The Zodiacal Riddle of

Vettius Valens
February 15, 2013

The phases of the moon, Liber Floridus, 1460, The Hague KB 72 A 23, f.16gr

The works of major Hellenistic astrologers have become available over the
last few decades. Of course, Claudius Ptolemy has been part of the canon
for centuries. His works have been helpful in many ways, but we canʼt say
he is the last word. Indeed, the reading of Ptolemy has lead to many
preconceptions, particularly with regard to which zodiac is to be used. He
leaves us with the strong impression that the Tropical zodiac is the only
one to use.
When I first Vettius Valens I was aware that there were enormous
problems with the transmission, Rober Hand makes note of several of
them. I have come to the conclusion that Valens was using more than one
system and that it was never certain even which zodiac he used.
Returning to the text of the Anthology I was taken by parallels, by no
means perfect, between recognizable colloquial Greek methods and
particularly Indian and Babylonian astrology. I have needed to to be
selective due to the sheer volume of material.

There is still a persistent perception that Hellenistic Astrology is a

particularly Greek development, no doubt because of the fact that itʼs
assumed that the Hellenists were all Greek. We know that Philo was a
Hellenized Jew but nobody thinks he was born in Athens. Iʼm assuming
here that the reader is familiar with the term is also aware of the extent of
reciprocal influence across the known world. With this in mind, I believe
that Hellenistic Astrology can be better understood.

For example, on first reading The Anthology of Vettius Valens, one may be
bewildered about many things, but for the most perplexing element of all
is his explanation of the nature of the signs and planets. For example, he
tells us that Aries is watery: Surely this requires further explanation. How
can a blazing Fire sign be watery It occurred o me that what he actually
doing was describing the season in the Northern hemisphere. Rather than
looking at the influence of Mars, he may as well be talking about April
showers.
Autumnal Sky

“Aries is by nature watery, with thunder and hail. From its first degree to
the equinox, it is stormy, full of hail, windy, destructive. The middle
degrees up to 15° are mild and fruitful; the following degrees are hot and
cause plagues> of animals. This sign has 19 bright stars. On the belt are
14 bright stars, 27 dim, 28 somewhat bright, and 48 faint. The
constellations that rise at the same time as Aries are (in the north) the first
part of Perseus, and the rear and the left parts of Auriga, and (in the
south) the fin and tail of Cetus. When Aries is rising,> the feet of Bootes
(in the north) and the hind parts of Lupus (in the south) are setting.
Vettius Valens, Anthologies,” Book I.3

Letʼs turn to his thoughts on Taurus: “Taurus is feminine, solid, lying in the
sunʼs spring tropic, full of bones, with some limbs missing, rising
backwards, setting straight down. This sign lies for the most part in the
invisible sky. It is calm. From its first degree to 6° (the section of the
Pleiades) it is worthless, even destructive, disease-producing, thundering,
causing earthquakes and lightning flashes.

What are we to make of this? It doesnʼt describe the sign, Taurus under
Venus, the Exaltation 0f Pisces. Neither does it begin at the first degree. In
the Northern Hemisphere and May is usually mostly blessed with clement
weather. Iʼm at a loss unless he is referring to the constellation itself
without associating it with the sign Taurus. How could we use such
information in astrological interpretations?

This passage tells us several things about how Valens interpreted the
heavens. Aries doesnʼt line up with the Equinox, but he doesnʼt say here
exactly how many degrees it differs from 0° Aries and the Tropical Vernal
Equinox. The first part of Aries, in the Decan of Mars, is watery by nature,
producing hail and high winds. The second Decan of Aries is the Sun and
according to Valens, is “mild and fruitful.” The final Decan of Aries is
Jupiter, the greater benefic, which is hot and causes plagues.

Further, Valens tells us that “Taurus is feminine, solid, lying in the sunʼs
spring tropic, full of bones, with some limbs missing, rising backwards,
setting straight down. This sign lies for the most part in the invisible sky. It
is calm. From its first degree to 6° (the section of the Pleiades) it is
worthless, even destructive, disease-producing, thundering, causing
earthquakes and lightning flashes.The next two degrees are fiery and
smokey. The right part (toward Auriga) is temperate and cool. The left
parts are worthless and changeable, sometimes chilling, at other times
heating. The head (to 23°) is in a temperate atmosphere, but it causes
disease and death for living things. The rest is destructive, worthless,
disease-ridden.”” It is unclear as to why he would refer to Taurus as “;
lying in the sunʼs spring tropic” or why a Venusian sign is so destructive.
Nevertheless, he goes on to mention 27 stars.

