If you look up at the sky, you’ll see the red planet Mars moving ever so slowly backwards from our vantage, or Mars retrograde. The retrograde of Mars was an inauspicious omen for medieval astrologers of the Islamic world who saw it as a sign of war, chaos, & disease.
A thread
A thread
The motion of the planets was charted by early societies like the Babylonians.
The famed Venus Tablet dating to the 1st millennium BCE traced the rising, setting, and motion of Venus linking the planetary motion to abundance or destruction in crops.
The famed Venus Tablet dating to the 1st millennium BCE traced the rising, setting, and motion of Venus linking the planetary motion to abundance or destruction in crops.
The observational motion of the planets was later expanded by the Hellenistic authors and eventually incorporated into the robust system of world astrology by the medieval Islamic thinkers.
The motion of the planets as related to the Sun via conjunctions, oppositions, and retrogrades would be mapped on relatively reliable synodic cycles.
Mars for example retrogrades roughly every two years with a cycle of around 26 months according to Caravella.
Mars for example retrogrades roughly every two years with a cycle of around 26 months according to Caravella.
While the motion of all the planets were noted, Mars was particularly important as it was often deemed the most disruptive omen of the night sky.
Naturally, astrologers dedicated a great deal of ink to explaining what would happen when Mars stationed retrograde.
Naturally, astrologers dedicated a great deal of ink to explaining what would happen when Mars stationed retrograde.
The 9th century Abu Ma’shar writes that Mars as a general omen was the signifier of wars, rebellions, uprisings against rulers, vandals, fevers and illness, the shedding of blood and much more.
When Mars is in Gemini as it is now, he writes it signifies:
-increase in measles and hot diseases
-attempts at theft
-illness among nobles and the women of the court
-decreases in crops
-disputes among messengers and their like
-Political disputes
-The blocking of roads
-increase in measles and hot diseases
-attempts at theft
-illness among nobles and the women of the court
-decreases in crops
-disputes among messengers and their like
-Political disputes
-The blocking of roads
But if Mars is retrograde as it is now, more meanings are added
-Attempted thefts and the exposure of them
-illness from among the nobles will spread to ordinary folk
-Deceptions and the revelation of deceptions
-Deceptions around disease
-Erratic fires
-Attempted thefts and the exposure of them
-illness from among the nobles will spread to ordinary folk
-Deceptions and the revelation of deceptions
-Deceptions around disease
-Erratic fires
Retrogrades were often viewed as planets becoming erratic in their own right.
Each planet was described as testifying for a particular natural phenomenon, or as a witness in a celestial court with God sitting above.
Each planet was described as testifying for a particular natural phenomenon, or as a witness in a celestial court with God sitting above.
According to Abu Ma'shar when a planet was retrograde it became an unreliable witness
Because of how disruptive they deemed Mars, astrologers often had to navigate where to place the planet when electing auspicious times for courtly projects.
This is illustrated in the horoscope of Baghdad.
This is illustrated in the horoscope of Baghdad.
When the Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur sought to built a new capital, he first turned to his court astrologers to select the ideal time for the project.
He turned to the Persian astrologer, Nawbakht and his student Mashallah, a Jewish astrologer.
He turned to the Persian astrologer, Nawbakht and his student Mashallah, a Jewish astrologer.
In addition to selecting the best time to imbue the envisioned city with celestial meaning and blessing, they had to mind Mars and its placement.
According to the authors al-Biruni and Yakut, the astrologers elected a date in 762 CE.
I’ve recreated that chart down below based on al-Biruni, Yakut, and Holden for an article on Baghdad and astrology you can read here: publicbooks.org
I’ve recreated that chart down below based on al-Biruni, Yakut, and Holden for an article on Baghdad and astrology you can read here: publicbooks.org
Note, that they placed Mars in Gemini, setting below the horizon. Since Mars was the planet of war and disruption, the hope was to minimize its influence by having it set in the horoscope.
But it also meant Mars’ cycles would be particularly important for events in Baghdad
But it also meant Mars’ cycles would be particularly important for events in Baghdad
Centuries later an anonymous astrologer would warn that in the 1257 CE, Mars was prominent in the horoscope of the year as its original placement of Gemini was ascending.
They warned dire consequences for Baghdad.
They warned dire consequences for Baghdad.
A few months later in 1258, the Mongols sacked Baghdad and burned it to the ground.
In 2003, Mars would once more dominate the horoscope of Baghdad, rising before the Sun and above the horizon.
It would coincide with the invasion of Iraq.
It would coincide with the invasion of Iraq.
These past months Mars has transited through Gemini, its home sign in the horoscope of Baghdad.
And interestingly, it once more presaged dire events.
And interestingly, it once more presaged dire events.
The former leader of the Mahdi Army turned politician, Muqtada al-Sadr declared his resignation from politics, on August 29th when Mars returned to almost the exact degree of its placement in the horoscope of Baghdad’s founding
Al-Sadr had been a major feature of Iraqi politics for the past 20 years, leading militias fighting the United States, then ISIS, and had dominated Iraqi politics.
His resignation led to major protests in Baghdad where dozens were shot and the political situation remains shaky
His resignation led to major protests in Baghdad where dozens were shot and the political situation remains shaky
And just two days ago when Mars was beginning to retrograde an explosion in Baghdad killed or injured over 20 people.
Mars’ motion through the heavens was often an ill-omen and its relatively stable 2 year cycle of retrogrades were viewed as particularly tumultuous.
Synodic and planetary cycles were in actuality the most superficial astrological tool of medieval astrologers often providing a rough sketch while the majority of the prediction flowed from symbolic and calculated methods.
What they offer us today is a fascinating glimpse into medieval people's dynamic understanding of time, math, and science
We often dismiss ancient people as having backwards beliefs, but their understanding of celestial motion was grounded in observable cycles which they were able to calculate to a high degree of precision and in turn they produced a robust and complicated view of time as cyclical
Now whether they could foretell events from such cycles is a different matter, but without a doubt the history of astrology shows a deeply robust system of meaning drawn from an even more complicated system of astral phenomenon and their measurement
I’ll cover more on the history of the occult sciences and astrology in future threads
Also massive shoutout to @Sara_Farhan_
Also massive shoutout to @Sara_Farhan_
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