however changed, when Astronomy, as we now know it to be, started to diverge from astrology. This split of course didn't happen instantly, as it took time for it to take shape, starting from the Middle Ages until the 18th Century, where the two bodies where distinctly hailed as different studies of the stars.
Astronomy is seen as the study of astronomical phenomena and objects, without the astrological correlation which astrology boasts to have.
Along with tarot cards, personality templates mostly based on the horoscope, predictions of getting rich or having plenty of healthy children, astronomy is mostly "heard out" by those inquisitive of their fortunes. Chinese astrology is one of the most seriously taken of astrology cultures, as the concepts behind wealth and fortune, as well as ideal marriage, are typically heard out by those who believe in it.
