Primitive Astrology
And a journey through the world of the Paleolithic era
Photo: 15,000 year old lunar calendar at Lascaux Caves, France
During the Paleolithic, early humans observed the sky and the Moon with great interest and, although they did not have advanced scientific knowledge, their observations had an innate connection with early astrology.
Ancient Paleolithic humans relied heavily on the Moon to mark time and natural cycles. The full Moon was a crucial marker for agriculture and hunting, and its monthly cycle influenced religious beliefs and rituals.
Ancient petroglyphs, cave paintings, and megalithic monuments from the Paleolithic era often feature depictions of the Moon, highlighting its importance in daily and spiritual life. For example, the Lascaux caves in France. Some of their cave paintings are not just depictions of wild animals, but depict constellations in the night sky, according to researchers Martin Sweatman and Alistair Coombs1 of the Universities of Edinburg and Kent, respectively. These paintings appear to record a dating method based on the precession of the equinoxes, with animal symbols representing an ancient zodiac. Today the same constellations are used in the West, although some of the zodiac symbols are different.
In the Paleolithic, the Moon was seen as a powerful and mysterious entity, and the first forms of primitive astrology may have begun to develop as humans attempted to understand and predict events based on the lunar phases. While we cannot equate these Paleolithic beliefs with modern astrology, what we can say is that they laid the foundation for a deeper understanding of the relationship between the cosmos and life on Earth.
Enter the world of the Paleolithic by watching this video:
Decoding Europe’s Palaeolithic art: Extremely ancient knowledge of precession of the equinoxes by Martin Sweatman y Alistair Coombs.