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Jewish
Medieval Jewish astrology developed significantly in the Islamic world, where Jewish scholars studied, adapted, and debated astrological knowledge inherited from Greek and Arabic sources. While some, like Maimonides, famously rejected astrology as unscientific and theologically problematic, others, including Saadia Gaon, Sherira Gaon, and Hai Gaon, addressed astrological ideas in their commentaries and responsa.[66] Dunash ibn Tamim, active in Kairouan, incorporated astrology into biblical exegesis and authored a critical treatise on its principles.[66] Astrological texts circulated widely among Jewish communities, as evidenced by hundreds of Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic fragments preserved in the Cairo Geniza, including horoscopes, almanacs, and medical or meteorological prognostications.[66]
The most influential figure was Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1164), who was born in Tudela, in Al-Andalus, and later traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean and Western Europe. His astrological corpus includes treatises on horoscopy (Sefer ha-She’elot), electional astrology (Sefer ha-Mivḥarim), medical astrology (Sefer ha-Me'orot), and introductions to theory (Reshit Ḥokhmah, Mishpeṭei ha-Mazalot). His writings served as a bridge between Arabic and Latin astrological traditions and shaped Jewish and Christian astrology in medieval Europe.[66]
