ASTROLOGY

Astrology is most ancient science known to mankind. There are three main branches of Astrology today namely INDIAN VEDIC ASTROLOGY, WESTERN ASTROLOGY AND CHINESE or EAST INDIAN ASTROLOGY. The term Astrology and Astronomy has been closely related. An astrologer is an interpreter of celestial phenomena and an Astronomer is a predictor of celestial phenomena. The study of astrology and the belief in it, as a part of Astronomy is first found in a developed form among the ancient BABYLONIANS, and from there directly or indirectly spreaded to other nations. It came to Greece about the middle of 4^th century B.C and reached Rome before the advent of Christian era. In INDIA and CHINA astronomy and astrology developed largely independently. With the introduction of Greek culture into Egypt both astrology and astronomy were actively cultivated in the region of NILE during the Roman and Hellenistic periods. Astrology was further developed by Arabs from 7^th to 13^th century and in Europe of the 14^th and 15^th century the astrologers were dominating the royal courts. The Mayans of Central America and Aztecs also developed their own form of astrology.

Astrology can be divided into two camps, comprised of “NATURAL ASTROLOGERS” (i.e. astronomers) those who study the motions of heavenly bodies, timings of eclipses etc. “JUDICIAL ASTROLOGERS” study the correlations between the positions of various celestial bodies and the affairs of human beings. Today astrology has gained wide spread popularity with general public, as its detractors became more vocal against it.

Of all the planets five of them were recognized first ---JUPITER, VENUS, SATURN, MERCURY AND MARS---to name them in the order in which they appear in the older cuneiform literature. In later year’s mercury and Saturn changed places. These five planets were identified with the Babylonians GODS---Jupiter with Marduk, Venus with Goddess Ishtar, Saturn with Ninurta, Mercury with Nabu and Mars with Nergal. The movements of Sun, Moon and five planets were regarded as representing the activity of the five GODS in question, together with the Moon-God (sin) and the Sun God (Shamash).

Below is a partial list of some of the terms in Hindu astrology that appear to have a Greek origin.

Zodiacal Signs
Sanskrit	Greek	English	Sanskrit	Greek	English
Kriya Tavura Jituma Kulira Leya Pathona	Krios Tauros Didumoi Karkinos Leon Parthenos	Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo	Juka Kaurpi Taukshika Akokera Hridroga Chettha	Zugos Skorpios Toxotes Aigokeres Hudrochoos Ichthues	Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
2. Planets
Sanskrit	Greek	English	Sanskrit	Greek	English
Hemnan Asphujit Heli	Hermes Aphrodite Helios	Mercury Venus Sun	Ara Jeeva Kona	Ares Zeus Kronos	Mars (Jove) Saturn

All of the above had Sanskrit equivalents which probably preceded the introduction of the above words into India, and which also eventually completely displaced these words of Hellenic origin.

The question of the debt or lack thereof of Hindu astrology to Hellenistic is an extremely controversial one. Many authors of the Hindu school would like to deny that there was any at all. This position is a bit hard to support given the above, and also given the very frequent references to the "Yavanas" who were Greeks or more precisely Greek speaking persons of various ethnic extractions.

On the other hand there are Westerners, of whom this author is not one, who believe that Hindu astrology comes entirely from the West (or more precisely Middle East). David Pingree in his study of the Yavanajataka does an extremely thorough job of cataloging the parallels between the astrology of that work and that of the Greeks and even he is forced to admit that there are many differences. However such differences do not require two different origins. All it requires is a period of isolation between two branches of a tradition after an earlier period of unity, such that the two branches can diverge, and one, the eastern, merge with native traditions already in place. While we do not insist that Hindu astrology is entirely or even principally an offshoot of Hellenistic astrology, it must be said that the required period of isolation did occur which could have caused a single tradition to become two.