The spokesman said the Reagans were distressed at the disclosures concerning their interest in astrology. ''They both feel it's unfortunate and a distraction and hardly relevant to the business of government,'' he said.

Mrs. Reagan's influence on the President's schedule is well known, but generally she has argued that Mr. Reagan's timetables were ''too tight and needed a little more down time,'' according to Joe Canzeri, a former White House aide. Grist for Much Humor

Friends of Mrs. Reagan say she has long had an interest in astrology, but only a few of her aides apparently knew that she had an emotional concern.

Tonight, on the ABC News program ''Nightline,'' Ted Koppel reported that he had learned that before the President was shot on March 30, 1981, an astrologer warned Mrs. Reagan that something bad would happen that day. In an interview after the show, Mr. Koppel said a woman astrologer had told Mrs. Reagan that ''there was going to be an incident on that day.'' Mr. Koppel would not identify the source of his information.

A leading Republican strategist, with close ties to the White House, said the reports would not be damaging to the President. But others said the disclosures revealed a character trait in the President and his wife that had remained largely hidden to the public.

Marcello Truzzi, a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University, said he has collected evidence over many years documenting the Reagans' interest in astrology.

''I don't think Reagan is a truly avid astrological person, but I think if all things are equal, it has some impact on him,'' said Mr. Truzzi, who also heads an independent institute, the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research.