ANCIENT PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR

ANCIENT PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Nevruz, The New Year

By Baris Ilhan

In the east, Persians, Turks, and all other tribes and cultures in the Middle East, Mesopotamia and Asia had been celebrating the Vernal eqinox as the beginning of the new year for thousands of years. In common language that day is celebrated as “Nevruz”, a Persian name which means “nev” new and “ruz” day. Celebrating nevruz had always been a very important religious and cultural activity. In Anatolia it is still a very important festival, “bayram”, though now it has some political associations also.

At first the Arabs didn’t have the nevruz tradition, but after Muslim Arabs invaded the Sasanis, nevruz took its part in the Arabic world also. For Persians nevruz was the time to collect taxes, and Arabs started collecting taxes then. In Turkey we are still paying the taxes in March.

The religious scholars of Islam didn’t approve the celebration of the days like nevruz or easter, but couldn’t stop it, so they had to find appropriate meanings for that day. They had considered that day as the day God had created the world. Also Adam was created on that day. And many other stories...

According to the tradition, astrologers were supposed to prepare calenders for the new year and do their predictions for the coming year. The main thing they were doing was determining the day of the week for the nevruz and writing their predictions for that day. In the Ottoman Empire that tradition lasted till the twentieth century with more sophisticated techniques. The last chief astrologer/astronomer of the Palace had died in 1924 and this position had been abolished.

Predicting the next year by the day of the week:

In 2006 the Vernal Eqinox will be on Monday and the Moon will be in Sagittarius.

Just to show you an example of the prediction, I had chosen “the greatest Sufi Master” Muhyiddin Ibn-i Arabi’s (1165-1240) book “The News that the Holy Hours Give” or “The Treasures of Hours”¹.

- If the year starts on Monday, that year people will be revolutionary and their attitudes will change. In such a year, the force and influence of the kings and the rulers will weaken. There can be a very dangerous war. This year the conditions of the rulers will be very vulnerable. There can be threats to their lives. Or their servants can die.

At the end of the season the crops will be less, then it can get better. There will be a lot of rain. People will be sick, high fever and pain will increase. The situations in this year will not be stable, because we can expect changes in people’s lives and attitudes. Lies and falsehood will increase. Agriculture will be productive, but incests can harm them, especially at the areas of two miles around residential areas. Still, there will be abundence.

Towards the end of fall, there will be heavy snow and a lot of new illness. Chilling cold can freeze the trees. God knows better.

- If the year starts on Monday and the Moon is in a fiery sign, this can be a sign of peace among people. For honorable scholars and women this is a blessing. Trade will increase. New babies will be born. There will be good rain, fruits will increase. Magicians and carpenters will die. Hunters will be in a good condition. There will be a lot of fish at the sea, but the citizens who eat that fish will get ill. God knows better.

- If the year starts on Monday, you should give something white as an expiation.

March 5, 2006

^{1 Muhyiddin-i Arabi, Saatlerin Hazinesi, Trans:
Selahaddin Alpay, Sümer Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1986}

Muhammad Ibn 'Arabi, mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, is one of the world's great spiritual teachers. Known as Muhyiddin (the Revivifier of Religion) and the Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master), he was born in 1165 AD into the Moorish culture of Andalusian Spain, the center of an extraordinary flourishing and cross-fertilization of Jewish, Christian and Islamic thought, through which the major scientific and philosophical works of antiquity were transmitted to Northern Europe. Ibn 'Arabi's spiritual attainments were evident from an early age, and he was renowned for his great visionary capacity as well as being a superlative teacher. He travelled extensively in the Islamic world and died in Damascus in 1240 AD.

Baris Ilhan, born in Ankara in 1956. Graduated from the Middle East Technical University as a city planner. Worked as a city planner for 15 years. She is a professional astrologer since 1993. In 1997 had founded her publishing house to publish astrology and pyschology books. Till today, had published 21 books. She is the author of two books. One is about the planetary cycles and astrological crisis times. Its name is “The Puberty Age for the Adults”, the other is “Astrology Lessons”, which is mainly a text book for her students. She is the founder of an astrology school called “Ilhan Astrology Institute”. The school also has a correspondence program to teach students from all over Anatolia and Cyprus. She teaches and lectures regularly and from time to time writes astrology articles for a daily Turkish newspaper. Besides these, organizes conferences, workshops and invites foreign speakers to Turkey. In 2003 she has formed the NCGR-Turkey chapter and started giving certification tests in Turkey. She is the President of the chapter. More information can be reached from www.ncgr-turkey.com . She is a member of NCGR, ISAR and AA. And a member of the Advisory Board of NCGR. Can be reached from: barisilhan@superonline.com