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Astrology

Claudius PtolemaeusEbû Ma'şer el-BelhîJohannes KeplerMichel Gauquelin

This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method

For everyone

Astrology is an ancient tradition holding that the positions of celestial bodies are related to human character and events on Earth. It developed alongside astronomy for centuries, and many astronomers also practised astrology. In controlled experiments astrologers' personality predictions from birth charts have generally been found at chance level; some statistical studies have reported particular effects. In the Islamic world thinkers such as al-Fārābī distinguished drawing judgements from the stars (aḥkām al-nujūm) from mathematical astronomy, and the practice was criticised by many scholars.

For specialists

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos is the classical source of astrology. In Carlson's (1985) double-blind test, astrologers could not match personality-test profiles to birth charts better than chance. Gauquelin reported that Mars was found more often than chance in certain positions at the births of eminent athletes (the "Mars effect"). Replications by sceptic committees in France, Belgium and the US did not confirm it; Ertel argued in reanalyses that the effect persists. In Dean and Kelly's "time twins" study, the expected similarities were not found among more than 2,000 people born minutes apart.

Claims

Evidence

Supporting

Statistics / meta-analysis

Gauquelin reported that at the birth times of eminent athletes Mars was found significantly more often than chance in the zones just after rising or culmination.[2][3]

Challenging

Experiment

In a double-blind experiment astrologers could not match personality profiles to the correct birth chart better than chance.[4]

Replication study

A test by a French sceptic committee on more than 1,000 athletes did not confirm the Mars effect.[5]

Statistics / meta-analysis

2,101 people born minutes apart ("time twins") did not show the similarities astrology predicts.[7]

Positions

al-Fārābī and Islamic classifications of the sciences
There are two distinct "sciences of the stars". One is aḥkām al-nujūm, which interprets what the stars signify about events; the other is mathematical astronomy (ʿilm al-nujūm al-taʿlīmī).[6]

Connections

Parent

Esoteric traditions

Related

Astronomy and cosmologyKepler's lawsPtolemy's Almagest and the geocentric model

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Sources

  1. Classical workBatlamyus / Ptolemy; Robbins, F. E. (trans.) (1940). Tetrabiblos. Loeb Classical Library 435, Harvard University Press
  2. BookGauquelin, M. (1955). L'Influence des astres: étude critique et expérimentale. Éditions du Dauphin, Paris
  3. BookErtel, S.; Irving, K. (1996). The Tenacious Mars Effect. Urania Trust, London
  4. ArticleCarlson, S. (1985). A double-blind test of astrology. Nature 318, 419–425DOI 10.1038/318419a0archive
  5. BookBenski, C. et al. (1996). The "Mars Effect": A French Test of Over 1,000 Sports Champions. Prometheus Books, Amherst NY
  6. EncyclopediaFehd, T.İlm-i ahkâm-ı nücûm. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisiislamansiklopedisi.org.trarchive
  7. ArticleDean, G.; Kelly, I. W. (2003). Is astrology relevant to consciousness and psi?. Journal of Consciousness Studies 10(6–7), 175–198

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Cite this page

APA

Athena contributors. (2026). Astrology. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/astroloji/

BibTeX
@misc{athena_astroloji,
  title        = {Astrology},
  author       = {{Athena contributors}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/astroloji/}},
  note         = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}

Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history

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