Unfortunately, there is very little information about Old Russian astrology. Ancient Slavic astrological knowledge has not yet been reconstructed: the Christianization of Russia led to the almost complete destruction of information about pagan astrology. Few data can be considered relatively reliable.
Since ancient times, the Slavic tribes owned a well-developed lunisolar calendar system based on a three-year cycle, and later on a 19-year cycle. According to V. V. Titov, the ancient Slavs considered time as a kind of special external magical substance that influenced nature and man as a whole, either favorably or unfavorably. The "evil" and "good" periods of time had very different lengths: an hour, a day, a month, and a whole year. The originality of Old Russian calendar astrology, according to V. Titov, lies in the fact that the forecast of favorable and unfavorable periods is carried out on the basis of a rigid calendar connection to natural natural cyclic processes: either lunar-tidal rhythm (lunar), or electrical and seismic activity (lightning, thunderbolt),and also for 28-year cycles of alternation of days of the week and leap periods (carol). Slavic-Russian astrology served the interests of the rural community and the peasant household, gave forecasts of the weather, the upcoming harvest, offspring of livestock, epidemics and epizootics, gave recommendations to the peasant on the lunar calendar on specific dates for planting and harvesting vegetables and grain crops, slaughtering, etc., was also given a forecast of the likelihood of social unrest, the cause of which was seen in the onset of "evil" time.a forecast was also given of the likelihood of the onset of social unrest, the cause of which was seen in the onset of the "evil" time.a forecast was also given of the likelihood of the onset of social unrest, the cause of which was seen in the onset of the "evil" time.
Ancient Slavic calendar-astrological writings reflect the dualistic worldview of the ancient Slavs, i.e. periodic struggle between good and evil in time. The basic concept of dualism as the magic of time arose from a natural cyclical process - the alternation of day and night. Day (good) personified the supreme god Perun, who ruled the light part of the day, war and lightning. Night (evil) was personified by Veles, who ruled the dark part of the day, the lunar rhythm, the underworld and the other world. From the magic of time, the magic of numbers arose: the counting of time began from the beginning of the light part of the day, which was under the control of Perun, therefore the unit was considered a lucky number, and the second part of the day, under the rule of Veles, was considered unlucky. Therefore, all odd numbers were lucky, and even unlucky ones. Perun controlled the change of calendar years,the change of four seasons of the year, cardinal points, four winds, cornucopia and destiny (fate). Every first day of the four seasons was dedicated to him. By the nature of the weather on such a day, the weather forecast for the upcoming season was carried out. This custom has survived to this day: the weather is divined by Christmas, Evdokia, Samson and the Intercession. If we conditionally accept that Perun controlled external time periods (cosmic), then Veles controlled internal biological rhythms, counting from conception to death, including emotional state and illness, and was depicted as a giant idol with seven faces under one skull, girded with seven swords in a sheath, and holding a sword in his right hand. Each face with its own sword symbolically depicted the nature of a particular day of the week, and the sword in hand was an attribute of the god of death and the afterlife. This is the reconstruction of the astrological ideas of pagan Rus, given by V. Titov.
After the adoption of Christianity, the attitude to astrology and astronomy in Russia was very wary. In the instructive teachings of Ancient Rus, warnings were made against practicing "science, the stinking Chaldean wit".
“God-free before God everyone loves geometry… I curse the charm of those who see the heavenly circle: a believer in his mind, comfort falls into the charms of difference; or a sheet (simplicity) is more than wisdom -
this is how one of the Russian scribes admonishes his readers. Thus, not only astrology, but also such natural sciences as astronomy, were perceived as very hostile. Let's say a Pskov monk of the 16th century. Philotheus objected to the use of the system of celestial spheres to determine the positions of the planets, arguing that one cannot abandon the idea that the planets are ruled by intelligent, moving them at their own will; therefore, it cannot be admitted that people can know the motion of the planets. Concepts like the following thought by Maxim Grek were welcomed:
"If the sky moves and draws the sun, the moon and the stars to the west with its movement, then the inspired scripture falsely says: set the sky like a tent or a mosquito, that is, firmly, motionless."
The church charter, approved under Prince Vladimir, indicates that "vestvo, zeleanie, indulgence, sorcery, sorcery" belong to the department of the spiritual court; and for all these crimes they were supposed to be burned at the stake. Although Russia has never had a solemn auto-da-fe, as in Spain, some cases of fire massacre are mentioned in the annals. So, in 1227 in Novgorod, "four magi burned out." The Nikon Chronicle, which describes this incident, mentions, among other things, that the boyars stood up for the Magi, but, unfortunately, the reasons for this intercession are not explained. Old Russian signs of the Zodiac The Mongol invasion aggravated the decline of the Old Russian astrological tradition.
