占星術Astrology

從巴比倫的天象預兆到報刊上的星座專欄，占星術（astrology）都建基於同一個信念：天體的位置與人間事務之間存在對應關係。它在歷史上曾與天文學密不可分，直到十七世紀以後才逐漸分家。本頁介紹西方占星的基本組成與歷史源流，並以中國傳統星命術作對照。From Babylonian celestial omens to horoscope columns in newspapers, astrology rests on one belief: that there is a correspondence between the positions of the heavenly bodies and human affairs. Historically it was inseparable from astronomy, and the two only gradually parted ways after the seventeenth century. This page introduces the basic components and historical development of Western astrology, with traditional Chinese astral fate systems for comparison.

西方占星的基本組成Basic Components of Western Astrology

一、行星1. The planets

古代所說的「行星」（希臘文 planētēs，意為「漫遊者」）指在恆星背景上移動的七個天體：太陽、月亮、水星、金星、火星、木星、土星。傳統占星賦予它們不同性質，例如木星、金星被視為「吉星」，土星、火星被視為「凶星」。近代加入天王星（1781 年發現）、海王星（1846 年）和冥王星（1930 年），稱為「外行星」或「現代行星」。此外，常用的計算點還有月交點（北交點、南交點）等。The “planets” of antiquity (Greek planētēs, “wanderers”) were the seven bodies that move against the background of the fixed stars: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Traditional astrology gave them different natures; for instance Jupiter and Venus were regarded as “benefics” and Saturn and Mars as “malefics”. In modern times Uranus (discovered 1781), Neptune (1846) and Pluto (1930) were added, called the “outer” or “modern” planets. Commonly used calculated points also include the lunar nodes (North Node and South Node).

二、星座2. The signs

黃道十二宮提供行星所在的「背景」與性質，詳見黃道十二星座頁。The twelve signs of the zodiac provide the “background” and qualities of each planet’s position; see the Zodiac page for details.

三、宮位3. The houses

宮位（house）把天空按地平線與子午線分成十二區，用來代表人生的不同領域。宮位取決於出生的時間與地點，因此即使同日出生，只要時刻不同，宮位也會不同。最重要的兩個點是：The houses divide the sky into twelve sectors based on the horizon and meridian, representing different areas of life. Houses depend on the time and place of birth, so even people born on the same day will have different houses if born at different times. The two most important points are:

• 上升點（Ascendant）：出生時東方地平線與黃道的交點，是第一宮的起點。Ascendant: The point where the eastern horizon intersects the ecliptic at the moment of birth; the starting point of the first house.
• 天頂（Midheaven, MC）：黃道與子午線在南方的交點，通常與第十宮相關。Midheaven (MC): The point where the ecliptic crosses the meridian in the south, usually associated with the tenth house.

十二宮的傳統含義大致為：一宮自身、二宮財物、三宮兄弟與短途、四宮家庭與父親、五宮子女與娛樂、六宮疾病與僕役、七宮婚姻與對手、八宮死亡、九宮宗教與遠行、十宮事業與名聲、十一宮朋友與希望、十二宮隱憂與敵人。分宮的方法有很多種，例如整宮制（whole sign）、等宮制、Porphyry、Regiomontanus、Placidus 等。希臘化時期多用整宮制，近代英語世界則以 Placidus 最常見。The traditional meanings of the twelve houses are roughly: 1st, self; 2nd, possessions; 3rd, siblings and short journeys; 4th, home and father; 5th, children and pleasure; 6th, illness and servants; 7th, marriage and opponents; 8th, death; 9th, religion and long journeys; 10th, career and reputation; 11th, friends and hopes; 12th, hidden troubles and enemies. There are many house systems, such as whole sign, equal house, Porphyry, Regiomontanus and Placidus. Whole-sign houses predominated in the Hellenistic period, while Placidus is the most common in the modern English-speaking world.

四、相位4. Aspects

相位（aspect）指兩顆行星在黃道上的角距。托勒密列出的五種「主要相位」為：An aspect is the angular distance between two planets along the ecliptic. The five “major aspects” listed by Ptolemy are:

十七世紀天文學家克卜勒（Johannes Kepler）另提出半六分、八分等「次要相位」。實際使用時會容許若干度的誤差，稱為「容許度」（orb）。The seventeenth-century astronomer Johannes Kepler proposed additional “minor aspects” such as the semi-sextile and the semi-square (octile). In practice a margin of several degrees is allowed, called the “orb”.

