Oooh, strong astrological presence in daily life, sounds neat. And you're aware of possible lame religious preachiness -- that makes you less likely to inadvertantly write it.
And I say story elements don't need to be directly involved with the main characters to influence the world. What exactly does the magic do? Are we talking slight empathic ability or flashy pyrokinesis? Usable at will or uncontrollable? Specialized entertainers, training facilities for working with magic, rumours that the fire in somebody's barn was from magic -- there are lots of ways magic could flavour the world without being the main focus. It could be like sports in our world; you'd overhear mention of the hockey/soccer/baseball game in a bar whether sports are a part of your life's ambitions or not.