Sign of the times: Astrology’s comeback is nothing new

What’s your sign?

You might have asked, or been asked, this question lately. Astrology is enjoying a major surge in popularity, particularly among young people. But reading the stars is nothing new – it's one of humanity’s oldest ways of making sense of the world. So why the sudden horoscope fever?

UQ alum Dr Michelle Pfeffer (BA Hons ’14, PhD ’20), a cultural and intellectual historian at Oxford’s Magdalen College, specialises in the history of astrology. Her latest book, Divination, Oracles and Omens is the companion text to the exhibition Oracles, Omens and Answers, currently showing at Oxford’s Bodleian Library (one of the oldest libraries in Europe!).

Dr Pfeffer took the time to answer our questions about astrology – and, naturally, we asked what her sign is.

For beginners, what exactly is astrology and what role has it played in the history of forecasting – from disease to politics to weather?

Astrology is the art of studying the celestial bodies to gather insights about events on earth. It usually involves casting horoscopes, which are in essence a map of the sky, showing the positions of the planets as seen at a particular time and from a particular location on earth.

Astrology has been around for thousands of years and is probably one of the most durable bodies of ideas and practices throughout history. For most of its history, astrology was closely aligned with science, astronomy and mathematics, and was studied in academic institutions like universities and practiced by some of the most pre-eminent premodern scientists.

One thing that I’m really interested in is the fact that for many hundreds of years, the role of today’s epidemiologists, meteorologists and even economists was fulfilled by astrologers. They were hired by universities and royal courts to make predictions about upcoming risks – plagues and famines, wars and riots, floods and droughts – helping those responsible for large groups of people to make important decisions and plan ahead. They didn’t always get it right. In fact, they very often got things wrong. But much the same could be said of today’s forecasters, whose predictions are not immune to criticism!

What's the most fascinating thing you've learnt researching the history of astrology?

For me, it’s the fact that astrology was taught in European universities for hundreds of years. In fact, it was a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Arts degree, which meant that it was taken by every student. Astrology was premised on mainstream scientific understandings of the way the world worked, most significantly that there were correspondences between the terrestrial realm (earth) and the celestial. It was clear enough that the sun impacted the weather, and the moon the tides.

Yet in medieval and Renaissance astrology, the connection between the macrocosm and the microcosm provided a key for understanding just about all aspects of life. Before computers, casting horoscopes required significant astronomical and mathematical skill, and across history, a lot of money was invested into astronomical research to improve astrological predictions. Some of the most pre-eminent scientists in history practiced astrology, including Galileo, who cast horoscopes for his patrons as well as his family and friends.

Is astrology essentially us searching for answers – a way for humans to navigate uncertainty?

Something that has always interested me about astrology is the fact that studying its history teaches us so much about the hopes and fears of people at different times and places, and the tricky decisions they struggled with and their search for answers. This is why we called the exhibition Oracles, Omens and Answers.

Most people who consult astrologers and other diviners come with questions in mind, which are surprisingly consistent across space and time – is this the right career for me? Should I marry this person? Will my mother’s health improve? The Bodleian Library holds the clinical notes of two London astrologers working around the year 1600, which contain tens of thousands of questions like these, asked by clients from all walks of life. Some of these are very sweet (I love the lady down the street, does she love me back?); some are vulnerable (do my friends really like me?; what can I do about my bad breath?); and some are deeply poignant (am I on the right track? My child is hungry, what can I do?).

Every day we confront our limits when it comes to the enigmas of the past and present and the uncertainties of the future, and astrology promises to help people make decisions in the face of those uncertainties.

What do you make of the recent resurgence in the popularity of astrology? Based on its history, what do you think it has to offer us in the present?

History teaches us that astrology thrives in times of uncertainty – and that could be uncertainty in the lives of individuals as well as in societies more broadly. And given that uncertainty is a rather weak word for describing our current global situation, the recent resurgence in astrology’s popularity is unsurprising. Of course, it’s also been facilitated by the growth of social media and AI algorithms, which have revolutionised access to astrology.

Astrology holds great appeal during unsettled times because it promises to offer bespoke guidance and comfort, as well as a bigger picture that makes sense of the mess and chaos of life. People value it because it can be a useful way to take time to reflect on yourself and your life, your career, your relationships, your future. It can be helpful even if you don’t believe in astrology at all – simply taking the time to reflect is often what’s most important.

What’s your sign – and do you feel that it’s an accurate match of your personality traits?

Your star sign is the Zodiac Sign the sun was in when you were born, and I was born in late December so I’m a Capricorn. Capricorns are said to be hardworking and career-motivated, and I suppose I do resonate with this. But so would many people who are not Capricorns!

When it comes to star signs, I find it interesting to think about what psychologists call the Barnum or the Forer Effect, a phenomenon where people can believe that a vague description of personality traits is personally tailored to them.

As an historian, I would also point out that the modern obsession with star signs is a very simplified version of astrology. To gather insights about your personality, astrologers would traditionally consider your full birth chart – a horoscope mapping the heavens at your birth. This involves analysing the positions of all the planets in relation to the Zodiac Signs and houses of the horoscope to produce a much fuller vision of your characteristics and tendencies.

For anyone lucky enough to be visiting Oxford and the exhibition (running until April 27), what part of the show – and your accompanying book – are you most proud of?

The exhibition is a collaboration between an historian (me) and an anthropologist (David Zeitlyn), and I’m proud of the fact that this interdisciplinary partnership alongside the curatorial support at the Bodleian has allowed us to be really ambitious in our geographical and chronological scope. We have items from ancient Mesopotamia and Shang China, for example, and from pre-conquest Mesoamerica, medieval England, modern India, and contemporary Africa.

But one of the things I think is most fun is the wheel of fortune that opens the exhibition. If you spin the wheel, you’re directed to a numbered caption in the exhibition that contains a fortune that my colleague Teresa Barucci translated from a Renaissance game. Some of them are funny – you might be advised not to share your secrets with ‘fat priests’ – while others are poignant, and about finding the right partner, the right career, or making the right decisions when you’re at a crossroads. Like all evidence of past divinatory practices, they reveal hopes and fears that are distinctive of a particular culture, but also many that are universal.

Images of highlights from the exhibition 'Oracles, Omens & Answers':