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Ali A Olomi

@aaolomi

17 Mar

For many cultures, New Year isn’t January 1st, but the dawning of Spring.

It's also the astrological new year.

Medieval Muslims who followed a lunar calendar with its own new year took note of the Sun’s entry into Aries as the key to predicting the year to come

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The astrological new year with the Sun’s ingress into Aries predates Islam, but quickly became an important date.

The ability to cast and interpret this chart would be one of the most important jobs of the medieval astrologer.

These charts were called revolution charts.

Astrologers would cast a horoscope for the moment of the astrological new year and use it to predict the fate of the kingdom.

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Ali A Olomi

@aaolomi

3 Mar

In medieval Islamic cosmology the universe was ordered into celestial spheres and earthly matter. Everything was given a numerological association which then corresponded to mystical values.

Numerology, astrology, healing, and magic were all linked together.

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According to Nasr, Ibn Arabi used numerology to demonstrate the great cosmic scheme of creation.

He saw God’s decree reverberate through the heavens through the planetary spheres then filter through the Moon and its Mansions into the elemental world of matter.

He demonstrated this by pointing out the numeric sum of the planetary positions: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 total to 28.

28 is the exact number of Mansions of the Moon.

Thus the influence of planets transmitted through the Moon and its Mansions.

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Ali A Olomi

@aaolomi

26 Feb

Venus has entered Pisces, the sign of its exaltation where it will stay for the next three weeks

Mashallah and Al Khayyat says Venus in Pisces is the mark of nobility, of makers of beauty, and those who are indecisive in love, but when they love they love as if in devotion.

The significations of Venus in Pisces here are so fascinating and they challenge our contemporary understanding of relationships which are often more Mercurial and Martial than Venusian—more transactional and shaped by consumption.

For you see there is another side to Venus than simply pleasure and sensuality.

Venus is devotion.

If Jupiter understood the divine through philosophy and law, Venus was ecstatic worship.

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Ali A Olomi

@aaolomi

24 Feb

The mysterious prophet Idris is an important figure for Islamic esoteric traditions, becoming a possessor of great wisdom.

To some he is associated with Enoch, but others will link him to the legendary Hermes.

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Idris is mentioned in the Qur’an (19:56-57) only briefly, but later writers would expand on his life.

He is associated early on with Enoch, with much of Muslim commentaries drawing upon the life of the Jewish prophet to fill out the story of Idris.

Tabari, drawing from Biblical narratives, says Idris was born while Adam was still alive and is one of the antediluvian prophets.

He goes on to list his progeny, saying his son was Methuselah the grandfather of Noah.

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Ali A Olomi

@aaolomi

10 Feb

In astrology from the medieval Islamic world, Venus in the various zodiac signs spell out the fortunes of a person in love.

But the significations of Venus also tell us a great deal about medieval people's ideas of love and sex

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Astrologers like Mashallah and Al Khayyat and Abu Ma'shar provide general interpretations for Venus as she appears in the 12 signs of the zodiac

Venus in Aries indicates quarrels in marriage. In nocturnal births it can indicate a partner who will fall severely ill at one point.

As Venus is harmed in Aries (detriment) it can also mean impulsive decisions and mistakes in love.

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Ali A Olomi

@aaolomi

3 Feb

Throughout history astrologers advised kings and queens, guided battles, and determined the fate of kingdoms.

But sometimes, astrologers were kings, queens, and rulers themselves!

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The first is the iconic 9th century Queen Bawran, a true astrologer queen.

When her husband passed, she took to checking the horoscope of his successor Al Mu’tasim. She would cast the horoscope daily, examining what the stars held.

One day she noticed a qat, a “cutting off” understood in medieval Islamicate astrology to warn of impending doom.

She quickly called for her father, Hasan ibn Sahl and told him the caliph was in danger from a wooden object.

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