Gay Agenda #8: Astrology: Who is this diva? Where did she come from?

Greetings gays! Welcome to the beginning of an educational series about astrology: who is this diva, where did she come from, who harnesses her, and to what ends. 

I'm inspired to make this by the questions I receive in social situations when I reveal that I'm an astrologer. I've learned a lot about what's common knowledge and what's not-- super helpful to someone (*raises hand*) who has been deep in the weeds for several years. I've learned that in general, sun sign astrology is on people's radar. And if you know much more beyond that, you're either gay or about to be. Just kidding... ;) 

So let's start with the basics! 

To understand how astrology got so popular, and often mischaracterized, let's look into her origin story and evolution. 

1.  Mesopotamia 

   • 3rd Millennium BCE: The Babylonians begin recording celestial events as omens, tracking the placements of stars during major events, and deducing patterns.

2.  Hellenistic Period 

   • 4th–2nd Century BCE: concepts of the Zodiac and birth charts were developed 

3.  Ptolemy

   • 2nd Century CE: Tetrabiblos by Claudius Ptolemy (a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, and geographer) becomes the foundational textbook for Western astrology

4.  Islamic Golden Age 

   • 8th–12th Century: Islamic scholars translate Greek texts, refine mathematical models, and develop complex predictive techniques.

   • Though Islamic scholars embraced astrology, Christianity opposed it, viewing it as heretical. Astrology in Christian countries is discredited, damped down, and goes mostly underground. 

5.  Renaissance Europe

   • 12th–16th Century: Astrology returns to Europe via Arabic translations. It's taught in universities and used by doctors, popes, kings, and queens (like Elizabeth I).

6. The Enlightenment

   • 17th–18th Century: Astronomy's and Astrology's paths diverge. What you can't 

7. The Revival

   • Late 19th–Early 20th Century: modern astrology shifts away from "predicting events" to "personality and psychology." 

8. Sun Sign Astrology

   • 1930s: The first newspaper astrology columns appear, based solely on the Sun's position. This popularizes astrology by making it both accessible and wildly basic.

     • Professional astrologers say the columns publicize astrology but give an inaccurate impression of what it really is. Robert Hand... author of several astrology books... said the columns thus both 'help and hurt. They keep people aware of the existence of astrology, but astrology’s strength is that it deals with the uniqueness of individuals. Sun sign astrology makes it look like we treat all people as one of 12 types.

     • — Penelope McMillan, “40 Million Readers: Horoscopes: Fans Bask in Sun Signs,” L.A. Times

9. The Digital Age

   • 21st Century: Astrology has a massive resurgence through social media, apps, and meme culture.