In a fertile plain in the Middle East, bordered by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, lies a region that was once known as Mesopotamia. The southern part was called Babylonia; the north was called Assyria.
The Sumerians were the first people to settle in the area, sometime around 4000–3500 B.C. They were mostly shepherds and farmers, who apparently spent a great deal of time looking up at the sky. They soon noticed a connection between the heavenly cycles and the cycles of growth in plants and food. Based on such observations, the Sumerians began to worship three all-important gods: Sin the Moon god, who traveled in a crescent boat and was the most powerful; Shamash the Sun goddess; and Ishtar the goddess of fertility, whose home was the bright star of Venus.
As in most early cultures, the astrologers were the priests, and the priests were not only religious leaders but leaders of government as well. Each priest ruled his separate province (called city-states) and dispensed divine wisdom to his followers. Large observatories or watchtowers (called ziggurats) were built for the priests to study the movement of the stars and planets. The ziggurats in the cities of Ur, Uruk, and Babylon were almost 300 feet high. We can still visit a ziggurat built by King U-Nammu, who founded the Third Sumerian Dynasty (2079–1960 B.C.). It is widely believed that the biblical story of the Tower of Babel describes the building of a ziggurat, and tells in mythic terms of the folly of trying to master the secret of the heavens.
By the time the Babylonian culture was in full flower (between 2800 and 500 B.C.), astrology had become more sophisticated. Besides the Sun, Moon, and Venus, four other planets had been discovered (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The planets were given individual characteristics and properties, and a god was assigned to each. For example, Mars, reddish in color, became identified with the fiery god of war. Venus, seen early in the morning, was in a sense giving birth to the day; she was therefore a feminine planet, associated with love and fertility. To this day, Mars and Venus have these same characteristics in modern astrology.
The four seasons were also given symbols: Spring was a Bull, summer a Lamb, autumn a Scorpion, and winter a Turtle. These divisions of the calendar date back to the twelfth century B.C., and two symbols, the Bull and the Scorpion, are still used in modern astrology. Note also that in today’s astrology, the Bull (Taurus) is the sign for late April and early May (spring), and the Scorpion (Scorpio) is in late October and early November (autumn).
The invention of the modern zodiac is credited to the Babylonians. Cicero, the famous Roman orator who lived during the last century B.C., had an explanation for why the Babylonians were such acute astrologers: “They reside in vast plains where no mountains obstruct their view of the entire hemisphere, and so they have applied themselves mainly to that kind of divination called astrology.”
It was the early Babylonian priest-astrologers who set down the basic principles of astrology that have remained almost unchanged until today. They divided the sky into twelve equal parts, through which the Sun and Moon traveled. One theory is that they patterned the twelve divisions after the twelve months in the Babylonian year, one month for each lunar cycle. The sky was thought of as a circle of 360 degrees with each division being 30 degrees. This is the way astrologers measure the sky today. The twelve sky divisions, or signs as we call them, were given names: Aries, Pleiades, Gemini, Praesepe, Leo, Spica, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. The Greeks later changed Pleiades to Taurus, Praesepe to Cancer, and Spica to Virgo. These are the names we still use for the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Each of the signs had a precise influence over events on Earth. Each ruled a plant, an animal, a precious stone, and a color. The Babylonians also named twelve Houses. These are divisions of the zodiac that govern various areas of life. The Babylonian Houses were 1) Life; 2) Riches and Poverty; 3) Brothers; 4) Parents; 5) Children; 6) Health and Illness; 7) Wife and Husband; 8) Death; 9) Religion 10) Dignities; 11) Friendship; 12) Enmity. With some exceptions, these are more or less what the Houses in modern astrology govern.
By the time of the reign of King Assurbanipal in the middle of the seventh century B.C., the basic tenets of astrology had been set down. One of the reasons we know so much about King Assurbanipal is that he left behind a great library, much of which survives. We even have some memoranda written to the king by his astrologers. One of them (which reflects a narrowly monarchist point of view) reads in part as follows:
To my Lord the King of all Countries—If an eclipse occurs but is not observed in the capital, such an eclipse is considered not to have happened. The capital means the city in which the King is staying.
Astrology was mainly used for wide-scale predictions: weather forecasts, floods, good and bad harvests, eclipses, war, and the fortunes of the king. Around the fifth century B.C. astrology became more personal. There is a Babylonian horoscope dated 409 B.C. that is still in existence. We also have a translation of a horoscope cast in 234 B.C. for a man named Aristokrates:
The position of Jupiter means that his life will be regular. He will become rich and will grow old. The position of Venus means that wherever he may go it will be favorable for him. Mercury in Gemini means that he will have sons and daughters.
In Babylonian astrology the constellation of Cassiopeia rules over Syria and Palestine. This constellation was called the Woman with Child because every 300 years it produced an unusually bright star. Astrologers calculate that this star appeared after the birth of Christ, and may be the very Star that the Three Wise Men followed to the Manger.
The Jews of that era are also known to have practiced astrology. Among modern-day Jews the expression mazel tov is used on occasions of joy, such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. Few people know that mazel tov has its roots in astrology. The word mazelot in biblical Hebrew meant “sign of the zodiac” or “constellation,” and thus to wish anyone mazel tov literally means to wish them a “good constellation.”
The Sumerians were the first people to settle in the area, sometime around 4000–3500 B.C. They were mostly shepherds and farmers, who apparently spent a great deal of time looking up at the sky. They soon noticed a connection between the heavenly cycles and the cycles of growth in plants and food. Based on such observations, the Sumerians began to worship three all-important gods: Sin the Moon god, who traveled in a crescent boat and was the most powerful; Shamash the Sun goddess; and Ishtar the goddess of fertility, whose home was the bright star of Venus.
As in most early cultures, the astrologers were the priests, and the priests were not only religious leaders but leaders of government as well. Each priest ruled his separate province (called city-states) and dispensed divine wisdom to his followers. Large observatories or watchtowers (called ziggurats) were built for the priests to study the movement of the stars and planets. The ziggurats in the cities of Ur, Uruk, and Babylon were almost 300 feet high. We can still visit a ziggurat built by King U-Nammu, who founded the Third Sumerian Dynasty (2079–1960 B.C.). It is widely believed that the biblical story of the Tower of Babel describes the building of a ziggurat, and tells in mythic terms of the folly of trying to master the secret of the heavens.
By the time the Babylonian culture was in full flower (between 2800 and 500 B.C.), astrology had become more sophisticated. Besides the Sun, Moon, and Venus, four other planets had been discovered (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The planets were given individual characteristics and properties, and a god was assigned to each. For example, Mars, reddish in color, became identified with the fiery god of war. Venus, seen early in the morning, was in a sense giving birth to the day; she was therefore a feminine planet, associated with love and fertility. To this day, Mars and Venus have these same characteristics in modern astrology.
The four seasons were also given symbols: Spring was a Bull, summer a Lamb, autumn a Scorpion, and winter a Turtle. These divisions of the calendar date back to the twelfth century B.C., and two symbols, the Bull and the Scorpion, are still used in modern astrology. Note also that in today’s astrology, the Bull (Taurus) is the sign for late April and early May (spring), and the Scorpion (Scorpio) is in late October and early November (autumn).
The invention of the modern zodiac is credited to the Babylonians. Cicero, the famous Roman orator who lived during the last century B.C., had an explanation for why the Babylonians were such acute astrologers: “They reside in vast plains where no mountains obstruct their view of the entire hemisphere, and so they have applied themselves mainly to that kind of divination called astrology.”
It was the early Babylonian priest-astrologers who set down the basic principles of astrology that have remained almost unchanged until today. They divided the sky into twelve equal parts, through which the Sun and Moon traveled. One theory is that they patterned the twelve divisions after the twelve months in the Babylonian year, one month for each lunar cycle. The sky was thought of as a circle of 360 degrees with each division being 30 degrees. This is the way astrologers measure the sky today. The twelve sky divisions, or signs as we call them, were given names: Aries, Pleiades, Gemini, Praesepe, Leo, Spica, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. The Greeks later changed Pleiades to Taurus, Praesepe to Cancer, and Spica to Virgo. These are the names we still use for the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Each of the signs had a precise influence over events on Earth. Each ruled a plant, an animal, a precious stone, and a color. The Babylonians also named twelve Houses. These are divisions of the zodiac that govern various areas of life. The Babylonian Houses were 1) Life; 2) Riches and Poverty; 3) Brothers; 4) Parents; 5) Children; 6) Health and Illness; 7) Wife and Husband; 8) Death; 9) Religion 10) Dignities; 11) Friendship; 12) Enmity. With some exceptions, these are more or less what the Houses in modern astrology govern.
By the time of the reign of King Assurbanipal in the middle of the seventh century B.C., the basic tenets of astrology had been set down. One of the reasons we know so much about King Assurbanipal is that he left behind a great library, much of which survives. We even have some memoranda written to the king by his astrologers. One of them (which reflects a narrowly monarchist point of view) reads in part as follows:
To my Lord the King of all Countries—If an eclipse occurs but is not observed in the capital, such an eclipse is considered not to have happened. The capital means the city in which the King is staying.
Astrology was mainly used for wide-scale predictions: weather forecasts, floods, good and bad harvests, eclipses, war, and the fortunes of the king. Around the fifth century B.C. astrology became more personal. There is a Babylonian horoscope dated 409 B.C. that is still in existence. We also have a translation of a horoscope cast in 234 B.C. for a man named Aristokrates:
The position of Jupiter means that his life will be regular. He will become rich and will grow old. The position of Venus means that wherever he may go it will be favorable for him. Mercury in Gemini means that he will have sons and daughters.
In Babylonian astrology the constellation of Cassiopeia rules over Syria and Palestine. This constellation was called the Woman with Child because every 300 years it produced an unusually bright star. Astrologers calculate that this star appeared after the birth of Christ, and may be the very Star that the Three Wise Men followed to the Manger.
The Jews of that era are also known to have practiced astrology. Among modern-day Jews the expression mazel tov is used on occasions of joy, such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. Few people know that mazel tov has its roots in astrology. The word mazelot in biblical Hebrew meant “sign of the zodiac” or “constellation,” and thus to wish anyone mazel tov literally means to wish them a “good constellation.”