Astrology before astronomy

To most people in the Renaissance, astronomy was

just the taxing business of facts and figures that
underlay the exciting applied science of astrology.
In a world where our Earth occupies the central
position, the regular movements of Sun, Moon and
other planets (as they would have put it) had to
have significance for human life. The Sun does
clearly govern our whole existence, summer and
winter, day and night. The Moon, too, could be
imagined to affect all monthly cycles. Why, then,
should not all planets have an influence?
In their tracks across the sky, the planets do not
diverge more than a few degrees from the Sun's
apparent annual path against the background of the
stars, the ecliptic. The region of the sky where they
are all to be found thus forms a belt (the Zodiac)
divided into 12 sections (the signs). These signs
were named for the constellations found in each
when these divisions were first established.
Between the 7 planets and the 12 signs, almost
every eventuality could be accounted for as their
intertwined influences mysteriously affected both
the behavior of humans and the vagaries of the
natural environment, from weather to volcanic
eruptions. The various positions, relative to each
other, of any two planets could be supposed to
produce additional variations.

Horoscopes
Forecasts, or horoscopes, were based on the
planetary positions at the birth of an individual.
Ideally, the moment of conception would be better,
but that could not always be fixed with any great
precision. Wise parents ensured that their baby's
horoscope was at least drawn up by an expert at
the instant of birth. Apart from individual fates, the
planets were supposed to rule all the different
aspects of nature, bringing forth all the general
events. Metals, seas, ages of man, days of the week
- each had a planet to govern it (that is why they
come in sevens). All parts of the human body had a
corresponding planet and/or sign, so that any
ailment could be interpreted according to the
position of celestial bodies governing the part
affected, and the course of the disease predicted.
Doctors learnt from diagrams that linked each
organ to its celestial lord; many such pictures have
survived. Human personality, too, was classified by
astrological exposition. Our language has retained
words like "jovial" and "mercurisl".
~ The signs of the zodiac and the parts of the body which
they govern. The influence of astrology on diagnosis and
treatment was still important in Galileo's day.