Ali A Olomi Profile picture
17 Mar, 24 tweets, 4 min read
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

A thread-
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.
The technique was detailed by most of the major astrologers of the medieval Islamic world from Mashallah ibn Athari to Abu Ma’shar to Musa ibn Nawbakht.
Over time many astrologers would set their horoscope for the capital city, but initially any major city would do.
These revolution charts were associated with some of the most famous predictions of the era.

Ibn Athir relates how the city of Baghdad was warned of a coming flood when an astrologer noted an alignment of the planets in Pisces in the annual revolution chart.
In another annual prediction in 1257 CE Mars rising is seen as imminent invasion for Baghdad.

Several months later the city would be destroyed by the Mongols.
Based on the nature of the horoscope at the moment of the Sun’s ingress, the astrologer would then either use that chart for the whole year or determine if further charts were needed like when the Sun ingress Libra.
From the chart of the astrological new year the astrologer could then supposedly determine the coming weather, shifting prices, the fate of the king, war and diplomacy, natural disasters, and more.
For example, an examination of the Sun may indicate the fate of the king, while Jupiter would reveal the fortunes of judges and scholars whereas an angular Mars may portend war.
The horoscope is examined on its own, but then combined with the conjunctions of the superior planets: Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars along with their transits.
The annual horoscopes were then combined with specialized techniques.

Mashallah, Abu Ma’shar, and Al Qabisi all provide a series of Arabic Lots, or unique calculated points combining two or more placements in the chart.

These were used to reveal dynamic relationships.
The Lot of Rain for example was used to predict weather.

Interestingly, the Lot of Rain for the 2021 falls in Scorpio in a Saturnian and Aquarian chart which indicates sudden cold storms like we saw in Texas.
Other Lots like the Lot of the Crowning of Kings reveals the nature or policies of the ruler

The 2021 version of this falls in Virgo in the 8th House, indicating management and commemoration of death

Biden walks around with a list in his pocket of all those who died from covid
Another layer is added by examining eclipses whose effects are seen as moments of tension which last longer than the eclipse itself.

Astrologers like al-Rijal also added the comets, whose appearance in signs indicate sudden calamities.
For example, in 1577 CE the appearance of a comet in Sagittarius was used to predict the death of a Persian king.

20 days later Shah Ismail II died.
All of this was taken together with the larger planetary periods; what point in the conjunction cycle did the year fall in? What planetary epoch or fardar were you in?

So 2021 for example is in the Great Conjunction of Aquarius and in the Dawr of Jupiter-Libra.
All of this produced a dynamic celestial calendar.

It is easy to imagine the horoscope as static, but in actuality it was a clock interlocked with a series of much larger clocks, all working together to produce meaning.
By the 9th C we see the emergence or reemergence of the Persian New Year festival, Nowruz.

The cultural celebration and shifting political winds reinforced the importance of the annual horoscope techniques and elevated the vernal equinox and astrological new year.
Persianate dynasties within the Abbasid empire celebrated Nowruz in massive festivals.

The court astrologer would congratulate the king on the coming year, cast the horoscope, advise what could be expected, then the king would order the lavish celebration to start.
The party would last days and included massive feasts, sweets, fruits, poetry, and gifts.
Just as annual horoscopes were used to predict the fate of kingdoms so too would they be used in natal charts, by casting the horoscope for when the sun returned to its natal position.
If you’re interested in astrology check out this episodes of the Astrology Podcast where I join Chris Brennan to talk about astrology in the Islamic world, Queen Bawran, and mores tales from Baghdad:

I’ll cover more on astrology in the Islamic world in future threads

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Ali A Olomi

Ali A Olomi Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @aaolomi

16 Mar
the cullinan diamond in her scepter was taken from South Africa and the koh-i-noor diamond in her crown was stolen from India
personal investment must be a new way of saying colonial legacy
the history of the koh-i-noor is so sordid: after conquering the Punjab, the viceroy made the boy prince travel 4,000 miles to present the diamond to Queen Victoria in person in a ceremony of subjugation
Read 4 tweets
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.

A thread-
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.
Read 23 tweets
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.
Read 8 tweets
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.

A thread-
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.
Read 33 tweets
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

A thread-
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.
Read 35 tweets
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!

A thread-
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.
Read 36 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!