If you asked a random selection
of people to define what astrology is the most likely response would be
something like "It's the star sign column in the paper", probably followed
by " I do have to confess that I occasionally read mine but I don't take
it seriously".
Sun sign astrology, which
is what our ‘random selection’ is referring to here, is a very recent phenonomen
in the world, especially in the world of astrology. The first sun sign
column appeared in England in 1930 after the birth of Princess Margaret.
R.H. Naylor wrote an astrological profile of the newborn princess in the
London Daily Express.1 So enthusiastic was the response to this from the
public that the newspaper employed Naylor as their full-time astrological
columnist.
The astrology that interests
us in this article is thousands of years old and has played a central role
in shaping the religion, philosophy, politics, science, art and day-to-day
affairs of most world civilisations.
The word 'astrology' (from
the Greek astron - star, and logos - study) is literally the study of the
stars and the age-old partner of astronomy. In fact, before the 17th century
the two words 'astrology' and 'astronomy' were interchangeable, and practitioners
of either were usually skilled in both disciplines. Astronomy is
perhaps considered more scientific while astrology more philosophical.
The origins of western astrology
are not crystal clear but astrologers generally acknowledge four stages
in its development:
Pre-literate astrology,
which pre-dates recorded history; ancient astrology, from about 2000 BC
to around 200 AD; traditional astrology, from about the 2nd century AD
to the 17th century; and modern astrology, from the 1700's to the present
day.2
Pre-historic
Beginnings
Pre-literate astrology consisted
mainly of astronomical observation for pragmatic reasons. Earliest man
was nomadic. There is evidence that our ancestors were aware of celestial
movements as far back as 15,000 years BC through recordings of lunar phases
on animal bones. It was imperative that early humans were able to regulate
their lives in order to prepare for floods and droughts, as well as heat
and cold. As nomadic migrations gave way to more stable agrarian
civilisations at around 9,000 BC, it became important to know the seasons
so that crops could be planted, harvested and stored. Observation and worship
of the Sun and Moon was central to the day-to-day life of early man. The
cycles of the Sun and Moon were used to measure time and to time festivals
and procreation. The study of these two celestial bodies led to the emergence
of myths and interpretations, which would in time be extended to the planets
and constellations.
By 4000 BC to 2000 BC it
had become evident from the construction of Megalithic monuments, such
as Stonehenge in Northern Europe, that the builders of these structures
had acquired a level of mathematical, astronomical and mythological sophistication.
The knowledge they gained was eventually passed on to the emerging civilisations
of Mesopotamia and became the basis of western astrology.
Ancient
Astrology in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamian civilisation,
which comprised of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Chaldeans, started to
come into being around 4000 BC in the region now occupied by Iraq. Commonly
referred to by historians as "the cradle of civilisation", the cultures
that flourished here gave birth to the Judeao-Christian tradition that
has lasted into the present day. The first inhabitants of the region
were the Sumerians who developed the earliest known form of writing, cuneiform.
Cuneiform tablets became the principal method of record keeping throughout
the Mesopotamian period and our primary source of information about ancient
astrology. The Sumerians were interested in divination and astronomy,
and their mathematics is said to have been as sophisticated as the mathematics
of 17th century Europe 3. It is thought that the merging of these three
sciences took place around about 2000 BC and laid the foundation of a structured
astrological system. The earliest known astrology texts we have are the
Enuma Anu Enlil, a series of some 7000 omens on 70 tablets, and the Venus
Tablet of Amisaduqa. The Enuma Anu Enlil dates from the 8th century BC
and contains older material such as the Venus Tablet, which is thought
to have been written during the reign of the Babylonian king, Amisaduqa,
c 1600 BC.
In its earliest stages, Mesopotamian
astrology was a simple examination of the heavens for omens that might
affect the kingdom. For example, from a deciphered cuneiform text:
"When Moon and Sun are in
opposition on the 14th lunar day, the king of the realm will be possessed
of an extensive ear".4
The planets were seen as
Gods and played a significant role in prophecy and divination. Astrology,
however, was only one of the methods of divination employed by the ancients.
