Siderism

Siderism is the belief that the stars influence human behavior or herald major changes in human history. As the underlying basis for astrology, historical and scriptural accounts provide evidence the belief has long been held by man. The three wise men in the Gospel narrative follow a star to the birthplace of Christ. The appearance of a comet at the memorial games following the death of Julius Caesar did much to solidify in the minds of the people the position of Octavian as his legitimate heir. As recently as 1996 the appearance of comet Hale-Bopp led to the mass suicide of the new religious movement called Heaven's Gate.