Astrology dates back to the beginning of recorded history. We have animal bones containing notches which may be lunar counters dating back to 30,000 BC and we see evidence of the ritual or sacred importance of the sky in what appear to be illustrations of the stars in the famous caves of Lascaux in southern France around 14,000 BC. No doubt our earliest ancestors found the sight of a full moon, a brilliant dawn or a dark, starry sky as awe-inspiring as we do, and we do not know exactly what use they made of such sights in their religion or their daily lives.
Astrology, as the use of stars and planets to predict future possibilities and work out how they might be avoided or enhanced, first appears in ancient Babylon and we have fragmentary evidence of its use before 2000 BC. Around the same time we see the flowering of a rich astral religion in Egypt, the use of the stars to time religious rites in India and the beginning of a quite distinct form of astrology in China, but our modern western astrology owes its origins to the Babylonians.
Other currents came in, including Greek philosophy, Egyptian and Persian religion and, very probably Celtic and other European traditions, and by two thousand years ago the technical and philosophical basis of astrology was established in the eastern Mediterranean - Greece, Egypt and the Middle East. Two hundred years later a similar form of astrology would have been practised from western Europe through north Africa to Persia and India.
The Origins of Astrology To all astrologers and astronomers before the 17th century A.D. the terms ‘astrology’ and ‘astronomy’ were often interchangeable, although sometimes the emphasis applied to each was different. Astronomy was considered more mathematical and astrology more philosophical, but in general the practitioner of one was also a practitioner of the other. Thus the twin sciences share a common origin sometimes before the advent of recorded history in the third and fourth millennia B.C.
We may assume that the earliest astronomical observations were made by people who were anxious to plan their lives for the year, and who felt it necessary to know when the solstice was due, or the equinox, or perhaps the next full moon. Such activities presuppose an ability to perceive that physical events on Earth were linked in some way with events in the sky, and also mean that in some places at least, human society was approaching a measure of conscious organisation. It therefore follows that any society which wishes to regulate itself in some way must do so according to celestial phenomena. The fact that we still do this today has been obscured by our use of watches and calendars to tell the time and the date, but all human life is basically regulated by the movement of the Sun and the Moon, and the rotation of the Earth. The recognition of this was a central part of the process of the development of early civilisation.
To our ancestors it was imperative to know when flood and drought, heat and cold were due, so that migrations might take place, and crops might be planted. All these activities could be regulated with reference to the stars, and were so, even in countries such as ancient Egypt which never developed their own astrology. Evidence of the recording of lunar phases has been revealed by notches carved on animal bones dating back to about 15,000 B.C., during the old stone age, and before the development of agriculture. Such recording would have become far more important as a result of the development of agriculture between 10,000 B.C. and 5,000 B.C., and evidence from many early cultures shows that the heliacal rising of the stars was used by 2,000 B.C. to give a more precise timing to the agricultural year.
Such pragmatic reasons were not the sole ones behind the development of astrology, the history of which is also intertwined with the history of religion. At the same time as practical correlations were made between such events as the Sun’s annual rhythm and the seasons, symbolic connections were made between events which were not so obviously linked. The human pattern of life, moving from birth to death, was equated with the daily motion of the Sun in the sky, bringing with it the transition from darkness to light, and the annual cycle of vegetation throughout the seasons. Thus the observance of the calendar became, as it still is, an object of religious ritual, and there was a measure of interchange between heavenly sky deities and earth-bound vegetation deities.
No precise dating can be applied to the history of human religion, but it seems likely that some religious motive lay behind the construction of the Megalithic monuments of north-western Europe (c 4,000 - 2,000 B.C.). Recent archaeological research indicates that the builders of these monuments had reached a level of astronomical and mathematical sophistication which equalled that of Renaissance Europe, but the communal effort and concentration involved in the construction and maintenance of a building such as Stonehenge (c 2,600-2,000 B.C.) suggests some common ritual purpose. This society was clearly obsessed by the need to regulate the calendar and predict eclipses. It is only with the aid of computer technology that modern archaeologists have been able to understand the design of these monuments, which litter the countryside of large areas of western Europe, but we still have no means of understanding the full intentions of the society which constructed them.