They saw meaning in everything around them. For example, if a man stepped
out of his house in the morning and saw a snake on the ground in his garden
it was considered an omen for good or bad. And, yes, they examined the
livers and entrails of animals but, contrary to popular misconception,
such activities were neither directly involved in the development of astrology
nor connected with it. Observation of the movements of the heavens, the
colours and positions of the planets and the effects these had on human
life were the basis of astrology, and quite separate to these other divinatory
techniques.
By about 750 BC the Mesopotamians
were master mathematicians and astronomers. They had mapped the entire
sky, developed an 18 sign zodiac and were able to accurately calculate
the future positions of the planets and eclipses. They had divided the
ecliptic into 360° and attributed 60 minutes to each degree and 60
seconds to every minute of a degree.
The next major development
in astrology was the emergence of the 12 sign zodiac after 600 BC. Still,
however, there was no personal horoscopy, but great attention was made
by then to the 12-year cycle of Jupiter through the signs. The first known
personal horoscope is dated by A. Sachs to April 29, 410 BC. This horoscope
was fairly rudimentary, comprising the planets into the constellations.
The first use of planetary ephemerides is dated from 308 BC, and in 4 BC
the Ascendant (rising sign) and the houses were first used.
Astrology
in Egypt
A common misapprehension
is that astrology originated in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians were certainly
involved in divination and astronomy, however, there is no evidence to
support a use of astrology. It was not until Alexander the Great invaded
Egypt in 332 BC that astrology became part of Egyptian culture. Alexander
is attributed with the spread of astrology to Egypt and India. He is known
to have consulted astrologers and to have them counted among his entourage
during his campaigns. Alexander is responsible for the cross-fertilisation
of Greek, Persian, Mesopotamian and Indian astrologies. The city of Alexandria
founded by him became the ancient world's centre of learning and housed,
among many things, the astrological knowledge of antiquity. The most famous
evidence of any astrology in Egypt are the zodiacs at Dendera. However,
they are not thought to be all that ancient. It is estimated they were
built around 30 BC.5
Astrology
in Classical Greece
The earliest mention of
astronomy in Greece is by Hesiod in his poem Works and Days c 750 BC. He
suggests, with the aid of astronomical references, that there are propitious
times to start certain tasks.6
The early Greek philosophers
were intrigued by the astrology of the Mesopotamians. They were primarily
astronomers without knowledge of astrology. Once they adopted it, however,
they ran with it. The Greeks contributed depth, symmetry and rationalisation
to it. Pythagoras introduced the idea that the human being was a microcosm,
a minature universe reflecting the macrocosm, the universe as a whole.
Plato supported this idea and mentions astrology in his Timaeus. The Greeks
also introduced the theories of the four elements: Fire, Earth, Air and
Water; and the four humours, which are central to the science of astro-medicine
and the medical methodology of Hippocrates. It is said that Hippocrates
stated "A physician who has no knowledge of astrology has no right to call
himself a physician". Hipparchus discovered the precession of the
equinoxes in the 2nd century BC, and laid the foundation for the development
of the tropical zodiac, the most commonly used zodiac in the western world.
These advances in mathematics and astronomy enabled the calculation of
accurate birth charts for individuals.
The most famous astrologer
of antiquity is Claudius Ptolemy c 100 AD. A Greek, Ptolemy lived in Alexandria
during the Roman occupation of the city. He is remembered in history for
his two great works on astronomy and astrology, the Algamest and the Tetrabiblos
respectively. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos is the only remaining summation
we have of the astrology of the ancients. The rest did not survive the
destruction of the Alexandrian library. The Tetrabiblos became the standard
astrological text of the Arabs and the European astrologers until the 17th
century, and his earth-centered Ptolemaic universe the astronomical model
until Copernicus established that the Sun is at the centre of the solar
system.
