The Rev. Dr. Geikie says, in his _Life of Christ_:[141:2]
"The Jews had already, long before Christ's day, dabbled in astrology, and the various forms of magic which became connected with it. . . . They were much given to cast horoscopes from the numerical value of a name. Everywhere throughout the whole Roman Empire, Jewish magicians, dream expounders, and sorcerers, were found.
"'The life and portion of children,' says the _Talmud_, 'hang not on righteousness, but on _their_ star.' 'The planet of the day has no virtue, but the planet of the hour (of nativity) has much.' 'When the Messiah is to be revealed,' says the book _Sohar_, 'a star will rise in the east, shining in great brightness, and _seven_ other stars round it will fight against it on every side.' 'A star will rise in the east, which is the star of the Messiah, and will remain in the east fifteen days.'"
The moment of every man's birth being supposed to determine every circumstance in his life, it was only necessary to find out in what mode the _celestial bodies_--supposed to be the primary wheels to the universal machine--operated at that moment, in order to discover all that would happen to him afterward.
The regularity of the risings and settings of the fixed stars, though it announced the changes of the seasons and the orderly variations of nature, could not be adapted to the capricious mutability of human actions, fortunes, and adventures: wherefore the astrologers had recourse to the planets, whose more complicated revolutions offered more varied and more extended combinations. Their different returns to certain points of the Zodiac, their relative positions and conjunctions with each other, were supposed to influence the affairs of men; whence daring impostors presumed to foretell, not only the destinies of individuals, but also the rise and fall of empires, and the fate of the world itself.[141:3]
The inhabitants of _India_ are, and have always been, very superstitious concerning the stars. The Rev. D. O. Allen, who resided in India for twenty-five years, and who undoubtedly became thoroughly acquainted with the superstitions of the inhabitants, says on this subject:
"So strong are the superstitious feelings of many, concerning the supposed influence of the stars on human affairs, that some days are _lucky_, and others again are _unlucky_, that no arguments or promises would induce them to deviate from the course which these _stars_, signs, &c., indicate, as the way of safety, prosperity, and happiness. The evils and inconveniences of these superstitions and prejudices are among the things that press heavily upon the people of India."[142:1]