It seems probable that the learning which was acquired in the Megalithic cultures was communicated to Mesopotamia, perhaps between 3,000 and 2,000 B.C. and it was in Mesopotamia just after this last date that we find evidence of the emerging combination of astronomy, mathematics and mythology which was to become the basis of astrology.
Mesopotamia, the land of the Tigris - Euphrates river valley, now Iraq, was long considered by historians the ‘cradle’ of civilisation. Although we now know that Mesopotamian civilisation was predated in world history by several earlier cultures, this particular civilisation is of great importance to us for it spawned the Semitic culture of Palestine, and hence is responsible for the Judeao-Christian tradition. Most people have a general image of the civilisation of Mesopotamia, especially in connection with ancient Babylon, but it is important to realise that in over three thousand years of history the area experienced a number of changes. The length of civilisation in Mesopotamia also gives us an idea of just how long it took astrology to develop. It is almost 2,000 years since astrologers invented natal horoscopes and house systems, yet astrology was nearly 2,000 years old when these techniques were first used.
North Korea's Chart
The planet Uranus in Pisces will be making a conjunction with Jupiter and the Moon in March and April of 2008 indicating Korea will be striking out against the system. Korea will want to adopt a different set of values from the prevailing culture and pursue a life style that is quite different from the way they have lived. Uranus is located in the 11th house indicating disapproval from other countrys at this time. Tension is indicated and the desire to rebel against limitations. But this is not the violent rebellion that comes with a Uranus transit, it is just that Korea will begun to experience the world differently from those around you. As a result your point of view is different. You wish to be free of the narrowness that you see in others. One of the dangers during this tranit is emotional rashness and impuliveness; sudden changes, but far worse result is that Korea may become arrogant and overbearing in dealing with others. Major stress is indicated between March 2008 and March 2011. During the stress-ful years Korea will make sudden changes, Korea will likely break away from retriction that they encounter and do anything to detroy the opposition, under extreme conditions, this tranit can release its energy in a single explosive burst as an injury or physical assault. This will be a very dangerous time for the opposition. The tranits represents a time of critical developments.
Jupiter: The Largest Planet Jupiter is so large that all of the other planets in the solar system could fit inside of it.
The Star of Bethlehem is still today a controversial theme, which identity is far from being known. A lot has been written about this event that is mentioned only at St Mathew ‘s gospel as follows: “After the birth of Jesus in Judaea, during the kingdom of Herode, Magi arrived to Jerusalem from the East and asked: Where is the King of Jews that was born?. Because we saw His Star in the East and we came to worship Him. (...) After having heard the king they left. .And the star they had seen in the East was in front of them until it stopped over the place the child was. When they saw the star they felt very joyful”.
This piece of text can be interpreted in multiples ways:
- The “star” is a divine phenomena, which was used by God to announce the coming of His Son to Earth.
- The “star” is a literary parabola associated to Jesus nativity in order to enhance this happening. It was common to associate astronomical phenomena to important happenings.
- The “star” was a real astronomical event.
The Biblical texts are essentially metaphorical, so the “star” may not have “happened” for real. Yet, it is interesting, if not for the academic point of view, to try to explore the possibility of it being a real astronomical event. And from here hence this text will be based in the assumption that the Star of Bethlehem was a real astronomical event. And should it have been the case, when did it happened and what kind of event it was.
It is necessary to precise the date of the birth of Jesus, to characterise the capacity of astronomical observation, as well as the astronomic knowledge of that time. To begin with, due to the lack of optical instruments of observation, one can only include astronomical events which relative magnitude is lower or equal to six.
One cannot exclude the possibility of the “star” being more than just a single astronomical event. According to Mathew the “star” reappeared over Bethlehem.
