The First Zodiac Sign and the Daimon: The Advent of an Astrological Tradition and Seven Elaborate Horoscopes

Abstract

Known as the cradle of astrology in antiquity, Egypt has produced an astonishing amount of evidence for its practice. The multifaceted sources at our disposal show the widespread popularity of astrology during the Grae co-Roman period. The material includes monumental zodiac depictions, astrological manuals, and horoscopes of various levels of sophistication in both Greek and Demotic. While the majority of the published horoscopes in Egyptian are regarded as so-called simple horoscopes, the Greek examples are a more varied lot. Neverthe less, elaborate horoscopes were also compiled in the native language. Here seven horoscopes on ostraca written in demotic and hieratic are presented and discussed. The texts are among the oldest sources for natal astrology from ancient Egypt, recording nativities between the years 48 BC and AD 1. They are also the most elaborate horoscopes in Egyptian known to date. The positions of the planets in the zodiac signs are given in degrees of longitude, and these are correlated to the so-called system of terms. The astrologers compiling the horoscopes, furthermore, calculated the position of the lots, such as the Lot of the Daimon and the Lot of Fortune. In total, eight such points are mentioned. Other astrologically relevant phenomena that are mentioned include prenatal syzygies, which were established by correlating the lunar and civil calendars. The date of the nativity is con nected to a year in the 25-year lunar cycle seemingly following the system laid out in P.Carlsberg 9.