Babylonian Astrology - Planets and Gods

Planets and Gods

Of the planets five were recognized—Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Mars—to name them in the order in which they appear in the older cuneiform literature; in later texts Mercury and Saturn change places.

These five planets were identified with the gods of the Babylonian pantheon as follows:

• Jupiter with Marduk,
• Venus with the goddess Ishtar,
• Saturn with Ninurta (Ninib),
• Mercury with Nabu (Nebo),
• Mars with Nergal.

The movements of the Sun, Moon and five planets were regarded as representing the activity of the five gods in question, together with the moon-god Sin and the Sun-god Shamash, in preparing the occurrences on earth. If, therefore, one could correctly read and interpret the activity of these powers, one knew what the gods were aiming to bring about.