Egyptian Astrology

In the beginning, astrology and religion were very closely connected. Astronomy and astrology were the same science--the split came only during modern times when it became expedient for the Church to redirect attention toward dogma and the scientific schools were looking to elevate logical study of the heavens by displacing the current science, much the same way allopathic medicine has displaced naturopathic medicine. Long before recorded history, the stars, sun, moon, eclipses, etc., were studied by men who charted the heavens and helped their contemporaries to understand the events and goings-on as they endured and celebrated with the "as above, so below" philosophy that still does and always will prevail in astrological thought. Because of these attempts to harness the knowledge of the heavens, calenders were made possible. Eventually, the ancient star mappers were able to see the power each of the planets, the sun , the moon and even the eclipses had on people and nations here below. The sun, being the most powerful, correlates to the individual or nation as a representation of self, which is why sun sign astrology has become so popular.

Egyptian astrology

From about 3,000 BCE to 300 BCE, astrology and religion were synonymous in practice with the priests holding the knowledge of the heavens. The main focus of life in Egypt was the Nile River and it is not surprising that water is a basic imagery used in Egyptian astrology. The sky became a large river (a goddess named Nut) and the lesser gods crossed the sky-river in boats. From this came the custom of supplying deceased pharaohs, with all they would need to cross the great river. The Egyptians believed the sun god controlled the Nile River and made it possible for the Nile to flood its banks making agriculture possible. The moon and Venus held superior places also.
In the beginning, the Egyptians divided the sky into 36 sections. These 36 sections became what the Greek astrologers called the dekanoi (ten days apart) and come down to us in tact as the decanates, which we still use today. Later, the sky was divided into 12 sections and each section was given a name and assigned three stars. Each was given a boat to cross the sky river. There as a special deity or god for each month and each day of the year.
Individual chart forecasting using the date of birth was first developed by the Egyptians in the 5th century BCE. Until that time astrology was used, as in other cultures, to predict wide-scale common events like weather, war, famine and leadership issues.