Promotional video:
In the western Russian lands, where there were contacts with European science and culture, astrology was obviously better known. So, in those educational institutions where the western system of the quadrivium was adopted (for example, in the schools of the higher type of the Polotsk principality), astrology was one of the main disciplines studied.
Although its own astrology in Ancient Russia practically did not develop, from the XIV century. translated astrological literature is in circulation. In 1380, the famous Battle of Kulikovo took place, which put an end to the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and with it the cultural isolation of Russia. In the 2nd half of the XIV century. - the beginning of the XV century. in Russia, a large number of translated - primarily Byzantine - literature appears. In the XV - XVI centuries. the proportion of translations of Polish, German and Bulgarian literature increased. Among these works were works that set out astrological concepts: the chronicle of a Greek writer of the 9th century. George Amartola, who preached practical astrology, although he criticized it from the point of view of Christian dogma; the novel "Alexandria" by Pseudo-Calliphenes (II-III centuries),where the Russian reader found a detailed story about the activities of the astrologer and magician Nektanava, associated with various episodes in the life of Alexander the Great (the novel also contains the horoscope of the great commander); "Lucidarius" ("Enlightener"), a translation from a German composition giving information on cosmography, astrology and geography; "Astrology" ("Ostrolomia"), "Rafli", "The Star-Reader - 12 Stars" and "The Six-Day" are astrological collections that tell about the signs of the Zodiac, the passage of the Sun through them and the influence of all these circumstances on newborn babies and on the fate of people; all kinds of predictions were made from these books, including about public affairs and events - war and peace, hunger and harvest, etc. In "Stoglava" it is mentioned that the people who started court cases,they often turned to the wizards and "sorcerers from demonic teachings create a help for them, kudes beat and look at the" Aristotelian Gates "and" Rafli "and look at the planets, and the deceiver and the snitch hopes for those enchantments, they do not reconcile and kiss the cross and beat ". The Aristotle's Gate is simply a translation of the very famous and ancient Athenian book Secreta Secretorum, allegedly written by Aristotle; Its subdivisions, chapters and parts are called "gates" in it. It treats about various secret sciences, including astrology, medicine, physiognomy, and also contains different moral rules and reasoning. The books "Thunderman" and "Lightningman" contain reasoning and predictions about the weather, harvest, general diseases, war and peace, storms and earthquakes. There were also books: "The Myslennik" (a treatise on the creation of the world), "Kolednik" (the collection will take about the weather "),"The Volkhvovnik" (he will also accept the collection), "The Dreamer", "The Traveler" (a treatise about good and evil meetings), "Zeleinik" (a description of medicinal herbs) and various others.
These works were circulated in lists and were very popular, despite the fact that the clergy considered the use of such books to be madness: "In them, people are madmen, believing magicians, seeking their birthdays, receiving dignities and a lesson in life." The hundred-domed cathedral (1551), under pain of excommunication and curse, forbids having and reading "Rafli", "Sixwing", "Vronov Grai", "Ostrology", "Zodia", "Almanac", "Stargazer", "Aristotle's Gate". "Domostroy" prohibits Orthodox Christians "charm and sorcery and science, stargazing, rafli, almanaki, black book …". In a decree issued in 1552, it is commanded "to click on the auction so that they do not go to the wise men, sorcerers, astrologers," and disobedient people were threatened with disgrace and spiritual prohibition.
“And if,” says one patriarchal letter of the 16th century, “in which place or village there will be an enchantress or a vorozhe, the vessels of the devil, or a sorceress, let it be exterminated from the church, and those who were deceived by the devil into enchantresses and walk up to the path, leave."
In one of the handwritten collections of the XVI century. in the enumeration of different sins we find: "There is a sin to go to the wise men, to inquire or bring it to the house, or the spell is in effect - it will take 40 days." However, the people continued to read the "renounced books". M. Orlov notes:
“The favorite of these books were those that interpreted the science of the stars … It can be seen that the Russian people fell in love with them, probably because what they contained coincided with their old beliefs, or because they were it was about such things that the people from ancient times considered important and necessary."
Handwritten astrological books were in use in Russia until the 18th century. With the advent of printed calendar literature, astrological predictions became part of it and became an integral part ("Bryusov calendar" and others). Despite church prohibitions, there was even a special profession of "fortunetellers" among the people. It is possible that this profession was inherited from pagan Russia with its peculiar interpretation of astronomical phenomena.
