As well as one can imagine, astrology, a science to see the stars with the eye of spirituality, introduced a sense of peace in people around the globe. As a result, its impact can be felt through several civilisations. However, among them, the most impact it had was on countries like China, Iran and India:
The Impact on China: When the concept of Zodiac was introduced by the Greek, especially when the constellations were interpreted as an Animal Circle, a lot of civilisations were enamoured by it. In China, the concept of Chinese Zodiac was introduced in 5 Century B.C during the Zhan Zhou Dynasty. There was not much information on the exact date when the Zodiac signs of China came into existence. However, they were officially identified during the times of the Han Dynasty that spanned from 206 B.C to 9. A.D. Its importance was so virile that it was used to determine the date of a person’s birth during the Zhou Dynasty. It’s been 2000 years since then, and still, it is used pretty commonly.
It was the Lunar calendar that unveiled the existence of the Chinese Zodiac Animals. When traced back, the existence of this calendar can be traced back to 14th century B.C. There is a legend about Emperor Huangdi, the first one of China, that he was the one that invented the Chinese Lunar calendar. If that is true, then it can be surmised that it wasn’t the Greeks that brought Zodiac into existence, for the Zodiac was based on Chinese Astrology, and its purpose was not to predict the future. But rather, it was to count the years, months — days and hours in the calendar. The formation of the calendar came with two components: the celestial stem and the terrestrial branch. Each of the 12 animals forms the part of the 12-year cycle and a day in the 12-hour cycle. Two hours were counted as one, combined the 24-hour calendar was considered.
Now, the animals within this calendar are a rat, a dragon, an OX a snake, a rooster, a horse, a dog, a tiger, a sheep and a pig. The more evenly spaced they are to each other, the more compatible they are with each other. This impacted the personal relationship aspect between the people in the long run. Just like the calendar, the astrological system associated with it is also complex.
According to the Chinese Zodiac, the year of your birth shall affect your compatibility with other individuals. The month of your birth impacts your inner animal. This inner animal forms the core of the emotions, your love life, and your inner personality.
There are many facets of astrology in China, where predictions come as another factor. The tea culture has had a deep impact on this prediction as well. Additionally
The cultural impact of Chinese astrology was not fully about predictions or following your life through a road map. What it is mostly about is the compatibility of two different souls. Unlike Jothishi, its purpose is not to dive deep into the unseen knowledge, but rather, it is to understand the compatibility between two individuals.
Impact of astrology in Iran: Much like the Chinese Zodiac, there are also 12 signs in the Iranian astrology as well. When it comes to the origin of Iranian astrology, it can be traced back to the Zoroastrian (Persian) Astrology. However, there is evidence that suggests that much of Persian astrology was influenced by Chinese.
There are earlier portions of astrology in Persian regions where it was suggested that mathematical approach towards astrology wasn’t taken there. While there was some observational astronomy involved, much of it arose due to the spiritual inclinations of the people and seeing the mysteries of the skies through the eyes of spirituality. Iran was the purveyor of the first branches of astronomy, is the part of the Mesopotamian and Babylonian era.
When a journey is taken into the origins of astrology, the belief of celestial impact upon the human lives is the oldest one there is, and it all originated from Mesopotamia. Retrospectively, celestial predictions have always been the primary motif of the first form of astrology.
There are several websites dedicated to the same. Within these websites, it is the prediction that takes precedence over the guide on how to conduct yourself in your daily life.
Jothishi is more than prediction and talks about Karma and the need to connect with the source, and this is where the cultural impact of Astrology in India sets in.
