Lunar station

Often called lunar mansion,^[a] a lunar station or lunar house is a segment of the ecliptic through which the Moon passes in its orbit around the Earth. The concept was used by several ancient cultures as part of their calendrical system.

Stations in different cultures

In general, though not always, the zodiac is divided into 27 or 28 segments relative to the vernal equinox point or the fixed stars – one for each day of the lunar month. (A sidereal month lasts about 27 ¹⁄₃ days.) The Moon's position is charted with respect to those fixed segments. Since the Moon's position at any given stage will vary according to Earth's position in its own orbit, lunar stations are an effective system for keeping track of the passage of seasons.

Various cultures have used sets of lunar stations astrologically; for example, the Jyotisha astrological nakshatras of Hindu culture, the Arabic manzils (manāzil al-qamar), the Twenty-Eight Mansions of Chinese astronomy, and the 36 decans of Egyptian astronomy. Western astrology does not use stations, but each zodiac sign covers two or three. The Chinese system groups houses into four groups related to the seasons.

The concept of lunar stations is thought to originate in Babylonian astronomy.^[1][2][3] Tester (1987)^[4] explains that they appear in Hellenistic astrology in the 2nd-century list of fixed stars in the Katarchai by Maximus^[b], the Arabic lists by Alchandri and Ibn Abī l-Rijāl, and a similar Coptic list with Greek names.

Tester believes that though they were known in the Vedic period of India, all lists "seem to betray" transmission through Greek sources. Though pointing out that the Babylonians had well established lunar groupings by the 6th century BC, he also notes that the 28 station "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."^[4]

Somali 'god'

In traditional Somali astronomy and weather-lore, the lunar calendar was divided into 28 "stations of the moon" known as god, which were used to track weather and seasonal changes across the Somali Peninsula.^[5] According to Galaal, the Somali peninsula itself was traditionally divided into seven distinct weather districts, each with regional variations in the names and interpretation of these stations.^[5]

Chinese 宿 xiù

The 28 Lunar Mansions, or more precisely lodgings (Chinese: 二十八宿; pinyin: èrshí bā xiù) are the Chinese and East Asian form of the lunar stations. They can be considered as the equivalent to the Western zodiac, although the 28 stations reflect the movement of the Moon through a sidereal month rather than the Sun in a tropical year; (cf. Solar term). In their final form, they embodied the astral forms of the Four Symbols: two real and two legendary animals important in traditional Chinese culture, such as feng shui.

Indian nakshatra

The nakshatras (or more precisely nákṣatra, lit. "stars") are the Indian form of lunar stations. They usually number 27 but sometimes 28 and their names are related to the most prominent constellations in each sector. In modern practice they start from a point on the ecliptic precisely opposite the star Spica (Sanskrit: Chitrā) and develop eastwards but the oldest traditional method was to use the Vernal Equinox point as the starting point of Ashvini Nakshatra. In classical Hindu mythology, the creation of the nakshatras is attributed to Daksha. The nakshatras were wives of Chandra, the moon god. The nakshatras of traditional Hindu astronomy are based on a list of 28 asterisms found in the Atharvaveda (AVŚ 19.7) and also in the Shatapatha Brahmana. The first astronomical text that lists them is the Vedanga Jyotisha. The stations are important parts of Indian astrology.

Arabic manzil

In the traditional Arabic astrological system,^[6] the new moon was seen to move through 28 distinct manāzil (singular: manzil "house") during the normal solar year, each manzil lasting, therefore, for about 13 days. One or more manazil were then grouped into a nawaa (plural anwaa) which were tied to a given weather pattern. In other words, the yearly pattern was divided in the following manner:^[7] 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 list of the 28 manāzil.^[8]

The dates above are approximate; notice that there are 2 days missing from a solar year in the table above.

More information

Also, the following letters has no alphabetical value in numerology of the Abjad system known as "Ilm ul-ʾAdad".

Notes of the table above in accordance to strict traditional Arab Islamic astronomy and theology:

(1) the Arabic alphabet resonates the alphabetical value in numerology of the Abjad system known as "Ilm ul-ʾAdad".

(2) the ʿAmal (Islamic view of angels, equivalent to rank of the "Watcher" or "Guardian Angel") is the Angel that rules the corresponding Arabic alphabet (rhythm of the alphabet in numerology of the Abjad system), manazilu-l-qamar (lunar houses) and constellations (i.e. zodiac signs). Generally speaking, the four Archangels in Islam ace Jibrāʼīl, Mīkāʼīl, ʼIsrāfīl and Malaku-l-Maut (ʿAzrāʼīl).

(3) the alphabetical orders follows the sequence of the original abjadī order (أَبْجَدِي), used for lettering, derives from the order of the Phoenician alphabet, and is therefore similar to the order of other Phoenician-derived alphabets, such as the Hebrew alphabet. In this order, letters are also used as numbers, Abjad numerals, and possess the same alphanumeric code/cipher as Hebrew gematria and Greek isopsephy.

(4) those angel name with an "asterisk" needs source citation upon Arabic transliteration but the given is the closest pronunciation based upon uttering the consonants.

A few of the numerical values are different in the alternative Abjad order. For four Persian letters these values are used:^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Astrotheology

Footnotes

1. ^ The use of the English word “mansion”, though customary, is an overly literal translation of the Latin mansio, which means simply a stopover, a way station, even roadside lodging, but without any grandiose connotation.
2. ^ This Maximus is the poet and astrologer; not to be confounded with Maximus of Tyre.
3. ^ Alternate identification: δ Ari (Botein), ε Ari, ρ Ari
4. ^ Probable original identification: ε Leo, ο Leo

References

1. ^ Weinstock, S. (1949). "Lunar mansions and early calendars". Journal of Hellenic Studies. LXIX: 48-69. JSTOR 629462
   also CCAG IX.1 138 ff.
2. ^ Yampolsky, Philip (1950). "The origin of the twenty-eight lunar mansions". Osiris. IX: 62–83. doi:10.1086/368524. S2CID 144119166
3. ^ Svenberg, I.E. (1963). "Lunaria et zodiologia latina". Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia
4. ^ Tester, Jim (1987). A History of Western Astrology. Boydell and Brewer. p. 82.
5. ^ Muusa H. I. Galaal (1970). ''Stars, Seasons and Weather in Somali Pastoral Traditions''. Indiana University. pp. 29–30.
6. ^ O'Neil, William Matthew (1976). Time and the Calendars. Manchester University Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-7190-0642-2.
7. ^ Hassan, Izzat (2006). Al Azmana wa al Anwaa. Morocco: Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Printing Press. ISBN 9954-0-5074-4.
8. ^ Adams, Danielle. "Arabic Star Catalog". Two Deserts, One Sky. University of Arizona. Retrieved 10 March 2026.

External links

• "The Lunar Mansions". constellationsofwords.com. The fixed stars and constellations in astrology.

• "W.B. Yeats and "A Vision": The Arab mansions of the moon". yeatsvision.com