EARLY ORIGINS – ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
The early history of astrology can be only a matter of conjecture. What we do know is that the very earliest records in most cultures and civilizations reveal an essentially astrological world-view. Around 7,500 BCE in Europe, reindeer antlers were being used to note the phases of the moon, whilst the development of writing in Mesopotamia around 3,500 BCE was initially primarily concerned with recording celestial phenomena and their significance. Likewise, all major ancient buildings, such as the Ziggurats of Mesopotamia, the Egyptian and Mayan Pyramids, and Neolithic circles like Stonehenge, seem to have been constructed to align society below with the heavens above.
As early humankind came to consciousness, what became apparent amongst the seeming arbitrariness of life was the regularity of the cycles of day and night, of the waxing and waning of the moon and the movements of the planets across the star-studded sky. It was seen that these regular and predictable cycles of heaven could be related to natural phenomena such as the recurring seasons, the flooding of rivers, outbreaks of disease and years of feast and famine. Likewise the birth of distinct types of people and different kinds of destiny were observed to correspond with particular patterns of the planets.
Astrology appears to have emerged independently in different cultures around the world. Whilst some of these astrologies certainly cross-fertilized one another, each seems to have had the same basic insight about the intimate relationship between above and below. Likewise the essential significance of the planets and stars is very similar in different traditions. Mars is always associated with fire, anger and war, whilst Venus is seen to be an essentially beneficent creature of beauty.
The earliest written records of astrology are found in Mesopotamia where celestial events such as eclipses and the conjunction of planets were observed to be omens of coming events. The discovery of the cycle of the seasons and the fact that different times were good for different kinds of activities may well have encouraged pastoral settlements. It certainly enhanced the efficiency of agriculture in Egypt as the rising of certain stars just before the Sun could be used to time the flooding of the Nile.
ASTROLOGY IN THE BIBLE
The Bible, which is replete with astrology, preserves the deep understanding of the importance of time. Thus at the outset, Genesis 1:14–15, we find God on the fourth day saying:
Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years …
Much later, in Ecclesiastes 3, we find the view summarized in the 16-line poem beginning:
To everything there is a season
And a time to every purpose under the heavens
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance …
THE THREE WISE MEN
Astrology is central to the Judaeo-Christian tradition. The Three Wise Men of the Bible who ‘followed the Star’ were of course astrologers, a translation now used in The New English Bible. The particular ‘star’ the Magi were following was almost certainly the dramatic conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces, the sign of the fishes. This occurred three times in 7 BCE, which is now agreed to have been the most likely year of Christ’s birth. Such a thrice-repeated conjunction was of especial significance to the ancient astrologers, and the symbology of the fish is ubiquitous in early Christianity. Christ, the ‘fisher of men’, was known as ICTHUS (Jesus Christ Son of God). To this day bishops wear a fish-tailed mitre. What is also clear from the Bible is that there have always been ‘false prophets’ who have used astrology for dubious purposes.
UNDERSTANDING THE COSMIC ORDER – THE GREEKS
Early astrology may have emerged in part from observation, but certainly it seems reasonable to conjecture that the basic insight of the correspondence of above and below will have derived from the intuitive inner illumination of priests and shamans who saw this reality within themselves. The Greeks, starting with Pythagoras (c. 600–540 BCE), who emphasized the importance of number as the basis of the world, began to put in place a systematic model of an astrological universe. This was first fully articulated by Plato in the Timaeus. This ideal, transcendant model, interwoven with its rational, empirical, Aristotelian complement, was the basis of the prevailing world-view until the 17th century.
The history of the progress of this world-view would require another volume. A few of the important individuals and events are summarized below.
Some Highlights of Astrological History
Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500 BCE) teaches that number is the creative basis of the cosmos and that each planet has its note, together producing the Music of the Spheres.
Empedocles (c. 490–430 BCE), Greek philosopher, proposes that all things, including human personality, are made up of the four elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water.
Hippocrates (c. 460–377 BCE), physician and astrologer, the ‘Father of medicine’, relates the four elements to the four humours as the basis of disease.
Plato (c. 427–347 BCE) elaborates the basis of astrology in the Timaeus; c. 387 BCE founds his philosophical Academy in Athens which lasts until 529 BCE.
409 BCE – First known individual horoscope.
356 BCE – Alexander the Great’s mother instructed by the astrologer Nectanebus as to when to give birth to the future Emperor: 22 July 356 BCE c. 11 p.m. in Mella, Macedonia.
Zeno (c. 342–c. 270 BCE), Syrian Stoic philosopher, teaches the cyclic nature of the universe and the importance of understanding the birth chart to free oneself from fate.
Berossus (fl. 280 BCE) opens a school of astrology on Kos around 280 BCE.
Hipparchus (c. 190–120 BCE), Greek astronomer/astrologer, discovers the precession of the equinox, develops the rulerships of the parts of the body by the zodiac.
Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE–50 BCE) attributes seven planets to parts of head, soul and body and develops concept of seven-year rhythm in life.
Thessalos (fl. 50 BCE), physician and astrologer, sets out rules for herb gathering.
Ptolemy (c. 100–180 BCE), astrologer-astronomer, writes his Tetrabiblos (c. 150 BCE) summarizing most of the astrological knowledge of his age.
Plotinus (c. 205–c. 270 BCE) – his Enneads, edited by the astrologer Porphry (c. 232–c. 305 BCE), set out the foundations of Neo-Platonism in which astrology can flourish.
lamblichus (255–330 BCE) incorporates the mystery teachings of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians and Chaldeans into Neo-Platonic thought.
Firmicus Maternus writes eight-volume astrology text Mathesios libric c. 335 BCE.
Paulus Alexandrinus c. 370 BCE writes an Introduction to Astrology.
Proclus