Can Catholics Believe in Horoscopes?

Horoscopes are a means of attempting to know the future through an astrologer’s interpretation of Sun sign astrology. The Catholic Church teaches against the use of horoscopes and other such fortune-telling practices such as astrology, palm reading, clairvoyance, ouija boards, and mediums because they attempt to take the place of God.

Some of these things use evil as the source of their power, others are based on mathematical formulas, and still others are people simply looking to make a quick profit from willing seekers.

From the Catechism on Horoscopes

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

“All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2116

By consulting a horoscope to show ourselves the path for our day we usurp the place of God in whose hands we should place our concerns allowing him to lead us down the path of holiness in discerning his will for us. Astrology, fortune-telling, tarot cards, and the like are no replacement for God’s providence.

“God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2115

What should I do if I have read a horoscope or visited a fortune-teller?

If you have been consulting your horoscope, visited a fortune-teller, involved in conjuring spirits, or used a ouija board you should go to confession as soon as you can. These acts may be mortal sins or they may be venial sins depending on the circumstances, but nonetheless they are considered sin and require repentance.

Before going to confession be sure to do a full examination of conscience so that you may make a full and good confession.

28 thoughts on “Can Catholics Believe in Horoscopes?”

  1. The post
    “Templeton says
    March 16, 2013 at 8:27 am”
    is an excellent summary on the danger of occult knowledge. One additional point to be aware of is the part the demonic spirits play in horoscopes, et cetera.
    Demons or devils are spiritual persons. They have superior intellegence to humans as a species. A typical demon/devil is capable of using deductive reasoning along with his vast body of knowledge to fairly accurately predict the future and how you are likely to respond. He will use this information to ruin you. His objective is your eternal damnation, not because he wants to spend eternity with you – he hates you – but because he doesn’t want you to be happy in heaven with your Father who loves you. The demon desires to ruin you out of spite.
    Ask your guardian angel to protect you and ask often.

  2. The three wise men who visited Jesus when He was born were they astrologers, is reading and believing astrology totally bad even if it comes from people who do mathematical calculations, just a doubt.

    1. No, they were aware of the sign in the heavens, as was also seen by everyone, and is consistent with Scripture that the heavens there would be great signs before the first and last coming. My own parents were devout Catholics – but were also fans of astrology, and knew their sign, as well as mine and my siblings. Every morning they’d open the paper “to see what it [their horoscope] says” – but they never opened the Bible. As a result, our house was always a place of argument, jealousy, distrust, poverty, sickness, alcoholism, sexual deviation and overall tension – is it any surprise. They passed from this life in the 1980s and I often wonder what happened to them. My brother and I still suffer the consequences, both having been denied a college education due to the errors of our parents (we were told to work after graduating high school and never attended college or university – he wanting to be an engineer, and myself a historian – our gifts will be returned to God, unused, when we go before Him). This is the result of our parents following astrology for many years…

      1. Daniel charles

        Better late than never
        you can still opt for study your parents made the mistake not you, you still have god’s blessing
        hope you are well now!!!!!!! You must pray for your parents so that their sins will be forgiven hence yours too

  3. Thank you for this. This seems to be true. I never cared to open and read the Bible but I always looked upon the daily horoscopes to see what the day has in store for me. The result My life just becoming a mess.

    1. Yes, it is still sin. Try the “Called and gifted Program or another similar program to learn of your gifts and ways God might be calling you to use them for the betterment of this world.

  4. Can somebody please comment on the three wise men who followed a STAR? And if God placed each star in the Heavens with precise love and grace, and we gaze up and wonder about this…I don’t intend to place my life in the words of a horoscope, but it does seem sort of interesting to me that humans have used stars for navigation and guidance – couldn’t the glory be given to God for that? There is alot I don’t understand and I don’t want to fall into sin about it. I am just trying to understand myself better as a work in progress and seeking to use the gifts God gave me to the best possible way???

  5. I hope what I`m about to write will help. When a teen and young adult, I was the youngest of 5 and lived at home. Both my parents were devout Catholics who like myself attended Mass regularly or every Sunday, howevver, my parents were also in the bad habit of reading their daily horoscope found in the local newspaper (they both knew their sign). Within minutes of reading their horoscope often an argument would break out, with one or the other saying, `It (meaning the horoscope) said you would say that`, but, they NEVER opened the family Bible each morning, instead they always knew to open the newspaper to see what `it` would say. Now, in all fairness, my Mom was in a very difficult abusive marriage, my father having several issues, and perhaps in shear desparation that was her escape, but, I do believe God explained the cause of their constant fighting just recently, that being the evil that was present in the house, due to their daily horoscope reading. We had so many family problems, sexual, physical, mental, finncial, and I believe most of it was due to this form of evil. I`m greatful, years after their natural deaths (heart disease), to find out the truth. Again, I hope this will help, and as the Church says, we need to place our trust in God alone.

