Astrology

the study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of the heavenly bodies on human affairs.
Obsolete. the science of astronomy.
Contemporary Examples

In religion, or astrology, or any other belief system, revision is a kind of defeat.
Stuart Firestein, Author of ‘Ignorance,’ Says Not Knowing Is the Key to Science Casey Schwartz April 21, 2012

Frontiere, who moved the Rams from Anaheim to St. Louis, was married seven times and was a noted student of astrology.
Out-Rushing Rush Samuel P. Jacobs October 6, 2009

“[T]he unaffiliated are about as likely as Christians to believe in reincarnation, astrology, or the evil eye,” the report says.
Pew Report Finding More Americans Unaffiliated With Religion Is Bad News for GOP Michelle Goldberg October 9, 2012

The news has provoked outrage and dismay from astrology fans.
Zodiac Signs Change? Tricia Romano January 13, 2011

Though the constellations have shifted, this doesn’t affect how astrology works.
Zodiac Signs Change? Tricia Romano January 13, 2011

Historical Examples

In astrology we have a method which still finds believers among people of good education.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 Various

There he hunted and studied astronomy and astrology with the canons of Bolton.
Yorkshire Painted And Described Gordon Home

As for the political horoscope which he has been so kind as to draw for me, I cannot honestly say that his astrology is at fault.
The Deputy of Arcis Honore de Balzac

In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.
The Devil’s Dictionary Ambrose Bierce

This is exactly in accordance with the astrology of the period.
Chaucer’s Works, Volume 5 (of 7) — Notes to the Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer

noun
the study of the motions and relative positions of the planets, sun, and moon, interpreted in terms of human characteristics and activities
the primitive study of celestial bodies, which formed the basis of astronomy
noun

See astromancy
n.

late 14c., from Latin astrologia “astronomy, the science of the heavenly bodies,” from Greek astrologia “telling of the stars,” from astron “star” (see astro-) + -logia “treating of” (see -logy).

Originally identical with astronomy, it had also a special sense of “practical astronomy, astronomy applied to prediction of events.” This was divided into natural astrology “the calculation and foretelling of natural phenomenon” (tides, eclipses, etc.), and judicial astrology “the art of judging occult influences of stars on human affairs” (also known as astromancy, 1650s). Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by 17c. this word was limited to “reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.”

A study of the positions and relationships of the sun, moon, stars, and planets in order to judge their influence on human actions. Astrology, unlike astronomy, is not a scientific study and has been much criticized by scientists. (See zodiac.)