Sources

A History of Western Astrology

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "A History of Western Astrology." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/a-history-of-western-astrology.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). A History of Western Astrology. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/a-history-of-western-astrology

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-a-history-of-western-astrology,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {A History of Western Astrology},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/a-history-of-western-astrology},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Nicholas Campion's two volume history works from the historical record of what astrologers across centuries actually wrote and practiced, rather than assessing whether any of it works, a distinction the book itself insists on throughout. Its scale, tracing the practice from antiquity to the present in two full volumes, is itself part of its standing: shorter popular histories tend to skip periods this one covers in full. This record has not independently checked Campion's specific historical claims against the primary sources he cites for each period, so a claim resting on one narrow historical episode may be worth confirming against a primary text directly. It is a strong source for when and how a given astrological idea or practice arose and spread. It is deliberately silent on the question of astrology's validity, since that is outside a historian's remit, and a claim that astrology predicts anything real is not something this source, or any historical source, can support.

Facts

Citation

Author

Nicholas Campion

Publisher

Continuum

Publication Year

2009

URL

https://nicholascampion.org/a-history-of-western-astrology-volume-1/

Source Type

academic monograph

Assessment

Reliability Tier

An academic two volume history of the practice by a scholar of the field, cited here for what astrologers have believed and when rather than for whether their claims are true.

Notes

Academic history of the practice in two volumes. Used for what astrologers have believed and when, not for whether it is so.

Claims Backed By This Source (2,066 claims)

This source backs 2,066 claims across the atlas. As facts: 946 well-attested, 10 scholarly debate, 1 open question. As cited relationships: 515 holds, 1 connected. Plus 593 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Sabian Symbols, 720 claims: 360 holds, 360 general references.
Religious Symbols, 291 claims: 179 well-attested, 63 holds, 49 general references.
Articles, 245 claims: 235 well-attested, 3 holds, 7 general references.
Decans, 180 claims: 144 well-attested, 36 general references.
Planets, 114 claims: 80 well-attested, 10 holds, 24 general references.
Arabic Parts, 80 claims: 48 well-attested, 16 holds, 16 general references.
Aspects, 69 claims: 54 well-attested, 2 holds, 13 general references.
Zodiac Signs, 63 claims: 39 well-attested, 12 holds, 12 general references.
Categories, 51 claims: 42 well-attested, 9 general references.
Days of the Week, 45 claims: 21 well-attested, 17 holds, 7 general references.
Scripts & Magical Alphabets, 42 claims: 18 well-attested, 12 holds, 12 general references.
Ages, 30 claims: 8 well-attested, 7 scholarly debate, 10 holds, 5 general references.
Historical Figures, 28 claims: 21 well-attested, 1 open question, 2 holds, 4 general references.
Houses, 24 claims: 12 well-attested, 12 general references.
Numbers, 24 claims: 11 well-attested, 2 holds, 11 general references.
Open Questions, 15 claims: 12 well-attested, 1 connected, 2 general references.
Continents, 13 claims: 4 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 4 holds, 4 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Disciplines, 6 claims: 3 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
Constellations, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 1 general references.
Esoteric Texts, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 2 general references.
Polarities, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 2 general references.
Sections, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Sign Modes, 2 claims: 1 scholarly debate, 1 general references.
Body Parts, 1 claims: 1 general references.
Prophecies, 1 claims: 1 holds.