The “star” would have been an unusual astronomical event, because only such an event would call the Magi’s attention, as they were learned astronomers as well as astrologers.
The “star” would have been an event observable for quite some time, because it guided the Magi during all their trip from the East (most likely from Persia) [1]; the Magi would have travelled on horses, and not on camels, more in accordance to their noble status, and their trip would have lasted for about four months.
The “star” did not leave any remnants. Therefore, a supernova is a possibility completely out of the question, for should it have been the case, remnants would be already known and possible to be dated by the actual technology.
Most probably, the “star” was a set of astronomical events which was bound to arise astrological interpretation. The Magi knew Daniel’s prophecies, written between 605 and 530 BC. These prophecies stated that “Jerusalem would be rebuilt after the Babylonians destroyed it in the 6th century BC, and that 490 years would pass from a command to rebuild Jerusalem until a world-embracing messianic kingdom would emerge on the earth in the region of Palestine” [1]. Therefore, the Magi were “expecting” and searching for signals pointing to the birth of such a Messiah, although they did not know when it would be taking place.
The exact date of the birth of Jesus has not yet been precisely determined. It is commonly accepted to be between 7BC and 1BC. Mathew and Luke both agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the last years of the reign of Herode the Great. Herode was told that the birth of the “King of the Jews” had been “announced” by a star and he feared that a new born would menace his crown and ordered the slaughter of all the male children of two years old or less. Mathew pointing Herode as responsible for this slaughter, means that Jesus’ birth had to occur at least two years before Herode’s death. In the writings of Flavius Josephus (general and historian , born in Jerusalem in 37 AD) one learns that Herode died after a lunar eclipse, and that was buried before Passover. Three lunar eclipses were recorded taking place before Passover: at 23rd March 5BC (total), at 13th March 4BC (partial), and at 10th January 1BC (total). The writings of Flavius Josephus indicate that the partial eclipse of 4BC as the one to be associated to Herode’s death. This date has been one of the accepted dates, thus placing Jesus’ birth at 6-5BC. Yet, some defend that Flavius Josephus writings were corrupted in copies made after 1552AD and that the previous writings indicated 1BC as the date for Herode’s death. Yet, there is a fact that can corroborate this date, that is the execution of the rabbis in Jericho and to which Herode attended personally . It is told that in the night of the eclipse, after the executions, “the moon that night was red with the blood of the murdered rabbis”; this red moon is a phenomena that only occurs in total lunar eclipses due to the illumination of the moon by the solar rays, reddened by the earth atmosphere. Moreover, the 5BC eclipse took place in March, and should Herode die after this eclipse there would not have been enough time to go through all the burial ceremonies of the king before Passover. Based on these grounds, Herode’s death has most likely occurred in 1BC, thus placing Jesus birth at 3-2BC.
Another lead to the determination of Jesus birth can be found in Luke’s gospel and is connected to a census that forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem during the time Quirinus was governor of Syria [3]. Yet, this census took place in 6AD thus contradicting Mathew and also the eventual date of the crucifixion. The probable explanation for this discrepancy is that both Mathew and Luke gospels were written 50 to 70 years after the facts they refer to had taken place, and there was bound to be uncertainties regarding the precise dates [2].
From the above, one can state that 6-5BC and 3-2BC are the two most credible dates for Jesus birth.
One of the phenomena most likely to have called the Magi’s attention is a triple conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn that took place in Pisces in 7BC [5,6].Pisces, the fishes, is a very important constellation, a sign that “has always been interpreted of Israel” [4]. Jupiter is the king of planets and Saturn stands for justice, and so this triple conjunction at the eyes of an astrologer could mean the birth of a king of justice among the Jews. Professor Colin Humphreys of Cambridge University defends that this could be “the first of a series of three events with astrological significance for the Magi, which culminated in the decision to set out for Jerusalem” [6]. The other two were a massing of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in 6BC, and the appearance of a bright comet in 5BC, registered by the Chinese [7].
