Sapiens dominabitur astris

Last updated

The phrase from A Collection of Emblemes Anciente and Moderne, 1635 George Wither - Sapiens dominabitur astris, Illustr. XXXI, 1635.jpg
The phrase from A Collection of Emblemes Anciente and Moderne, 1635
The emblem of the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence Emblem of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.png
The emblem of the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence

Sapiens dominabitur astris (Latin for "The wise one will rule through the stars," but popularly taken to mean "The wise one will rule the stars") is a Latin maxim initially used in astrology, theology, philosophy and literature from the late 13th to late 17th centuries. The phrase has been traditionally attributed to Greco-Roman scientist Ptolemy, but modern scholarship views it as a compilation from two later sources. [1] Presently, the phrase is featured on the emblem of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine.

Contents

History

The phrase began to be used in the late 13th century by both astrologers and their detractors. [1] To astrologers, the phrase meant the mastery of astrological knowledge to predict destiny while for others it implied allegiance to Christian belief on free will and dominance of reason over fatalism and superstition. [1]

Modern scholarship views the phrase as being likely derived from the pseudo-Ptolemaic work Centiloquium and passages from the introduction to the Introductorium maius in astrologiam (Kitāb al-mudkhal al-kabīr) by the Islamic astrologer Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi. [1] Both works were translated into Latin in the 1130s, making them available to most Western scholars of the time. [1] One passage of the Centiloquium stated that "a skillful person acquainted with the nature of the stars is enabled to avert many of their effects and to prepare himself for those effects before they arrive", while another passage stated that "a sagacious mind improves the operation of the heavens, as a skillful farmer, by cultivation, improves nature". [1] Al-Balkhi, in turn, mentioned "the benefit to the wise masters of stars through foreknowledge of the power of the conditions of the stars in this world which is evident to them". [1]

While the phrase uses the word astrum for "star", which is synonymous with stella, in an astronomical and astrological context the word sidus (plural sidera) has been used more often. [2] Online translations seem to favor the interpretation of astris as a dative noun with a direct-object meaning (as in "to rule the stars," "to master the stars"), but the original context and intent favor its interpretation as an instrumental ablative ("to rule through the stars," "to rule by means of the stars," "to rule with the stars"). It is through astrologers' knowledge of the cycles and repetitions of the celestial ecosystem that they are able to put themselves in command of the forces and effects these movements exert.

Modern usage

In 2016, sapiens dominabitur astris appeared on the new emblem of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine. The phrase was chosen during the Russo-Ukrainian War in response to the Russian military intelligence's motto "above us only stars". [3]

Related Research Articles

Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamic world, and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.

A horoscope is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from the Greek words ōra and scopos meaning "time" and "observer". It is claimed by proponents of astrology that a horoscope can be used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents, and it forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology, although practices surrounding astrology have been recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century. Horoscope columns are often featured in print and online newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermes Trismegistus</span> Legendary author of the Hermetica

Hermes Trismegistus is a legendary Hellenistic period figure that originated as a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. He is the purported author of the Hermetica, a widely diverse series of ancient and medieval pseudepigraphica that laid the basis of various philosophical systems known as Hermeticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman of Carinthia</span> 12th-century Carinthian astrologer

Herman of Carinthia, also called Hermanus Dalmata or Sclavus Dalmata, Secundus, by his own words born in the "heart of Istria", was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and translator of Arabic works into Latin.

Astrological belief in relation between celestial observations and terrestrial events have influenced various aspects of human history, including world-views, language and many elements of culture. It has been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.

An astrological age is a time period which, according to astrology, parallels major changes in the development of human society, culture, history, and politics. There are twelve astrological ages corresponding to the twelve zodiacal signs in western astrology. One cycle of the twelve astrological ages is called a Great Year, comprising 25,772 solar years, at the end of which another cycle begins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi</span> Persian astrologer and philosopher (787–886)

Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi, Latinized as Albumasar, was an early Persian Muslim astrologer, thought to be the greatest astrologer of the Abbasid court in Baghdad. While he was not a major innovator, his practical manuals for training astrologers profoundly influenced Muslim intellectual history and, through translations, that of western Europe and Byzantium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine)</span> Military intelligence service of Ukraine

