Astrology is an ancient system of divination based on the belief that the stars can influence the fate and behavior of men and the general course of human events. A belief in the supernatural powers of celestial bodies was common to the Babylonians, Egyptians, Assyrians and Chaldeans. In the 4th century BC it reached the Greeks and somewhat later the Romans.

Isaiah (47:13) lists three classes of astrological practitioners common among the Babylonians: “Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up . . .” . . .

Astrology originated in Mesopotamia, where the celestial bodies were worshipped as deities. In the library of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, there were large numbers of clay tablets relating to astrology. These contained about 7,000 omens, based on observations of the sun, moon and the five planets. . . .

To the Greeks astrology was hardly known before the conquest of Babylon by Alexander the Great. Greek scholars created a new form of astrology and from being an eastern religion it began to acquire the semblance of a science. . . .

Astrology reached Rome in the 2nd century BC. It was banned in 139 BC by a decree of the Senate but nevertheless flourished and became an accepted Roman institution.

“ASTROLOGY” in The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, Rev. Ed., ed. Avraham Negev, 46-47.