Note 412 — Chapter VIII · PROBLEMS OF THE ARABIAN CULTURE (B) THE MAGIAN SOUL

Cf. p. 205. The Babylonian view of the heavens had not definitely distinguished between astronomical and atmospheric elements; e.g., the covering of the moon by clouds was regarded as a kind of eclipse. For this soothsaying the momentary figure of the heavens served only the same purpose as the inspection of the victim’s liver. But the Chaldeans’ intention was to forecast the actual course of the stars; here, therefore, astrology presupposed a genuine astronomy.