--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It may be that the old astrologers had…" description: "\"It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/arthur-c-clarke-640_controlled_it-may-be-that-the-old-astrologers-had-t_1710662.jpg" --- # It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly… ![“It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars.” quote by Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/arthur-c-clarke-640_controlled_it-may-be-that-the-old-astrologers-had-t_1710662.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/arthur-c-clarke-640_controlled_it-may-be-that-the-old-astrologers-had-t_1710662.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/arthur-c-clarke-640_controlled_it-may-be-that-the-old-astrologers-had-t_1710662.jpg) > “It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars.” [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity may reverse the ancient belief that stars dictate fate, instead mastering the cosmos themselves. **In simple terms:** Humans may control stars, not the reverse. Key Takeaway Pursue mastery over destiny. Themes science future destiny Mood hopeful speculative Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - Space exploration - AI development - global policy planning Key Concepts Astrology technological determinism Questions to Reflect On - Can we truly dominate cosmic forces? - What ethical issues arise? A Different Perspective Technological limits may hinder full control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astrologers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrologers/) [Astrology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrology/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Astrologers are agreed that the squiggles called a horoscope contain some sort of message to be decoded...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-elwell/astrologers-are-agreed-that-the-squiggles-called-a-horoscope-contain/) Dennis Elwell > [Millionaires don't have astrologers, billionaires do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-morgan/millionaires-don-t-have-astrologers-billionaires-do/) [J. P. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-morgan/) > [Astrology ... makes vague predictions that can always be adapted after the fact to fit observations, as we'll see. Astrologers don't seek causes at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/astrology-makes-vague-predictions-that-can-always-be-adapted-after/) [Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/) > [How much luckier than all the rest of mankind are the astrologers who, if they tell one truth among a hundred lies, obtain so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-guicciardini/how-much-luckier-than-all-the-rest-of-mankind-are-the-astrologers-who/) [Francesco Guicciardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-guicciardini/) > [ “In Isaiah’s description of the downfall of Babylon, the city so famed for its astrologers, we find mention of Hobhre Shamayim,\[344\] that is, dividers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-pember/in-isaiah-s-description-of-the-downfall-of-babylon-the-city-so-famed/) [G.H. Pember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-pember/) > [Too often do reviewers remind us of the mob of Astrologers, Chaldeans, and Soothsayers gathered before 'the writing on the wall' and unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/too-often-do-reviewers-remind-us-of-the-mob-of-astrologers-chaldeans/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The stars never lie, but the astrologers lie about the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-stars-never-lie-but-the-astrologers-lie-about-the-stars/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“in describing the “virgin Daughter of Babylon wrote: Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/in-describing-the-virgin-daughter-of-babylon-wrote-keep-on-then-with/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [Make then your forecasts, my lords Astrologers, with your slavish physicians, by means of those astrolabes with which you seek to discern the fantastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/make-then-your-forecasts-my-lords-astrologers-with-your-slavish/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [The chief function of stock-market forecasters is to make astrologers look respectable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/the-chief-function-of-stock-market-forecasters-is-to-make-astrologers/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [I used to believe that the number eight is unlucky for me and would even avoid anything that would add up to 8 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emraan-hashmi/i-used-to-believe-that-the-number-eight-is-unlucky-for-me-and-would/) [Emraan Hashmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emraan-hashmi/) > [Astrologers were greatly impressed, and misled, by what they believed to be confirming evidence-so much so that they were quite unimpressed by any unfavorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/astrologers-were-greatly-impressed-and-misled-by-what-they-believed/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [God created astrologers to make pollsters look accurate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/god-created-astrologers-to-make-pollsters-look-accurate/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [I believe the stars can affect human lives, particularly by providing employment for thousands of astrologers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/i-believe-the-stars-can-affect-human-lives-particularly-by-providing/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [I’d compare stock pickers to astrologers but I don’t want to bad mouth astrologers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-fama/i-d-compare-stock-pickers-to-astrologers-but-i-don-t-want-to-bad/) [Eugene Fama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-fama/) ## More by Arthur C. Clarke > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-don-t-believe-in-astrology-i-m-a-sagittarius-and-we-re-skeptical/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/astronomy-as-nothing-else-can-do-teaches-men-humility/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/nowhere-in-space-will-we-rest-our-eyes-upon-the-familiar-shapes-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The universe is full of energy, but much of it is at equilibrium. At equilibrium no energy can flow, and therefore it cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-universe-is-full-of-energy-but-much-of-it-is-at-equilibrium-at/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Here the trees surrounded them with an invisible, anechoic blanket, so that every word seemed sucked into silence the moment it was uttered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/here-the-trees-surrounded-them-with-an-invisible-anechoic-blanket-so/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-a-scientific-expert-that-means-i-know-nothing-about-absolutely/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge no Gods imagined by our minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-will-have-time-enough-in-those-endless-aeons-to-attempt-all/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Now I understand,” said the last man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/now-i-understand-said-the-last-man/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) [Explore all 415 Arthur C. Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More Astrologers quotes > [How much luckier than all the rest of mankind are the astrologers who, if they tell one truth among a hundred lies, obtain so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-guicciardini/how-much-luckier-than-all-the-rest-of-mankind-are-the-astrologers-who/) [Francesco Guicciardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-guicciardini/) > [Astrologers are agreed that the squiggles called a horoscope contain some sort of message to be decoded...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-elwell/astrologers-are-agreed-that-the-squiggles-called-a-horoscope-contain/) Dennis Elwell > [I believe the stars can affect human lives, particularly by providing employment for thousands of astrologers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/i-believe-the-stars-can-affect-human-lives-particularly-by-providing/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [God created astrologers to make pollsters look accurate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/god-created-astrologers-to-make-pollsters-look-accurate/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [Astrologers were greatly impressed, and misled, by what they believed to be confirming evidence-so much so that they were quite unimpressed by any unfavorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/astrologers-were-greatly-impressed-and-misled-by-what-they-believed/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Millionaires don't have astrologers, billionaires do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-morgan/millionaires-don-t-have-astrologers-billionaires-do/) [J. P. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-morgan/) > [I used to believe that the number eight is unlucky for me and would even avoid anything that would add up to 8 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emraan-hashmi/i-used-to-believe-that-the-number-eight-is-unlucky-for-me-and-would/) [Emraan Hashmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emraan-hashmi/) > [The chief function of stock-market forecasters is to make astrologers look respectable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/the-chief-function-of-stock-market-forecasters-is-to-make-astrologers/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [Astrology ... makes vague predictions that can always be adapted after the fact to fit observations, as we'll see. Astrologers don't seek causes at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/astrology-makes-vague-predictions-that-can-always-be-adapted-after/) [Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/) > [Make then your forecasts, my lords Astrologers, with your slavish physicians, by means of those astrolabes with which you seek to discern the fantastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/make-then-your-forecasts-my-lords-astrologers-with-your-slavish/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [“in describing the “virgin Daughter of Babylon wrote: Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/in-describing-the-virgin-daughter-of-babylon-wrote-keep-on-then-with/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [The stars never lie, but the astrologers lie about the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-stars-never-lie-but-the-astrologers-lie-about-the-stars/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Too often do reviewers remind us of the mob of Astrologers, Chaldeans, and Soothsayers gathered before 'the writing on the wall' and unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/too-often-do-reviewers-remind-us-of-the-mob-of-astrologers-chaldeans/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ “In Isaiah’s description of the downfall of Babylon, the city so famed for its astrologers, we find mention of Hobhre Shamayim,\[344\] that is, dividers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-pember/in-isaiah-s-description-of-the-downfall-of-babylon-the-city-so-famed/) [G.H. Pember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-pember/) > [I’d compare stock pickers to astrologers but I don’t want to bad mouth astrologers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-fama/i-d-compare-stock-pickers-to-astrologers-but-i-don-t-want-to-bad/) [Eugene Fama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-fama/) [Browse all 27 Astrologers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrologers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur C. 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