Astrology is one of the most ancient philosophies still in existence in this world. Some estimate it to be more than 3,000 years old but recent study of more esoteric beliefs place it further back into the clouded past of human history. In ancient times , and up until today Astrology has been used to predict what happens to countries, the outcome of wars, economic trends and much more about personal course of actions as well.

Around the world, farmers know that for most crops, you plant in the spring and harvest in the fall. But in some regions, there is not much differentiation between the seasons. Since different constellations are visible at different times of the year, you can use them to tell what month it is. For example, Scorpio is only visible in the northern hemisphere's evening sky in the summer. Some historians suspect that many of the myths associated with the constellations were invented to help the farmers remember them. When they saw certain constellations, they would know it was time to begin the planting or the reaping. In course of time this dependence on the sky became a strong part of many cultures. Many nomadic tribes followed the night skies to move from one location to the other.

Horoscopes and astrology began with the ancient Greeks some thousands of years ago. They evolved the belief that the position of the sun and the planets also had an effect on a person's life and what future events would happen to them can be predicted based upon their location.

The word "ASTROLOGY" is a Greek word that means "Science of the Stars." Astrology was used by the Chaldeans, who lived in Babylon as early as 3000 BC. The people of China in Asia later became interested and began practicing Astrology. It is said that these people first noticed how the position of the sun influenced the seasons as well as the planting cycles of their agricultural practices.

Then, somewhere in the year of 500 BC, philosopher Plato used Astrology and studied it further. This kept it alive, and it continued to spread on through the ages. However, it took a downturn when Galileo Galilei was the first astronomer to use a telescope in the 1500's. However, as time went by, astronomy once again took an upswing in popularity when it flourished in Egypt around the years of 300 BC. Then, during the Middle Ages, the practice of astrology quietly hid itself as the Christian Church became the predominant leading voice of the new world. It wasn't until the 1600's when an astrologer named William Lilly renamed astrology as being "Christian Astrology" in order to avoid the wrath of the Church and to make it more acceptable. This was instrumental in popularizing astrology and horoscopes of today.

HOROSCOPES

When we look at the sky at night, we get the impression that the Earth is surrounded by an enormous sphere filled with scores of stars. Although this celestial sphere seems to be revolving slowly around us all the stars always appear in the same configurations called constellations, at the same fixed positions on the celestial sphere. However, there are also other celestial objects, which seem to be "traveling" across the celestial sphere. The moon is one of them, but there are also five planets that can be observed with the naked eye. These planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Of course, although invisible at night, the sun is also moving across the sky.

The planets, including the moon and sun, were in old times called traveling stars, but today we simply call them the seven planets of antiquity. It appears to an Earth-based observer that in the course of one year, the sun completes a full revolution around a large circle on the celestial sphere. This circle is called the ecliptic orbit. The planets and the moon are always found on the sky within a narrow belt, 180 wide, centered on the ecliptic, called the zodiac. The area around it is called the zodiacal belt. The zodiacal belt is a celestial highway where the movement of all the planets, the sun and the moon takes place when observed from the Earth. Twelve zodiac constellations are placed along the ecliptic path traveling the zodiac belt. Their names are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.

There are many ancient representations of zodiacs containing symbolic representations of horoscopes. Millions of people check their personal horoscopes every day to find out what the future holds for them. Horoscopes are published in newspapers, magazines books and websites. A person's horoscope or birth chart as it is also called, depends on the time of the calendar year that they he was born in. The year is composed of twelve sections, which make up the zodiac. Each section is called a sign. The zodiacs correspond to the twelve constellations. The constellations have changed over time. In our modern world, many of the constellations have been redefined so now every star in the sky is in exactly one constellation. In 1929, the International Astronomical Union adopted official constellation boundaries that defined the 88 official constellations that exist today.

PALMISTRY - BASICS

Palmistry Palmistry is a method of counselling that originated in India over 3,000 years ago. It is a part of a vast field of study, referred to as Samudrik Shastra, which literally means the ocean of knowledge. Palmistry is a sub-section of this vast knowledge and deals specifically with the study of the hand and the imprints therein.

Palmistry - fortune-telling? Palmistry is not foretelling. The original intent of palmistry was for personality assessment and counselling. One's emotional tendencies, social attitudes, conscious awareness and subconscious fears, blockages and strengths can be understood in great detail through this in-depth system which analyses the hand and the markings it carry. Though these days it is used to predict the future of an individual, palmistry does well with the personality assessment task. You cannot make actual predictions with palmistry. However, since there is a definite mind-body connection, we know that negative or positive thinking affects our well-being. Due to our habitual way of thinking, we often repeat the same behaviour in the future as we exhibit in the present. If we can understand the pattern of our habits and thinking, then we can begin to ignore the negative cycles of behaviour and can replace them with positive new ones. Palmistry can help you see these patterns. With this information, you can shape your own destiny.

Palmistry- the process Palmistry is best seen as a dynamic process. The lines of the hand are not carved in stone. Since the lines, mounts and signs of the hand, the palm and the fingers reflect our thinking and behaviour patterns the study of the above gives a definite reading of the person . The lines and markings physically change as our thinking changes.

Which hand should be read? It is important to look at both hands during a reading. Depending on which hand is active (usually seen as the hand you write with),in combination with the inactive hand, shows where you have been (passive),and where you are likely headed (active) in this life.

Palmistry - Branches Chiromancy: This is the study of the lines within the palm. The lines in the palms are formed during the foetal development and best carry the personality traits and characters of the individual. This was palmistry in olden ages. Later the various marks and mounts on the palm also came into study and focus.

Chirognomy: The study of the general shape of the hand , finger shapes, finger nails and their texture is termed as Chirognomy. This study is helping in finding out the true personality of the individual under study.

Dermatoglyphics: The study of the ridges found in the finger tips is called Dermatoglyphics. This is very useful in criminal/forensic sciences and is nowadays used as a personal identification tool.