Lunar mansion
Encyclopedia
A lunar mansion is a segment of the ecliptic
(often called a station, or house) through which the moon moves in its orbit around the earth, often used by ancient cultures as part of their calendar system. In general, though not always, the zodiac is divided into 27 or 28 segments relative to fixed stars - one for each day of the lunar month, which is 27.3 days long - and the position of the moon is charted with respect to those fixed segments. Since the position of the moon at given stage will vary according to the position of the earth in its own orbit, the mansions of the moon are an effective system for keeping track of the passage of seasons.
Various cultures have used sets of lunar mansions astrologically, for example the Jyotiṣa astrological Nakshatra
s of Hindu
culture, the Arabic manzils (manazil al-qamar) the twenty-eight mansions
of Chinese astronomy
, and the 37 decans
of Egyptian astronomy
. Often mansions are grouped together: in western astrology each zodiac sign covers 2-3 mansions, while the Chinese system groups mansions into four groups related to the seasons.
The concept of the lunar mansions are considered to be Babylonian in origin. Jim Tester, in his History of Western Astrology explains that they appear in Hellenistic astrology as the second century list of fixed stars of Maximus of Tyre
, the Arabic lists of Alchandri and Haly Abenragel
, a similar Cotpic list with Greek names, and that though they were known in Vedic India, all lists "seem to betray" transmission through Greek sources. Though pointing out that the Babylonians had well established lunar groupings by the sixth century B.C., he also notes "the twenty-eight mansion scheme was derived via Egyptian magic by the linking of the lists of lucky and unlucky days of the lunar month with the hemerologies and with the zodiac".
The following table is a breakdown of the anwaa and their position on the Gregorian calendar.
The dates above are approximate; notice that there are 2 days missing from a solar year in the table above.
Ecliptic
The ecliptic is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. In more accurate terms, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun...
(often called a station, or house) through which the moon moves in its orbit around the earth, often used by ancient cultures as part of their calendar system. In general, though not always, the zodiac is divided into 27 or 28 segments relative to fixed stars - one for each day of the lunar month, which is 27.3 days long - and the position of the moon is charted with respect to those fixed segments. Since the position of the moon at given stage will vary according to the position of the earth in its own orbit, the mansions of the moon are an effective system for keeping track of the passage of seasons.
Various cultures have used sets of lunar mansions astrologically, for example the Jyotiṣa astrological Nakshatra
Nakshatra
Nakshatra is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 sectors along the ecliptic...
s of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
culture, the Arabic manzils (manazil al-qamar) the twenty-eight mansions
Twenty-eight mansions
The Twenty-eight Mansions , ', ' or ' are part of the Chinese constellations system. They can be considered as the equivalent to the zodiacal constellations in the Western astronomy, though the Twenty-eight Mansions reflect the movement of the Moon in a lunar month rather than the Sun in a solar year...
of Chinese astronomy
Chinese astronomy
Astronomy in China has a very long history, with historians considering that "they [the Chinese] were the most persistent and accurate observers of celestial phenomena anywhere in the world before the Arabs."...
, and the 37 decans
Decans
The Decans are 36 groups of stars which rise consecutively on the horizon throughout each earth rotation...
of Egyptian astronomy
Egyptian astronomy
Egyptian astronomy begins in prehistoric times, in the Predynastic Period. In the 5th millennium BCE, the stone circles at Nabta Playa may have made use of astronomical alignments...
. Often mansions are grouped together: in western astrology each zodiac sign covers 2-3 mansions, while the Chinese system groups mansions into four groups related to the seasons.
The concept of the lunar mansions are considered to be Babylonian in origin. Jim Tester, in his History of Western Astrology explains that they appear in Hellenistic astrology as the second century list of fixed stars of Maximus of Tyre
Maximus of Tyre
Cassius Maximus Tyrius Cassius Maximus Tyrius Cassius Maximus Tyrius (Maximus of Tyre; was a Greek rhetorician and philosopher who flourished in the time of the Antonines and Commodus. His writings contain many allusions to the history of Greece, while there is little reference to Rome; hence it...
