Christian Pure

Is Astrology A Sin? Can Christians Believe in Zodiac Signs?

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • The Bible forbids worshiping the stars and reading the future from signs (Deuteronomy 4:19; 18:10–12), and the prophets mock the astrologers of Babylon (Isaiah 47:13–14).
  • The zodiac signs are not named in Scripture, though mazzalot (2 Kings 23:5) and Mazzaroth (Job 38:32) may refer to constellations or the zodiac.
  • The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists consulting horoscopes and astrology among the forms of divination to be rejected (2116).
  • Orthodox canons from Laodicea (fourth century) and the Council in Trullo (692) forbid astrology to clergy and impose penance on those who consult fortune-tellers.
  • Luther and Calvin rejected astrology, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s 1988 resolution counts it among the false hopes of the New Age movement.
  • The “gospel in the stars” theory comes from Frances Rolleston (1863), Joseph Seiss (1882) and E. W. Bullinger (1893); evangelical critics reject it as unbiblical.

Yes. Scripture forbids divination and the worship of the stars, and the Catholic and Orthodox churches and the Protestant Reformers all condemn astrology used to foretell events or explain character. The Catechism names horoscopes and astrology among the practices to be rejected (2116). Studying the stars as God’s creation, as astronomy does, is not forbidden. Are the zodiac signs in the Bible? Not by name. The Bible never lists the twelve signs, but two Hebrew words may refer to the…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (Deuteronomy 4:19; 18:10–12; 2 Kings 23:5; Job 38:31–32; Isaiah 44:25; 47:13–14; Jeremiah 10:2; Daniel 2:27–28; Genesis 1:14; Psalm 19:1; Matthew 2:1–2, 9; Acts 16:16–18). References: Job 9:9; Amos 5:8. https://www.biblegateway.com/
  • Francis Brown, S. R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, “mazzalot” and “mazzarot.” https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4208.htm and https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4216.htm
  • “Mazzaroth,” Wikipedia, on mazzalot and mazel tov. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazzaroth
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2115–2117. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7E.HTM
  • Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi (2007), 5. https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html
  • Augustine, Confessions, book 4, chapter 3, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, first series, vol. 1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110104.htm
  • Augustine, The City of God, book 5, chapters 1–4. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120105.htm
  • Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, question 95, article 5. https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3095.htm
  • Council of Laodicea, canon 36, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 14. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3806.htm
  • Council in Trullo (692), canon 61, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 14. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3814.htm
  • Orthodox Church in America, “Orthodoxy and Astrology,” Questions and Answers, 3 March 2011. https://www.oca.org/questions/otherconfessions/orthodoxy-and-astrology
  • Martin Luther, Table Talk, “Of Astronomy and Astrology,” trans. William Hazlitt. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/tabletalk.v.xl.html
  • Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 8, § 135, “Calvin and the Astrologers.” https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8/hcc8.iv.xv.xviii.html
  • Musée protestant, “Against judiciary astrology,” on Calvin’s treatise of 1549. https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/against-judiciary-astrology/
  • Southern Baptist Convention, “Resolution on the New Age Movement,” San Antonio, 1988. https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/resolution-on-the-new-age-movement/
  • Pew Research Center, “3 in 10 Americans consult astrology, tarot cards or fortune tellers,” 21 May 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/05/21/3-in-10-americans-consult-astrology-tarot-cards-or-fortune-tellers/
  • “Barnum effect,” Wikipedia, on Bertram Forer’s 1948 experiment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect
  • “Biblical Magi,” Wikipedia, on the word magoi and translations that render it “astrologers.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi
  • E. W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars (London, 1893). https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49018/49018-h/49018-h.html
  • Joseph A. Seiss, The Gospel in the Stars; or, Primeval Astronomy (Philadelphia, 1882). https://archive.org/details/gospelinstarsorp0000jose
  • Christian Research Institute, “The ‘Gospel in the Stars’ Theory,” statement DG205. https://www.equip.org/articles/the-gospel-in-the-stars-theory/
  • Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, book 1, chapter 2, trans. William Whiston. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2848
  • “Zodiac,” Wikipedia, on the Babylonian origin of the twelve signs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac

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