Astrology in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Science of Omens and the Knowledge of the Heavens

by Michael Baigent

A detailed study of the earliest forms of astrology in Mesopotamia and their far-reaching hermetic influences from the Renaissance to the present day

• Reveals the roots of modern astrology in the Babylonian science of omens, which was concerned not with individuals but with the state and king

• Explores Mesopotamian mythology as it relates to the planets and to astrology

• Traces the hermetic transmission of this knowledge over the centuries from Mesopotamia to Egypt to Renaissance Italy

Among the many significant discoveries excavated from Assyrian king Ashurbanipal’s royal library in Nineveh were tablets documenting the development of Mesopotamian astrology, now recognized as the earliest astrological science.

Drawing upon translations of the Nineveh library tablets as well as many other ancient sources, Michael Baigent reveals the roots of modern astrology in the Babylonian science of omens. He explains how astrology in the Babylonian and Assyrian empires was concerned not with individuals but with the king and the state. He shows that by the first dynasty of Babylon, around 1900 to 1600 BC, astrology had become a systematic discipline, the preserve of highly trained specialists intent upon interpreting omens from the movements of planets and stars. He explores Mesopotamian mythology as it relates to the planets and to astrology as well as to Mesopotamian religion, magic, and politics--for the mythology of Babylon and Assyria served the state and thus changed as the state changed. He shows how this ancient form of astrology uniquely represents both Sun and Moon as masculine entities and Saturn (Ninurta) as the principle of order imposed on chaos. He examines the connections between ancient astrology and the symbolism of Western religions, such as how the “Greek” or “Templar” cross may symbolize the Babylonian god Nabu, now known as Mercury.

Tracing the hermetic transmission of this knowledge over the centuries from Mesopotamia to Egypt to Florence, Baigent reveals how the religious and magical aspects of early Babylonian cosmological speculation played a significant role in the Renaissance, influencing prominent figures such as Cosimo de Medici, Marsilio Ficino, and Botticelli.

Genres: Astrology

245 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Michael Baigent was born in New Zealand in 1948. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Canterbury University, Christchurch, and holds a master's degree in mysticism and religious experience from the University of Kent in England. Since 1976 he has lived in England with his wife and children.

Baigent is a Freemason and a Grand Officer of the United Grand Lodge of England. He has also been an editor of Freemasonry Today since 1991. As an author and speculative historian, he has been published in 35 languages; he is the author of From the Omens of Babylon, Ancient Traces, and the New York Times bestseller The Jesus Papers; he is the coauthor of the international bestsellers Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Messianic Legacy (with Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh); and the coauthor of The Temples and the Lodge, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, Secret Germany, The Elixir and the Stone, and The Inquisition (with Richard Leigh).

Reviews

[Jose Luis Belmonte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Baigent explores not only English translations of Babylonian myths, prayers, omens, and other cunieform texts written mostly in Akkadian, but also the opinion of scholars which show that the meaning attributed in astrology to the planets was conceived in Babylon or even before, in Mesopotamia. I think this is a major book in the sense that it exposes achievements of Babylonian astrology which would otherwise be attributed to Greece. The more tablets are translated and understood, the more we realise that perhaps science, not only divination, was devised in Mesopotamia, Assiria and Babylon. In general, a very good and well-written book. Since more myths have been studied, compared, and translated, another book, or an updated version of this one, should be released.

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

It´s always a pleasure to read well documented historical facts surrounding Astronomy and Astrology. This one goes up on my Pantheon along with The Fated Sky. Great read.

[Ryan Schaller · Rating 3 out of 5]

If we were able to give half stars, I'd give this 3.5. I do not normally read about astrology, but in my reading about the history of Mesopotamia and the Near East, historians almost always have a line or two reference to astrology in Mesopotamia and maybe they connect to solar eclipses and the "substitute king" ritual, but then they move on without really explaining how Mesopotamian astrology actually worked or was practiced. Wanting to understand more about that is what brought me to this book.

When the book arrived and I could see the cover better, it was clear that this was the sort of thing that would be filed under "Astrology" or "New Age" at the bookstore. Despite that, the first few chapters give a surprisingly good overview of the history of Ancient Mesopotamia for readers who may have never encountered that before.

The book also has a lengthy bibliography, endnote citations, and explanatory footnotes - which are things that I always find valuable in a non-fiction book.

When the writer gets to the chapters on the individual gods, he makes claims about the power and familial relationships between the gods that I did not always agree with. Mesopotamian polytheism can get confusing because each city had its own god, and as different cities gained power and hegemony over neighboring states, they would often either present a new myth showing their particular god as now being the chief of the pantheon, or they would identify their specific god as just another name/iteration of another country's chief pantheon. This sort of thing gets confusing. This book oversimplifies things. There's one telling footnote where the writer admits that the source he's relying on in one chapter is not well regarded at all.

I do think I got out of the book what I wanted. I have a better understanding of how the Babylonians and Assyrians tracked and interpreted the movement of planets through the zodiac constellations.

[Seth Roback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool book on the first written accounts of astrology from ancient Sumeria over 5000 years ago through old testament times and the Akkadian empire.