Astrology
During the Roman Empire
Popular astrology could
be said to have had its beginnings in ancient Rome. Legend has it that
astrology was brought to the Romans in the 2nd century BC by the slave
Antiochus. The early Roman astrologers were commonly referred to as Chaldeans,
as it was the Chaldeans coming into the Empire that promoted and practised
the art. Astrology immediately appealed to the general public and the priests
and intellectuals alike. The masses were attracted to the fortune-telling
aspect, while the intelligentsia was impressed with its philosophical depth
and use of planetary cycles. Only the authorities took exception to it,
due to its ability to sway public opinion, and on several occasions had
astrologers expelled from Rome.
Astrology during the Roman
Empire was used by and in some cases practised by a succession of emperors.
Caesar Augustus had his Moon sign, Capricorn, minted onto coins. Tiberius
was an accomplished astrologer, as were Hadrian and Domitian later. Caligula
and Nero debased astrology by using it as a means to ascertain the character
of their potential rivals, whose subsequent demise was a fait accompli
if their horoscopes revealed that they could be a threat to the emperor.
The major astrological figure of the Roman era was Julius Firmicus Maternus,
an astrologer, lawyer and Christian. Firmicus lived in the 4th century
AD and is notable for spanning the divide between Christian and pagan thought.
His masterwork, the Mathesis, is a practical textbook of astrology. The
decline of the Roman Empire after the sacking of Rome by the Goths in 410
AD began the decline of European scholarship and European astrology until
its re-introduction in the Middle Ages.
Astrology
in the Arab World
Learning and astrology were
virtually in a state of suspension during the Dark Ages in Europe. The
centre of learning shifted to the Islamic states of the Middle East, and
was fostered during the Arabic expansionism of the 7th and 8th centuries.
The Arabian Empire ranged from the Middle East to China, India, France,
Spain and North Africa. The Arabs were able to appreciate the culture and
knowledge of the civilisations they had conquered and they were seized
by a desire to understand and develop the mathematics, astronomy and astrology
of the Greeks. The Arabs became the preservers of western astrology
for several hundred years until its re-introduction into Medieval Europe.
They improved upon the astronomy of Ptolemy, built observatories and developed
the astrolabe, a device for observing the positions of the planets and
stars. They saw astrology as part of a larger whole, not just a means
of prediction, but also as a key to understanding life in general. The
planets were seen as channels of spiritual power.
Medieval
and Renaissance Astrology
Recent opinion holds that
the high point of the astrological tradition was reached in Medieval and
Renaissance Europe from the 11th to the 17th centuries. By this period
in our history astrology had become a body of knowledge with a richness
and depth gained from over 3000 years of study by the greatest civilisations
on Earth. To quote Robert Zoller from his correspondence course in Medieval
Astrology: “It is not merely a system of fortune telling, nor yet a science
devoid of spiritual import. It is divination in the ancient and true sense
– the art of communicating with and eventually coming to know the Divine.”
The Medieval and Renaissance
astrologers were philosophers, mathematicians, astronomers and alchemists.
Astrology was taught in the universities and reflected in the art, literature
and architecture of the period. Both Chaucer and Shakespeare are laden
with astrological references. Chaucer was known to be an astrologer and
Shakespeare was sympathetic to it.
The resurgence of astrology
in Europe can be traced to an English monk by the name of Alcuin (born
735 AD).7 Alcuin received the patronage of Charlemagne who brought him
to France and had him set up the first great Medieval school at the Abbey
of Saint Martin near Tours. Among the subjects he taught was astrology
and, under his tutelage, Charlemagne himself became a competent astrologer.
With this renewed intellectual
activity in Europe came the demand for astrological texts. During
the 10th to 12th centuries knowledge-thirsty scholars looked to Arabic
works on astrology and their versions of the Greek classics. In 1138
the first Latin translation of the Tetrabiblos was made and the revival
of European astrology was established.