Preserved information about the interest in astrology and in educated circles. In Novgorod in the 15th century. at one time they were intensively engaged in "science and stars". This was due to the spread of the heresy of the Judaizers. In the early 1470s. a Jew, Skhariya, a native of Kiev, came to Novgorod to live. He preached a doctrine recognized by the Christian Church as heretical, in which astrology played an essential role. In addition, Shariyah brought astrological books with him and through his activities gained many followers.
In Moscow in 1490 a circle of followers of Skharia was formed, headed by Fyodor Kuritsyn. He and Archpriest Alexei were well acquainted with astrology. The activities of the circle drew condemnation from the church authorities. The council of 1505 pronounced a death sentence on the heretics. It is likely that the study of astrology was not the last reason for such a verdict of the Judaizers. However, on the part of the secular authorities, the attitude towards astrologers was softer. Moreover, under Vasily III from 1508, a personal physician and astrologer Nikolai Lyubchanin, "a Lithuanian polonyan, a native of Nemchin," worked. Nikolai Lyubchanin actively promoted astrology, in 1524 he translated into Russian the German prognostic I. Stöffler, who, under the name "Almanak", was distributed in copies until the beginning of the 18th century. But after the death of Vasily III in 1533, the astrologer fell into disgrace.
Under Ivan the Terrible, the law on the burning of sorcerers was confirmed, but in the cases of the 16th - 17th centuries. it can be seen that burning was used at that time already rarely: sorcerers and witches were exiled to remote places, to a monastery, but they were not burned, although burning was still recognized as a legal punishment for sorcerers. It is curious that the tough position of Ivan the Terrible was due to the fact that he had unlimited faith in astrology and was afraid of unfavorable predictions. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, “when a comet appeared in 1584, the tsar, who was very ill at that time, went out onto the porch of the palace, looked at the comet for a long time, then turned very pale and said:“This is the sign of my death”. Tormented by this thought that the comet appeared as a sign of his death, the tsar ordered that the most sophisticated sorcerers be brought to him from the Arkhangelsk province, famous for sorcerers. By his order, the local authorities began to actively search for and grab the specialists needed by the tsar and gathered in this manner 60 women and all of them were presented to Moscow. Here they were put in a safe place and kept under a strong guard. And so the sorceresses all unanimously announced that the heavenly bodies were unfavorable to the king and that on March 18th his death should be expected. The fierce king was enraged by this prediction and ordered, waiting for March 18, on this very day, to burn all the witches alive. In the morning that day, Belsky had already turned up to them to give orders, but the witches quite reasonably presented him that the day had just begun, and not ended. And in fact the tsar, about to play chess, suddenly felt unwell, fainted and soon died."
In the XVII century. astrologers still work at the royal court. The court physician of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) Samuel Collins wrote the surviving "discourse" on medical astrology in Latin, which was translated into Russian by the clerk of the Ambassadorial Prikaz L. Golosov. Simeon of Polotsk (1629 - 1680), the teacher of Tsarevich Alexei, Fyodor and Princess Sophia, a famous poet, publicist, public and church leader, was also interested in astrology. There is a legend that at the time of the birth of Peter I, Simeon observed the constellations and predicted a great future for Peter by the bright star he noticed near Mars. At the same time, Simeon Polotsky, following the philosophers of the Renaissance, advocated the awareness of free will and moral responsibility:
The stars in men do not damage the will, Only with the passions of the flesh they bow something down.
The same cannot be blamed on the stars,
When someone is used to some evil deeds.
Sylvester Medvedev, one of the most educated people in Russia, also believed in the influence of the luminaries. He had a large library of 603 volumes, which after his death became the property of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. In addition to religious writings, there were many secular books, incl. and astrological treatises. Medvedev supported Princess Sophia and, together with Dmitry Silin, Ivan Alekseevich's physician (1682 - 1696), was engaged in astrological research. Sophia herself listened to the astrological advice of Medvedev and Silin.
Peter the First, whose name is associated with the rise of science and education in Russia, also believed in astrological predictions, as can be seen from his natal chart of Peter I with his own handwritten notes on his father's old calendar in 1670. According to some reports, he himself could know astrology well enough. The horoscope of Peter has survived to this day, compiled, apparently, during his lifetime. It was in the epoch of Peter the Great (in 1709) that the famous "Bruce Calendar", compiled by Vasily Kiprianov under the "supervision" of Count Bruce, began to be published.
Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730 - 1740) unconditionally believed in the possibilities of astrology and often turned to Professor of the Academy of Sciences G. V. Kraft (1701 - 1754) for astrological advice.
