Origins of the Zodiac
Path of the Moon - Part 1
In this series, we’re going to delve into the origins of the 18 constellations of the original Sumerian Zodiac. If you’re interested in this topic, I highly recommend my 15-hour Ancient Astrology Video Course, which goes into university-level depth on the origins and development of astrology.
The Origins of the Zodiac Signs Begin in Mesopotamia
The astrology we know and love originated in ancient Mesopotamia, and we have the Sumerians to thank for the origins of the zodiac signs.
The oldest astrological records we have belong to the Sumerians, dating back at least to 3100 BCE.
However, similarities between the Sumerian and Babylonian constellations, and the reliefs found at Göbekli Tepe suggest the meanings of the constellations may predate Sumerian culture by another 7,000 years, but that’s a conversation for another day.
Sumerian documents contain the oldest human writing system, cuneiform. These cuneiform texts hold the oldest known astrological information on the planet.
Sumerian Obsession with Time
The Sumerians paid close attention to the sky and the seasons. They seemed to be obsessed with understanding time. Sumerian calendrical systems were primarily lunar, but included solar tabulations, as well.
The 30-day lunar month reigned supreme, as did the Sumerian god of the Moon, Nanna (𒀭𒋀𒆠 dŠEŠ.KI). Behind them was the seasonal solar calendar and the sun god, Utu (𒀭𒌓 dUTU) .
When the cycles of the sun, and the rising and setting of the stars and planets aligned with lunar time, it was considered fortuitous. When they acted out of turn, it was a bad sign.
Sumerian Astrology Lived On
As the millennia progressed, and the Sumerian people and culture were overshadowed by the Akkadian empire, much of Sumerian knowledge, including myth, legend, and astrological omens remained a prominent feature in the ancient Near East through the Late Babylonian period.
Sumerian documents were copied and transcribed into Akkadian, which is how scholars were able to decipher their cuneiform tablets.
Babylonian Astrology Becomes Canon
The most well-known compilation of such omena is Enuma Anu Enlil (𒌓𒀭𒈾𒀭𒂗𒆤𒇲 U4.AN.NA dEN.LÍL.LÁ); literally, When Anu and Enlíl…; or EAE for short.
It includes 68-70 cuneiform tablets with anywhere from 6,500 to 7,000 omens, which became the hallmark of Babylonian astrology.
It’s believed to have been compiled in its canonical form between 1595-1157 BCE, during the Kassite period. However, evidence suggests earlier versions dated back to the Old Babylonian period, around 1950-1595 BCE.
Another well-known astrological catalogue was MUL.APIN 𒀯𒀳; literally, the Plow Star/Constellation. It’s primarily concerned with 66 stars and constellations, and their rising, setting, and culmination dates.
The canonical text has been dated to 1000 BCE, but like other Babylonian astrological texts, they are likely the remnants of a much older Sumerian astrological tradition.
In fact, the 18 constellations in the prominent Path of the Moon (KASKAL dÙŠU 𒆜𒀭𒌍) are the original constellations of the elder Sumerian zodiac.
The Origins of the Zodiac
The original sidereal zodiac contained 18 constellations:
- MULMUL 𒀯𒀯 Many Stars/Star Cluster—the Pleiades (in Taurus)
- MULGU4.AN.NA 𒀯𒄞𒀭𒈾 Bull of Heaven—Taurus
- MULSIPA.ZI.AN.NA 𒀯𒉺𒇻𒍣𒀭𒈾 True Shepherd of Anu—Orion
- MULŠU.GI 𒀯𒋗𒄀 Old Man/Enmešarra—Perseus
- MULGÀM/MULZUBI 𒀯𒆛/𒀯𒉽𒈿 Shepherd’s Crook—Auriga
- MULMAŠ.TAB.BA(GAL.GAL) 𒀯𒈦𒋰𒁀(𒃲𒃲) (Great) Twins (Lugalirra and Meslamta’ea)—Gemini
- MULAL.LUL 𒀯𒀠𒈜 Deceptive Digger—Cancer
- MULUR.GU.LA/MULUR.MAḪ 𒀯𒌨𒄖𒆷/ 𒀯𒌨𒈤 Great Carnivore/Exalted Lion—Leo
- MULAB.SÍN/MULÀBSIN 𒀯𒀊𒉆/𒀯𒀳 Furrow—Virgo
- MULZI.BA.AN.NA 𒀯𒍣𒁀𒀭𒈾 and MULĜIŠ.ÉRIN 𒀯𒄑𒂟 Scales—Libra and lower part of Virgo
- MULĜÍR.TAB 𒀯𒄈𒋰 Scorpion—Scorpius and Legs of Ophiuchus
- MULPA.BIL.SAĜ 𒀯𒉺𒉋𒊕 Pabilsag (Ninurta)—Sagittarius
- MULSUḪUR.MÁŠ(KU6) 𒀯𒋦𒈧(𒄩) Goat-Fish—Capricorn
- MULGU.LA 𒀯𒄖𒆷 Great One (Enki/Ea)—Aquarius
- MULKUNMEŠ 𒀯𒆲𒎌 and MULZIBME 𒀯𒍦𒈨 The Tails of the Great Swallow—Western Fish of Pisces
- MULSIM.MAḪ 𒀯𒉆𒈤 The Great Swallow (Southwest Pisces, Epsilon, Pegasi)
- MULA.NU.NI.TUM 𒀯𒀀𒉡𒉌𒌈 and MULLU.LIM 𒀯𒇻𒅆 Anunitum—(Northeast Pisces, Andromeda)
- MULLÚ.ḪUĜ.ĜÁ 𒀯𒇽𒂠𒂷 Hired Man—Aries, Triangulum and the Head of Cetus
Over time, the 18 constellations were reduced to the 12 zodiac signs you’re probably familiar with. The 12 Babylonian zodiac signs were adopted by the Greeks, and transmitted into India via trade routs.
