Geocentric Model

Synonym: Ptolemaic World-View

Up until the Copernican Revolution, the commonly held world-view was that the Earth is the centre of the universe around which the Sun, Moon, planets and the fixed stars revolve. The basis for this view is the subjective human perception of the cosmos which is unavoidably geocentric in nature. This idea lay at the heart of the system devised by the ancient astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy and had a lasting influence on the realm of human ideas until the time Copernicus published his ideas on the heliocentric model. Judaism, Christianity and Islam had all lent support to the geocentric world-view because it was easier to reconcile with the central idea that humans were the crowning glory of creation.

Modern astrology is still based on a geocentric world-view. The reasoning has nothing to do with remaining loyal to tradition or ignoring scientific discoveries but rather the simple fact that human experience of the cosmos is literally geocentric - all celestial events are observed from Earth. The individual's position is at the centre of a horoscope with the planets rotating around this centre.