Astrology in the Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat 156a–b

The tractate Shabbat is the first tractate of the order Mo‘ed in the Mishnah, the great normative collection of rabbinic Judaism devoted to sacred times, the Sabbath, and religious festivals. The Mishnah was compiled in Palestine around 200 CE; in the following centuries it became the object of extensive interpretation by rabbinic teachers. The tradition developed in Babylonia, whose redaction is generally placed between the fifth and early sixth centuries CE, constitutes the Babylonian Talmud. Across its twenty-four chapters, the tractate primarily examines the thirty-nine melakhot: the fundamental categories of work or productive activity prohibited on the Sabbath, from which rabbinic tradition derives numerous practical applications. The tractate also contains the principal talmudic discussion of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, celebrated for eight days in remembrance of the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt.

Although chiefly concerned with the regulation of Sabbath observance, the tractate also preserves several passages of particular relevance to the history of astral conceptions in Late Antiquity Judaism. These passages refer to the planets, the day and hour of birth, dispositions of character, and the possible relationship between celestial configurations and human affairs.

These texts do not constitute a systematic exposition of astrology in the technical sense developed in Greco-Roman or medieval traditions. Nevertheless, Shabbat 156a–b shows that doctrines concerning astral influence, individual destiny, and innate dispositions were known and discussed within the rabbinic milieu. Such doctrines are, however, placed within a religious and moral framework that emphasizes divine sovereignty, human responsibility, and the possibility that conduct, prayer, and merit may alter or counteract what the stars appear to indicate.

One who is born on Sunday will be wholly devoted either to good or to evil, because both light and darkness were created on the first day of Creation.
One who is born on the second day of the week, Monday, will be hot-tempered, because on that day the upper and lower waters were divided. It is therefore a day associated with division and contention.
One who is born on the third day of the week, Tuesday, will be wealthy and sexually promiscuous, because vegetation was created on that day. It grows abundantly, yet is intermingled, without clear boundaries between grass and plants.
One who is born on the fourth day of the week, Wednesday, will be wise and enlightened, because the heavenly lights were set in the heavens on that day, and wisdom is compared to light.
One who is born on the fifth day of the week, Thursday, will perform acts of kindness, because fish and birds were created on that day. They do not obtain their sustenance through labour for human beings, but are sustained solely through the goodness of God.
One who is born on the sixth day of the week, Friday, will be a seeker. He will seek the mitzvot, that is, the commandments or religious precepts, because most Friday activities consist in preparing for the Sabbath.
One who is born on the Sabbath will die on the Sabbath, because the great day of the Sabbath was profaned on his account. Yet he will be called a person of great holiness, because he was born on the sacred day of the Sabbath.
It is not the planetary influence of the day of the week that determines a person’s nature, but rather the planetary influence of the hour.
One who is born under the influence of the Sun will be radiant. He will eat from his own resources and drink from his own resources, yet his secrets will be revealed. Should he steal, he will not succeed, because he resembles the Sun, which shines openly and reveals itself to all.
One who is born under the influence of Venus will be wealthy and sexually promiscuous, because fire was created during the hour of Venus. He will be subject to the fire of the evil inclination, which burns continually.
One who is born under the influence of Mercury will be enlightened and skilful, because Mercury is the scribe of the Sun, being the planet nearest to it.
One who is born under the influence of the Moon will suffer hardships; he will build and destroy, and destroy and build. He will not eat from his own resources nor drink from his own resources, and his secrets will remain hidden. Should he steal, he will succeed, because he resembles the Moon, which continually changes its form, whose light is not its own, and which is at times visible and at times concealed.
One who is born under the influence of Saturn will be a person whose thoughts are futile. Others say that whatever people think or plan to do against him will prove futile.
One who is born under the influence of Jupiter will be a righteous person.
One who is born under the influence of Mars will shed blood: he may become a bloodletter, a thief, a butcher of animals, or a circumciser.
One planetary influence makes a person wise, another wealthy, and there is a planetary influence that affects the people of Israel. Yet Rabbi Yohanan said that there is no planetary influence over Israel: the people of Israel are not subject to the determinism of astrology.
Abraham said before Him: “Master of the Universe, I have examined my astrological chart, and according to the configuration of my stars I am not destined to have a son.” The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: “Rise above your astrology, for there is no planetary influence over Israel. What do you think? Is it because Jupiter stands in the west that you cannot have children? I shall move it to the east.”