How did ancient astrology develop? Does it have anything to do with modern science?

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, astronomer and mathematician Shi Shen founded the early astrology and wrote eight volumes of astronomical works. After the Western Han Dynasty, this book was honored as Historical Records.

So astrology has a long history in China! It can be said that astrology basically existed when there were humans. Out of curiosity and awe of natural phenomena, human beings always like to associate the arrangement of stars and planets in the sky with human destiny and behavior. Later, it developed into the Western Zodiac. The twelve constellations in equal parts in a year and the zodiac signs in China predict a person's character and destiny according to his birthplace and date, which constitutes the basic content of astrology.

Although astrophysics has developed to an unprecedented height, we can even predict the past and future of a celestial body according to our best theory of gravity, but there are still many young friends who are eager for astrology! We look at the relationship between the arrangement and position of celestial bodies and people's lives from a scientific point of view. Does the constellation have anything to do with science?

Why do we see different constellations at different times of the year?

There is no denying that the nearest star, the sun, has a great influence on our lives. The alternation and duration of day and night are determined by the rotation of the earth and the trajectory of the sun in the sky. The sun rises from the eastern horizon every day, rises to the zenith along the solar arc, and then sets in the west.

In spring and summer, the days are longer and the sun is higher in the sky. In autumn and winter, the days are shorter. The shortest day of the year appears on the solstice in winter, when the radian of the sun in the sky is also closest to the horizon.

Anthropologists believe that the oldest festival in human history happened a few days after the winter solstice. At that time, people celebrated that the sun did not sink below the horizon, but continued to rise on the horizon, thus welcoming the new year.

The light pollution in modern cities is becoming more and more serious. With the deterioration of air conditions, we can hardly see the truly completely dark sky. If the ancients lived in modern times, it would be impossible to see the sky at night, because they could see nothing! But it is undeniable that every day after sunset, there is a unique night sky.

Although the ancients can observe the wonders of the dark night sky, with the emergence of modern science, we can explain why the scene in the night sky has changed. We will see different stars and different constellations at different times of the year, because the earth moves around the sun all the time. From February to March, Orion is more prominent in the night sky. I believe everyone has a deep understanding, because at this time, the night of the earth faces Orion, and the summer constellations Lyra and Sagittarius will be more obvious in the night sky from June to September.

How did the ancient astrology come from?

Before we realize that the stars in the night sky are the same as our sun, before we realize that even the nearest stars are trillions of kilometers away from us, before we realize that the positions of the stars in the night sky are not fixed, but move on the time scale of thousands of years, we always think:

The earth is the center of the universe. Around the earth for 24 hours all night. The sun and the moon, as well as other planets, including various stars and constellations orbiting the earth, seem to be the causes of various unexplained phenomena on the earth. After all, according to people's cognition at that time, this is a reasonable speculation.

Before we knew the tilt of the earth's axis, the nature of Heliocentrism or the stars themselves, let alone more complicated basic scientific knowledge such as biology, so the ancients could not explain the changes of the four seasons of the earth at that time! And people at that time will also observe that people's behavior is different every year or season, or people born in a certain period seem to have different characteristics, so what will people attribute this difference to?

Due to the lack of cognition and basic science, although we don't know what happened? But the ancients' thoughts were very active, and there are many possibilities to explain these perceived differences, including:

The diet of pregnant women during pregnancy may cause a person's difference. The environmental factors of a person's childhood, that is, his position, may make a person different. In other words, seemingly simple problems such as the ambient temperature or weather at birth may also cause differences among people. Another possibility is that the time of a person's birth will also make a person different. Facts have proved that different cultures choose different symbols or omens. The ancients in China chose to make predictions based on someone's birth year, while Europeans made predictions based on the positions of the sun, moon and planets.

What is the relationship between astrology and science?

Astrology, like our current scientific viewpoint, also has a set of reasonable theories and mechanisms: these carefully measured quantities (the relative positions of celestial bodies) can affect a person's personality, temperament and destiny.

But if a theory is to be regarded as a science, it needs not only a reasonable explanation, but also strict verification. What we need to know is that science is not only the subject of knowledge, but also a part of the process, including:

Science can make concrete and testable predictions. Science has the ability to verify or falsify predictions. Science needs to be strictly tested by experiment and observation. If we want to know whether astrology has scientific value, we need astrology to make predictions and verify or falsify these predictions through experiments or observations.

Through constellations, we can make images. People born at some time of the year are more entrepreneurial than those born at other times? Such a prediction, then we should see statistically, for example, the proportion of self-made millionaires in a certain constellation will be greater. Similarly, if a constellation predicts people born in a time period? It is easier to gain respect and power? Then we will also find that constellations with certain power and influence have the upper hand statistically.

Astrology may or may not have scientific basis, just like many other psychological hypotheses (Myers-Briggs personality classification), but we can test and find out the answer!

1985, scientist Sean? Shawn Carlson conducted a double-blind test on astrology (especially birth time astrology, based on the date and time of a person's birth) and its scientific value.

Double-blind test, referred to as blind test, means that during the experiment, neither the tester nor the testee knows which group (experimental group or control group) the testee belongs to, and the analyst usually doesn't know which group the analyzed data belongs to when analyzing the data.

Carlson's research found that there was no significant difference between the astrological predictions in the test and random events statistically. In other words, there is no difference between the constellation's prediction of people's personality and random events. Astrology has developed into a culture at present, and it may have some uses, but so far no statement based on astrology theory has been scientifically confirmed.

Summary: Astrology is only a possible idea of differences between people, and it is also a culture.

People born at different times of the year, or people born in different places, people with different diets, people born at different latitudes, people born in different environments or stress factors, and people born when natural disasters occur or not, all have inherent differences. This is a complex system science controlled by randomness! Astrology is only a possible idea to explain the differences between people, and it is not supported by scientific evidence.

The sun determines the season, but it is not our character; The phase of the moon determines the tides and some Nocturnal Animals behaviors, but it is not our destiny. According to our scientific knowledge, we can't blame our present situation and future on the stars dozens of light years away!