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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 (see omen).
HistoryBabylonian astrology was the first organized system of astrology, arising in the second millennium B.C. There is some speculation that astrology of some form or other appeared in the Sumerian period in the 3rd millennium BC but no ancient written evidence is available to support this hypothesis. By the 16th century B.C. its beginnings as a simple omen-based astrology had begun to take shape in the astrological writings of the time, most important of these being the Enuma Anu Enlil, whose contents consisted of 70 tablets of 7,000 recorded mundane (i.e., public, common; famine or victory in war, for example) phenomena and whatever celestial occurrences happened to be present at the time of the event. However texts from this time also refer to an oral tradition - the origin and content of which we can only speculate upon. At this time Babylonian astrology was solely mundane, and prior to the 7th century B.C. the practitioners' understanding of astronomy was very rudimentary. Because of their inability to accurately predict future celestial phenomena and planetary movement very far in advance, interpretations were done as the phenomena occurred or slightly before. By the 4th century, however, their mathematical methods had progressed enough to calculate future planetary positions with reasonable accuracy, at which point extensive ephemerides began to appear.
Theory of divine governmentJust 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.
On the mythological presumption that mans life and happiness is dependent on upon phenomena in the heaven and 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 to perfect a theory of a complete accord between phenomena observed in the heavens and occurrences on earth.
Planets and godsOf 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:
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.
Babylonian observational records enabled Babylonian scholars to construct planetary theories by which to predict planetary phenomena. Modern scholars have reconstructed Theory A - it successfully calculates the heliacal phases of the Moon and the planets (New Crescent, Last Crescent, Acronychal Rise, Cosmic Setting, Morning First, Morning Last).
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 (Norse Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon Mars)
- Wednesday - day of Mercury (Norse Wodin, the Anglo-Saxon Mercury)
- Thursday - day of Jupiter (Norse Thor, the Anglo-Saxon Jupiter)
- Friday - day of Venus (Norse Frig, the Anglo-Saxon Venus)
- Saturday - day of Saturn
Celestial housesThe Babylonians were also the first to set out the twelve houses of the horoscope. 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.
System of Interpretation
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 knowledgeAstrology in its earliest stage was marked by three characteristic limitations:
General natureThe first limitation was that 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 expertiseThe second limitation was that 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.
ConstellationsThe third limitation was that there is little evidence that the signs of the zodiac that we now recognise, were used in Babylonian astronomy prior to 700 B.C.. However, probably from as early as the days of Hammurabi, i.e. c. 2000 B.C., Babylonian astrologers did develop the idea of constellations by depicting prominent groups of stars with outlines of images derived from their mythology and religion. The earliest irrefutable evidence for the use of constellations can be found in a variety of lexical star-lists dating to the Old Babylonian Period.
AssurbanipalAssurbanipal 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 cuneiform 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 received swift messengers detailing 'all occurrences 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 practical 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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