CHECK OUT ALL THE DETAILS OF ASTROLOGY ORIGIN IN THE ANCIENT TIME

The sky is considered to be the most mysterious part of our daily experiences and it is truly beyond comprehension. Man’s or humans interest in the sky is actually at the heart of the 3 different stories which are- astrology, astronomy and the calendar. And this is the reason why people are often curious to know about the astronomy and astrology origin. 

Well, before knowing that, you must be aware what exactly ‘astronomy’ and ‘astrology’ are. 

So, Astronomy is the scientific study of the moon, sun and stars and Astrology is the pseudo-science which interprets the supposed effect of the heavenly bodies or objects on the existence of human beings. And if we talk about the early history, then both of these are very closely linked and also the sky is the home of many Gods who influence and regulate life on Earth. 

All of this sounds pretty interesting, right? We sure you want to know more about it and so as you scroll down, you will find out a lot of details about what exactly astrology is, the origin of astrology, its principle and practice, the western astrology and much more. So keep reading below to know a lot about it.

More about Astrology 

Astrology is the pseudoscientific practice prevailing since the 18th century which mainly claims to discern information about the terrestrial events and human affairs which are told by studying the positions of the celestial objects in the sky. These practices basically originated in calendrical systems which were used to predict the seasonal shifts and interpret the celestial cycle as the sign of some divine communication and truly different types of cultures have employed various forms of astrology since the 2nd millennium BCE. 

Most of all, Hindus, Maya and Chinese have developed and elaborated systems which predict the terrestrial events from observing the celestial bodies. And if we look at the western astrology, which is one of the oldest astrological systems and which is still in use, can trace its roots to the 19th to 17th century BCE ‘Mesopotamia’, from where the astrology origin happened or from where it actually got spreaded to the Ancient Greece, Rome, Islamic World and then to the Western and Central Europe. 

If we now look at its Etymology, the word astrology comes from the early Latin word ‘astrologia’ which was derived from some Greek word, further from ‘astron’, which means star and ‘logia’, means study of or account of the stars. Then this word entered the English language through mediaeval and Latin French and then its use overlapped with astronomy, which was derived from the Latin word ‘astronomia’. And then by the 17th century, astronomy was established as the scientific term and astrology referred to as the divinations and schemes for predicting human affairs. 

Astrology origin and history

When we talk about the origin and history of astrology, we usually divide it in three parts as- Mesopotamia and Babylonians: from 3000 BC, The Greeks: from the 6th Century BC and India and elsewhere: from the 1st millennium BC. So now, below are the detailed information about all these three phases and how astrology actually originated and developed throughout.

1. Mesopotamia and the Babylonians: from 3000 BC- so the astronomical observations started with the early civilization of the MEsopotamia, where the patterns which are formed by the stars in the galaxy (also called prominent constellations) were recognised and named soon after the 3000 BC. and similarly the sky watchers of the Mesopotamia identified the 5 wandering stars, with which the sun and moon form the 7 original planets, which is Greek for ‘wanderers’.

And then within Mesopotamia, the Babyloninans, which flourished from the 8th century BC, were the first and great astronomers by whom the astrology origin happened or some part of it. Even the seconds and minutes of the modern astronomical measurements derived from their number system. And so it can be said that it was the Babylonians who actually introduced the useful concept of the zodiac and its signs. Zodiac, as a concept, is the use of both astrologers and astronomers.

1. The Greeks: from the 6th Century BC- Now, with Greeks, they made very significant evolutions and advances in the field of astrology and astronomy. Particularly in astronomy, their approach to the heavenly bodies lead to the early insights of the great brilliance and meanwhile if we talk about astrology, it largely benefits from the vitality and the range of the Greek Gods. As this is linked with the constellations and planets study, these very human divinities make astrology quite exciting and dramatic and the Greek interest in the people extended the range of the astrologers. So the astrology origin and evolution originally happened to help in the affairs of the state and the art finds its role in casting the fortunes of the men and women.

1. India and elsewhere: from the 1st millennium BC-  So India always had its own astrology system from as early as 1000 BC and with the western version of zodiac also got introduced with the Greek influence, during the Hellenistic period.

Also the spread of the Arabic scholarship brought forgotten Greek texts to mediaeval Europe which resulted in much more work for the astrologers, until the age of the science and reason reduced the appeal of the ancient art. 

Conclusion: Journey from astrology origin to the 20th Century

So the journey of the development and evolution of astrology has been tremendous. Now in most parts of the World, astrology is thriving again in the 20th Century. Talking about a country like India, which never lost its appeal. And now it is highly believed that no important step in life can be taken unless the signs are propitious. Even no marriage will go ahead without the horoscopes being drawn up for it. So it can be said that over the many thousand years, astrology has made its presence significant in the life of human beings.