Every culture has at one time or another looked to nature for clues to the mystery that is our existence. It is no wonder then, that our ancestors turned their gaze upwards and searched for answers from the night skies and the celestial bodies that move through them.

Perhaps the earliest evidence of the structured study of the stars was found in a cave in the southwest of France, where a plaque covered with an early mooon chart was discovered. The age of this plaque has been estimated to be 30,000 years old.

More recently, in relative terms is the arrangement of stone megaliths at Stonehenge. These stones are thought to have been erected 4,000 years ago by the Druids, and used to chart the progessions of the moon and the sun.

A lesser known site can be found in Povery Point, Louisiana. This location is the site of man-made ridges arranged in the shape of six concentric octagons, and has been identified as being constructed by Native Americans over 3,000 years ago.

Like the structure at Stonehenge, scientific study has shown that there are precise correspondances between the movement of celestial bodies and the geometry of the structure. Similar structures as well as huge stone calendar wheels have been found and attributed to the Mayan, Incan and Aztec cultures in Mexico and South America.

Although these discoveries are fascinating to speculate about, there is nothing concrete to prove that these cultures practiced the art of astrology as we know it today. For that we must look at the developments that were recorded as far back as 7,000 years ago in what was then known as Mesopotamia.

The Sumerians were the first to develop astrological charts, and it is believed that early uses of these charts were mainly agricultural in nature. From Sumeria astrology spread throughout the Middle East, and by 2400 BC many royal courts had court astrologers.

The Babylonians are credited with the idea of dividing the night sky into twelve sections, patterned after what they thought was the path of the sun around the earth. Early astrology was used to analyze the effects of the stars and planets on populations in general, but by 419 BC these principles were used to chart the lives of individuals.

The ancient science took another step forward in 331 BC when Alexander the Great brought astrology back to Greece from his conquest of the Middle East. It is from the Greeks that we get the word "astrology" (astron or "star" + logos or "discourse"). The Greeks developed an extended set of charts that tracked the movement of the planets for every day of the week. From this point they could create a horoscope (from the Greek hora or "hour" + skopos or "viewing instrument") based on the hour and location of a person's birth.and

From Greece the study of the stars moved to Rome in about 100 BC. Interestingly enough, it took a while for astrology to catch on in Rome due to the official influence of soothsayers (known as Augers) who based their wisdom on the movements of birds.

The development of astrology came to a halt with the end of Rome's influence in the Western world, and it wasn't until 765 AD that a manuscript by Ptolemy was discovered in a Persian monastary that the serious study of astrology was resumed. This time it was the Arab world that became fascinated with the subject and spread astrology throughout the Western world during the thirteenth century as a result of the Moorish conquests.

It is interesting to note that unlike other occult systems of divination, the Christian church accepted astrology as a valid approach. It was believed at the time that this validation came from the Book of Genesis, where it is written "Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven ... and let them be for signs". It is also believed that the Three Wise Men were in fact astrologers who were led to the Nativity by the Star of Bethlahem. Perhaps the biggest sign of acceptance by the Church is the fact that several popes used astrologers for guidance.

No history of astrology would be complete with mentioning the most famous soothsayer of all time, Nostradamus. He was greatly influenced by writings of Iamblichus, a fourth-century Greek astrologer, and went on to publish "The Centuries" in 1555, claiming that it was based on wisdom given to him by "the Divine Essence [through] astronomical revelations".

Astrology's popularity took a dive in the sixteenth century when Copernicus and Galileo proved that the universe doesn't revolve around the earth, but rather we revolve around the sun. Although the Church didn't recognize this theory until 1822, the practice of astrology was banned by the end of the 1500 for other reasons.

Another strike against astrology came in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries with the discovery of the planets Uranus and Neptune. It was clear that the system of astrology had been based on incomplete information, and it took several years for astrologers to factor the additional planets into their calculations.

Astrology became popular once again during the nineteenth century, and by the time Ronald and Nancy Reagan's names were linked with astrology in the 1980s, several White House Administrations had enjoyed astrological consultations, including President John Tyler, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Warren G. Harding.

Although it is widely known that during World War II Hitler and his staff were ardent believers in astrology, it is a lesser-known fact that the Allies used astrologers to interpret Hitler's horoscopes, in the hope that they would be better able to predict his moods and moves. Both governments used astrology in their propaganda wars: German airplanes dropped leaflets containing the writings of Nostradamus over the French countryside prior to the invasion of that country, and the British distributed copies of astrology magazines predicting the fall of the Third Reich throughout Germany.

Hollywood was no exception when it came to the popularity of astrology. Stars who consulted the stars have included Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Jackie Gleason, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. (Click here to learn more about celebrities and their horoscopes.)

Astrology continues to be widely popular today. A recent Gallup poll indicated that 25% of the American public believe in astrology, and that a whopping 74% read their horoscopes daily. With these kinds of numbers, it is not surprising that the United States is home to almost 200,000 full- and part-time astrologers.