Roger Bacon (1214? - 1294),
one of the greatest thinkers of all time, was a skilled astrologer whose
encyclopaedic knowledge embraced philosophy, science, mathematics, physics
and geometry was convinced the planets influenced human behaviour. The
famous theologian, Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) acknowledged the
influence of the planets on human behaviour but opposed the deterministic
interpretation of astrology citing that it was in opposition to the Christian
doctrine of free will. One of the most important figures of 13th century
astrology was Guido Bonatti, professor of astrology at the University of
Bologna. Bonatti's Liber Astronomiae is one of the most important astrological
texts of all time. He made his living as an astrological military adviser
to Count Guido de Montefeltro.
In the 15th century Pico
della Mirandola launched an attack against astrology deeming it unscientific.
By today's scientific standards his criticisms were amusing, however, it
was the first time in hundreds of years that astrology needed to defend
itself.
The 15th to 17th centuries
were the golden years of European astrology. Hardly a single monarch or
aristocrat was without a personal astrologer, and astrology even enjoyed
the support of the Papacy in most cases. Among the Popes who consulted
astrologers were Julius II (1503 - 1513), Leo X (1513 - 1521) and Paul
III (1534 - 1549).8 Queen Catherine de Medici was patron to the most famous
astrologer of all time, Michel Nostradamus. Elizabeth I in England employed
John Dee. A colourful personality, for his life in and outside of astrology,
Dee has the distinction of successfully electing the most fortuitous time
for Elizabeth's coronation. He acted as a spy for her and code-named himself
007, four hundred years before James Bond, and coined the term 'the British
Empire'.9 Nicholas Culpeper the herbalist wrote a text on medical astrology,
and William Lilly (1602 - 1681), the last of the great European astrologers,
predicted the Great Fire of London fourteen years before the event and
drew up war charts for the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. In his heyday,
Lilly was seeing 2000 clients a year. Famous scientists of this period
who were also astrologers were Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo.
The
Decline of Astrology in the West
No one thing has been attributed
to the decline of western astrology from the end of the 17th century to
its resurgence at the turn of the 20th century. To some it was the rise
of orthodox science, which is ironic considering many of those who pioneered
the scientific revolution were astrologers themselves. Most ironic, given
the state of affairs existing between astrology and science today, is that
the astronomer/astrologer, John Flamsteed (1649 - 1719), the first Astronomer
Royal, used astrology to elect the best time to found the sacred heart
of modern astronomy, the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
However, there can be no
denying the seeds of the 17th century's eventual disaffection with astrology
had already been sown in the earlier part of the century. Astrologers were
increasingly at theological odds with the Catholic Church. Their cause
would probably not have been assisted by a prediction against the life
of Pope Urban VIII in 1631 by a somewhat over-eager astrologer. 10 This
understandably earned the Pope's displeasure and the re-assertion by him
of a 16th century Papal Bull against the practice of judicial astrology.
No astrologer has ever been persecuted for practising astrology, however,
the disfavour of the Church at this time could have contributed to the
political climate change that was to come.
What is most likely, is that
intellectual focus shifted towards a more mechanistic Newtonian view of
the universe and the minds that had previously applied themselves to Neo-Platonic
and Ptolemaic cosmologies rejected these models. While these considerations
may go some way to determine astrology's fall from favour, they are not
sufficient reasons for its decline. It could be that the world was becoming
more specialised and expansive at the same time with the discoveries of
new colonies, developing technologies and the eventual arrival of the Industrial
Revolution and its impact on world economies and capitalism generally.
Court astrologers found themselves being replaced by more specialised advisers.
Faced with the rapid pace
of change, astrology as a subject worthy of serious study began to fall
to the wayside. It was finally removed from the universities in 1776 resulting
in a decline of intellectual rigour amongst its practitioners through the
18th and 19th centuries. However, certain names do stand out from the crowd
in Victorian England. For example, Richard Cross Smith and Commander Richard
James Morrison, respectively known by the pseudonyms, Raphael and Zadkiel.
