Astrology and Horoscope

Another invention and discovery of ancient Babylonia is astrology and horoscope. Even now, many people still believe in astrology, which is the study of the positions of celestial bodies and how their movements may affect our lives. It was believed that the celestial bodies possessed divine powers that controlled people's lives in ancient Babylon. People used constellations to predict the weather, the climate, the seasons, and the best times to plant certain crops. Future phenomena like thunder or an eclipse were predicted by studying the moon, stars, and sun. To make this prediction, ancient Babylonian astronomers carefully observed the sun and moon cycles.

Horoscopic astrology was practiced by the Babylonians. The Babylonians tied their notions of divine intervention in their daily lives to space and time by paying attention to the seasonal movements of the sun, moon, and planets. By monitoring space over time and connecting foreboding occurrences, like lunar eclipses, to issues in daily life, like giving birth to children with birth defects, they would predict their future situations.

The Babylonians thought that the actions of their gods had an impact on their own life. The Babylonians believed that God intervened in their lives through these celestial occurrences to warn them of impending good or bad events by utilizing the sun, moon, and planets as messengers. Horoscopic astrology is important to Babylonian beliefs because the Babylonians' association of the sun, moon, and planets with their gods influenced how they lived and perceived the universe. The similarities between horoscopes and nativity omens from a Seleucid Tablet illustrate the good and bad qualities of the planets in Babylonian astrology. The nature of the gods linked with each planet was used by the Babylonians to associate and build their beliefs about it. Benefic is Latin for "good-doer." A planet classed as malefic has negative characteristics (meaning "bad-doer"). People once thought the planets had an impact on human life and offered direction. The nature of the planet determines whether it is good or bad.