Astrology and montheism have long had a complicated relationship. In this episode of Esoterica we explore the early interactions of Judaism and Islam with astrology from the nature of the stars and planets, the role of astral forces in the Bible, Qur'an and Talmud, to the philosophical and legal interaction between astrological concepts and these two great monotheistic religions.

This episode is also a collaboration with Ms. Esmé L. K. Partridge, an undergraduate student of Religion at SOAS, University of London and an independent researcher and writer on Islamic studies, mysticism and the place of religious thought in modernity. Her latest publication on the mystical meaning of the moon according to Ibn Arabi can be found in Volume 68 of The Journal of The Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, and her other essays and articles can be accessed via her website, www.esmelkpartridge.com. You can also find her on Twitter at @EsmeLKPartridge.

@13:02 it says Philo but that's actually from Josephus' The Jewish War whoops!

Sources:

Tzvi Langermann Hebrew Astronomy: Deep Soundings from a Rich Tradition

Malya Levin Astrology in Rabbinic Judaism Source Sheet https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/240083...

AlKindi (9th Cent. CE), On The Proximate Agent Cause of Generation and
Corruption (Trans. Peter Adamson & Peter E. Pormann), The Philosophical Works of AlKindi, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 153172
AlKindi (9th Cent. CE), On The Prostration of the Outermost Body (Trans.
Peter Adamson & Peter E. Pormann), The Philosophical Works of AlKindi, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 173186
AlKindi (9th Cent. CE), On Rays, (Trans. Peter Adamson & Peter E.
Pormann), The Philosophical Works of AlKindi, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, pp. 217244
Abu Ma’shar alBalkhi, Kitab almadkhal alkabir ila ’ilm ahkam alnujum
(The Great Introduction), ed. Richard Lemay, 9 vols. (Naples: Instituto
Universitario Orientale, 1995–6)
AlTabari (1326), Jami alBayan (30 vols in 12, Beirut: Dar alMacrifa, 1992;
reprint of 1326 AH Bulaq Edition), Vol. 1
Abu Ma’shar alBalkhi, Kitab almadkhal alkabir ila ’ilm ahkam alnujum
(The Great Introduction), ed. Richard Lemay, 9 vols. (Naples: Instituto
Universitario Orientale, 1995–6)
Yahya J. Michot (2000), ‘Ibn Taymiyya On Astrology: Annotated Translation
Of Three Fatwas’ in: Journal of Islamic Studies, Volume 11, Issue 2, May
2000, pp. 147–208
John W. Livingston (1971), ‘Ibn Qayyim alJawziyyah: A Fourteenth
Century Defense Against Astrological Divination and Alchemical
Transmutation’ in: Journal of the American Oriental Society, pp. 91103
Robert G. Morrison (2009), ‘Discussions of Astrology in Early Tafsīr’ in
Journal of Qur’anic Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press
Teri Gee (2012), Strategies of Defending Astrology: a Continuing Tradition
(PhD Thesis, University of Toronto)
Liana Saif (2015), The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult
Philosophy, Palgrave

#astrology #judaism #islam