  6. May the Almighty God forgive me in all the ways I have red and believed the astrologers (horoscope) in Jesus Name Amen. Really they put their predictions based on life experience of earlier lived individuals through the dates they were born and the positions of heavenly bodies at that time. But the truth is that if we believe them when GOD the creator have condemned fortune telling, it means that God is not important to us. (very disastrous situation). Let no one confused, whatever u want in life ask God in Jesus name in due time, it will be granted to u. Be warned! Always believe God with faith not by calculations, that’s why Bible said that without faith, it is impossible to please God. GREAT GOD.

    1. Horoscopes come from fortune telling and divination and the such. As a Christian why associate with anything that is specifically condemned by the church and does not come from the holy spirit? Who cares if there is some good advice, many people find healing by going to witch doctors. These things are not from God. Stay away from them

      1. I agree. I am speaking from my own personal experience here. My grandmother always told me to stay away from routine tellers etc.. so I did. I got deceived by someone who I thought I trusted and was led to a woman who owned her own hair salon and started counseling me and doing some playing card showing me who I am. She also was telling me some mean and evil things. Anyways I got sucked into it because I was vulnerable at the time. I am a smart woman but for some reason these people have some kind of evil power and if you are not strong in your faith, then it is easy to get trapped into it. I have learned to stay away from anything that has to do with astrology, mediums etc… These things are evil. I experienced it first hand. I did go to confession and confessed and turned myself completely to god. God is the only one who knows my future. No one else. Don’t give your power over to others trying to take your money and tell you what your future is like. Everyday is a gift from god. Now I pray the rosary daily to strengthen me and use it as a weapon asagint evil. I pray daily. I go to mass once a week and I am building my faith.

  7. Don’t believe in astrology it’s just simply killing yourself.you lose your hope’s,courage,strength.and it’s not useful anyway.maybe its right sometimes.but remember god is more more more powerful.just believe in god you’ll never suffer

  8. I enjoyed your article on Can Catholics believe in Horoscopes, I am a catholic woman who by email has consulted 1 numerologist, and 3 mediums, I do not believe in this rubbish, because it is against my religion, and they are scaring me and worrying with their predictions which I do not believe in, I believe that God give us our luck, health, and good things in our lives including our destiny, that’s what I believe in. Thankyou.Silvana.

  9. Hello!

    A horoscope does not predict the future. In the context of a unique life, it is a useful tool to explore the disposition and character of a person, so that better choices can be made for their own good and the good of others. Astrologers do not claim to usurp God’s Providence. On the contrary, they honour the hope
    that positive change is possible for everyone in all circumstances – provided that a person choses wisely,
    with gratitude for the opportunity to do so. The aim of the astrological process is to uplift the human spirit in an acknowledgement that each person is accounted for – and will be held accountable in a higher scheme
    we do not fully understand, but hold in majesty. It is true that astrology is an imperfect discipline and not
    all astrologers have integrity. Perfection in our world remains an aspiration. Knowledge can be abused.
    However, this does not invalidate either the ideal or respect for authority. An informed, measured review
    of astrology is overdue in the interest of truth. Seeking truth is a noble undertaking for all moral people.

    Phyllis Rowan

    1. About Catholics

      “In the context of a unique life, it is a useful tool to explore the disposition and character of a person, so that better choices can be made for their own good and the good of others.”

      This seems rather contrary to Catholicism in which believers are to discern through prayer the will of God for one’s own life. Looking to the alignment of galactic bodies does not accomplish this, but rather attempts to replace God with a pseudo-science for guidance in one’s life. This is hardly compatible with Catholic teaching.

      1. I agree! The Catholic Church does not accept the teachings of astrology, mediums etc… it warns us to stay away for a reason. Take it from me, stay away from it. I am speaking from my own personal experience. There is evil in it. God is the only one who knows our future. The ones who are trying to make money and take advantage of poor souls who are vulnerable should be ashamed of themselves. I think these psychic businesses should all be shut down. Also, you are serving two gods when you do that stuff and god doesn’t like that. You have to pick which god you are going to follow. Stay away from the mediums, etc… they can be very dangerous. If you get sucked into it, it is very hard to get out of it.

