Western astrology

Western astrology does not view the background of fixed stars as a point of reference from the earth’s perspective. Western astrology uses the same reference point as that of astronomy, i.e. it divides the ecliptic into segments starting at the Vernal Equinox. In this way measurements become coordinates that apply to any point in space. Astrology is meant to offer a mandala or snapshot of the sky at birth from an unchanging reference point, much like the soul’s perspective. Astrology and astronomy were intertwined at this time, and astrologers assumed both the duty of observers of the starry sky and interpreters of the stars. One of the best documented things about Mesopotamia is the astrology that was supported by the state. This activity probably began in the seventh century BC. During this time there were at least ten different “schools” of astrologers located in different cities in Mesopotamia. These schools of astrologers consist of elite and highly literate scholars who serve the care directly by regularly sending letters and reports regarding their astronomical observations and astrological predictions.At first, astrology was based entirely on observed phenomena such as an eclipse of the Sun, or a halo around the Moon, in part because the Mesopotamians did not have the ability to calculate where the planets would be in the future or where they had been in the past. However, centuries of sky observation eventually led to the identification of certain celestial movements – cyclical and periodic, such as the monthly cycle of the Moon or the annual cycle of the Sun. This led to the development of complex mathematical models for determining the positions of the planets in astronomy, which in turn allowed the development of more complex astrological techniques and doctrin

Astrologers use 12 of these constellations to roughly correspond with the signs of the zodiac to make predictions. (The 13th, Ophiuchus, it omitted because when the signs were first described, the stars were not in exactly the same position as they are today.) 

Today, the astrological signs differ from these constellations, bearing only a loose reference to one another. The sign of Pisces, for instance, currently corresponds to the rise of the constellation of Aquarius.