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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Comments (0) 22.01.2007. 11:40

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