In the second half of the 18th century and in the 19th century, astrology in Russia was practically in the same position as in other European countries: having practically disappeared from the sphere of interests of educated scientists, it continued to remain very popular among the people, spreading through popular printed publications like "Bryusov calendar". Perhaps astrology played a rather significant role in the views of Russian Freemasonry, but there is no reliable information about this.
The surge of interest in the occult sciences in Europe and the USA that occurred in the last decades of the 19th century was largely associated with the activities of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 - 1891) and with the Theosophical Society founded by her in 1875. This occult wave reached Russia only at the beginning of the 20th century. The first real surge in the popularity of astrology in Russia fell on a fairly short period of time - from the first years of our century to the turning point of 1917. The main printed publication promoting and popularizing astrology and other occult disciplines was the magazine "Isis", which was published in 1909-16. … in St. Petersburg. From 1911 A. V. Troyanovsky was its editor-publisher. In addition to working on the magazine, Troyanovsky was engaged in the translation and publication of the works of leading occultists at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries: Leadbeater, Papus, Sedir, Sefarial, Lenin. He penned two compilation reference works ("Dictionary of Practical Divination" and "Astrological Dictionary"), as well as many articles in the magazine "Isis". He worked in the 1910s. in St. Petersburg, "Troyanovsky's Book Warehouse" offered a wide selection of esoteric literature (dozens of titles).
Among Troyanovsky's comrades-in-arms, one of the most interesting figures was Leonid L. Fon-Förkerzam, who, under the pseudonym Sar-Dinoil, published his articles in the magazine Izida, incl. mundane astrological forecasts. He also wrote a book "Our hidden abilities and their disclosure" (St. Petersburg, 1912). As a member of the "French Magnetic Society", "Paris Oriental Esoteric Center" and other organizations of the occult direction, Sar-Dinoil in the early 1910s. taught in St. Petersburg a course on the development of hidden mental forces, gave consultations, in which he combined astrological methods with graphology, physiognomy, palmistry and magnetism; made objects for practicing practical occultism (crystals, magnets, biometers, screens).
Another center for the dissemination of astrological knowledge in Russia at the beginning of the XX century. became Vyazma. The owner of the printing house in Vyazma, Pisarevskaya, being a passionate lover of astrology, went to great expense to cast a special astrological typeface. Many books on astrology, published in Russia in 1900-15, were printed in her printing house. Among these books, two works by VN Zapryagaev (he lived and worked in the Smolensk province) should be highlighted, which became the main teaching aids for astrologers of the pre-revolutionary decade: “Fundamentals of astrology. A popular exposition of the laws operating in the universe and the connection of the soul with the stars "(1907) and" Course of Practical Astrology "(1908). In addition, Zapryagaev made a great contribution to the development of Russian astrology with his translations of English astrological books. Published in his edition of "The Light of Egypt" by T. G. Burgoyne (in 2 vols.), "Directions" by G. S. Green and others were also printed in the Pisarevskaya printing house.
However, the development of Russian astrology was soon interrupted. In the conditions of World War I, the revolutions of 1917 and the ensuing civil war, astrological activity in Russia began to decline, astrological books ceased to be published, occult journals were closed. A long period of oblivion of astrology in our country has come. Unfortunately, the fate of Russian pre-revolutionary astrologers during this period is unknown. There is no reliable information that at least some kind of astrological tradition existed in our country in the 1920s - 50s. It can be assumed that those who were engaged in astrology before the revolution left the country, but among Russian emigrants only one astrologer is known - Alexander Volgin, who since the 1920s. lived and worked in France. However, Volgin, born in 1903, was already a representative of a new generation,and his biography and writings tell us nothing about the fate of the tradition of Russian astrology, which existed at the beginning of the century.
Thus, for about half a century (from the late 1910s to the 1960s) astrology in our country was completely forgotten. Of course, in the 1920s, pre-revolutionary books and magazines were still available, and anyone, if desired, could familiarize themselves with the basics of astrology. The first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia gives us an excellent example of the fact that astrology at that time was not subjected to purposeful persecution. In the article "Astrology" the reader could get information about the key concepts of astrology and even study the natal chart given as an example. The outstanding Russian scientist A. L. Chizhevsky, the founder of heliobiology, during these years not only studied the history of astrology and verified astrological concepts, but also freely published an article entitled "Modern Astrology" ("Ogonyok", 1926, N17),in which the basic concepts of astrology were explained by natural science language. However, not a single special astrological publication was published in the 1920s, and, moreover, there is no data on any practicing astrologer of this time. Therefore, information about the congress of Soviet astrologers, which allegedly took place in 1929 in Gelendzhik, seems rather doubtful.