Sumerian and Babylonian Astrology in Practice
The Mesopotamians believed the constellations were images of the gods, while the wandering stars, or planets, which included the Moon and Sun, embodied the gods.
Celestial interactions were seen as messages and instructions from the gods.
For the most part, the gods of the planets in Babylon were synonymous with their Sumerian counterparts, which the exception of Mercury and Jupiter.
The deity each planet, star, and constellation represented, varied by time and culture. Generally speaking, the Sumerian gods embodied in the planets were:
- Sun: dUTU 𒀭𒌓 Utu/Šamaš—God of Justice
- Mercury: dNIN.URTA 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁 Ninurta—Heroic God of Agriculture, Healing, Hunting, Scribes, Law, and War | dAG 𒀭𒀝 Nabû—God of Knowledge, Literacy, Rational Arts.
- Venus: dINANNA 𒀭𒈹 Inanna/Ištar—Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, Sexuality, War
- Moon: dNANNA 𒀭𒋀𒆠 (dŠEŠ.KI)/dEN.ZU 𒀭𒂗𒍪 Nanna/Suen (alt. Sin)—God of Fertility, Blessings (Celestial Shepherd)
- Mars: dKIŠ.UNU(G.GAL) 𒀭𒄊𒀕(𒃲)/dÈR.RA 𒀭𒀴𒊏 Nergal/Erra—God of the War, Death, Pestilence, and the Underworld
- Jupiter: dEN.LÍL 𒀭𒂗𒆤 Enlil—God of the (non-celestial) Sky | dAMAR.UTU 𒀭𒀫𒌓 Marduk—Weather/Fertility God who became the head of the Babylonian Pantheon
- Saturn: DNIN.URTA 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁 Ninurta—Heroic God of Agriculture, Healing, Hunting, Scribes, Law, and War
The approach and arrival of planets in relation to each other and the constellations was watched and documented as though life and death depended on it.
Celestial movement was believed to bring life and death the land, the nation, and the king himself. Bad omens could be countered with apotropaic rituals; a practice which has remained alive in Hindu religion and culture.
- Sun: dUTU 𒀭𒌓 Utu/Šamaš—God of Justice
- Mercury: dNIN.URTA 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁 Ninurta—Heroic God of Agriculture, Healing, Hunting, Scribes, Law, and War | dAG 𒀭𒀝 Nabû—God of Knowledge, Literacy, Rational Arts.
- Venus: dINANNA 𒀭𒈹 Inanna/Ištar—Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, Sexuality, War
- Moon: dNANNA 𒀭𒋀𒆠 (dŠEŠ.KI)/dEN.ZU 𒀭𒂗𒍪 Nanna/Suen (alt. Sin)—God of Fertility, Blessings (Celestial Shepherd)
- Mars: dKIŠ.UNU(G.GAL) 𒀭𒄊𒀕(𒃲)/dÈR.RA 𒀭𒀴𒊏 Nergal/Erra—God of the War, Death, Pestilence, and the Underworld
- Jupiter: dEN.LÍL 𒀭𒂗𒆤 Enlil—God of the (non-celestial) Sky | dAMAR.UTU 𒀭𒀫𒌓 Marduk—Weather/Fertility God who became the head of the Babylonian Pantheon
- Saturn: DNIN.URTA 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁 Ninurta—Heroic God of Agriculture, Healing, Hunting, Scribes, Law, and War
Natal Astrology Was Not a Greek Invention
Contrary to what some scholars purport, Mesopotamian astrologers were practicing mundane natal astrology.
For example, Hittite texts outline the natal prognoses of children born in each month. Der Alte Orient, J. Friedman (1925) And the Babylonians had numerous natal horoscopes based on birth date and time.
Additionally, divinations of all sorts, especially liver divinations, were common in Sumer.
Omena traditions continued throughout the Near East well into the common era, and there’s no reason to think that astrological divinations weren’t just as commonplace, and just as common in use in daily Sumerian life.
The Greek Usurpation of Babylonian Astrology
Not surprisingly, Babylonian astrology became popular among the Greeks, and many changes were made in Hellenistic times. One of the biggest changes was the creation and implementation of the Greek element-modality system, which associated each of the 12 zodiac signs with one of the four classical elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. It also associated them with a modus operandi of either Cardinal, Mutable, or Fixed.
In this video, I explain the difference between Sidereal and Tropical Astrology, as well as the Greek usurpation of the original Mesopotamian astrological meanings.
Another Greek invention was the planetary-rulership system, which usurped the original divine associations of the constellations, by randomly assigning them luminaries and planets, which they felt fit their alchemic schemes.
Greek changes to the astrology of the ancient Near East became so commonplace, that the modern practitioner of astrology—including Vedic astrology or Jyotisha—is barely aware of its ancient Babylonian and Sumerian origins.
Slide from my 15-hour Ancient Astrology Video Course depicting the systematic assignment of the classical elements, modalities, and planets to the original zodiac signs. I made the image on Canva–don’t judge my graphic design skills too harshly.
Up Next: Path of the Moon - Part 2
In the next article in the series, you’ll learn about the original meaning of the Pleades, so be sure to subscribe to my Substack to get my latest articles delivered to your inbox!
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