1. Just some further elements on free will vs. divine predestination (not to hijack the thread any longer) :
a) in Paul, the most explicit text (heavily drawn upon by Augustine and Calvin) is certainly Romans 9:10ff: Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose of election might continue, not by works but by his call) she was told, "The elder shall serve the younger." As it is written, "I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau." What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses. You will say to me then, "Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory -- including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
b) in John, a search on the verb "give" will... give the best results (especially in chapters 6 and 17). The "saved ones" are "given" by the Father to the Son, they cannot come to him unless it is "given to them". In 17:12 Judas is alluded to: "I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled."
c) in Luke, the predestination doctrine is not quite as consistent, but you can find typical expressions such as Acts 13:48: "as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers".
d) in Mark and Matthew, at least the explanation of parables have the same implication, e.g. Mark 4:11f: "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."
e) There is a definite opposition to this common trend (as to Paul's general views) in the epistle of James, for instance in 1:13ff: No one, when tempted, should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Or 4:7f: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
2) As for the relation of the common cosmology (including astrology) to the Christian doctrine, one of the best attempts IMO is to be found in Colossians (especially 1:15ff), where the supernatural heavenly powers are not denied but subjected to Christ. Christians are, in him, in relation to the upper strata of heaven, and so they do not need to fear anymore the lower strata (including astral powers). Which is not the same as denying the reality of astral powers (as Western modernity does).