Until the last few centuries, astrology was strongly linked with the practice of medicine. Astrology is a type of divination in which the stars and planets are thought to reveal the cause of human illness as well as to suggest appropriate cures. The idea that the human body mimics the universe on a smaller scale, and therefore can be influenced by it, is found in many cultures.

In the western world, early references to the influence of the stars and planets on human health date to the fifth century B.C. Ancient Egyptians believed that different body parts were under the influence of different signs of the Zodiac. This belief spread into Europe through Greece, and in the fourth century B.C. were seen in Hippocrates' writings. Astrology was an important part of medicine until the end of the 17th century when it began...