The Mysteries Of Astrology E-Book

Charles W. Roback

• Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 175

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

In this book Mr. Roback gives the dedicated reader the perfect overview of and the entry into the secrets of astrology. From historical aspects to in-depth knowledge, everything is laid out at the fingertips of the reader. Contents: History Of Astrology. Elementary Principles Of Astrology. Chiromancy - The Art Of Foretelling Events By The Hands. The Doctrine Of Nativities: According To Horary Astrology, Etc Geomancy Physiognomy And Metoposcopy Ancient Phrenology Metoposcopy Divine Origin Of Astrology Narratives And Anecdotes In Relation To Witchcraft, Magic, Etc.

Leseprobe

The Mysteries Of Astrology

Charles W. Roback

Contents:

The Mysteries Of Astrology

History Of Astrology.

Elementary Principles Of Astrology.

Chiromancy - The Art Of Foretelling Events By The Hands.

The Doctrine Of Nativities: According To Horary Astrology, Etc

Geomancy

Divination By The Seven Planets

The First Process.

A Figure Of Triplicity

Physiognomy And Metoposcopy

Governings Of Saturn

Governings Of Mars

Governings Of Mercury

Governings Of Sun

Governings Of Moon

Governings Of Venus

Ancient Phrenology

Metoposcopy

Divine Origin Of Astrology

Of Medicinal Herbs

The Famous Elixir Of Life Prepared From Balm.

Narratives And Anecdotes In Relation To Witchcraft, Magic, Etc.

Hopkins, The Witch-Finder And His Victims (From An Old Record)

The Dead Man's Revenge (From A Celebrated German Author)

The Mysteries Of Astrology, Charles W. Roback

Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck

86450 Altenmünster, Loschberg 9

Germany

ISBN:9783849641962

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The Mysteries Of Astrology

HISTORY OF ASTROLOGY.

The Science of Astrology, or doctrine of the stars, (from astron, a star, and logos, a word or description,) may be justly said to be coeval with the fulfillment of the fiat which, in the sublime language of Milton, " out of darkness called up light," and appointed the planetary orbs in their revolutions and phases, to be for signs and seasons, for days and years.

The frequently repeated and highly figurative allusions made by the early Hebrews to the influence of the sun, moon, and stars from the commencement of Genesis to the sublime prophesies of Amos, furnish ample evidence that they were not unacquainted with those planetary influences which form the science of Astrology.

The birth-place of Jesus of Nazareth was pointed out by the star which led the shepherds of Judea to the city of Bethlehem, and rested in its orbit over the spot where the child was.

In Adam the knowledge of Astrology appears to have existed by inspiration, and to him his posterity were indebted for the foreshadowing of those events, by its aid, which would otherwise have been locked up until their consummation in the womb of time — nor can we doubt that they were instructed by him in its mysteries; thus Seth, one of the patriarch's posterity, foreseeing, from the stellar aspects, the approach of the general deluge, rudely engraved in astrological hieroglyphic characters on pillars of stone and brick, the elements of the science to preserve it for the benefit of future ages.

In addition to other evidence corroborative of this fact, the Jewish historian, Josephus, asserts that he saw this astrological antediluvian relic in Syria. Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, having acquired the science among the Chaldeans, when sent by the command of Omnipotence into Canaan, and, subsequently, into Egypt, instructed the Egyptians in its elements, among whom it was regarded with peculiar veneration and cherished with care for many centuries.

Sir Isaac Newton informs us that when Astronomy had been applied to the purposes of Navigation, and the Egyptians had been enabled by the sun-like risings and sittings of the planets, assisted by other observations, to determine the length of the solar year, which they accomplished two thousand before the birth of Christ, an African prince, assisted by a priest of Egypt, laid the foundation of Astrological science, basing it not only on the position, but also on the peculiar appearances of the planets; when, subsequently, the Ethiopians invaded Egypt, and the hosts of Egypt in great numbers fled to Babylon, they carried with them the science and art of Astrology, in which they instructed the Babylonians.

Among the more abstruse sciences, for a knowledge of which the oriental nations were remarkable, no science was cultivated with greater care, we might add, intense solicitude, than that which forms the subject of the present chapter.

The destinies of men and of nations have alike been determined, in those countries, by the planetary aspects and positions.

If, under the iron-hand of despotism, the science of Astrology has in those nations been diverted from its just and legitimate object, the error furnishes no argument against its truth, nor invalidates the inductive evidence on which it rests.

In the early records of ancient Egypt, we find that the son of Misraim, or Menes, one of the first of the Egyptian princes, excelled in Astrological science.