And W.J. Simmonite and Walter Old, also known as Sepharial.11 That these
astrologers had to hide behind 'stage names' suggests the respect astrology
had previously held had diminished. Yet it persisted and is now experiencing
a renaissance in the 20th century with the general public and scholars
alike.
Astrology
in the 20th Century
Astrology is now more popular
than it has ever been. In part due to the worldwide proliferation of Sunsign
columns that keep it in the public's awareness, but also because some leading
academics are realising it might not be so ridiculous after all. However,
to be fair, the majority of scientists and academics are not convinced
of its usefulness in human and world affairs.
20th century astrology owes
its revival to William Frederick Allen, commonly known as Alan Leo (1860
- 1917). A Theosophist, Leo ran a successful postal horoscope service,
he wrote numerous books and founded the Astrological Lodge of the Theosophical
Society in London in 1917. The Astrological Lodge of London was the parent
of all the other British astrological societies and is still in existence
today. Leo faced prosecution for 'fortune-telling' in 1914 and 1917. The
first case was dismissed on a technicality, while the second one cost him
a fine of £25. These cases are the only ones that have been tested
in British law. At the same time Leo was reviving it in Britain, enthusiasm
for astrology was gaining momentum in the United States and on the continent,
especially in Germany. By World War II astrology was well established in
Germany through the efforts of Alfred Witte and Reinhold Ebertin and their
followers. German astrology took a sinister turn during the Third Reich
with its popularity amongst the Nazi leadership. However, there is no evidence
that Hitler himself took any notice of it. Though Hess, Himmler and Goebbels
were avid astrophiles. Predictions made in the 1920's relating to the rise
and fall of the Third Reich and the fate of Hitler proved themselves to
be quite accurate through the 30's and 40's.
Since the 1930's an increasing
number of astrologers have applied pychological interpretations to their
work. Dane Rudhyar led the move towards a more 'person-centred' form of
astrology as opposed to a fatalistic, predictive model. Psychological astrologers
tend to work more as counsellers than consultants and incorporate the teachings
of leading psychological pioneers such as C.G. Jung and Assagioli.
There have also been attempts
by scientists to find a possible 'scientific model' for the basis of astrology.
To date, the results have not been overly spectacular. However, the French
psychologist and statistician, Michel Gauquelin, has shown statistically
that a link appears to exist between the planets and the birth charts of
high achievers in sport, science, art and politics. And, Dr Percy Seymour,
a leading astrophysicist, is convinced that resonance may be the key to
a scientific understanding of its effects.
Whether a scientific explanation
for astrology is ever found, or necessary, matters not to the vast majority
of its practitioners and their clients. Astrology is currently enjoying
a revival of public interest. It is used by royalty and presidents of the
United States and Russia, global financiers (an estimated $US1 billion
is traded daily on the world markets on the advice of astrologers), famous
actors and everyday people. Astrology, now more than ever, is doing what
it has always done well - assisting people understand their place in the
cosmos, spiritually, intellectually and emotionally. It has earned this
right through its thousands of years of development and its ability to
survive regardless.
References:
An Introduction to the History
of Astrology. By Nicholas Campion Pub. Institute for the Study of
Cycles; 1982.
Notes 1,3,5,6,9&10.
The Larousse Encyclopedia
of Astrology By Jean-Louis Brau, Allan Edmands & Helen Weaver.Pub.Librarie
Larousse; 1980 Note #2
History of Astrology By
Derek and Julia Parker. Pub. Andre Deutsch Limited; 1983 Note #8
The Combination of Stellar
Influences By Reinhold Ebertin. Pub. American Federation of Astrologers;
1972 Note #4
“A Century of Reform”
By Deborah Houlding. The Traditional Astrologer. Issue #14, May 1997; Pub.
Ascella Publications Note #10
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