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Horoscopic astrology is a form of astrology which uses a horoscope or chart to supposedly gain information from the position of cosmic bodies.
History
Horoscopic astrology developed in the Mediterranean region and specifically Hellenistic Egypt sometime around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE. It dealt largely with astrological horoscopes cast for specific moments in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets at that moment. One of the defining characteristics of this form of astrology that makes it distinct from other traditions is the computation of the degree of the Eastern horizon rising against the backdrop of the ecliptic at the specific moment under examination, known as the ascendant.
In ancient Hellenistic astrology the ascendant demarcated the first celestial house of a chart, and the word for the ascendant in Greek was horoskopos. This is the word that the term "horoscope" derives from, which in modern times has come to denote the diagram of the heavens as a whole.
Horoscopic astrology can essentially be summed up as the practice of casting astrological charts that reflect the apparent positions of a variety of celestial bodies and points from the perspective of the individual at any given moment in time. The idea is that the placement of the planets at any given moment in time reflects the nature of that moment and especially anything which is born then, and this can be analyzed using the chart and a variety of rules for interpreting the 'language' or symbols therein. The most prevalent application of horoscopic astrology is to use it to analyze the birth charts of individuals in order to read character, psychological traits, and to some extent destiny.
As a general rule, any system of astrology that does not utilize the ascendant does not fall under the category of horoscopic astrology, although there are some exceptions.
Endnotes
See David Pingree - From Astral Omens to Astrology from Babylon to Bikaner, Roma: Istituto Italiano per L'Africa e L'Oriente, 1997. Pg. 26.
Sources
- AstrologyNotes' article on Horoscopic astrology - retrieved 1/16/2006 under the GNU Free Documentation License
"Horoscopic astrology"