The study of ancient astronomy, in the light of Theosophy, corrects many misconceptions including the modern belief that the ancients were either ignorant or superstitious in everything regarding the sun, planets and stars. Indeed, there was much in ancient astronomy that anticipated the discoveries of modern astronomers. No less than the earth sciences, astronomy, in any age, records the operations of the laws of nature which are the physical manifestations of universal and metaphysical truths. In ancient times, astronomy was taught during the sacred initiations of the Mystery Schools and preserved in the allegorical myths and symbols of the sacred scriptures. In this study of astronomy, the theories of the ancients and moderns will be placed side by side to give justice to past and present.
Astronomy is considered to be perhaps the most ancient of sciences.
It begins as soon as we look up at night. As we look up, at first the starry sky seems motionless. But if we continue to make observations night after night, the sky appears to be moving in a regular and predictable fashion. The constellations shift a little bit westward each successive night. The moon drifts west to east, changing position in the sky relative to the stars.