五、本命盤5. The natal chart

本命盤（natal chart，舊稱 horoscope）是按某人出生的年月日、時刻與地點，計算出各行星所在星座、宮位與彼此相位的圖。傳統上用來論述性格、壽命、財富、婚姻等。此外還有「卜卦占星」（就提問時刻起盤）、「擇日占星」（選擇吉時）、「世俗占星」（國家與天災）等分支。The natal chart (formerly called the horoscope) is a diagram calculated from a person’s date, time and place of birth, showing the sign and house of each planet and the aspects between them. It was traditionally used to discuss character, lifespan, wealth, marriage and so on. Other branches include horary astrology (a chart cast for the moment a question is asked), electional astrology (choosing auspicious times) and mundane astrology (nations and natural disasters).

歷史源流Historical Development

巴比倫：天象預兆Babylon: celestial omens

美索不達米亞人很早就把天象當作神明發出的預兆，主要關乎國王與國家。大型預兆彙編《Enūma Anu Enlil》（意為「當安努與恩利爾……」）收錄數千條天象兆辭，主要成書於公元前二千紀後期至一千紀初。到了公元前五世紀，巴比倫出現了為個人出生而記錄行星位置的楔形文字文獻，現存最早的一份通常定在公元前 410 年，被視為個人星命的開端。The Mesopotamians very early regarded celestial phenomena as omens sent by the gods, concerning mainly the king and the state. The great omen compendium Enūma Anu Enlil (“When Anu and Enlil…”) contains thousands of celestial omens and was compiled mainly between the late second millennium and the early first millennium BCE. By the fifth century BCE, cuneiform documents recording planetary positions for an individual’s birth appeared in Babylonia; the earliest surviving example is usually dated to 410 BCE and is regarded as the beginning of personal horoscopy.

希臘化時期：體系成形The Hellenistic period: the system takes shape

公元前二世紀至公元二世紀，在托勒密王朝治下的埃及，巴比倫天文、埃及旬星傳統與希臘哲學結合，形成以十二宮、七行星、宮位、相位為骨幹的完整體系。代表作者有：西頓的多羅西厄斯（Dorotheus of Sidon，一世紀）、維替烏斯‧瓦倫斯（Vettius Valens，二世紀，著《選集》Anthologies）、托勒密（Claudius Ptolemy，二世紀，著《四書》），以及四世紀羅馬的費爾米庫斯‧馬特爾努斯（Firmicus Maternus，著 Mathesis）。托勒密試圖以亞里士多德的自然哲學解釋占星，影響尤其深遠。Between the second century BCE and the second century CE, in Ptolemaic and then Roman Egypt, Babylonian astronomy, the Egyptian decan tradition and Greek philosophy combined to form a complete system built on the twelve signs, seven planets, houses and aspects. Representative authors include Dorotheus of Sidon (first century), Vettius Valens (second century, author of the Anthologies), Claudius Ptolemy (second century, author of the Tetrabiblos) and, in fourth-century Rome, Firmicus Maternus (author of the Mathesis). Ptolemy’s attempt to explain astrology through Aristotelian natural philosophy was especially influential.

中世紀伊斯蘭世界The medieval Islamic world

八世紀起，阿拔斯王朝在巴格達推動大規模翻譯，希臘、波斯、印度的占星著作被譯成阿拉伯文。重要人物有馬沙阿拉（Māshāʾallāh，約 740–815）和阿布‧馬謝爾（Abū Maʿshar，787–886）。阿布‧馬謝爾的《占星學大導論》以亞里士多德哲學為占星辯護，並發展了以木星、土星會合論歷史週期的學說。伊斯蘭學者同時也大幅推進了天文觀測和計算。From the eighth century, the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad sponsored a great translation movement, and Greek, Persian and Indian astrological works were rendered into Arabic. Key figures include Māshāʾallāh (c. 740–815) and Abū Maʿshar (787–886). Abū Maʿshar’s Great Introduction to Astrology defended astrology with Aristotelian philosophy and developed the theory of historical cycles based on Jupiter–Saturn conjunctions. Islamic scholars also greatly advanced astronomical observation and calculation.

