Celestial Bodies

A jargon-free history of the shifting relationship between astronomy and astrology. For most of human history, the study of celestial bodies and their earthly influence was not distinguished. Although the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century sounded the death knell for the foundational sway of astrology, many prominent early scientists took it seriously, casting horoscopes while conducting scientific experiments. The notion that celestial influence could be mapped onto human lives only slowly became a fringe belief. Stephen Case deftly explores how astrology transformed from a primary motivation to study astronomy to the pseudoscience that it is today. Only by understanding astrology’s role in astronomy’s development can we fully come to understand the complete story of humanity’s relationship with the stars.