The whole line of descendants from the prince, forming the first dynasty of Misraimian princes, were deeply versed in Astrology and the sister sciences. To one of them we are indebted for the signs of the Zodiac; a second, named Firawun, sought, from an impulse of fear, the destruction of the prophet Noah, believing, that in accomplishing the death of the chosen Hebrew, he should avert the threatened deluge and the destruction of the antediluvians.

The attempt was vain — the prophet survived — the whole of the race, save Efilimoun, the chief Astrologer in the dynasty, perished amid the destroying waters; he alone was permitted to enter the ark of the covenant, to unite himself to the posterity of Noah, and, subsequently to the secession of the waters, to found a second dynasty of twenty-six princes, of which he was the progenitor.

This immediate descendant of Misraim excelled all his competitors in the cabalistic art; thoroughly acquainted with every science connected with Astrology, he was the acknowledged depository of all the Astrological and Magical science known to the remnant of the human family who descended on the plains of Shinar.

The descendants of Efilimoun exalted the science of Astrology to a degree which, in the highly-wrought figurative language of the orientals, had no parallel.

Harouth and Marouth, two magicians (so called) who lived in reign of Adine, the son and successor of Efilimoun, in the fulfillment of their Astrological predictions, filled the world with their fame; and the celebrated female magician Nedoure, to whom, is ascribed still greater cabalistic power, established the worship of the idol of the sun, and formed the peculiar vase so richly and beautifully described by the oriental poets, and said to be inexhaustible.

The most eminently distinguished, among the successors of Adine for a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of Astrology were Schedad, who formed the Signs of the Zodiac (orientally termed the houses of Heaven) from observations made by him, on the planets and constellations, and Menncawousch, who brought publicly into notice this invention, to display the elements of a science held sacred by the many, but understood only by the chosen few.

Menncawousch is said to have been the inventor of the warm bath, and the projector of the twelve feasts corresponding to, and in honor of the twelve Signs of the Zodiac, to which we have above alluded.

In the ardor of their gratitude for these combined benefits, the ancients assigned to this prince the honor of having discovered the Philosopher's treasure by which the baser metals could be converted into gold and silver.

During the reign of Menncawousch, the Arabians made war upon, and sacked Egypt, carrying back to their capital a knowledge of the Theurgic (from Theos, God and Ergon, work,) Sciences, in the perfection of which they stood unrivaled for ages.

The oppression of the Israelites, during the latter period of their sojourn in Egypt, and the consequences which immediately followed their flight from captivity, are deeply interwoven with the mysterious truths of Astrology.

Mythological writers, attribute the inflictions of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, on the Hebrew captives, to the cunning predictions of his astrologers who declared that he would perish by assassination, from the hand of an Israelite.

Paralyzed with fear at this alarming prediction, the Egyptian Monarch commanded that all the male Hebrew children should be cast into the waters of the Nile (Exodus, 1: 22.) The decree was fulfilled — of all the male Hebrew children born at that period, Moses alone, the future deliverer of his nation from bondage, was saved through the benevolent intervention of the tyrant's daughter.

The subsequent events connected with the escape of the Israelites, are well known: the waters of the Red Sea, by some planetary attraction, receded on the right and left hand of the Hebrew host, which marched on dry land, while Pharaoh and his people in pursuing them, were engulphed in the watery abyss formed by the liquid walls which had sheltered the Israelites, resuming their original position.

So complete, say the oriental writers, was the distraction of the Egyptians, that no man was left to sit upon the throne, and an aged female named Deluke was called to that dignified station.

This queen no sooner assumed the imperial dignity, than, fearing foreign invasion, she applied to the female astrologist, Nedoure, to whom we have heretofore alluded as the greatest magician in the land, for advice and assistance. Nedoure, having consulted the stars, commanded that a temple should be immediately erected, having four sides fronting the four cardinal points, the doors of which should be decorated with figures representing numerous armies.

Thousands of Egyptians were employed, day and night, in the erecting of this building; when completed, the astrologist, addressing the queen, said, " I have placed you and your kingdom in safety: fear no attack. If an hostile enemy approaches your dominions, destroy the figures on that side of the temple which points to the comer's direction of his armed hosts, and their destiny shall be that of your enemies."

The historian says, the virtue attributed to this magic temple, kept the surrounding nations in awe, and that it was not until the destruction of this temple, four centuries subsequent to its erection, that the splendor and glory of Egypt declined.