Throughout the Anthology, Valens is meticulous when regarding the stars,

noting not only the constellation but groups of asterisms, seen to be part
of a divine play. It recalls Hesiodʼs Works and Days, wherein, for example,
Hesiodʼs associates of the rise of the “rainy” Pleiades with wet weather
and Sirius with very hot weather, just as the Egyptians did, If he is
referring to the sign as it has been known, it makes precious little sense.

As one progresses through the work of Valens it becomes increasingly

apparent that his work, among many other things, might be used as a kind
of almanack, bit with due caution.. Hesiod was better skilled at that.

Valens is thought by many to have used a sidereal zodiac which plausibly

accounts for his notion that the Vernal Equinox is not the same as °Aries.
The fact is, he may not have known the difference because the two
zodiacs at that time would yield very similar results. I heartily recommend
Chris Brennenʼs chapter on Tropical Versus Sidereal Zodiacs in his
Hellenistic Astrology pp. 216-222. Letʼs try to sort out the background.

Nearly 1800 years ago the Battle of Hormozdgan decided the fate of the
Parthian Empire and led to the rise of the Sasanian Empire that would rule
unchallenged over the Middle East for 400 years.. Yet the culture itself
went back millennia. The tropical Zodiac was being used by some as early
as the 2nd century BCE Others used the Sidereal Zodiac.

The difference between signs and constellations

Since Pythagorasʼs expedition in 570 B.C., the strategic body of water that
finds its way into the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.,has been called
the Persian Gulf. Compared to the focus on Greece and Rome, Persia
hasnʼt enjoyed anything like the scholarly attention it so obviously
deserves, and this is certainly true with respect to astronomy and
astrology in the 20th century., including the creation myth that informs
them. There have however been notable exceptions. Theirs was a rich
tradition of the Magi, esteemed throughout the known world. It was also a
culture that venerated the stars.

Yet they were one of several highly advanced societies with regard to
astronomy and astrology. As I have written elsewhere,, even the most
unjustly founded empires do in fact have some advantages and this is
very much the case in the transmission of knowledge. The Hellenistic
world united Greece with Egypt and Persia with both. The School of
Alexandria was among the greatest venues for shared knowledge, from
Hindu astronomers and astrologers, Buddhists, Pythagoreans, numerous
Solar religions, Neo-Platonists, devotees of Isis, Christians, Jews,
Babylonian and Zoroastrians.

The 28 “western” Lunar Mansions

Itʼs a Persian, Indian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Greek alchemy that

produced what we now call Hellenistic astrology and to practise this, one
requires a great deal of knowledge, Recreating that astrology depends on
a number of things, not least of which is being certain of which zodiac
was being used.. In a recent article, I suggested that that Mashallah used
the sidereal Sassanid zodiac on at least one occasion. Yet astrologers
have been content to assume that he always used a Tropical Zodiac,
Nakshatras and Padas Nakshatra (Sanskrit: नक्षत्र, IAST: Nakṣatra) is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu
astrology and Indian Astronomy. A Nakshatra is one of 27 sectors of the heavens.. Their names are related to
the most prominent stars and asterisms in the respective sectors.

As previously indicated, during the time when many of these records were
penned, the tropical and sidereal zodiac would have yielded similar
results. Moreover, we now know that Indian Astrology had a significant
and reciprocal impact on Hellenistic astrology.

The assumption of a universal Hellenistic Tropical Zodiac is fiction.

However, this perception might explain why some of the Hellenist material
we have is so perplexing, resulting in the illusion that there might be a
need for two zodiacs for different purposes. The sidereal zodiac, as the
name suggests, is anchored in the stars. The Tropical zodiac is oriented to
the Equinox and Solstice points. The fact that the constellations precess
at a rate of one degree every 70 years is for all intents and purposes,
ignored. This naturally of much concern with those work with Fixed Stars
and to be in a position to integrate nakshatras into interpretations.

Theodoros Karasavvas, J.D.-M.A has provided an enviably brief but

accurate account of the origins of Greek astrology: “The Babylonians
were the first people to systematically apply myths to constellations and
astrology and describe the twelve signs of the zodiac. The Egyptians
followed shortly after by refining the Babylonian system of astrology, but it
was the Greeks who shaped it into its modern form. The Greeks borrowed
some of their myths from the Babylonians and came up with their own.
For that matter, even the word astrology – as well as the science of
astronomy – is derived from the Greek word for star, “asteri.”