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, also known in English as the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), is the military intelligence service of the Ukrainian government. It is an agency of the Ministry of Defence, not the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mashallah ibn Athari</span> 8/9th century Persian Jewish astrologer and astronomer

Māshāʾallāh ibn Atharī, known as Mashallah, was an 8th century Persian Jewish astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician. Originally from Khorasan, he lived in Basra during the reigns of the Abbasid caliphs al-Manṣūr and al-Ma’mūn, and was among those who introduced astrology and astronomy to Baghdad. The bibliographer ibn al-Nadim described Mashallah "as virtuous and in his time a leader in the science of jurisprudence, i.e. the science of judgments of the stars". Mashallah served as a court astrologer for the Abbasid caliphate and wrote works on astrology in Arabic. Some Latin translations survive.

<i>Tetrabiblos</i> Book by Claudius Ptolemaeus

Tetrabiblos, also known as Apotelesmatiká and in Latin as Quadripartitum, is a text on the philosophy and practice of astrology, written by the Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemy in Koine Greek during the 2nd century CE(c. 90 CE – 168 CE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisces (astrology)</span> Twelfth astrological sign of the zodiac

Pisces (♓︎) is the twelfth and final astrological sign in the zodiac. It is a mutable sign. It spans 330° to 360° of celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area between about February 19 and March 20. In classical interpretations, the symbol of the fish is derived from the ichthyocentaurs, who aided Aphrodite when she was born from the sea.

<i>Scientia potentia est</i> Latin aphorism often claimed to mean organized "knowledge is power"

The phrase "scientia potentia est" is a Latin aphorism meaning "knowledge is power", commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon. The expression "ipsa scientia potestas est" occurs in Bacon's Meditationes Sacrae (1597). The exact phrase "scientia potentia est" was written for the first time in the 1668 version of Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, who was a secretary to Bacon as a young man. The related phrase "sapientia est potentia" is often translated as "wisdom is power".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stars in astrology</span> Stars in sidereal and tropical astrology

In astrology, certain stars are considered significant. Historically, all of the various heavenly bodies considered by astrologers were considered "stars", whether they were stars, planets, other stellar phenomena like novas and supernovas, or other solar system phenomena like comets and meteors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrology in the medieval Islamic world</span> Islamic astrology of the Golden Age

Some medieval Muslims took a keen interest in the study of astrology, partly because they considered the celestial bodies to be essential, partly because the dwellers of desert-regions often travelled at night, and relied upon knowledge of the constellations for guidance in their journeys.

Asteroids are relatively new to astrology, having only been discovered in the 19th century. Their use has become significant to a few Western astrologers yet still only a minority of astrologers use the asteroids in chart interpretation. Their use in astrology began with Eleanor Bach's publication of the first asteroid ephemeris in 1973. Their use was popularized following Demetria George's publication of Asteroid Goddesses in 1986

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian views on astrology</span>

The early Christians, like the early Jews, were vehemently opposed to astrology, even attributing it to demonic origin.

Caesar's Comet was a seven-day cometary outburst seen in July 44 BC. It was interpreted by Romans as a sign of the deification of recently assassinated dictator, Julius Caesar. It was perhaps the most famous comet of antiquity.

In astrology, planets have a meaning different from the astronomical understanding of what a planet is. Before the age of telescopes, the night sky was thought to consist of two similar components: fixed stars, which remained motionless in relation to each other, and moving objects/"wandering stars", which moved relative to the fixed stars over the course of the year(s).

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems that hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events or descriptions of personality in the human world. Astrology has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientific testing has found no evidence to support the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomical clock, St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund</span>

The astronomical clock of St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund is a 14th century monumental astrolabe clock. It was probably damaged in the 16th century, and has not worked since then. It is the only clock of its kind to have been preserved almost entirely in its original condition. The clockwork and the indications have not been restored.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Justin Niermeier-Dohoney (2 November 2021). "Sapiens Dominabitur Astris: A Diachronic Survey of a Ubiquitous Astrological Phrase". Humanities . 10 (4). MDPI: 117. doi: 10.3390/h10040117 .
  2. "Stella; astrum; sidus". Latinitium . Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. "Ukrainian Intelligence or How the Wise Dominates the Stars". Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.

See also