Astrology originated in Babylon far back in antiquity, with the Babylonians developing their own form of horoscopes around 2,400 years ago. Then around 2,100 years ago, astrology spread to the eastern Mediterranean, becoming popular in Egypt, which at the time was under the control of a dynasty of Greek kings. Is the Black Zodiac real?
The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records that emerge from the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950-1651 BC). Babylonian astrology is the earliest recorded organized system of astrology, arising in the 2nd millennium BC.
Yet another query we ran across in our research was “Where did the zodiac come from?”.
Having established that astrology (the 12 constellations) originated in Sumeria, it is worth investigating if this represents the true origins of the zodiac. It is known that Babylonian astrology developed within the context of divination.
When did astrology start?
Astrology, as it’s known today, started 32,000 years ago, around 30,000 to 10,000 BC (further referred to as BCE – before common era ). There are cave paintings, rock carvings, and bones marked with lunar phases from this time.
What is the history of astrology?
It has been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.
Still others have argued that the use of animals in astrology began with nomadic tribes in ancient China who developed a calendar based on the animals they used to hunt and gather. The late date of origin suggests that the Chinese inherited the Indo-European concept of the zodiac and adopted it into their own belief system.
Is astrology a real science?
So, though astrology — looking for answers, signs and predictions in the movements of the celestial bodies —isn’t itself a science, there’s a long history of humans looking up at the stars to plan their lives.