In fact, two comets were registered by the Chinese, one in 5BC and the other in 4BC. Yet, it is not probable that a bright comet, although rare, could have any effect upon the Magi’s decision. Comets were at the time associated to catastrophes and were seen as a bad omen, which is antagonistic to the coming of a Saviour King.
The Chinese have also registered a nova at 5BC. A nova (new star) is a variable star of the cataclysmic type that increases its brightness about ten magnitudes. Its brightness will then decrease more or less fast, depending on the type of nova, decreasing three magnitudes in ten days (very fast) or over 100 days (slow nova), with other classifications in-between [9]. This phenomena happens in a binary stellar system in which a star, usually of the Main Sequence, transfers mass to a white dwarf. The accumulation of hydrogen-rich gas on the surface of the white dwarf leads to a thermonuclear runway, producing an outburst, resulting in brightness increase. This event could very well be one of the candidates for the “Star of Bethlehem”, together with the triple conjunction of 7BC, as it is rare, and also because for the observer it is a star appearing suddenly.
Other authors defend that the “star” could have been a set of lunar occultations in 6BC, of Jupiter in Aries and of Saturn in Pisces [8].
If Jesus had been born later (between 3 and 2BC), also other events can be taken into consideration, which occurred in the constellations of Leo and Cancer. Two conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter in Cancer in 12th August 3BC, and another in Leo in 17th June 3BC, as well as a retrograde movement of Jupiter around Regulus. The king of the planets with the king of the Zodiac.
From the above stated, the time in question was a very rich one in terms of astronomical events, bound to have astrological interpretation. Only a very accurate time for the birth of Jesus can help to define the origin of the “star”. Therefore, an astronomical event is a viable possibility.
Mesopotamian civilisation emerged about 4,000 B.C. with the foundation of the first Sumerian city-states. Unity came around 1830 B.C. with the first Babylonian Empire, whose most famous monarch was the great law-giver Hammurabi. Around 1,000 B.C. Assyrian domination began, reaching its height in about 700 B.C., and in 612 B.C. the Assyrian Empire was destroyed by the Second Babylonian Empire, whose most well known king was the Biblical Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians were, in their turn overrun by the Persians, who dominated much of the Middle East and central Asia from 538 to 331 B.C. Each of these cultures was marked by an improvement in the quality of the astrology practised, and the final invasion, by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., marks the crucial date at which the Mesopotamian culture came face to face with the Greeks, resulting in the birth of modern astrology.
The most famous astrologer of these times was the prophet Daniel who served first the Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadnezzar and then the Persian conqueror Cyrus in around 570 - 530 B.C. This, at any rate, is the claim made by the Biblical Book of Daniel around 150 B.C. When historians talk loosely of Mesopotamian civilisation they are often in fact referring to the Assyrian era which commenced around 1,000 B.C., and it is not always possible to distinguish between the cosmologies of the different eras. However we know that early Mesopotamian cosmology was essentially that described in the book of Genesis chapter 1, verses 6 - 10. In this the entire universe was contained between two sheets of water, below and above the Earth. The water above the Earth was supported by a great dome across which trooped the planets and the stars on their daily and annual journeys. It is suggested by some authorities that, at least by the time of the Persians (c 500 B.C.), the Mesopotamians were aware of the concept of a spherical Earth. This assumption is based on the fact that Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher, believed the Earth was a sphere and that he studied in Babylon, but there is no more evidence than this.
The worship of planetary deities took on its major form after about 2,000 B.C. with the worship of Sin (The Moon), Shamash (the Sun), Ishtar (Venus), Nergal (Mars), Marduk (Jupiter), and Ninurta (Saturn). These names changed at different times, and have come down to us in various forms; for example Ninurta is sometimes Ninib.
It is interesting to note that, before 2,000 B.C., the semitic Akkadians, who came from the north of Mesopotamia, regarded the Moon and Venus as male and the Sun as female.
