Edgar Cayce and Persian Astrology - Part 3

[Guest guest]

EDGAR CAYCE AND PERSIAN ASTROLOGY

 

----------PART 3----------

 

LATER PERSIAN ASTROLOGY - The Arabic Era

" In this time period astrology flourished on a grand scale...largely under

the influence of the Syrians, remaining Greeks, Egyptians and Persians... "

(p. 11, CHRONOLOGY OF THE ASTROLOGY OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE WEST BY

PERIOD, by Robert Hand; Arhat, 1999(?)

 

There are several books that contain Persian horoscopic calculations of the

late period. One easy-to-read text is MASHA'ALLAH: ON RECEPTION (Arhat, 1998)

 

Masha'allah is dated 770-815 CE. In this book Robert Hand uses modern

software to compute positions in the horoscopes given in the text. He

compares the Tropical positions with the Fagan-Bradley ayanamsa, but the

values are basically those of the Raman ayanamsa used in India (2 degrees

20 minutes greater than Fagan- Bradley). Photocopies of these calculations

are available on request. (Please e-mail eastwest.)

 

Another book, THE ASTROLOGICAL HISTORY OF MASHA'ALLAH by E.S. Kennedy and

David Pingree (Harvard University Press, 1971), contains numerous

horoscopes. After study and analysis the authors state: " It is only to be

determined whether the solar year employed is tropical or sidereal. Ibn

Hibinta's statement that Masha'allah used the Zij al-Shah and an annual

excess of revolution equivalent to 93.15 would indicate that it is

sidereal...One can confirm this result by examining the dates of the last

eleven horoscopes...and subtracting the longitudes of the Sun according to

Masha'allah... " (p. 75)

 

(The authors list the adjustments for the charts in the book, and show that

the degree of the Sun in Aries increases with succeeding vernal equinoxes.)

 

The particular sidereal zodiac used by Masha'allah and other astrologers of

his era seems to be the same zodiac that has been preserved in India up to

modern times, which uses the ayanamsa now called " the Raman ayanamsa. " An

ephemeris is still printed for this zodiac by Raman Publications in

Bangalore, India.

 

However, in India this zodiac has been mainly superseded by the Lahiri

zodiac after an intensive committee study by government scholars. The

Lahiri value falls between Fagan-Bradley and Raman: It gives planetary

positions 53 minutes greater than Fagan-Bradley and uses Spica as the

fiducial star. Spica is located at the sign junction of Virgo and Libra.

 

So the scholarly references to the zodiac and Persian astrology are there,

but it's no simple matter to find and study these references and it costs!

 

Therese Hamilton

January 2003

 

Material in this post is copyrighted by East-West Publishing, 2002, but may

be printed for personal use. More information is available from

eastwest. No replies to these posts will be given on the

Sidereal board.