    2. Phyllis, you are wrong on several counts.

      Firstly, astrology CAN be used to make accurate predictions, usually in great detail. The problem is not whether astrology can deliver accurate predictions; the problem lies in error and in the risk of creating despair. Even the best predictive astrology is no more than 80% accurate, and may omit many things of importance. Relying on such a prediction could easily bring disaster.

      Despair is the biggest danger, though. Astrology can induce fatalism that destroys people’s confidence in their power of choice. I’ve never seen anyone benefit from predictive astrology.

      There is a mystical Jewish idea that those who seek the advice of astrologers are then bound to live out the prediction. It’s their punishment. In other words, having demanded to be ruled by the stars, God grants them their desire. This alone should give people pause when they want to know what their “stars” hold for them.

      Astrology tries to replace God with signs and talk of planetary “energy”. The idea of God horrifies them. They worship the works of God, but disdain to worship God. Astrology has become the province of New Agers, who cannot bear to recognize Almighty God and instead talk about decoys like the Universe, the Divine, and so on.

      Two things stand out among astrologers. One is their addiction to astrology. It has a tendency to take over the lives of people who get involved in it and become a religion. It’s a form of star-worship, of worshipping idols. Hand in hand with this is that modern astrologers tend to be hostile to Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

      Secondly, modern astrology is useless as a serious tool for improvement. Modern astrologers have done away with the fundamental ideas of good and bad, right and wrong, and their astrology has no tools at all for identifying bad behaviors and correcting them. There is nothing psychological at all about modern astrology: it’s all about flattery and instead of psychology it gives partial readings of personality. I’ve never seen an astrology book or reading that tells someone they habitually lie, that they’re lazy, that they cheat, and so on. No astrology chart reading will help cure an alcoholic or a compulsive gambler; heal an anxiety disorder; or treat mental illness. And since astrologers reject the ideas of virtue and sin, they cannot even come to grips with the fundamentals of good character and moral choices. Astrologers are professional flatterers, reassuring their readers and clients how unique and interesting they are—while taking their money. And if astrologers were honest with themselves, they’d see that they enjoy having power over their clients and being the “priest” who tells their clients what the “stars” hold for them. It’s a power trip.

      I have never seen anyone benefit from astrology. On the other hand, many people have been led to waste time and money, make bad choices, and avoid therapy and even avoid God and the Church because of astrology. Many others have been led to despair and fatalism, or into occult practices.

      Astrology has long been regarded as an evil. It’s an enticing evil, and seems to hold the answers, but it’s a dead-end. It’s a wide, smooth road leading to misery and waste.

      1. Shall we consult demons to know the future? We walk by faith, not by sight, this is the plan of God. Paul rebuked a man in the book of acts who was a fortune teller. These are the last days and like the bible says, in those days many will have itching ears, and will heap to themselves teachers. Gods word should be more than enough to lead us through. Jesus said, my words are spirit and life.

      2. You just explained this perfectly. I was talked into going to see this last who owned her own hair salon and low and behold, she was a medium, psychic, astrologer you name it. She was it all. These people have power over you and they act like they are helping you when in fact they are doing more harm then good. It also allows evil things into your life when you do that. Thank god I was able to fight my way out of that. I turned myself completely over to god and repented. I have a comment about therapist also. It seems to me like some are in it for the money to. If you go listening to them, then they can steer you in the wrong direction also. What I have been doing is seeking counsel through confessiono once a month, a trusted priest, and in silence with god, daily. This has been much more helpful then therapy. The Catholic Church has so much to offer.

      3. One last thing. All of those mediums etc. are a cult. I agree with this new age saying things like the universe, the divine etc… I am like, the universe? God is the one who created the universe. The new age of younger adults are seeking yoga and these psychics etc… because they are lacking god in their lives. I am teaching my boys all about god. Telling them the dangers about that medium astrology stuff. People laugh at me when I tell them to stay away but if you experienced it first hand like I did, you wouldn’t be laughing. There is danger in that stuff. It is fear based and plays on people’s emotions and money. It is a powerful trip to take hold and power over people. The lady who tried to hold power over me got so made when I told her that I didn’t need to see her anymore more. I wished her luck and she told me to save it. That I would be needing it more. She tried to bully me and make me feel intimidated. Not anymore. I am going to speak up about this stuff. I am fully protected and god has my back. Now, I don’t believe in luck. I believe in life and blessings. Everything I have flows from the hand of god!

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