The comprehension of the structure of the Universe,
and of the nature of the form of the Heavens and the Earth and all that is
between them, attained by rehearsing the information received is extremely
advantageous in the Art of Astrology...
The great medieval Islamic scientist and astrologer
Abu'l-Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni was born in 973 A.D. in Kath,
then capital of the Principality of Khwarizm, the present day city of Khiva in
Uzbekistan. From a young age he undertook serious scientific research and study,
publishing a treatise on cartography at the age of 22. Al-Biruni wrote over a
hundred books and treatises on such varied subjects as mathematics, geometry,
geography, astronomy, astrology, the density of minerals and history.
Al-Biruni benefited from the patronage of such
powerful rulers as Mahmood Ghaznavi, whom he (voluntarily or not) accompanied to
India. These travels resulted in his most famous work, Kitab al-Hind,
the Book of India.
He died in 1048 in Ghazna, now Ghazni, in Afganistan. Here is further, more detailed
biographical information.
Al-Biruni, despite being a medieval Islamic astrologer,
remains a significant source for students of Renaissance astrology. The fall of Rome
and the onset of the Dark Ages saw the virtual extinguishment of astrology in Europe.
Much classical learning was preserved in the sophisticated Islamic civilization of the
Middle East and knowledge in many fields, including astrology, was materially
advanced by scientists and philosophers like Al-Biruni. Medieval and Renaissance
astrology is essentially Islamic astrology, a fact that is easily ascertained by noting
the large number of Islamic sources quoted by William Lilly
in the bibliography to his Christian Astrology or the many references made
to Islamic authors by the Italian astrologer Guido Bonatti in his Liber Astronomiae.
On a more profound level it is useful for the student of
Renaissance astrology to study the works of Islamic authors like Al-Biruni because the
milieu in which they worked and thought was one in which unity was paramount. This
belief is expressed fundamentally as tawhid the unity of God, but expresses itself
also in a unified schema of knowledge, where science, theology and mysticism are not
contradictory, but all part of the unity and harmony of all existence. Here is an
interesting article on
Islamic science by Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
The information for this chart comes
from R. Ramsay Wright's translation of Al-Biruni's Book of Instruction in the
Elements of the Art of Astrology (London, 1934).
His birth time is given as 5:05 am on
September 4, A.D. 973 in what is now known as Khiva in modern day
Uzbekistan.
One thing we might note is the prominence of
Mercury. As Virgo rises, Mercury is the ruler of
the Ascendant and with Gemini on the cusp of the tenth house Mercury also
rules Al-Biruni's reputation and career.
Despite the affliction of being Under the Sun's Beams
(though leaving) Mercury is well placed in the angular first house and
extremely well dignified by sign, exaltation and face as well as being closely
conjunct the benefic North Node of the Moon.
Lilly notes that a native with a well-dignified Mercury is,
"[A]n excellent disputant or Logician,
arguing with learning and discretion, and using much
eloquence in his speech, a searcher into all kinds of
Mysteries and Learning, sharp and witty, learning almost
any thing without a Teacher; ambitious of being exquisite in
every Science, desirious naturally of travel and seeing
foraign parts: a man of an unwearied fancy, curious in the
search of any occult knowledge; able by his own Genius to
produce wonders; given to Divination and the more secret
knowledge..."
We are fortunate to have a English translation
by R. Ramsay Wright of Al-Biruni's
Kitab al tafhim li awa'il sina'at al tanjim,
the Book of Instructions in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, often known
as the Tafhim. Al-Biruni follows a logical progression from first principles
and begins with geometry, then goes onto to arithmetic, astronomy, geography,
chronology and a discussion of the use of the astrolabe before reaching his
introduction to astrology.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with the assertion
made by the School of Mathematics at my alma mater the
University
of St. Andrews that,
"It appears clear that, despite his many works on astrology, al-Biruni did
not believe in the 'science' but used it as a means to
support his serious scientific work."
Al-Biruni Page. After all Al-Biruni took the time to actually compose the
Book of Instructions, which is a basic astrology text. In the beginning of the
Book of Instructions he states that,
"The comprehension of the structure of the Universe,
and of the nature of the form of the Heavens and the Earth and all that is
between them, attained by rehearsing the information received is extremely
advantageous in the Art of Astrology...I have begun with Geometry and
proceeded to Arithmetic and the Science of Numbers, then to the structure of
the Universe and finally to Judicial Astrology, for no one who is worthy of
the style and title of Astrologer who is not thoroughly conversant with these
for sciences."
Book of Instructions, page 1.
Al-Biruni does occasionally criticize certain astrological
techniques and he is skeptical of astrologers of the Hashwiyite school, but no where
in the Book of Instructions does he indicate any skepticism regarding astrology
in general. Instead Al-Biruni presents astrology, the science of astral influences,
as a logical and necessary part of Islamic philosophy and science. Here is a selection from
the Book of Instructions containing of Al-Biruni's tables of the
the things assigned to each of the 12 houses.