Divested of all the gaudy tinsel, which the orientals throw around their glowing descriptions, there is a coincidence no less singular than true, between the destruction of the temple and the downfall of the Egyptian monarchy. These historical events occurred during the reign of Cawmess, who had benevolently afforded an asylum to a remnant of the persecuted Hebrews who were conquered and forced into captivity by Nebuchodonosor, King of Babylon.

The captives were demanded of Cawmess by the Babylonian tyrant: the demand was rejected. Nebuchodonosor immediately invaded Egypt, Cawmess was slain, and the entire overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy finally accomplished.

This truly remarkable event, foretold by the astrologers, in its consummation, gained a multitude of new converts to a belief in the occult sciences: the latter descended as an heir-loom to every succeeding generation of Egyptians, (whatever nations might be their masters,) under the Macedonians, Romans, Persians, Greeks, and Mahometan Arabs.

While barbarism, united with conquest, destroyed their liberties, subverted their literature and political institutions, and sought the destruction of their nationality. Astrology, attended by the sister sciences, kept steadily on her onward progress under the varied political dominations to which we have adverted.

The estimation in which the Arabs held Astrology contributed, in no trifling degree, to the success of Mohammed. The astrological predictions as to his successful and victorious career were numerous and favorable. His rise from a very obscure parentage, with no education, with a rapidity which has no parallel in history, to the high position of an universal conqueror, silenced the voice of skepticism in relation to Astrology, and engrafted it not only as a science, but as a religious belief in the institutions of the Ottoman empire among the followers of the prophet of Mecca.

In the reign of Osman I., one of the successors of Mohammed, the historian informs us that an astrologer suddenly appeared before the prince, declared to him that he had seen and conversed, in spirit, with the prophet Elijah — that he, Osman, should be victorious in his various warlike enterprises, that he should be the most brilliant planet in the East, and that his possessions should extend through seven climates, or, in other words, over the then known world.

The prediction of the seer was verified to the letter; Osman became one of the most victorious in the annals of the Caliph chiefs. In the height of his prosperity and splendor he loaded the astrologer, who had predicted his fortunes, with royal honors; and in order to perpetuate the science and do honor to her priest, caused an ample convent to be built in the city where the latter resided, and endowed it with a considerable fund, which has been perpetuated to the present day.

The astrological predictions, founded on the appearance of a comet, by the most celebrated astrologer of the East, determined the renowned Timour the Tartar to make war on the Ottoman empire. The astrological seer declared to him that, in consequence of the comet having appeared to the west of his dominions, and in the sign " Aries,'' its influence must be directed solely against his enemies — that it foreshadowed the most appalling disasters to the Caliph empire.

The event fully sustained the prediction, the evils which befell the Caliph Ottoman empire, consequent on the battle of Angoza, are too well known to require repetition in these pages.

As the Sultan Mourad was returning from the amusement of hunting in the vicinity of the city of Adrianople, he was stopped at one of its gates by the disciple of a celebrated astrologer, who exclaimed, as he fixed on the monarch his dark and penetrating glances, " Illustrious monarch, you have no time permitted to you to arrest the progress of that event which is the consequence of our sins against the decrees of heaven. You are rapidly approaching the termination of your reign, the last moment of your earthly career; the destroying angel is already at your door; extend your arms towards him, and accept with resignation the mandate of the heavenly messenger."

Struck with the wild solemnity of the prophetic messenger, and deeply impressed with his gloomy prediction, Mourad at once believed, prepared himself for the consummation of the mysterious warning, and died on the third day succeeding to his hunting excursion, in spite of all the available means which science or art could invent to save him.

Nor are the results of the astrological predictions made on the accession of Mohammed, the second of the Ottoman throne, less striking than the above, or less completely verified and fulfilled.

Astrology foretold that his reign should be marked by conquest and glory, the high cultivation of literature and science.

Mohammed became the subverter of the Greek empire, the conqueror of Constantinople, and is acknowledged to have been one of the most illustrious of his race for intellect and taste, science and art.

The fifth and seventh days of the week are by the laws of the Koran, particularly under divine influences.

The fact that Mahommed was the seventh Sultan of his race, and that he issued his primary proclamation on Thursday (the fifth day of the week) may also have had some effect in stimulating into action those military energies for which this Eastern conqueror is so truly remarkable.

In perusing, throughout, the annals of the Ottoman empire, scarcely a solitary instance is recorded in which the aid of Astrology was not invoked previously to any important undertaking, particularly in military exploits; thus Selim I., when undetermined in relation to the conquest of Egypt, consulted a celebrated astrologer in reference to the results of an aggressive war on that kingdom.