The Babylonian, Egyptian and Indian zodiacs

were sidereal. The Tropical and Sidereal
Zodiac were the same when the precession of
the equinox reached 0º ARIES in the year 221
A.D. in the heyday of Hellenistic astrology. In
the last century, the celebrated Egyptologist,
Cyril Fagan, proved beyond any reasonable
doubt that the original Egyptian zodiac was
Sidereal. The practise of dividing each sign
into three decanates was an integral element.

Dendera astrological calendar 12

constellations, each made of 3 decans10
days Each decan represents a major star.
1st Century ACE Roman period

Decanal stars on boats in Hathor Temple at Dendera.ʼStarry gods are

sailing on boats across the firmament on the astronomical ceiling in the
outer hypostyle hall of the Hathor Temple at DenderaIt.
I=, not alone, but definitely among a tiny minority, who suspect that
Valens and presumably other Hellenistic astrologers used a sidereal
zodiac. This shouldnʼt be seen as a problem because the Sidereal and
Tropical zodiac have different uses. The tropical zodiac takes as its
anchors the Solstice and Equinox points. It is the zodiac of choice for
terrestrial timekeeping. Zero degrees Aries always marks the Spring
Equinox and zero degrees of Libra will always mary the onset of Autumn in
the Northern Hemisphere. The Tropical zodiac is the clear choice for
calendrical, mundane purposes Precession has no consideration. We
know that the rate of precession is approximately one degree every 70
years, so the stars are no longer necessary in the same sign. For example,
The Heart of the Scorpios is now well into Tropical Sagittarius. Regulus,
The Heart of the Lion isnʼt even in Tropical Leo anymore, just as
Fomalhaut is no longer in Aquarius.

If you are concerned with the position of the stars over time, the Sidereal
Zodiac wins hands down, There are several bright and not so bright stars
in the firmament that have ancient and consistent significance and the
Tropical zodiac distorts this badly. It is clear that Valens was interested in
asterisms, including circumpolar and other asterisms that did not fall on
the ecliptic. Ursa Major, for example, is considered to be the three rishis
and the seasonal turning of the constellation draws a swastika in the
heavens, one of the most ancient sacred symbols. He was clearly very
interested in the Fixed Stars.

Robert Hand, in his brilliant commentary on Valen,s makes some

fascinating points regarding the close parallels of Indian astrology
apropos of Valens. This would explain many things.
Anthology p. XII

The Nakshatras are 27 in number and are each specifically oriented to set
asterisms. Each Nakshatra is divided into four Padas. Each pada is
allocated to a sign. This gives us the sacred number or 108. The zodiac
used in India is sidereal and there is no attempt made to pretend that the
constellations associated with signs on the ecliptic are equal, which they
most certainly are not. This isnʼt the place to delve into the intricacies of
Indian astrology, but I hope to have at least piqued an interest in
expanding what we mean by Classica or Hellenistic for that matter. I
believe this also opens to door to the possibility of modern astrologers
using a sidereal for some purposes and to still remain “Classical.”.

I give the last word to Robert Hand whose introduction to Schmidtʼs

translation is masterful and he makes i very clear that the text is riddled
with problems that show no sign of relenting any time soon. There have
been additions made by later authors and contradictions abound. When
faced with the signs beginning at 8 or ten degrees and aware of the
urgent need to decide which zodiac he actually used. Hand concludes:
“The lunar mansion or nakshatra is 13°20ʼ long. This is very close to the
average daily motion of the Moon in the zodiac, and it is well known that
this is the derivation. The navamsa is exactly one-quarter of that and
therefore resonates to the passage of the Moon through the quadrants of
the chart. On average the Moon moves very close to 3°20′ of arc while it
is rising from the Ascendant to the M.C., from the М.С. to the Descendant
and so forth. ” Moreover, he uses two methods to establish the Ascendant
in a horoscope, now known as A and B. They are closely allied with
Babylonian astrology.

Once the text is finally sorted out, I believe that close reference to Indian
astrology may be very helpful. I suspect that the model of Nakshatras will
shed light on the often perplexing astrology of Vettius Valens

Church of the Nativity in the village of Arbanasi, in Veliko Tarnovo, north-central Bulgaria, there is a similar
zodiac fresco image — a “Wheel of Time” in which the cycle of human life is represented: