Overview

The first records of systematic astronomical or astrological observation and interpretation lie in the scattered remains of ancient Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations. The earliest evidence of the development of astronomy and astrology—in the modern world distinctive representatives of science and pseudo-science, respectively—establish that they share a common origin grounded in mankind's need and quest to understand the movements of the celestial sphere. Moreover, evidence suggests an early and strong desire to relate earthly everyday existence to the stars and to develop a cosmology (an understanding of the origin, structure, and evolution of the universe) that intimately bound human society to a coherent and knowable universe.

Background

The most primitive origins of both astrology and astronomy predate the human written record. There is abundant archaeological and artistic evidence that long before there were the...