Urania.
Urania was also occasionally conflated with the planet Venus, a
Fidelity was not one of Zeus' strengths. Greek mythology is full of
stories beginning with Zeus caught in some adulterous affair with
gods, mortals, or other creatures, but these escapades literally
helped shape the world humans lived in. For example, Zeus once
courted the beautiful Titaness Mnemosyne, a primordial being
who personified memory. Zeus went to Mnemosyne nine nights in
a row, and as a result, she had nine daughters, collectively called
the Muses.
Each of the Muses became a goddess associated with one of the
arts. Eight of them mastered arts closely connected to life on
Earth. One, however, set her sights a little higher. That
was Urania, the Muse of astronomy.
Attributes of Urania
Urania was obsessed with the sky and the study of the stars. In
fact, her namesake was Uranus, the primordial Titan who
embodied the sky, and her grandfather. This was a very powerful
concept in Greek mythology, as the sky was a place of divine
power. Zeus, for example, was also a being associated with the
sky. As the granddaughter of Uranus and daughter of Zeus,
Urania's role as the Muse of astronomy is not inconsequential.
She contained some of the power and authority of her
forebearers.
Like the other Muses, Urania is depicted as a beautiful woman
and generally draped in a flowing cloak. The globe and the
compass are used to identify her in ancient art she often gestures
towards them with a short staff. This likely reflects the connection
between astronomy and navigation in the ancient world. As
goddess of astronomy, she could read the stars better than
anyone else and watched the movements of various celestial
bodies in order to predict the future.
celestial body itself, and therefore with the goddess
Aphrodite. Early peoples have looked to the heavens as a source
of spiritual guidance for earthly affairs as since at least the third
millennium BCE. Western astrology originated in Mesopotamia,
was consolidated during the Hellenistic Egyptian era, diffused
throughout the Roman Empire, returned to the Persian and
Islamic empires in late antiquity, reintroduced into Medieval
Europe in the 12th century, spread northwards into France,
Germany, and England during the Renaissance, and eventually
made its way to America and Australia in the 20th century. It also
spread eastwards into India during the 1st century, and from
there to Tibet, China, Southeast Asia and Japan.
Astrological doctrines were received, translated, adapted,
practiced, and then, in turn, passed on to others, influencing the
philosophical systems, religious beliefs, and political history of
each of each host culture. They sparked passionate debates
about the nature of the cosmos, fate, free will, the soul, and the
life of the stars. These lectures will give you a factual command
and sense of awe of the rich and profound tradition to which
contemporary astrologers are heirs.
In classical mythology, the nine Muse goddesses were thought to
be the source of creative inspiration, and they presided over the
arts, sciences and literature. Today our word “museum” derives
from the muse as a knowledge holder. Urania, the eldest, was the
Muse of Astronomy. Her symbols were the celestial globe and the
compass by which she measured the heavens, and she was also
associated with music and astrology. Klio was the Muse of
History and is often depicted with a scroll of paper and an open
chest books. These lectures and articles on the history of
astrology as well as my original translations from ancient Greek
are dedicated to Klio and Urania.
Urania Muse of Astronomy
Urania, the youngest muse, was the muse of astronomy and
astrolgical writings. She inspired man to look up at the stars and
ask "Why". She is always shown with a globe in her left hand and
a pencil in her right.
Urania could look at the stars and predict the future, this is where
the practice of todays astrology readings started
Urania had lots of boyfriends and of course Apollo was one of
them. Together they had son named Linos. Apollo started
making googlie eyes at her sisters so Urania dumped him
for Hermes.
She had a son with Hermes also named Linos (Linos was a very
popular name back then kind of like John or Heather is
today). Hermes being the messanger for the gods traveled alot
and Urania didn't like that he was gone all the time so she
dumped him too.
One day while studying the stars she meets Amphimaros they fall
deeply in love and get married. They had a son together that they
named Linos.
. Urania
Urania (Greek spelliong, "Ourania"), meaning “heavenly” or “of
heaven," is the Muse of astronomy and astronomical writings.
She is said to be able to tell the future by the arrangement of the
stars. She inherited Zeus’ power and majesty and Mnemosynes’
beauty and grace, and is often associated with universal love.
This Muse is usually depicted dressed in a cloak embroidered
with stars with her eyes and attention focused on the heavens
and a celestial globe which she is pointing to with a rod.