We know little about the civilisation of the early Sumerians, although it is likely that, not only were they obsessed by divination of all kinds, but their mathematics was of an equivalent standard to that in 17th century Europe. All that was needed was to combine an interest in astronomy with existing divination and mathematics in order to produce the earliest astrology. It is probable that this process started sometime around 2,000 B.C., for the earliest known astrological text we have is dated before 1600 B.C. The text concerned is the so-called Venus Tablet Of Amisaduqa, written during the reign of King Amisaduqa of Babylon between 1646 and 1626 B.C.
“In month XI, 15th day, Venus disappeared in the west. Three days it stayed away, then on the 18th day it became visible in the east. Springs will open and Adad will bring his rain and Ea his floods. Messages of reconciliation will be sent from King to King.”
Already it will be seen that Venus has acquired its traditional benefic attributions. The Venus Tablet forms part of a senes of omen tablets known as the Enuma Anu Enlil (’When the gods Anu and Enlil...’) which was preserved in the library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (669 - 626 B.C.). The Enuma Anu Enlil is a collection of omens compiled between 1600 and 1,000 B.C. and is representative of the development of astrology over that period. The astrology contained in the tablets is based on the rising and setting of planets and is exclusively mundane, that is, concerned with making predictions for the entire country, and the King, who was regarded as the personification of the country. It seems that astrology was already spreading beyond the limits of the Mesopotamian river valley, for traces of the Enuma Anu Enlil have been found in Eastern Turkey and dated to before 1360 B.C. The library of Ashurbanipal also contained the first known star catalogue, the Mul Apin, (c 687 B.C.) a record of Assyrian attempts to chart the sky. One of the most important dates of this period was 747 B.C., known as the Era of Nabonassar, after the Assyrian king who reigned at the time. Tradition states that this was the date from which detailed astronomical records were kept, but it is not known how accurate this belief is. It is, however, possible that some major codification of astronomy and astrology did take place around this time.
Soon after 600 B.C. the Greeks began to study astronomy, and the hellenistic and Mesopotamian worlds started the gradual process of cultural mixing which was to reach its climax with the conquests of Alexander the Great some 300 years later. Somewhere between 569 and 510 B.C. Pythagoras studied at Babylon and it is possible that his example was followed by other Greek scholars. Following the Persian invasion of Babylon in 538 B.C. tremendous developments took place in astrology with the first use of astrological signs rather than constellations, around 432 B.C., and the first individual horoscope in 409 B.C. It is important to remember that because historical evidence is often confusing not all historians agree on these precise dates. Following the invasion of Alexander the Great (331 B.C.) the distinction between Greek and Mesopotamian culture becomes blurred. One result of this blurring is that it is not possible always to tell what advances were due to the Greeks, what to the Mesopotamians and what to the interaction of the two. Perhaps the most important result was that the Babylonian ‘sexagesimal’ system became widespread, and as applied to the recording of time, this gave birth to the twelve hour day. Although this was later replaced by the Egyptian twenty-four hour day, 20th century time is still based on the division of the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds.
We know remarkably little about the rapid development that took place in astrology at this time, but it is possible to pick out some important dates. These act as sign-posts through one of astrology’s obscure periods. There was a rapid increase in the use of natal astrology and a slow development of the concept of the rising sign and the consequence of that, the houses. The earliest known planetary ephemeris dates from c 308 B.C., while the first known use of zodiacal degrees dates from 263 B. C. The last horoscope written in the ancient cuneiform script dates from 68 B.C., and the first known Greek horoscope dates from 61 B.C., although other evidence suggests that the Greeks cast horoscopes sometime before this date. This chart was not in fact a nativity but an event chart, being cast on the orders of the Greek ruler, Antiochus I of Commagene. Antiochus had the chart hewn in the cliff face at the summit of the Nimrud Dagh, no doubt as a sign to the gods and whoever else cared to look, that his reign was destined to be a glorious one. The first recorded natal chart to make use of an ascendant dates to from 4 B.C., appropriately enough a mere four years after the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction of 7 B.C. which saw the probable birth of Christ.
