"Iconoclastic as their theories were, these early astronomers didn't sever themselves from the ancient beliefs of their ancestors," Wang says, adding that some of the data they used to draw their conclusions had been recorded by generations earlier.

In his book, he writes, astrology saw its reputation dented in the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, when intellectuals in western Europe began to promote the idea of reason over norm, but it made a recovery in the next century following a long spell of peace on that continent. In the first half of the 20th century, astrology started to bloom in popular Western culture.

Mass media played a major role in promoting astrology, Wang says. R. H. Naylor, a British astrologer, started a newspaper column on the subject that was widely read, laying the ground for all major European and US newspapers to follow suit.

"From simple to complicated and then back to simple - that's the trajectory astrology has taken in the past few centuries," Wang continues. Before Naylor, various people had sought to do subtraction with astrology, but the Briton made the most drastic paring-down by focusing on the sun and disregarding all other components, he says.

This highly accessible version of astrology, known as sun-sign astrology, is the one most of us know today, although traces of ancient Greek culture can still be found.

Reliability vs superstition

In his book, the author writes, among the 12 star signs popular today is cancer, or the crab, but people wonder why it is called such. When a surgeon in ancient Greece first noticed cancerous tumors in a patient, he thought the distorted blood veins appeared like the legs of a crab, and he named the tumor "cancer", old Greek for crab.

But the one question that many people ask: Is astrology reliable? Or, is it pure superstition?

"As far as I can see, modern astrology has grown into a belief system; it has a hold on people's minds, and defies any attempts to prove or disprove it," he says. "During the Renaissance, many popes and cardinals regularly consulted astrologers. And neither the Enlightenment nor the development of modern astronomy could seriously threaten its existence. Why? Because a fascination with the starry sky has become part of human consciousness."

"For many Chinese, modern astrology has a particular pertinence since it enables them to discuss their private feelings in a way traditional Chinese culture does not encourage," Wang says.

Back in 1930, Naylor forecasted that "a British aircraft will be in danger". And when an airship duly met its unhappy end a few weeks later, Naylor and astrology became the talk of the town. "However, if you take into account the frequency of such incidents in the days of early aviation, Naylor might have been admired for his statistical insights rather than prophetic powers," he adds.