Does Astrology Have a Place within Christianity?

I had someone today read through our astrological signs based on our birthdays. To be honest, a lot of the time all I could think was, “I was taught this is bad.” But why? Why is the Church so against astrology? But they’re fine with other things that “tell you who you are” such as the DISC test, or Meyers Briggs, or the Enneagram. And what does the Bible actually say about astrology? I did a brief survey of it all this afternoon, and some things were surprising to me.

This post relates mostly to astrological signs as they relate to a person’s personality and not daily horoscopes, as I have less understanding and knowledge of those.

The first thing to note, is that the Bible’s supposed forbidding of astrology is confined to two verses, and only in the OT. There are, however, other verses that speak of the practice in neither a positive or negative light. So let’s begin with the two verses.

For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.[a] And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft… (Deut. 18:10 NLT)

Some people akin this verse to astrology. However, the words used never make reference to it. The other times the words are used in the OT they’re speaking of people who consort with demons or pagan deities.[note]There are those who believe astrology is doing that, but we’ll get to that in a moment.[/note] They’re stating not to worship or entertain other gods or spirits. I think that’s something we can all agree on. But that’s not what astrology is. So let’s look at the next verse.

“Now use your magical charms!
Use the spells you have worked at all these years!
Maybe they will do you some good.
Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
All the advice you receive has made you tired.
Where are all your astrologers,
those stargazers who make predictions each month?
Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.
But they are like straw burning in a fire;
they cannot save themselves from the flame.
You will get no help from them at all;
their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
And all your friends,
those with whom you’ve done business since childhood,
will go their own ways,
turning a deaf ear to your cries. (Isaiah 47:12-15 NLT)

What is interesting to note is that this passage is an indictment against Babylon as a whole. It’s not speaking to Israelites. The word for “astrologers” in this translation is used only within this passage in the OT, so cross referencing its intended meaning is difficult. As for “stargazers”, it’s often used for a “seer”, even within the Israelite community. God uses seers to speak for him. Some see this passage as saying all astrologers and seers are bad, but God uses seers. So that can’t be what it’s saying. What it IS saying, is that Babylon’s seers aren’t doing them any good and won’t protect them from their destruction.

The only other place astrologers are talked about within the OT is in Daniel, where Daniel interprets dreams for the kings. He is made the “master astrologer” in Chapter 5. The word used in this book is also exclusive to Daniel. Again, making cross referencing difficult, but, it is never portrayed as a bad thing in this light.

The only reference to astrologers in the NT is the wise men[note]Matthew 2[/note] who, not surprisingly, followed a star to the place where Jesus was. That’s not a coincidence. We respect these men and think highly of them.[note]only really at Christmas time, but….[/note] But they were astrologers…

Now, many people think that astrology is some voodoo form of occult practice. But it requires precise mathematical calculations to know where the celestial bodies align at any given time and is actually a science that dates back before Christianity. Some of the greatest scientists in history used astrology in order to give us some of their advances.[note]A fact ignored by text books.[/note] Today we prefer to call such people philosophers. Even Thomas Aquinas and Dante believed in astrology.

However, that did not prevent the vatican from using its imagery. Or, even earlier, Zodiac symbols ordaining ancient synagogues.

So it seems that, contrary to modern belief, astrology has played a part of ancient Judaism as well as Christianity. And perhaps it should.

The basic premise is this: when the celestial bodies align in certain ways, they interact with the universe and influence it differently. And we allow this with the moon. We recognize the moon effects the tides. And we even allow for full moons to make people act crazy((the origination of the term “lunatic”)). But we draw the line at astrology influencing people’s personalities.

But, like I stated above, we allow other personality tests.[note]which typically have a less rich, and developed history with less science behind them[/note] The main complaint about astrology, that I could find, was that it removes free will from the equation. Which isn’t true. None of the other personality tests do either. None of them are 100% hard and fast. What they provide is a framework for us to better understand ourselves and the way we see the world. From there we have to choice how to react. As we always do. Astrological signs do not force people to do anything.

So perhaps astrology isn’t as bad as the church teaches. Perhaps it is simply another personality test, but based on the entire universe rather than a few questions we’re able to manipulate. God created the universe, could he not use it in such a way? We see nowhere in the Bible that using astrology in relation to Christianity (or even Judaism) is wrong. If one uses astrology as a means of understanding who they are as God’s creation, influenced by God’s other creations, is that such a bad thing?