Not only were some of the first scientists astrologers, some of the most respected scientific minds in human history were practicing astrologers. Historic names such as Kepler, Jung, Galileo, Copernicus and Brahe were all significant contributors to astrology during their time as scientists. Even with the marginalization of astrology that was ongoing even in the time that these famous figures were alive, they managed to practice and further the belief in astrology, along with their better known scientific practices.
Astrology has had a significant impact on modern language. Many different words that are commonly used today have a root in astrological thinking of the past. For instance, influenza comes from the Latin for influence and was so named due to the belief that many sicknesses are caused by the influence of planets and heavenly bodies in the sky. The word disaster originates from the Latin for bad star. And maybe the best known word origin from astrology is lunatic, from the root luna, meaning moon.
Astrology has had an impact on modern literature, as well. Many writers, including all time greats like Shakespeare and Chaucer used astrological and planetary explanations for their characters behavior. Such references have become a part of modern society. The idea that a full moon still influences people's behavior is just as common today as it was 500 years ago.
Education and astrology have had an intertwined past. In Europe, during the medieval period, a university quality education was divided up into seven separate categories, one for each known planet. These disciplines became known as the liberal arts; a term still used today on many college campuses. These arts evolved into the modern sciences, but their roots are firmly planted in the field of astrology.
Astrology has existed in one form or another in almost every culture on earth since the beginning of time. When humans had nothing else, they had the night sky, crystalline, pulsing and always changing. It was inevitable that cultures would begin to assign patters and meaning to the night sky since so much of life depended on rain, sun and the crops that they helped to grow.
