Science And The Stars

Astrology, a seductive mixture of science and religion, tells us we are ruled by the relative positions of the planets at the moment of our birth. The science part is easy to explain, because this is simple astronomy. When we get to how or why the planets predict and control our fate, we are already deep into the realm of the esoteric.

Astrology reached the apex of its influence in the Mediterranean world in the first century AD - an age of miracles and prophecies, of Christ and Antichrist. From the humblest slaves in the Roman empire to famous Stoic philosophers like Seneca to emperors like Nero, almost everyone believed in a mysterious, pervasive all-powerful force called Fate which could be predicted in a number of ways but most accurately by the motion of the "stars".

The blind faith ancient Romans had in astrology raises the interesting possibility that where we are able to cast the horoscope of one of these believers, we can also reconstruct what their astrologer would have advised them fate had in store on any hour of any day in their future.

The astrologer, if he were skilful enough, could (and did) even predict when his client, or his client's enemy, was fated to die - an invitation for a self-fulfilling prophecy. It was their uncanny power to peer into the future that made astrologers like Balbillus, Nero's astrologer, formidable figures in first century Roman politics as dramatized in my novel "The Nero Prediction".

All you need to reconstruct a Roman or Greek horoscope is the date, time and location of the birth - an astrology program will do the rest. Fortunately accurate birth times of several famous Romans have survived, including Nero's. The devil is in the details of interpreting what the horoscope would have meant to an ancient astrologer. Fortunately two Roman astrological manuals have survived. The first written by Claudius Ptolemy in the second century AD runs to about 230 printed pages. The second, by Firmicus Maternus written about a hundred years later, runs to about 150 pages. Both are substantial and detailed.

There were many other prominent astrologers whose work survives only in fragments, if at all. It is one of the many strengths of James Herschel Holden's encyclopedic work that he makes their astral theories accessible to us, a formidable feat because many are obscure to the point of opaqueness. This is an invaluable source book for anyone interested in the history of science or religion and a "must read" for anyone who wishes to explore our enduring fascination with their confluence.


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Great Book but may be a little difficult for the beginner

Holden sets out to write a history of Astrology concentrating on the changes in techniques rather than simply the social or economic context. His main thesis is that the use of the horoscope originated with Greek Astrologers based in Alexandria around the third and second centuries BCE. As the Babylonians did not use horoscopes, Holden gives them only cursory treatment in his history.

As a guide to the changing nature of Astrology, this book is excellent, dealing with Greek Astrology both before and after Ptolemy - who Holden shows was outside the mainistream of his day. He goes on to look at the contribution of a variety of Arabic speaking Astrologers and the development of the horoscopic approach through medieval times and eventually up to the present day. Holden illustrates many of his points with extracts from the writings of the Astrologers he is reviewing - which can sometimes be demanding because the prose can be somewhat obscure for the modern reader.

That being said, it is a very readable book, though some knowledge of Astrology, especially traditional Astrology will help the reader. There are intersting snippets, such as Dr. John Dee the Astrologer to Queen Elizabeth used to sign his notes to her as '007', with the cross of the 7 extended over the zeroes to represent a pair of eyes as Dee saw himself as the Queen's 'eyes'. This was picked on several centuries later by Ian Fleming as his source for James Bond's designation.

Holden also relates Alan Leo's brush with the law against 'Fortune Telling' in the early twentieth century - a brush which led to him concentrating on 'character' readings rather than predicitions and opened up the way for the shift towards a psychological approach to Astrology.

This book is not designed to show how to cast a horoscope or how to read one, so if that is what you are looking for then look elsewhere. For the reader who wants to know where Astrology came from, how it developed, and get some idea of the richness of the Astrological tradition this book is invaluable.

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