Is it considered anti-Christian to believe in the concepts of the zodiac,
such as reading your horoscope and taking it to heart, or of psychic
abilities?

That is an easy one. Yes, from the perspective of the Bible
and of belief in Jesus Christ, it definitely is a sin to rely on one’s
horoscope rather than on God. Relying on a psychic rather than God is
equally a sin. It is interesting and also sad to note how common reliance
on horoscopes, palm readers, psychics and so forth has been in supposed
Christian groups in the past. For example, the popes in Medieval and
Renaissance times consulted an astrologer to decide auspicious times for
such things as when to go to war. But then, the whole idea of a
“Christian” leader directing a war is problematic anyway, to say the
least. It is less common today for religious leaders in “Christian”
groups to acknowledge reliance on psychics and astrologers. More common,
however, is Joe and Mary Christian in many religious groups to go to
church and also to dabble in psychics and astrology. Be assured that this
is definitely not acceptable in biblical Christianity.

Passages which support this claim would include Leviticus 19:31
and Leviticus 20:6, which legislate death penalty for anyone involved in
such activity on the giving or receiving end. Other passages worth noting
in this regard are Isaiah 8:19, Jeremiah 27:9, 1 Chron 10:13 and others.
A medium is anyone who claims to have special knowledge of and access to
divine intervention outside the framework of prayer to God. Passages
relevant to astrology include Deuteronomy 17:3, 2 Kings 17:16 and others.

There are not a lot of passages in the New Testament which
specifically state that astrology or reliance on psychics is sinful. One
passage which is relevant is Revelation 21:8, which condemn any
involvement in magic arts. Psychics would certainly fall into this
category. The whole tenor of the New Testament makes it so obvious, and
apparently this was not a major problem in the early church, so that
writers such as Paul and Peter did not have to deal with it in their
letters. The idea of a believer in Jesus Christ relying on a psychic, who
obviously is not a Christian, to decide how to direct their life is so
obviously a sin that it speaks for itself.

As a scientist, the whole idea that the location of these tiny
rocks we call planets could have some effect on human destiny is
ridiculous anyway. Inanimate matter does not have any spiritual power to
somehow affect your life. Astrology is not only anti-Christian, it is
also a silly and superstitious form of behavior. The work of psychics is
in a different category. Of course, virtually all of them are rip-off
artists, plain and simple. However, as a believer in a spiritual realm, I
cannot discount the possibility that a very small fraction of those who
would call themselves psychics may have access to real spiritual powers.
However, those powers, if they exist, are certainly on the wrong side. If
you know someone caught up in this sort of thing, you should gently and
lovingly warn them from such pursuits, as they certainly are not of God.

John Oakes