Zoroastrian and Eastern sources, however, mention Jamasp, a contemporary of Zoroaster as a noted astrologer (for references see Greek Perceptions of Zoroaster, Zoroastrianism & the Magi and Astrology & Zoroastrianism). Zoroastrianism was synonymous with Persia prior to the Arab Islamic invasion of Iran c. This sentiment has created a tenacious bias against acknowledging Persia or Iran as the source of any wisdom. Eastern Iran from the ancient city of Balkh that was home to Jamasp and is today a part of Northern Afghanistan. The Jamasp Namah also makes references to Jamasp, Zoroaster / Zarathushtra’s successor as high priest, being a noted astrologer. However, astrology plays a prominent role in Middle Persian (8th to 10th century CE) non-scriptural Zoroastrian religious texts such as the Bundahishn (Creation) and Jamasp Namah (the Book of Jamasp, see below). However, these brilliant people of the past were able to construct amazing things such as the Colossus of Rhodes, the Pantheon in Rome as well as the temples of ancient Greece.

Once found, it can, however, be lost – a person can ‘loose’ herself or himself if a person’s spirit and commitment are not strong enough and if she or he is easily distracted especially by base ambitions. The khvarenah is a particular talent or set of talents and with which everyone is born and which a person can develop through free will and then employ for good or evil to the extent of her or his ability. If you are serious about buying a telescope, consult with your nearest astronomy club where you can get all the assistance on understanding all feature of a particular. It can even be considered a gift. Some of the posts may have even marked festival dates or specific stars. This book is not about astronomy, not even about science per se, but about the Great Unknown beyond and behind all that we can see through our telescopes and microscopes.

The Kitab al-Mawalid wa Ahkamiha is the oldest treatise of genethlialogy that survives in Arabic (Genethlialogy is the science of calculating the position of heavenly bodies on nativities). You do not have to be an apprentice of Albert Einstein to be able to learn about concept in physical science. One way to understand the Zoroastrian approach to the interplay between providence and free will is to examine the concept of the khvarenah. One of his books titled Se’fer Ha’Olam (Book of the World), discusses the Persian (Zoroastrian) astrology of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions and the Firdar periods. In addition to astrological references in surviving non-scriptural Middle Persian texts, we find references in Arabic texts describing other Middle Persian texts that are now extinct. Khwarezm (now in Uzbekistan), and died in Ghazni, (in today’s Afghanistan). That knowledge soon spread into a Christian Europe that now had little memory of the old traditions, and little knowledge of Greek.

Vedic Astrology has been accomplished for more than 5000 years with one extreme point: to give knowledge and direction towards the satisfaction of the spirit’s predetermination. To do this, Athari would have had to have a knowledge of the language of Sassanian literature – Middle Persian written in the Pahlavi script (cf. The Abbasids employed the services of Masha’allah ibn Athari (c.740-815 CE) Persian Jewish astrologer, to determine the propitious time for the founding of Baghdad which he determined was July 30, 762 CE. His treatise on astrology written in Arabic is titled, Kitab al-Mudkhal al-Kabir ila ‘ilm Ahkam an-Nujjum, was translated into Latin under the title Introductorium in Astronomiam and was written in Baghdad in 848 CE. For instance, we hear of the Zik-i Shahriyaran of Yezdigird III and the Kitab al-Mawalid wa Ahkamiha (Book of Nativities and their Judgements) in Arabic language or Islamic texts. Ibn Ezra who in Spain when it was under the Muslim rule, wrote several books on astrology and cites Greek, Hindu, Persian, and Arabic sources.