The only reliable data on astrology in the USSR in the 1930s - 50s. concern the Baltic republics. In the 1930s, these countries were not yet part of the Soviet Union, and they were less suspicious of astrology than in the "first state of workers and peasants." As you know, in the period between the two world wars, astrology experienced a real boom in European countries, and astrological literature was also widely circulated in the Baltic states. At this time, Nikolai Kallert (1903 - 1992) from the Latvian city of Ogre began to study astrology from German books (after the legalization of astrology in the USSR in the 80s, N. Kallert was elected honorary president of the Interregional Federation of Astrologers). Another successor of the traditions of German astrologers was Martynas Juodvalkis, one of the oldest Lithuanian astrologers,who spent about 20 years in labor camps in Soviet times for his studies.
During the Khrushchev Thaw, Soviet people gained some freedom in the spiritual sphere, and this resulted in the first sprouts of interest in astrology in the 1960s. It was during these years that a new domestic astrological tradition began to emerge. The increase in interest in this topic was evidenced by the re-publication in 1970 of the book by G. A. Gurev "The History of a Delusion: Astrology before the Judgment of Science" with an extensive preface and afterword by Professor M. I. Shakhnovich about the history of astrology and its current state in Western countries (this book was published in Leningrad by the Nauka publishing house). In 1972, Romualdas Kolonaitis's book "The Sun Goes in an Animal Circle" (in Lithuanian) about the symbolism of the signs of the Zodiac was published. In the 1970s. there were already circles of astrologers in Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov, Leningrad, Vilnius. Special mention should be made of the activities of the Moscow circle, classes in which were based on materials obtained as a result of contacts with Bulgarian astrologers. Among these materials, the works of Dane Rudhyar, translated into Russian by Mikhail Papush, played an important role. It was from this circle that a number of leading metropolitan astrologers of our days came out.
With the beginning of perestroika, astrologers began to emerge from the underground. In 1987, astrologers have already participated in the conference on energy-information exchange in nature (ENIO) in the Palace of Culture named after Plekhanov Academy of National Economy. In 1988, the first official astrological organization was formed - the Association of Astrologers of Moldova at the Academy of Sciences of the Moldavian SSR (headed by Nina Volchek).
At the end of the 80s, a real astrological boom began, astrologers began to appear in the media (note the articles and interviews of Pavel and Tamara Globa in Science and Religion, Rabotnitsa and Soviet Woman, Felix Velichko in Krestyanka, Vera Vilarova in "Change", Mikhail Levin, Tatiana Mityaeva and others in "Your Health"). A very large role in the popularization of astrology was played by Sergei Vronsky's publications in Moskovsky Komsomolets - these were the first regular astrological forecasts in the Soviet press. Vronsky's book Astrology: Superstition or Science? with an afterword by Academician V. P. Kaznacheev, published in 1991 by the Nauka publishing house (with a circulation of 200 thousand copies).
Interaction between astrologers has also intensified. In March 1990, the astrology section worked within the ENIO. In Palanga in May 1990, for the first time in our country, the All-Union Conference of Astrologers was held (the reports presented at it formed the basis of the collection "Astrology. XX Century", published in 1991, which allows the reader to get a fairly complete impression of domestic astrology at the turn of the 90s biennium). But the most significant event in the life of the astrological community was the International Astrological Congress (IAC), which took place on September 29 - October 4, 1990 in Zvenigorod. This very representative congress even by international standards gathered over 200 participants, incl. about 20 - from abroad. It was the MAC that first demonstrated to astrologers all over the world that astrology really exists in the USSR and, moreover,rich in various original designs.
Nowadays, there is no longer such an astrological boom as at the turn of the 80s - 90s (when astrology for the first time after 1917 became available to the masses). After sharp outbursts of interest, there is always a certain satiety, but it cannot be said that astrology in Russia is now unpopular. Simply, the first passions subsided, and astrology took its "natural niche".
Modern Russian astrology has a vast geography (although Moscow remains its main center), there are dozens of regional and all-Russian astrological organizations, various conferences are held annually with the participation of both domestic and foreign astrologers (among the leading organizers of such conferences are the Omega Club, the magazine Urania , Euro-Asian branch of the National Council for Geospatial Research, League of Independent Astrologers). Astrological educational institutions, research centers, commercial firms, centers of computer astrology operate in different cities of Russia, a wide range of astrological literature is published (here the leader is the Moscow publishing house CAI). Thus, astrology is an undoubted fact of the spiritual life of modern Russian society.