8/13/2019 Relation of Hellenistic to Indian Astrology

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8/13/2019 Relation of Hellenistic to Indian Astrology

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To one who approaches the evidence with an open mind, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that sometime in

the first few centuries of the Christian era, Hellenistic astrology left an unmistakable imprint on Indian

astrology, particularly in the terminology and practices concerned with the astrological houses. However, this

still does not rule out the possibility that Indian astrology had undergone substantial indigenous development

prior to this Hellenistic influence, especially since many of its concepts such as the naksatras have no clear

Greek antecedents.

We do not intend to go further into this divisive historical problem at this time. Even if Hellenistic astrology

did ultimately derive from Indian sources, we take the view that it is effectively a fresh starting point in thedevelopment of astrology, which has enough internal consistency that it can be understood on its own terms

and from its own presuppositions. In fact, we intend to show that Hellenistic astrology possessed a clear and

coherent theoretical foundation that motivated the introduction of its concepts and techniques. It is true that

the search for theoretical foundations is a uniquely Western obsession. Indian astrologers, with their view that

astrological doctrine was communicated to ordinary mortals by enlightened beings, seem to exhibit little

interest in the question of theoretical foundations, although I have several times heard them say that astrology

makes no sense without the the concept of karma and the doctrine of reincarnation. To us, the question is

whether such a hypothesis gives a sufficient rationale for the astrological techniques they use, and whether it

is capable of giving coherence to the dizzying array of concepts; for I believe that this can be said of the

theoretical assumptions underlying Hellenistic astrology.