Moses Maimonides' Opposition to Astrology

Abstract

To the Editor.— In an editorial (235:1883, 1976), Samuel Vaisrub pleads for the medical profession to speak out against astrology. He points to the recently published statement by 186 leading scientists, including 18 Nobel laureates, denouncing astrology as a pseudoscience that deludes and misguides. The generally prevalent belief in astrology during the Middle Ages was fully shared by the Jews, many of whom were convinced of the fundamental truth of the power of celestial bodies to influence human destiny. Moses Maimonides, the twelfth century rabbi, physician, philosopher, and astronomer, was strongly opposed to astrology. One of the few who not only dared raise his voice against this almost universally held belief, but even branded it as a superstition akin to idolatry, he unequivocally prohibited anyone to influence his actions by astrology, as an offense punishable by disciplinary flogging. 1 In his famous Letter to Yemen , Maimonides denounces astrology as a