Before we can attempt to decipher the astrological elements contained in these plays, we must have a basic understanding of the concepts of astrology. Astrology has a complex methodology that has developed over thousands of years. The roots of astrology as practiced in Shakespeare's time go back thousands of years. As far as we can discern, astrology began as the reading of simple omens from the position, color and brightness of certain stars or planets at important times of the years. Astrology was refined and codified by the Greeks, most notably by Claudius Ptolemy in his Tetrabiblos, written in the 2nd Century A.D. It is from this work that Renaissance and modern western astrology derive most of their basic concepts.

Astrology is simply, the correlation between the apparent movement of the Sun, Moon and planets and life on Earth. Astrology is the study of cycles, for example the yearly cycle of the Earth around the Sun, the 28 day cycle of the Moon around the Earth, and the 24 hour cycle of the rotation of the Earth. Every planet has its own cycle in relation to the Earth. Being closer to the Sun, Mercury and Venus each have an approximate cycle of one year, while planets outside Earth's orbit have longer cycles. Mars has a two year cycle, Jupiter twelve years and Saturn twenty-eight years. In Shakespeare's time Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were unknown. For the conventions of this article, when planets are mentioned these will include the Sun and Moon.

Each planet has its own particular astrological qualities and correlates with different parts of the body, areas of life and even places or objects. The planet Venus, for example rules the throat, artistic endeavor, jewelers, gardens and copper. Each planet also has rulership over one or two signs of the Zodiac, a twelve-fold seasonal division of the sky. The planet Venus rules the signs Taurus and Libra. The signs of the Zodiac begin with Aries the Ram which begins the astrological year on the first day of Spring. Each sign is also correlated with a house of the horoscope a twelve-fold division based on the Earth's rotation. Aries shares the nature of the First House, Taurus the Second House, and so on. Additionally, the cusp or beginning of the First House is called the Ascendant and the cusp of the Tenth House is called the Midheaven. Both are very important points in an individual Horoscope.

A Horoscope is an astrological chart drawn for a specific moment in time, whether for a person's birth (natal chart), the beginning of a venture (electional chart), or even the asking of a question (horary chart). This stylized map of the heavens is constructed by the astrologer for a specific date, time and place, using trigonometric and logarithmic calculations for the positions of the planets and house cusps. After constructing the chart, the astrologer then measures for Aspects, or the angular relationships between planets. Each aspect between planets shows how well those planets will integrate with each other. The major aspects are the Conjunction, 0 degree angle; the Sextile, 60 degrees; the Square, 90 degrees; the Trine,120 degrees and the Opposition, 180 degrees. After gathering all this information, the astrologer can begin interpreting the chart (Lilly 51-103).

In Shakespeare's time astrology was held in high regard. Both high-born and commoners employed astrologers and were familiar with astrological terms and concepts (Clark 37-43). The most famous astrologer of Elizabethan times was John Dee. Dee was a famous astrologer and had as his most famous client Queen Elizabeth I. His diary tells how Dee often met with the Queen and members of her court in his capacity as an astrologer and also chronicles the day-to-day life of a working astrologer at that time (Naylor 183-196). Given the wide-spread use of astrology in England at that time, it is not surprising that Shakespeare was so well versed in its concepts.

One play that comes to mind when thinking about Shakespeare and astrology is All's Well That Ends Well. Consider the following passage from the first scene of the play:



