Maya calendar

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The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala.

These calendars could be synchronised and interlocked in complex ways, their combinations giving rise to further, more extensive cycles. The essentials of the Maya calendric system are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 6th century BCE. It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as the Mixtec and Aztec calendars. Although the Mesoamerican calendar did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements to it were the most sophisticated. Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most completely understood.

By the Maya mythological tradition, as documented in Colonial Yucatec accounts and reconstructed from Late Classic and Postclassic inscriptions, the deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya, along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.

The most important of these calendars is one with a period of 260 days. This 260-day calendar was prevalent across all Mesoamerican societies, and is of great antiquity (almost certainly the oldest of the calendars). It is still used in some regions of Oaxaca, and amongst the Maya communities of the Guatemalan highlands. The Maya version is commonly known to scholars as the Tzolkin, or Tzolk'in in the revised orthography of the Academia de las Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala[2]. The Tzolk'in combined with another 365-day calendar (known as the Haab, or Haab' ), to form a synchronised cycle lasting for 52 Haabs, called the Calendar Round. Smaller cycles of 13 days (the trecena) and 20 days (the veintena) were important components of the Tzolk'in and Haab' cycles, respectively.

A different form of calendar was used to track longer periods of time, and for the inscription of calendar dates (i.e., identifying when one event occurred in relation to others). This form, known as the Long Count, is based upon the number of elapsed days since a mythical starting point, and was capable of being extended to refer to any date far into the future. This calendar involved the use of a positional notation system, in which each position signified an increasing multiple of the number of days. The Maya numeral system was essentially vigesimal (i.e., base-20), and each unit of a given position represented 20 times the unit of the position which preceded it. An important exception was made for the second place value, which instead represented 18 × 20, or 360 days, more closely approximating the solar year than would 20 × 20 = 400 days. It should be noted however that the cycles of the Long Count are independent of the solar year.

Many Maya Long Count inscriptions are supplemented by what is known as the Lunar Series, another calendar form which provides information on the lunar phase and position of the Moon in a half-yearly cycle of lunations.

A 584-day Venus cycle was also maintained, which tracked the appearance and conjunctions of Venus as the morning and evening stars. Many events in this cycle were seen as being inauspicious and baleful, and occasionally warfare was timed to coincide with stages in this cycle.

Other, less-prevalent or poorly-understood cycles, combinations and calendar progressions were also tracked. An 819-day count is attested in a few inscriptions; repeating sets of 9- and 13-day intervals associated with different groups of deities, animals and other significant concepts are also known.

With the development of the place-notational Long Count calendar (believed to have been inherited from other Mesoamerican cultures), the Maya had an elegant system with which events could be recorded in a linear relationship to one another, and also with respect to the calendar ("linear time") itself. In theory, this system could readily be extended to delineate any length of time desired, by simply adding to the number of higher-order place markers used (and thereby generating an ever-increasing sequence of day-multiples, each day in the sequence uniquely identified by its Long Count number).

In practice, most Maya Long Count inscriptions confine themselves to noting only the first 5 coefficients in this system (a b'ak'tun-count), since this was more than adequate to express any historical or current date (with an equivalent span of approximately 5125 solar years). Even so, example inscriptions exist which noted or implied lengthier sequences, indicating that the Maya well understood a linear (past-present-future) conception of time.

However, and in common with other Mesoamerican societies, the repetition of the various calendric cycles, the natural cycles of observable phenomena, and the recurrence and renewal of death-rebirth imagery in their mythological traditions were important and pervasive influences upon Maya societies.

This conceptual view, in which the "cyclical nature" of time is highlighted, was a pre-eminent one, and many rituals were concerned with the completion and re-occurrences of various cycles. As the particular calendaric configurations were once again repeated, so too were the "supernatural" influences with which they were associated.

Thus it was held that particular calendar configurations had a specific "character" to them, which would influence events on days exhibiting that configuration. Divinations could then be made from the auguries associated with a certain configuration, since events taking place on some future date would be subject to the same influences as its corresponding previous cycle dates. Events and ceremonies would be timed to coincide with auspicious dates, and avoid inauspicious ones (Coe 1992, Miller and Taube 1993).

The completion of significant calendar cycles ("period endings"), such as a k'atun-cycle, were often marked by the erection and dedication of specific monuments such as twin-pyramid complexes such those in Tikal and Yaxha, but (mostly in stela inscriptions) commemorating the completion, accompanied by dedicatory ceremonies.

A cyclical interpretation is also noted in Maya creation accounts, in which the present world and the humans in it were preceded by other worlds (one to five others, depending on the tradition) which were fashioned in various forms by the gods, but subsequently destroyed. The present world also had a tenuous existence, requiring the supplication and offerings of periodic sacrifice to maintain the balance of continuing existence. Similar themes are found in the creation accounts of other Mesoamerican societies (Miller and Taube, 1993:68-71).

Tzolk'in

Mayanists have bestowed the name Tzolk'in (in modern Mayan orthography; also and formerly commonly written tzolkin) on the Maya version of the Mesoamerican 260-day calendar. The word was coined based on the Yukatek Maya language, with an intended meaning of "count of days" (Coe 1992). The actual names of this calendar as used by the pre-Columbian Maya peoples are not known. The Aztec calendar equivalent was called by them Tonalpohualli, in the Nahuatl language.

The Tzolk'in calendar combines twenty day names with the thirteen numbers of the trecena cycle to produce 260 unique days. It was used to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for divination. Each successive day was numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. Separately from this, each day was given a name in sequence from a list of 20 day names:

The system started with 1 Imix', which was followed by 2 Ik', 3 Ak'b'al and so on up to 13 B'en. The trecena day numbers then started again at 1 while the named-day sequence continued onwards, and so the next entries in the combined sequence were 1 Ix, 2 Men, 3 K'ib', 4 Kab'an, 5 Etz'nab', 6 Kawak, then 7 Ajaw. With all twenty named days used, these now began to repeat the cycle while the numbered portion continued, so the next day after 7 Ajaw was 8 Imix'. The repetition of these interlocking 13- and 20-day cycles therefore took 260 days to complete (that is, for every possible combination of number/named day to occur once).

Divination

The Maya believed that each day of the Tzolk'in had a character that influenced events; in some regions these beliefs are still current. A Mayan shaman-priest, whose name meant "day keeper", read the Tzolk'in to predict the future. When a child is born, the day keeper interprets the Tzolk'in cycle to predict the baby’s destiny. For example, a child born on the day of Ak'b'al is thought to be feminine, wealthy, and verbally skillful. The birthday of Ak'b'al (along with several other days) is also thought to give the child the ability to receive messages with the supernatural world through somatic twitches of "blood lightning", so he or she might become a shaman-priest or a marriage spokesman.

Origin of the Tzolk'in

The exact origin of the Tzolk'in is not known, but there are several theories. One theory is that the calendar came from mathematical operations based on the numbers thirteen and twenty, which were important numbers to the Maya. The number twenty was the basis of the Maya counting system, taken from the number of human fingers and toes. (See Maya numerals). Thirteen symbolized the number of levels in the Upperworld where the gods lived, and the number of "major joints" on the human body (three per limb, plus the neck). The numbers multiplied together equal 260. Another theory is that the 260-day period came from the length of human pregnancy. This is close to the average number of days between the first missed menstrual period and birth, unlike Naegele's rule which is 40 weeks (280 days) between the last menstrual period and birth. It is postulated that midwives originally developed the calendar to predict babies' expected birth dates.

Haab'

The Haab' was the Maya solar calendar made up of eighteen months of twenty days each plus a period of five days ("nameless days") at the end of the year known as Wayeb' (or Uayeb in 16th C. orthography). Bricker (1982) estimates that the Haab' was first used around 550 BCE with the starting point of the winter solstice.

The Haab' month names are known today by their corresponding names in colonial-era Yukatek Maya, as transcribed by 16th century sources (in particular, Diego de Landa and books such as the Chilam Balam of Chumayel). Phonemic analyses of Haab' glyph names in pre-Columbian Maya inscriptions have demonstrated that the names for these twenty-day periods varied considerably from region to region and from period to period, reflecting differences in the base language(s) and usage in the Classic and Postclassic eras predating their recording by Spanish sources.

Each day in the Haab' calendar was identified by a day number within the month followed by the name of the month. Day numbers began with a glyph translated as the "seating of" a named month, which is usually regarded as day 0 of that month, although a minority treat it as day 20 of the month preceding the named month. In the latter case, the seating of Pop is day 5 of Wayeb'. For the majority, the first day of the year was 0 Pop (the seating of Pop). This was followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop ... 19 Pop, 0 Wo, 1 Wo and so on.

As a calendar for keeping track of the seasons, the Haab' was crude and inaccurate, since it treated the year as having 365 days, and ignored the extra quarter day (approximately) in the actual tropical year. This meant that the seasons moved with respect to the calendar year by a quarter day each year, so that the calendar months named after particular seasons no longer corresponded to these seasons after a few centuries. The Haab' is equivalent to the wandering 365-day year of the ancient Egyptians. Some argue that the Maya knew about and compensated for the quarter day error, even though their calendar did not include anything comparable to a leap year, a method first implemented by the Romans.

Wayeb'

The five nameless days at the end of the calendar called Wayeb' were thought to be a dangerous time. Foster (2002) writes "During Wayeb, portals between the mortal realm and the Underworld dissolved. No boundaries prevented the ill-intending deities from causing disasters." To ward off these evil spirits, the Maya had customs and rituals they practiced during Wayeb'. For example, people avoided leaving their houses or washing or combing their hair.

Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life expectancy.

Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab' years exactly. This period was known as a Calendar Round. The end of the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant them another cycle of 52 years.

Since Calendar Round dates can only distinguish within 18980 days, equivalent to around 52 solar years, the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, and thus, a much more refined method of dating was needed if their history was to be recorded accurately.

The Long Count employs the use of number series, roughly base 20 and is constructed by counting whole number of days alone. The Mayan name for a day was k'in; twenty of these k'ins are known as a winal (or uinal); eighteen winals make one tun; twenty tuns are known as a k'atun, twenty k'atuns make a b'ak'tun. (Four rarely-used higher-order cycles are known as Piktun, Kalabtun, K'inchiltun, and Alautun.)

Correlations between Western calendars and the Maya calendar

Only one day in one calendar system has to be firmly established in the other to be able to translate all dates in one system to the other. The commonly-established way of expressing the correlation between the Maya calendar and the Gregorian or Julian calendars is to give the offset in days from the start of the Julian Period to the Maya creation on 0.0.0.0.0 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u.

The most commonly accepted correlation is the "Goodman, Martinez, Thompson" correlation (GMT correlation). The GMT correlation establishes that the 0.0.0.0.0 creation date occurred on 3114 BCE 6 September (Julian) or 3114 BCE 11 August (Gregorian), Julian day number (JDN) 584283, the number of days since the start of the Julian Period. This correlation fits the astronomical, ethnographic, carbon dating, and historical sources. However, there have been other correlations that have been proposed at various times. All of the following are only of historical interest, except that by Floyd Lounsbury, two days after the GMT correlation, which is still used by a few Maya scholars.

Today, 17:33, Monday 22 January 2007 (UTC), in the Long Count is 12.19.14.0.0.

Many of the books about the Maya and most of the software available for Maya calendar conversions uses the proleptic Gregorian calendar. In this system all Julian calendar dates are revised into the Gregorian calendar, rather than left in the Julian calendar which was in use before it. This is how one converts the Long Count 0.0.0.0.0 to August 11, 3114 BCE.

The use of software that is based on the proleptic Gregorian calendar can be problematic for:

1. Historical research. For example the G.M.T. correlation is based dates in both calendars in the Chronicle of Oxcutzcab, Bishop Diego de Landa's Relacion and the book of Chilam Balam of Tizimin. If one were to try to correctly derive the G.M.T. correlation by using these dates in a program that used the proleptic Gregorian calendar it would fail because the Gregorian calendar had not yet been invented.

2. Astronomical research. For example, to study ancient observations on stelae or in the codices, one may convert a Long Count to days, months, and years. This date would then be entered into an astronomy program. The astronomy program will use the standard Julian/Gregorian calendar so this will cause a major error.

Obviously this is a nontrivial issue and since most researchers will buy computer software to do Maya calendar conversions it is imperative for them to know which system their program uses.

Calculating Long Count dates

Long count dates list number of the highest order period first (B'ak'tun) and then the number of each successively smaller order periods until the number of days (k'in) are listed. Then the Calendar Round date is given.

A typical Calendar Round date is 9.12.2.0.16 5 Kib' 14 Yaxk'in. One can check whether this date is correct by the following calculation.

It is perhaps easier to find out how many days there are since 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u, and show how the date 5 Kib' 14 Yaxk'in is derived.

Calculating the Tzolk'in date portion

The Tzolk'in date is counted forward from 4 Ajaw. To calculate the numerical portion of the Tzolk'in date, we must add 4 to the total number of days given by the date, and then divide total number of days by 13.

(4 + 1383136) / 13 = 106395 and 5/13

This means that 106395 whole 13 day cycles have been completed, and the numerical portion of the Tzolk'in date is 5.

To calculate the day, we divide the total number of days in the long count by 20 since there are twenty day names.

1383136 / 20 = 69156 and (16/20)

This means 16 day names must be counted from Ajaw. This gives Kib'. Therefore, the Tzolk'in date is 5 Kib'.

Calculating the Haab' date portion

The Haab' date 8 Kumk'u is the ninth day of the eighteenth month. Since there are twenty days per month, there are eleven days remaining in Kumk'u. The nineteeth and last month of the Haab' year contains only five days, thus, there are sixteen days until the end of the Haab' year.

If we subtract 16 days from the total, we can then find how many complete Haab' years are contained.

1383136 - 16 = 1383120

Dividing by 365, we have

1383120 / 365 = 3789 and (135/365)

Therefore, 3789 complete Haab' have passed, with 135 days into the new Haab'.

We then find which month the day is in. Dividing the remainder 135 days by 20, we have six complete months, plus 15 remainder days. So, the date in the Haab' lies in the seventh month, which is Yaxk'in. The fifteenth day of Yaxk'in is 14, thus the Haab' date is 14 Yaxk'in.

So the date of the long count date 9.12.2.0.16 5 Kib' 14 Yaxk'in is confirmed.

2012 and the Maya Calendar

The end of the 13th b'ak'tun is conjectured to have been of great significance to the Maya, but does not necessarily mark the end of the world according to their beliefs, but a new beginning or time of re-birth. According to the Popol Vuh, a book compiling details of creation accounts known to the Quiché Maya of the colonial-era highlands, we are living in the fifth world. The Popol Vuh describes the first four creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the successful fifth world where men were placed.

The last creation ended on a long count of 12.19.19.17.19. Another 12.19.19.17.19 will occur on 20 December 2012, and it has been discussed in many New Age articles and books that this will be the end of this creation, the next pole shift or something else entirely. However, the Maya abbreviated their long counts to just the last five vigesimal places. There was an infinite number of larger units that were usually not shown. When the larger units were shown (notably on a monument from Coba), the end of the last creation is expressed as 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0, where the units are obviously supposed to be 13s twenty places larger than that b'ak'tun. In this age we are only approaching 0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.13.0.0.0.0, and the larger places would all need to similarly roll over to 13 again to match the date of the new creation.

This is confirmed by a date from Palenque, which projects forward in time to 1.0.0.0.0.0, which will occur on 13 October, 4772 (a Friday). The Classic Period Maya likely did not believe that the end of this age would occur in 2012. According to the Maya, there will be a baktun ending in 2012, a significant event being the end of a 13th 400 year period, but not the end of the world.

Venus cycle

Another important calendar for the Maya was the Venus cycle. The Maya were skilled astronomers, and could calculate the Venus cycle with extreme accuracy. There are six pages in the Dresden Codex (one of the Maya codices) devoted to the accurate calculation of the location of Venus.

The Maya were able to achieve such accuracy by careful observation over many years. The Venus cycle was especially important because the Maya believed it was associated with war and used it to divine good times for coronations and war.

Maya rulers planned for wars to begin when Venus rose. The Maya also possibly tracked other planets’ movements, including those of Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter.

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Comments (1) 22.01.2007. 12:51

Arab and Persian astrology

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Much of the survival of classical sciences like astronomy, mathematics, geography and philosophy in the Western world is due to the fact that it was preserved and used by the Arab world from about the 8th Century, when Europe was going through its Dark Ages. Astrology, being linked to astronomy at this stage, was also one of those disciplines preserved.

Centres of learning in medicine and astronomy/astrology were set up in Baghdad and Damascus, and the Caliph Al-Mansur of Baghdad established a major observatory and library in the city, making it the world's astronomical centre. During this time knowledge of astronomy was greatly increased, and the astrolab was invented by Al Fazari. So much was knowledge increased by the Arabs that even today a great many star names are Arabic in origin. Here is a short list for some of the most prominent, with their original meaning:

STAR NAME	MEANING
Achernar	"River's End"
Aladfar	"Claws"
Aldebaran	"The Follower"
Alioth	"Sheep's Tail"
Altair	"The Flying"
Betelgeuse	"Central Hand"
Deneb	"Tail"
Mizar	"Waistband"
Rasolgethi	"Head of the Kneeling One"
Rigel	"Foot of the Great One"
Vega	"The Falling"

The meaning of the star names cannot really be understood without reference to the constellation of which they are a part. Further details of the star names, along with a greater list of others can be found in the article: List of traditional star names. Some astrologers still include a few of the stars in their charts today, along with the usual planets. For example, Aldabaran is said to signify confidence, energy and leadership qualities, while Vega is said to indicate good fortune in worldy ambitions.

The Arab astrologers defined a new form of astrology called electional astrology that could be used for all manner of divination in everyday life, such as the discovery of propitious moments for the undertaking of a journey, or the beginning of a business venture etc. They also were the first to speak of 'favourable' and 'unfavourable' indications, rather than categorical events.

Albumasur or Abu Ma'shar (805 - 885) was the greatest of the Arab astrologers. His treatise 'Introductoriam in Astronomium' spoke of how 'only by observing the great diversity of planetary motions can we comprehend the unnumbered varieties of change in this world'. The 'Introductoriam' was one of the first books to find its way in translation through Spain and into Europe in the Middle Ages, and was highly influential in the revival of astrology and astronomy there.

The Arabs also combined the disciplines of medicine and astrology by being linking the curative properties of herbs with specific zodiac signs and planets. [3] Mars, for instance, was considered hot and dry and so ruled plants with a hot or pungent taste - like hellebore, tobacco or mustard. These beliefs were adopted by European herbalists like Culpeper right up until the development of modern medicine.

The Arabs also developed a system called Arabic parts by which the difference between the ascendant and each planet of the zodiac was calculated. This new position then became a 'part' of some kind.[4] For example the 'part of fortune' is found by taking the difference between the sun and the ascendant and adding it to the moon. If the 'part' thus calculated was in the 10th House in Libra, for instance, it suggested that money could be made from some kind of partnership.

The Persians too made a significant contribution to astronomy and astrology. Al Khwarizmi was the most famous of these. He was a great mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and geographer. He is considered to be the father of algebra and the algorithm , and introduced the concept of the number zero to the Western world.

Another famous Persian astrologer and astronomer was Qutb al-Din al Shirazi (1236 - 1311). He wrote critiques of the Almagest, the famous Arabic translation of the work of Ptolemy. The Almagest was the means by which Ptolemy's work was re-introduced into Europe, as the original European copies had been lost. He produced two prominent works on astronomy: 'The Limit of Accomplishment Concerning Knowledge of the Heavens' in 1281 and 'The Royal Present' in 1284, both of which commented upon and improved on Ptolemy's work, particularly in the field of planetary motion. Al-Shirazi was also the first person to give the correct scientific explanation for the formation of a rainbow.

Ulugh Beg was another notable Persian mathematician and astronomer, who was sultan of Persia in the fifteenth century. He built an observatory in 1428 and produced the first original star map since Ptolemy which corrected the position of many stars, and included many new ones.

Astrology was in favour in the Islamic world when it was associated with the sciences of astronomy, mathematics and medicine. When in later times it became separated from those disciplines, it was regarded as linked to superstition and fortune-telling. Modern Islamic views of astrology are therefore negative for the most part, as fortune-telling is forbidden in the Koran.

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and additions are welcome. * Abraham ibn Ezra
* Abraham Zacuto
* Al-Battani
* Al-Biruni
* Albubather
* Alchabitius
* Al-fadl ibn Naubakht
* 'Ali ibn Ridwan
* Al-Kindī
* Arzachel
* Berossus
* Biblical Magi (the "Three Wise Men")
* Haly Abenragel
* Hypatia of Alexandria
* Ibn Arabi
* Ibn Yunus
* Ibrahim al-Fazari
* Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi
* Mashallah
* Muhammad al-Fazari
* Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
* Naubakht
* Porphyry
* Sharafeddin Tusi
* Sudines

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Comments (1) 22.01.2007. 12:15

Hellenistic astrology

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Hellenistic astrology is a tradition of horoscopic astrology that was developed and practiced in Hellenistic Egypt and the Mediterranean, and written in Greek (or sometimes Latin), sometime around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE. Although the Hellenistic period proper ended in the early part of the Common Era, this type of astrology that was developed sometime during the early Hellenistic period was practiced in essentially its original form until the 6th or 7th century CE and thus it is still referred to as 'Hellenistic astrology'.

The origins of much of the astrology that would later develop in Asia, Europe and the Middle East are found among the ancient Babylonians and their system of celestial omens that began to be compiled around the middle of the 2rd millennium BCE. This system of celestial omens later spread either directly or indirectly through the Babylonians to other areas such as India, China and Greece where it merged with preexisting indigenous forms of astrology. It came to Greece initially as early as the middle of the 4th century BCE, and then around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE after the Alexandrian conquests this Babylonian astrology was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology.

This system was labelled as "horoscopic astrology" because it employed the use of the ascendant, otherwise known as the horoskopos in Greek, and the twelve celestial houses which are derived from it. Its endeavour to trace the horoscope of the individual from the position of the planets and stars at the time of birth represents the most significant contribution of the Greeks to astrology. This new form of astrology which appears to have originated in Alexandrian Egypt quickly spread across the ancient world into Europe, the Middle East and India.

The system was carried to such a degree of perfection that later ages made but few additions of an essential character to the genethlialogy or drawing up of the individual horoscope by the Greek astrologers. Particularly important in the development of horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy , whose work, the Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and Signs of the zodiac were rationalized and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day. Ptolemy's work on astronomy was also the basis of Western teachings on the subject for the next 1,300 years.

To the Greek astronomer Hipparchus belongs the credit of the discovery (c. 130 B.C.) of the theory of the precession of the equinoxes, for a knowledge of which among the Babylonians we find no definite proof; but such a single advancement in pure science did not prevent the Greeks from developing in a most elaborate manner the theory of the influence of the planets upon the fate of the individual.

Several Hellenistic astrologers describe the history of the art by acribing its creation to a mythical sage named Hermes Trismegistus. Hermes is said to have written several major texts which formed the basis of the art or its evolution from the system of astrology that was inherited from the Babylonians and the Egyptians. Several authors cite Hermes as being the first to outline the houses and their meaning, so the houses appear to date back to the very beginning of horoscopic astrology and indeed they are one of the major defining factors which separate Hellenistic astrology and other forms of horoscopic astrology from Babylonian astrology and other traditions in different parts of the world. This system of horoscopic astrology was then passed to another mythical figure named Asclepius to who some of the Hermetic writings are addressed.

According to Firmicus Maternus, the system was subsequently handed down to an Egyptian pharaoh named Nechepso and his priest Petosiris. They apparently wrote a major textbook which explicated the system and it is from this text that many of the later Hellenistic astrologers draw from and cite directly. This system formed the basis of all later forms of Horoscopic astrology.

Like so much else, astrology came to Rome due to Greek influence. Among the Greeks and Romans, Babylonia or Chaldea was so identified with astrology that "Chaldaean wisdom" became the synonym of divination through the planets and stars. Astrologers became very much in vogue in Imperial Rome. Indeed the emperor Tiberius had had his destiny predicted for him at birth, and so surrounded himself with astrologers. These were called by Juvenal his 'herd of Chaldeans'. According to Juvenal 'there are people who cannot appear in public, dine or bathe, without having first consulted an ephemeris'. Claudius, on the other hand favoured augury and banned astrologers from Rome altogether. It is perhaps not surprising, that in the course of time to be known as a "Chaldaean" carried with it frequently the suspicion of charlatanry and of more or less willful deception.

This tradition of Hellenistic astrology was passed to India sometime around the 1st century CE where it was merged with the preexisting tradition of Babylonian astrology and the indigenous lunar astrology of the Nakshatras and this founded the vast tradition of Indian astrology. Hellenistic astrology was practiced from the 2nd century BCE until sometime around the 7th century CE when Europe entered the Middle Ages. Astrology was then passed to and further developed by individuals working within the Islamic Empire from the 7th to the 13th century.

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Comments (0) 22.01.2007. 11:51

Egyptian astrology

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Egypt was one of the most important places in the development of astrology, although astrology first originated in Babylon. Star charts have been found in Egypt that go back as far as 4,200 BC.

Astrology in Egypt was dominated by the combination of the sun and the dog-star Sirius, as they foretold when in the year the great river Nile would flood. It was believed that the concerted action of the sun and Sirius together would bring the floods, upon which the whole of Egyptian civilisation depended, bringing fertility and life to what would otherwise be barren desert.

Many of the pharaohs had a great interest in astrology. Rameses VI, who ruled Egypt from c.1143 - 1136BC, was one of these. He is believed to be responsible for fixing the Cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. He also had ordered a magnificent hall in the great temple of Amon at Karnak, which was engineered in relation to the fixed points on the Celestial Sphere. Another pharaoh, Rameses II who ruled Egypt sometime between c.1279-1213BC had a remarkable sky map carved on his tomb. It was possible to read from the map the culmination of the stars for each hour of the night throughout the year. It is believed that the pyramids of Egypt were oriented towards the North Pole of the sky and had a dual role as burial place of the pharaohs and astrological calculators.

It is thought that some of the astrological signs of the zodiac originated in Egypt, although most did originate in Babylon. Aries the ram appears for the first time in an Egyptian zodiac, although the head of a goose was also used as a symbol by the Egyptians. It is also possible that the sign of Gemini the Twins first appeared in Egypt, named after the two bright stars Castor and Pollux, which were called the 'Two Stars' by the Egyptians. There is also evidence of a babylonian origin for Gemini however, as the symbol of the twins appears there too. Leo the Lion is almost certainly Egyptian in origin, as the Babylonian name for the same constellation was the Great Dog. Virgo the virgin is quite likely to have originated with the Egyptian grain goddess Nidaba, as in Egypt the harvest began when the full moon was in Virgo. In Babylon the equivalent constellation was called the Great Mother.

After the occupation by Alexander the Great in 332BC, Egypt came under Greek rule and influence. It was in 'Alexandrian Egypt' as it was called, that Babylonian astrology was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology. This new system was labelled as "horoscopic astrology" because it employed the use of the ascendant, otherwise known as the horoskopos in Greek, and the twelve celestial houses which are derived from it. Its endeavour to trace the horoscope of the individual from the position of the planets and stars at the time of birth represents the most significant contribution of the Greeks to astrology. This new form of astrology quickly spread across the ancient world into Europe, the Middle East and India. Particularly important in the development of horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy , who lived in Alexandria in Egypt. Ptolomy's work, the Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and Signs of the zodiac were rationalized and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day. Ptolemy's work on astronomy was also the basis of Western teachings on the subject for the next 1,300 years.

According to Firmicus Maternus, the system of horoscopic astrology was given early on to an Egyptian pharaoh named Nechepso and his priest Petosiris. They apparently wrote a major textbook which explicated the system and it is from this text that much of Hellenistic astrology drew from. This system formed the basis of all later forms of Horoscopic astrology.

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Babylonian astrology

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In Babylonia as well as in Assyria as a direct offshoot of Babylonian culture (or as we might also term it "Euphratean" culture), astrology takes its place in the official cult as one of the two chief means at the disposal of the priests (who were called bare or "inspectors") for ascertaining the will and intention of the gods, the other being through the inspection of the liver of the sacrificial animal.

Just as the sacrificial method of divination rested on a well-defined theory - to wit, that the liver was the seat of the soul of the animal and that the deity in accepting the sacrifice identified himself with the animal, whose "soul" was thus placed in complete accord with that of the god and therefore reflected the mind and will of the god - so astrology is sometimes purported to be based on a theory of divine government of the world.

Starting with the indisputable fact that man's life and happiness are largely dependent upon phenomena in the heavens, that the fertility of the soil is dependent upon the sun shining in the heavens as well as upon the rains that come from heaven; and that, on the other hand, the mischief and damage done by storms and floods (both of which the Euphratean Valley was almost regularly subject to), were to be traced likewise to the heavens - the conclusion was drawn that all the great gods had their seats in the heavens.

In that early age of culture known as the "nomadic" stage, which under normal conditions precedes the "agricultural" stage, the moon cult is even more prominent than sun worship, and with the moon and sun cults thus furnished by the "popular" faith, it was a natural step for the priests, who correspond to the "scientists" of a later day, to perfect a theory of a complete accord between phenomena observed in the heavens and occurrences on earth.

Of the planets five were recognized - Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Mars - to name them in the order in which they appear in the older cuneiform literature; in later texts Mercury and Saturn change places.

These five planets were identified with the gods of the Babylonian pantheon as follows:

* Jupiter with Marduk;
* Venus with the goddess Ishtar,
* Saturn with Ninurta (Ninib),
* Mercury with Nabu (Nebo),
* and Mars with Nergal.

The movements of the sun, moon and five planets were regarded as representing the activity of the five gods in question, together with the moon-god Sin and the sun-god Shamash, in preparing the occurrences on earth. If, therefore, one could correctly read and interpret the activity of these powers, one knew what the gods were aiming to bring about.

The Babylonians were the first to name the Days of the week after the sun, moon and planets. Their naming scheme is still widely followed today in many languages, including English, and goes as follows:

* Sunday - day of the sun
* Monday - day of the moon
* Tuesday - day of Mars (English Tiw, the Anglo-saxon Mars)
* Wednesday - day of Mercury (English Wodin, the Anglo-saxon Mercury)
* Thursday - day of Jupiter (English Thor, the Anglo-saxon Jupiter)
* Friday - day of Venus (English Frig, the Anglo-saxon Venus)
* Saturday - day of Saturn

The Babylonians were also the first to set out the twelve houses of the horoscope. [1] The houses were numbered from the east downward under the horizon, and represented areas of life on the following pattern:

1. Life ;
2. Poverty/Riches ;
3. Brothers ;
4. Parents ;
5. Children ;
6. Illness/health ;
7. Wife/husband ;
8. Death ;
9. Religion ;
10. Dignities ;
11. Friendship ;
12. Enmity . These represent the basic outline of the houses as they are still understood today.

The Babylonian priests accordingly applied themselves to the task of perfecting a system of interpretation of the phenomena to be observed in the heavens, and it was natural that the system was extended from the moon, sun and five planets to the more prominent and recognizable fixed stars.

The interpretations themselves were based (as in the case of divination through the liver) chiefly on two factors:

* On the recollection or on written records of what in the past had taken place when the phenomenon or phenomena in question had been observed, and

* Association of ideas - involving sometimes merely a play upon words - in connection with the phenomenon or phenomena observed.

Thus, if on a certain occasion, the rise of the new moon in a cloudy sky was followed by victory over an enemy or by abundant rain, the sign in question was thus proved to be a favourable one and its recurrence would thenceforth be regarded as a good omen, though the prognostication would not necessarily be limited to the one or the other of those occurrences, but might be extended to apply to other circumstances.

On the other hand, the appearance of the new moon earlier than was expected was regarded as unfavourable - prognosticating in one case defeat, in another death among cattle, in a third bad crops - not necessarily because these events actually took place after such a phenomenon, but by an application of the general principle resting upon association of ideas whereby anything premature would suggest an unfavourable occurrence.

In this way a mass of traditional interpretation of all kinds of observed phenomena was gathered, and once gathered became a guide to the priests for all times. However, not all of these ideas are still used in astrology as it is usually practiced today.

Limits of early knowledge

Astrology in its earliest stage was marked by three characteristic limitations:

General nature

In the first place, the movements and position of the heavenly bodies point to such occurrences as are of public import and affect the general welfare. The individual's interests are not in any way involved, and we must descend many centuries and pass beyond the confines of Babylonia and Assyria before we reach that phase which in medieval and modern astrology is almost exclusively dwelt upon - the individual horoscope.

In Babylonia and Assyria the cult centred largely and indeed almost exclusively in the public welfare and the person of the king, because upon his well-being and favour with the gods the fortunes of the country were dependent, in accordance with the ancient conception of kingship.

Astronomical expertise

In the second place, the astronomical knowledge presupposed and accompanying early Babylonian astrology was, though essentially of an empirical character, limited and flawed. The theory of the ecliptic as representing the course of the sun through the year, divided among twelve constellations with a measurement of 30° to each division, is of Babylonian origin, as has now been definitely proved; but it does not appear to have been perfected until after the fall of the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C.

Similarly, the other accomplishments of Babylonian astronomers, such as their system or rather systems of moon calculations and the drawing up of planetary tablets, belong to this late period, so that the golden age of Babylonian astronomy belongs not to the remote past, as was until recently supposed, but to the Seleucid period, i.e. after the advent of the Greeks in the Euphrates Valley.

From certain expressions used in astrological texts that are earlier than the 7th century B.C. it would appear, indeed, that the beginnings at least of the calculation of sun and moon eclipses belong to the earlier period, but here, too, the chief work accomplished was after 400 B.C., and the defectiveness of early Babylonian astronomy may be gathered from the fact that as late as the 6th century B.C. an error of almost an entire month was made by the Babylonian astronomers in the attempt to determine through calculation the beginning of a certain year.

In a general way, the reign of law and order in the movements of the heavenly bodies was recognized, and indeed must have exercised an influence at an early period in leading to the rise of a methodical divination that was certainly of a much higher order than the examination of an animal's liver.

However, the importance that was laid upon the endless variations in the form of the phenomena and the equally numerous apparent deviations from what were regarded as normal conditions, prevented for a long time the rise of any serious study of astronomy beyond what was needed for the purely practical purposes that the priests as "inspectors" of the heavens (as they were also the "inspectors" of the sacrificial livers) had in mind.

Constellations

Thirdly, we have, probably as early as the days of Hammurabi, i.e. c. 2000 B.C., the combinations of prominent groups of stars with outlines of pictures fantastically put together, but there is no evidence that prior to 700 B.C. more than a number of the constellations of our zodiac had become part of the current astronomy.

Assurbanipal

Assurbanipal was a king of Assyria who ruled in the seventh century BC from 668BC to 625BC. He was famous for assembling a great library of cunieform tablets in Nineveh on the subjects of astrology, history, mythology and science. Some of Assurbanipal's astrologers, such as Rammanu-sumausar and Nabu-musisi, became so adept at deducing omens from daily movements of the planets that a system of making periodical reports to the king came into being. Thus, Assurbanipal recieved swift messengers detailing 'all occurences in heaven and earth' throughout his kingdom and the results of his astrologer's examinations of them. He then used this information as a political weapon, and for the ptractical day-to-day running of his kingdom. After his death Nineveh fell to the Medians and the Chaldean Babylonians, and Assurbanipal's library was destroyed or dispersed.

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Comments (0) 22.01.2007. 11:16