Astrology · Guide
The Babylonian roots of the horoscope
The Babylonian roots of the horoscope, from celestial omens to birth records. Learn how to read surviving cuneiform sources and museum descriptions.
Editorial illustration.
In this lesson
Begin with the surviving record
The history of horoscopes is traced through surviving texts and objects rather than a story about one founder. Babylonian traditions connected sky observation, calendars and omen interpretation. A birth horoscope is a more specific record than a general omen.
How to read a museum object
The British Museum catalogues a clay tablet recording months and zodiac signs. The object documents a system of notation. Broader conclusions require dating, translation, provenance and comparison; one tablet does not establish every later astrological rule.
What changes in transmission
In transmission to Greek-speaking authors, computational knowledge and interpretive ideas met other philosophical frameworks. A modern psychological description of a zodiac sign should therefore not automatically be attributed to an ancient Babylonian text.
Astrology · Guide
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Medieval astrology: translations, tables and schools
Medieval astrology and the movement of texts through Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin settings.Renaissance astrology and its separation from astronomy
Manuscripts, printing and celestial calculation: why astronomers’ involvement does not validate astrology as science.Astrology in ancient Rome: practice and public life
The Roman setting of Greek-language astrology and the distinction between personal readings and political prediction.