, the Arabic lists of Alchandri and Haly Abenragel
Haly Abenragel
Abû l-Hasan 'Alî ibn Abî l-Rijâl was an Arab astrologer of the late 10th and early 11th century, best known for his Kitāb al-bāri' fi ahkām an-nujūm. He was a court astrologer to the Tunisian prince al-Mu'izz ibn Bâdis in the first half of the 11th century...
, a similar Cotpic list with Greek names, and that though they were known in Vedic India, all lists "seem to betray" transmission through Greek sources. Though pointing out that the Babylonians had well established lunar groupings by the sixth century B.C., he also notes "the twenty-eight mansion scheme was derived via Egyptian magic by the linking of the lists of lucky and unlucky days of the lunar month with the hemerologies and with the zodiac".
Arabic System of Anwaa and Lunar Mansions
In the traditional Arabic astrological system, the moon was seen to move through 28 distinct manazil (singular: manzil) during the normal solar year, each manzil lasting, therefore, for about 13 days. One or more manazil were then group into a nawaa (pluaral anwaa) which were tied to a given weather pattern. In other words, the yearly pattern was divided in the following manner : A year was divided into anwaa, each of which was made up of one more manazil, which were associated with a dominant star or constellation. These stars and constellations were sometimes, but not always, connected in some way to constellations in the [Zodiac]. Moreover, as the anwaa' repeat on a regular, solar cycle, they can be correlated to fixed points on the Gregorian calendar.The following table is a breakdown of the anwaa and their position on the Gregorian calendar.
| Manzil | Associated Nawaa | Significant Stars/Constellations | Zodiac Constellations | Begins on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheratan | Al Thuraya | Sheratan in the Pleiades | -- | 17 May |
| Pleione | Al Thuraya | Pleione in the Pleiades | -- | 31 May |
| Albatain | Al Thuraya | Albatain in the Pleiades | -- | 13 June |
| Al Tuwaibe' | Al Tuwaibe' | Aldebaran | -- | 26 June |
| Heka | Al Jawzaa/Gemini | Heka in Orion's belt | Gemini | 9 July |
| Alhena | Al Jawzaa/Gemini | Alhenna in Gemini | Gemini | 22 July |
| Murzim | Murzim | Canis Major | -- | 4 August |
| An Nathra | Kulaibain | An Nathra | -- | 17 August |
| Alterf | Suhail | Alterf in Leo | Leo | 30 August |
| Dschuba | Suhail | Dschuba | Scorpio | 12 September |
| Azzubra | Suhail | Example | Example | 25 September |
| Assarfa | Suhail | Example | Example | 8 October |
| Auva | Al Wasm | Auva | Virgo | 21 October |
| Simak | Al Wasm | Spica | -- | 3 November |
| Syrma | Al Wasm | Example | -- | 16 November |
| Az Zubana | Al Wasm | Acuben | Cancer | 29 November |
| Akleel "The Crown" | Murabaania | Corona Borealis | -- | 12 December |
| Qalb al Akraab | Murabaania | Antares | Scorpio | 25 December |
| Shaula | Murabaania | Shaula | Scorpio | 3 January |
| Al Naam | Ash Shabt | Ascella and Nunki | Sagittarius | 16 January |
| Al Baldaah | Ash Shabt | Example | Example | 29 January |
| Saad Al Thabib | The Three Saads | Saad Al Thabih | -- | 11 February |
| Saad Balaa | The Three Saads | Saad Balaa | -- | 26 February |
| Saad Al Saud | The Three Saads | Saadalsud | Aquaris | 11 March |
| Saad Al Akhbia | Hameemain | Sadachbia | -- | 24 March |
| Almuqaddam | Hameemain | Almuqaddam | -- | 6 April |
| Al Muakhar | Al Tharaeen | Pollux | Gemini and Aquarius (in the Arab system) | 19 April |
| Alrescha | Al Tharaeen | Alrescha | Gemini and Aquarius (in the Arab system) | 2 May |
The dates above are approximate; notice that there are 2 days missing from a solar year in the table above.