拉丁歐洲與文藝復興Latin Europe and the Renaissance

十二世紀，西班牙與意大利的譯者把大量阿拉伯文占星與天文著作譯成拉丁文，占星學隨之進入歐洲大學，與醫學關係密切（例如按月亮位置決定放血時機）。十三世紀的古多‧博納提（Guido Bonatti）是著名的職業占星家。文藝復興時期，占星仍是宮廷與學者的重要知識，費奇諾（Marsilio Ficino）把占星融入醫學與魔法哲學（見魔法歷史）。同時也有批評者，例如皮科‧德拉‧米蘭多拉（Pico della Mirandola）晚年寫成《駁占星家》。英國的威廉‧利利（William Lilly）於 1647 年出版英文巨著《基督教占星學》（Christian Astrology）。In the twelfth century, translators in Spain and Italy rendered many Arabic astrological and astronomical works into Latin, and astrology entered the European universities, closely linked with medicine (for example, timing bloodletting by the Moon’s position). Guido Bonatti in the thirteenth century was a famous professional astrologer. In the Renaissance astrology remained important knowledge at court and among scholars; Marsilio Ficino integrated it into medicine and magical philosophy (see History of Magic). There were also critics, such as Pico della Mirandola, who late in life wrote his Disputations against Divinatory Astrology. In England, William Lilly published his great English-language work Christian Astrology in 1647.

衰落與近代復興Decline and modern revival

十七世紀末以後，隨著哥白尼—牛頓體系確立，占星在學術界失去地位，主要在曆書（almanac）中流傳。十九世紀末，在神智學會（Theosophical Society）等神秘主義思潮帶動下，占星重新興起；英國的艾倫‧里奧（Alan Leo，1860–1917）把占星簡化、強調性格分析，並大量出版普及讀物。1930 年英國《星期日快報》刊登占星家 R. H. Naylor 為瑪嘉烈公主出生所作的星盤分析，引起迴響，一般認為這推動了報刊「星座專欄」的流行。From the late seventeenth century, with the establishment of the Copernican–Newtonian system, astrology lost its academic standing and survived mainly in almanacs. In the late nineteenth century it revived under the influence of esoteric currents such as the Theosophical Society; in England Alan Leo (1860–1917) simplified astrology, emphasised character analysis and published many popular books. In 1930 the British Sunday Express published astrologer R. H. Naylor’s analysis of the birth chart of Princess Margaret, which attracted a strong response and is generally thought to have spurred the popularity of newspaper horoscope columns.

現代心理占星Modern psychological astrology

二十世紀，心理學家榮格（C. G. Jung）對占星表示興趣，並作過統計嘗試。美國的丹恩‧魯伊爾（Dane Rudhyar）1936 年出版《人格占星學》（The Astrology of Personality），把占星重新詮釋為描述心理潛能的象徵語言，而非預測事件的工具。英國的麗茲‧格林（Liz Greene）與霍華‧薩司波塔斯（Howard Sasportas）於 1983 年創辦心理占星中心（Centre for Psychological Astrology），使「心理占星」成為現代西方占星的主流取向之一。In the twentieth century the psychologist C. G. Jung showed interest in astrology and made statistical attempts. In the United States Dane Rudhyar published The Astrology of Personality in 1936, reinterpreting astrology as a symbolic language describing psychological potential rather than a tool for predicting events. In Britain Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas founded the Centre for Psychological Astrology in 1983, making “psychological astrology” one of the mainstream approaches of modern Western astrology.

對照：中國傳統星命術Comparison: Traditional Chinese Astral Fate Systems

中國古代的「天文」主要是國家層面的星占，觀察日月五星與異常天象以判斷政事吉凶，與個人命運關係不大。以出生時間論個人命運的「星命術」較晚才興盛，其中部分元素可追溯到隋唐時期隨佛教傳入的印度與西方天文星占知識。Ancient Chinese tianwen (“heavenly patterns”) was mainly state-level astral omenology, observing the Sun, Moon, five planets and anomalous phenomena to judge the fortunes of government, with little concern for individual destiny. Astral fate calculation for individuals based on time of birth flourished later, and some of its elements can be traced to Indian and Western astronomical and astrological knowledge that arrived with Buddhism in the Sui and Tang.

