Wayward Stars

In the ancient world, the stars and planets were thought to be living beings, rational and divine, set in the heavens and moving in fixed paths. The notion of a "wandering star" came from watching the sky, observing how a few objects in the night sky drifted and at times appear to reverse course, a backward path known today as retrograde motion. Greek observers named these few the wanderers, which is the root of the word planet. Because the steady stars modeled obedience, the "wandering stars" were interpreted as rebellious divine beings that strayed from their path and were destined to be judged for their disobedience.