Understanding the Zodiac Signs: An Ancient Look at Astrology

Let’s start from the beginning. 

I invite you to put your assumptions, preconceived notions, and ideas aside for just a few moments while I introduce you to the stars in a new way. 

Or really in an ancient way. Before astrology was sliced, diced, villainized, and criminalized by religious, political, and educational institutions.

Naming the Stars in Ancient Ethiopia

The earliest records of astrology date back over 15,000 years ago to Ethiopia. 

“The Ethiopians were the first who invented the science of the stars…not at random and without meaning, but descriptive of the qualities which they conceived them to possess; and it was from them that this art was passed, still in an imperfect state, to the Ethiopians.” Journey of Ethiopia Astrology, Belay Tessema, Solomon, IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, id. 2252310. 

Each zodiac sign was named to reflect their corresponding mirrored impact on Earth. By watching how nature responded to the stars, the names for each sign were selected to reflect its earthly counterpart. 

Here’s how some of the zodiac signs got their names:

Aquarius - the waterbearer, the stars above where the Nile would begin to overflow

Taurus - the ox, the stars above whee the bulls would begin their plow

Gemini - the twins, the stars under where precious animals would be brought forth

Leo - the lion, the stars above where the lions would drink water after being thirsty from their hunt

Virgo - the harvest virgin, the stars of the harvest season

Cancer - the crab, the stars where the sun retreats slowly into the horizon like a crab

Libra - balance, the stars where the days and nights were in equilibrium

Scorpio - the scorpion, the stars where certain periodical winds brought vapors that burned like the venom of a scorpion

In ancient Ethiopia, the study of astrology was developed to accompany astronomy and continues to be studied as a part of astronomy in Ethiopia today. But Ethiopia wasn’t the only ancient empire with early studies of Astrology.

Tracking the Movement of Planets in Ancient Mesopotamia

Remarkable advances were made in mathematics, astrology, and astronomy in Ancient Mesopotamia, which developed a study of the stars that allowed astronomers to track the movement of the stars.  

“The ancient Babylonians studied the night skies for 700 years, making their work ‘arguably, the longest lasting scholarly science project that ever existed,’ says [Yale Assyriologist Eckhart] Frahm. ‘Nowhere ever has any civilization done anything like it, he adds. Through these observations they determined regularities in the sky and were able to begin to predict celestial events such as lunar or solar eclipses.” Bess Connolly, “Yale Assyriologist decodes the ‘writing of the heavens’ by ancient stargazers.” Yale News, 22 February 2019.

“What is perhaps more surprising is the sophistication with which they tracked [Jupiter] . . . the Babylonian astronomers employed a sort of precalculus in describing Jupiter’s motion across the night sky relative to the distant background stars. Until now, credit for this kind of mathematical technique had gone to Europeans who lived some 15 centuries later.” Kenneth Chang. “Signs of Modern Astronomy Seen in Ancient Babylon.” New York Times, 28 January 2016.

Reading Birth Charts in Ancient India

Vedic astrology stems from an ancient oral tradition that was first mentioned in writing in the Atharva Veda approximately 4,000 to 5,00 years ago. The Atharva Veda is one of four major Vedas, the core knowledge system of India. The text includes 165 verses dealing with the Sun, Moon, and nakshatras (Moon signs). While the zodiac signs were not explicitly mentioned, some researchers assume that the descriptions in the Rig Veda actually provide evidence that astrologers knew the 12 signs of the zodiac.

“Vedic astrology is an ancient behavioral analysis and forecasting system. It employs a diagram of the positions of the planets relative to the earth and sky, based on the time and place of a person’s birth. An astrologer reviews this chart to find information about an individual’s concern and about terrestrial events. The astrologer, depending on the skill and clarity of consciousness, makes inferences regarding an individual’s disposition and character and may foretell events in that person’s life. Using advanced techniques, an astrologer may even forecast events on a community, national, or global scale. Levachy, William R., Beneath a Vedic Sky: A Beginner’s Guide to the Astrology of Ancient India. Hay House, February 1999.

Astrology in Ancient Greece

While only one major work of ancient Greek astronomy has been preserved, it has become known as one of the most comprehensive in the field. Ptolemy’s Almagest, composed in the 2nd century, is a mathematical and astronomical treatise on the motion of the stars and planetary paths. Ptolemy explains the distinction between astronomy and astrology in ancient Greece by breaking down their philosophical roots. 

“The three forms of theoretical philosophy are (1) theology, which is concerned with immutable and imperceptible objects, (2) mathematics, which is concerned with immutable but perceptible objects, and (3) physics, which is concerned with mutable and perceptible objects. Astronomy belongs to the intermediate form, mathematics, because its objects of study meet the two necessary conditions of immutability and perceptibility”

“Astrology for Ptolemy is not a separate discipline from astronomy, and it is certainly not an unscientific application of astronomy. It is simply part two of ‘prognosis through astronomy’.” Beck, Roger, A Brief History of Ancient Astrology. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.

Separation of Astronomy from Astrology in the West

For most of astrology’s history, astrology was inseparable from astronomy. Most of the world did not even give a distinct name to astrology, as we see in ancient Greece and Ethiopia. 

So how did the two end up developing very different disciplines in the western world? How has astronomy bloomed into a prestigious, scientific course of study and astrology been labeled as an occult practice? 

It all started with one Danish aristocrat and astronomer named Tycho Brahe in his pursuit for credibility.

Learn more about Tycho Brahe and astrology’s separation from astronomy in the next post! Subscribe to Mondays with Mahlet by downloading your free Cosmic Guide and be the first to know when the next blog post is LIVE.