The reply given was, that conquest should attend the Sultan's arms, and Egypt be subjected to his power. The monarch, however, with anxious ken, looking beyond the immediate consequences of victory, further inquired what would be the duration of his reign ?

The astrologer hesitated to reply to the interrogation, but being commanded to do so by the Sultan, replied, " Nine years."

" What will be the reign of my son ?" continued the Sultan, much dejected at the temporal limits allowed to himself.

" Twenty years in duration," was the reply to the second interrogatory, " distinguished by honors and conquest."

The consummation of the events corresponded with the astrological predictions. Selim marched against and conquered Egypt; from that moment became an hypochondriac, and died in the ninth year of his reign. The splendid victories attending the twenty years reign of his son and successor, as foretold by the astrologer, is a theme on which the oriental historian has lingered with delight and admiration.

There appeared at the commencement of the reign of Selim II., in the year 1572, a comet, which exceeded in brilliancy and extent, the planet Venus.

The appearance of this unusual visitant operated so powerfully on the superstitious fears of the Eastern monarch, that his astrologers were immediately summoned to ascertain what it should portend.

They declared it to betoken great calamity to his empire from excessive rains.

The historian relates that in forty days subsequent to the prediction of the astrologers, the people believed themselves threatened with a second universal deluge.

In Europe, equally with Asia, a sea scarcely bounded by a shore, swept over the vast dominions of Selim's cities — men, houses, cattle, bridges and public roads, were swallowed up in the waste of waters or transported on their bosom, to distant lands.

The seemingly inexhaustible flood continued for weeks, and the prediction well authenticated by all the historians who have recorded it, affords conclusive evidence in favor of the singular astrological skill possessed by the Arabian seers, and the certainty and correctness of the rules by which they foretold the coming events of the times, whether physical or political.

The prediction which announced to Mohammed III. his approaching death, is not the least among the seemingly marvelous foreshadowings of those ages.

The Sultan, on one occasion, in entering through an outer door to his seraglio, was accosted by an astrologer, who, in a deep sepulchral voice, warned him to prepare for death.

The monarch in the midst of health, surrounded by all the voluptuous pleasures of an eastern court, astonished and confounded at the death-like intelligence, inquired what time would elapse ere the prediction was fulfilled ? " Fifty-six days," replied the astrologer, and departed: the agitated Sultan retired to his chamber, sickened, and on the fifty-sixth day — died.

In the year 1640 Mourad IV., sat upon the throne of the Caliphs: some months previously to his death, his superstitious fears were much excited by an eclipse of the Sun.

In a moment of intense excitement, he commanded that a mysterious book transported to his capital by Selim, the conqueror of Egypt, from that kingdom, should be placed before him.

Tradition says that this mysterious volume was written in cyphers and characters of magic, and contained the names and fortunes, civil, political and religious, of every sultan to whom Egypt had been or would be subject, to the end of time.

The agitated Mourad, in the attempt to decypher the mystic writing, discovered or imagined he discovered, his own name, and a prediction of his speedy dissolution.

The volume was scarcely closed, and the Sultan enjoying some repose from his excited condition, when a messenger announced to him that a Scheykh, or priest, from Mecca, had declared that in the month in which Mourad was born, of that year, (1640,) some evil would happen to the empire which should, if possible, by almsgiving and other devotional acts, be averted.

Mourad immediately commanded that all these precautionary and preventive measures should be adopted: the public prisons were thrown open and all but assassins, liberated — but the astrological prediction could not be averted. Mourad fell sick and died on the 16th of the month, as foretold by the priest of Mecca.

Among the Magi of Persia, the science of Astrology appears to have been cultivated to a degree of perfection which no other nation had attained.

In the reign of Darius Hystaspes, five centuries previously to the Christian era, a celebrated astrologer named Alhakim, or the Wise, chief minister to the king, predicted the coming of the future Messiah, the birth and career of Mohammed, and the final extinction of the Magian religion.

That the first dawnings of Astrology originated in the oriental nations to which allusion has been made, history will not permit us to doubt — but the celestial science was destined to extend far beyond the limited jurisdiction of the priests of Egypt, or the Magi of Persia, indeed the Greek writer, Philostratus, informs us that astrology was known and practised in Greece 1184 before the birth of Christ, while Diodorus Siculas, the universal historian of Greece, affirms that the science was introduced into his country by Hercules.

Plutarch asserts that Hesiod, the Greek poet, nine centuries before the Christian era, was an expert astrologer.