The night has been associated with a lady dressed in black velvet and bejewelled with glowing diamonds we know as stars. The shining stars of the night, together with other celestial bodies, however have been more than trinkets in the sky. The astrologers have for centuries looked to the heavens for some star or planetary activity that might impact people's lives on earth.

So what is the history behind astrology in the western part of the world?
In the ancient times, the practice of astrology is meant only for the royal blood, during this period, the royalty credibly relied on astrologers and placed them in respected positions in their palaces. When the astrologers brought some bad news though, they literally cut the heads of the poor astrologers off. In the meantime, in 2300 BC, western astrology started in ancient Mesopotamia and found its way to olden Greece. Astrology thrived in this land along with the emergence of the well-known Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

Meanwhile, one of Aristotle's students, Alexander the Great, went on colonizing different parts of the world and with it distributed the Greek philosophy and way of life. In a span of three hundred years, it was in Egypt that much of Alexander's conquests made its greatest influence. Astrology in particular became the centre of scholarly learning and acceptance by the foremost thinkers of the era. In particular, Ptolemy not only studied the skies but focused on mathematically inclined astronomy, this event marked the beginning of astrology as we know it today - the horoscope and the zodiac signs.

After several hundred years however, western astrologers have gone underground to give way to the powerful beliefs of the Christian Church in the Middle Ages. They practiced astrology with caution as it was declared unorthodox at that time. Fortunately, by the Renaissance period, the revival of the Greek and neo-Platonic thought brought western astrology back to life. Marsilio Ficino was one of the famous alchemist and astrologer of this era. Still, this was cut short during the Age of Enlightenment when a paradigm shift separated the fields of astronomy and astrology apart - considering the former to be a physical science and the latter a mere supernatural art.

The revival of western astrology at the start of the twentieth century was made primarily through the efforts of the awe-inspiring astrologers Sepharial and Alan Leo - the pioneers of the Astrological Lodge of the Theosophical Society in Britain. From then on, western astrology flourished and became a popular pursuit for almost everybody. The astrological beliefs referring to the Sun Sign Astrology, karma, reincarnation and daily horoscopes became part of group discussions and everyday lingo.

In the 1930s, Paul Clancy published the "American Astrology" magazine and opened up the world of astrology to a wider public. It was the highly respected Dane Rudhyar who first wrote the daily horoscopes under the 12 astrological signs. The horoscope then became a daily habit and widely sought in the newspapers, magazines and other publications. Hence, the history of western astrology may have been full of adversities, but the fact that it has survived through the years speak of a supernatural yet down-to-earth spirituality.