what exactly is "astrology"?
wait - what was astrology like in regency england?
that's cool, but...what's my sign?
You've probably heard people talk about horoscopes and compatibility and things like that. You may have even heard someone say something like, "Oh, I could never date him - he's a Gemini, we're so incompatible."
Astrology is all based upon the position of the sun, stars, and planets at the moment of your birth. Currently, this website only considers sun signs - the sign that corresponds with the day and month of your birth - but it's important to remember that moon signs (which influence how you act in relationships) and rising signs (which influence how you appear in public) can also play a big part in your astrological peronality! If you're interested in learning more, or in finding your moon and rising signs to seek more detailed information, there are a number of wonderful websites that can help you create a complete birth chart.
In the eighteenth century - which saw a huge intellectual movement led by people like Newton and Hegel - astrology saw a definite decline in popularity. As Nicholas Campion suggests in his History of Western Astrology, both religious and non-religious intellectuals alike began to view astrology with pronounced skepticism (178-9).
Shocking, I know.
Although there were certainly mystics and occultists who clung steadfastly to astrological ideals even during the Enlightenment, astrology saw a resurgence in widespread popularity at the turn of the nineteenth century. Right around when Jane Austen was born in 1775 (on December 19th - she's a Sagittarius), astrology caught the interest of serious intellectuals in mainland Europe. Soon enough, it once again gained interest in the UK, mainly in the the sensitive literary circles of the Romantic Poets (205). This popularity was helped along by the publication of Freemason Sibly's A New and Complete Illustration of the Celestial Science of Astrology between 1784-1788.
While it's unclear whether or not Jane herself was interested in something as occult as astrology, it is certainly not unreasonable to believe that she was at least familiar with the art!
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
mar 21 - apr 19
in a word: lively
apr 20 - may 20
in a word: persistent
may 21 - jun 20
in a word: sociable
jun 21 - jul 22
in a word: intuitive
jul 23 - aug 22
in a word: confident
aug 23 - sep 22
in a word: perfectionist
sep 23 - oct 22
in a word: balanced
oct 23 - nov 21
in a word: passionate
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
nov 22 - dec 21
in a word: adventurous
dec 22 - jan 19
in a word: ambitious
jan 20 - feb 18
in a word: original
feb 19 - mar 20
in a word: sensitive