七政四餘Qizheng Siyu (“Seven Governors and Four Remainders”)

「七政」即日、月及金木水火土五星，與西方的七行星相同；「四餘」是四個虛擬天體：紫氣、月孛、羅睺、計都。其中羅睺、計都源自印度天文的 Rāhu 與 Ketu（與日月食相關的月交點），唐代經佛教譯籍傳入；月孛一般認為對應月球軌道的遠地點，紫氣的天文含義則至今仍有爭議。七政四餘以出生時各星在二十八宿與十二宮的位置推論命運，結構上與西方本命占星相當接近，是中外星占交流的重要例證。代表文獻為明代成書的《張果星宗》（又稱《果老星宗》），託名唐代道士張果，實為後人編纂。The “Seven Governors” (qizheng) are the Sun, Moon and the five planets Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn, the same as the seven planets of the West; the “Four Remainders” (siyu) are four virtual bodies: Ziqi, Yuebei, Luohou and Jidu. Luohou and Jidu derive from the Rāhu and Ketu of Indian astronomy (the lunar nodes, associated with eclipses) and entered China through Buddhist translations in the Tang; Yuebei is generally thought to correspond to the apogee of the Moon’s orbit, while the astronomical meaning of Ziqi is still debated. Qizheng Siyu reads destiny from the positions of the bodies at birth within the twenty-eight lunar lodges and twelve palaces, and is structurally quite close to Western natal astrology — an important example of astral exchange between China and other cultures. Its representative text is the Ming-dynasty Zhang Guo xingzong (also called Guolao xingzong), attributed to the Tang Daoist Zhang Guo but in fact compiled by later hands.

紫微斗數Ziwei Doushu (“Purple Star Astrology”)

紫微斗數託名五代宋初道士陳摶（希夷），現存主要文獻如《紫微斗數全書》為明代以後刊本。與七政四餘不同，紫微斗數中的「紫微、天府、太陽、太陰、武曲、天同、廉貞」等百餘顆星曜大多是按出生年月日時推算排佈的虛星，不對應天上實際星體的位置。命盤分為十二宮（命宮、兄弟、夫妻、子女、財帛、疾厄、遷移、交友（奴僕）、官祿、田宅、福德、父母），以農曆生辰起盤。它在明清時期流傳不廣，到二十世紀中葉以後才在台灣、香港的出版市場大為流行。Ziwei Doushu is attributed to the Daoist Chen Tuan (Xiyi) of the Five Dynasties and early Song, but its main surviving texts, such as the Ziwei doushu quanshu, are editions from the Ming onwards. Unlike Qizheng Siyu, the hundred-odd “stars” of Ziwei Doushu — Ziwei, Tianfu, Taiyang, Taiyin, Wuqu, Tiantong, Lianzhen and so on — are mostly virtual stars arranged by calculation from the year, month, day and hour of birth, not the positions of actual celestial bodies. The chart is divided into twelve palaces (Life, Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends (Servants), Career, Property, Fortune and Parents) and is cast from the lunar-calendar birth time. It was not widely circulated in the Ming and Qing, and became hugely popular in the publishing markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong only after the mid-twentieth century.

東西比較East–West comparison

另一種流傳更廣的中國命理是以干支論命的「四柱八字」（子平術），它不依天體位置，屬於干支五行系統，詳見民間九流術士頁。Another, even more widespread form of Chinese fate calculation is the “Four Pillars and Eight Characters” (bazi, the Ziping method), which reads fate from the stem-branch signs; it does not depend on celestial positions and belongs to the stem-branch and five-phases system. See the Folk Diviners page.

科學界的評估Scientific Assessment

現代天文學不把占星術視為科學。較常被引用的實證研究之一，是物理學家 Shawn Carlson 於 1985 年在《自然》（Nature）期刊發表的雙盲測試：參與的占星師未能比隨機猜測更準確地把本命盤與受試者的人格測驗結果配對。本站介紹占星術，是把它當作影響深遠的文化與思想傳統，而非預測工具。Modern astronomy does not regard astrology as a science. One of the most frequently cited empirical studies is the double-blind test published by physicist Shawn Carlson in Nature in 1985: the participating astrologers were unable to match natal charts to subjects’ personality-test results better than chance. This site presents astrology as an influential cultural and intellectual tradition, not as a predictive tool.

參考資料References

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