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The Origins of Astrology


It is common knowledge that “Astrology originated in Mesopotamia” (Encyclopedia Britannica), the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, where the ancient Babylonians flourished. By definition, astrology attempts to predict the future by analyzing the movements of the sun, moon, stars and planets, believing they have a direct influence on the affairs of mankind.

The first time astrology is mentioned in the Bible is in a prophecy regarding the destruction of Babylon. The reason for the impending judgment was because of Babylon's “enchantments, and … the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth” (Isaiah 47:12). Babylon (same word as Babel), from its “youth”, had “laboured” in this occult practice, which was orchestrated by their “astrologers … stargazers, [and] monthly prognosticators” (v. 13). These were the shamans, priests or mediums that led the nation in these evil practices.

Nevertheless, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and with the proper knowledge, mankind should have looked upon the vast host of heaven and worshipped the Great God who made them all. “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17).

However, mankind abandoned the true knowledge of God not long after the Genesis Flood and their foolish hearts were darkened. As a result, the heavens became the abode of the gods, and the planets, stars and constellations of the zodiac became the deities they worshipped.

Donald H. Menzel in his article, “The Heavens Above” made a keen observation as to how some of the constellations of the zodiac came to be:

“The old Babylonians, noting that the seasons followed one another as the sun changed its position in the sky, came to worship the sun itself as the cause of the changes. Torrential rains always fell in their country about January, when the sun entered the region where Pisces (the Fishes), Cetus (Sea Monster), Eridanus (the River), and Capricornus (the Sea Goat) are located. Undoubtedly, the choice of aquatic animals for this region of the sky was associated with the type of weather they seemed to produce with solar assistance.” (The Heavens Above, By Donald H. Menzel, 1943)

Historically, this form of worship can be traced back to Babel where they built a “tower… unto heaven” (Genesis 11:4). They may have worshiped individual stars and planets, but they also developed the zodiac with all its constellations and from this location it spread throughout the world.

The great archeologist and historian, Austin Layard, concluded that the religion of Greece and Egypt came from ancient Babel.

“Of the great antiquity of this primitive worship there is abundant evidence, and that it originated among the inhabitants of the Assyrian plains, we have united testimony of sacred and profane history. It obtained the epithet of perfect, and was believed to be the most ancient of religious systems, having preceded that of the Egyptians… The zodiacal signs… show unequivocally that the Greeks derived their notions and arrangements of the zodiac from the Chaldees” (Layard's Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 439-440, 2001).

Edward Gibbon in his classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire stated,

“The religion of the Arabs … consisted in the worship of the sun, the moon, and the fixed stars … The bright luminaries of the sky displayed the visible image of a Deity … the regularity of their motions … and their real or imaginary influence encourages the vain belief that the earth and its inhabitants are the object of their peculiar care … and he was taught by experience to divide the twenty-eight parts of the zodiac of the moon, and to bless the constellations who refreshed with salutary rains the thirst of the desert …”

Furthermore,

“The science of astronomy was cultivated at Babylon … [and] diffused over Asia by the science of the Chaldeans and the arms of the Assyrians. From the observations of two thousand years the priests and astronomers of Babylon deduced the eternal laws of nature and providence. They adored the seven gods … who directed the course of the seven planets, and shed their irresistible influence on the earth. The attributes of the seven planets, with the twelve signs of the zodiac, and the twenty-four constellations of the northern and southern hemisphere, were represented by images …” (Volume II, p. 226-227, 1989).

Astrology “was believed to be the most ancient of religious systems” and “was cultivated at Babylon”. From there it was carried on the backs of the nations around the world. Secular history upholds the fact that the Greeks and the Egyptians, and other nations for that matter, obtained their notions and arrangements for the zodiac from the Chaldees, or Babylonians.

The constellations of the zodiac were first fashioned with the imagination of men, connecting the stars to form the skeletons of “man, … birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:23). Many of these images were deified and it was thought that the inhabitants of the earth were the objects of their peculiar care, blessing them with the sunshine and the rain. The people who worshiped these gods eventually formed idols to represent them.

Pagan idolatry therefore, was really an extension of astrology, whereby the Gentile nations made statues and images to represent the celestial powers they worshiped. It is no wonder therefore, why many of the images associated with the zodiac are identical to the gods of Greek and Roman mythology. With this in mind let us look at some of the early cultures that sprang forth from Babel and compare them with the cultures of the Americas.

Last Update: 6/26/2009

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