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Concept
Jewish astrology
Summary
Astrology in Jewish antiquity (מזלות = mazzalot) is the belief that celestial bodies can influence the affairs of individuals and of entire nations upon the earth. This involves the study of the celestial bodies' respective energies based on recurring patterns that change by the hour, by the week, month, year or by several years (time categories). In each of these time categories one of the seven planetary spheres, or what are known as the seven classical planets: the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, or Mars, along with the month's current Zodiac constellation, come into play and influence the sublunary world. At times, it involves a complex combination of several of these factors working together. In Judaism this belief is expressed by the biblical affirmation: "Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in earth? (Job 38:33)," from which statement the Sages of Israel have inferred, "There is no single herb below without its corresponding star above, that beats upon it and commands it to grow."
Complementary to the records of past civilisations, the corpus of Jewish literature has preserved many of the details instructive of the determining factors involved in rendering any astrological forecast, although astrology in terms of modern science is understood to be a pseudoscience.
A famous meme that underscores the importance with which Judaism views the influences of the horoscope is found in "Idra Rabba" of the Zohar: Everything is dependent upon mazzal (= astral influences), even the Torah scroll in the Heikhal ()
In the Babylonian Talmud a controversy is presented among the sages of Israel as to whether the zodiac signs affect a person's destiny. The supportive opinions are of Joshua ben Levi, who lists the types of people according to the various zodiac signs, and of Rabbi Hanina, who believes that the astrological constellations (mazzal) can make a person wise and can even make a person wealthy. Conversely, Johanan bar Nappaha held the view that "Israel is not bound by the effects of the changing horoscopes.
Official source
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