The Zulu and Astrology: Celestial Wisdom From Southern Africa
"When iNyanga rises in the eastern sky, bringing her light to guide the sangomas in their sacred work, we remember that the ancestors speak through the stars just as they speak through the bones." These words, shared by a respected sangoma from KwaZulu-Natal, capture something profound about Zulu culture's relationship with the cosmos. Astrology—if we can call it that—permeates traditional Zulu life in ways that Western practitioners might never expect.
But here's the thing: Zulu astrology isn't your typical horoscope reading.
Bones, Stars, and Sacred Wisdom
Most people think of astrology and immediately picture birth charts or zodiac signs. The Zulu tradition operates differently. In Zulu, a star is inkanyezi, and these celestial bodies serve as markers for time, season, and spiritual guidance rather than personality prediction.
iNyanga the Moon goddess is associated with healers who are called IziNyanga—the very name connecting lunar cycles to healing practice. This isn't coincidence. Traditional healers time their most important work according to lunar phases, understanding that spiritual energies ebb and flow with celestial rhythms.
The most remarkable aspect? The phases of the moon are used to mark important times for planting, harvesting, and spiritual rituals. These lunar cycles are believed to influence human behavior, emotions, and spiritual growth.
Consider the practical wisdom embedded here. Rather than abstract personality traits, Zulu astronomical knowledge focuses on actionable guidance for daily life.
The Star Calendar That Shaped Civilisation
The Zulus know them as isiLimela and they believe these stars die in the winter (as they sink below the western horizon not to be seen for many months) and when the rainy season starts in late spring they are reborn as they reappear in the east.
That's the Pleiades—the Seven Sisters—serving as a seasonal calendar more precise than anything colonial administrators could impose.
These stars are also referred to as the hoeing or digging stars, thus having importance as agricultural signs. For Xhosas the dawn rising of isiLimela was a traditional indicator for a male coming-of-age.
Imagine that system. A young man doesn't come of age because he's reached a certain birthday, but when the stars themselves announce his readiness. The cosmos participates in human development.
Sangomas: Stargazers and Bone Throwers
Here's where Zulu astrology gets fascinating for modern practitioners. Sangomas believe they are able to access advice and guidance from their ancestors for their patients through spirit possession by an ancestor, or mediumship, divination bones, or by dream interpretation.
The bone-throwing practice represents perhaps the world's most sophisticated form of terrestrial astrology. When the bones are thrown by the sangoma, they do not fall in a random fashion but in a way that the ancestral spirit controls. A meaningful and usually highly accurate interpretation can be made.
Wait—terrestrial astrology?
The foundation of African astrology is rooted in an ancient math model known as geomancy. Geomancy is a method of divination that interprets the shapes formed by a collection of rocks or bones thrown on the ground. The connection becomes clear: rather than looking upward for cosmic patterns, traditional Zulu practitioners bring cosmic wisdom down to earth through ritual.
The divining bones are not strictly all bones but comprise shells, money, seeds, dice, domino-like objects or even dominos themselves, and other objects that have been appointed by the sangoma and the spirit to represent certain polarities—each element representing different cosmic forces and earthly concerns.
Scary.
The precision rivals Western astrological techniques, but operates through ancestral communion rather than planetary calculation.
Celestial Creatures and Sacred Snakes
Traditional Zulu star lore reveals sophisticated astronomical observation wrapped in memorable imagery. One Zulu tradition held that the Sun died at sunset each day, and was eaten by a race of pygmies called iZichwe. What sounds like mythology actually encodes careful observation of daily solar cycles.
The Zulu call it iNtshola, "The Cattle Thief" when referring to Capella, demonstrating how celestial observation connected to pastoral concerns. Every bright star had a name, a story, and practical significance.
A Zulu tale tells that meteors (or shooting stars as they are popularly known) result when celestial cattle rush off to better pastures in another part of the sky. Their hooves break through the floor of the sky, creating streaks of light that soon fill up with mud.
These aren't primitive beliefs—they're mnemonic devices encoding astronomical knowledge within culturally meaningful narratives.
Moon Wives and Ancestral Guidance
Traditional Zulu mythology maintains the moon has two wives. This detail reveals sophisticated lunar observation, as the moon's changing appearance throughout its phases would naturally suggest multiple personas or relationships.
But here's the crucial difference from Western astrology: The moon may also be genderless, the celestial home of spirits whose domains are in the heavens. Rather than influencing personality through natal positioning, lunar energy provides a dwelling place for ancestral spirits who guide the living.
Another way the ancestors communicate with the inyanga is through dreams. The integration of dream interpretation with celestial observation creates a holistic system where cosmic wisdom flows through multiple channels.
This multifaceted approach makes traditional Zulu practice remarkably adaptive. Where Western astrology might rely solely on chart calculation, Zulu methods combine stellar observation, lunar timing, dream guidance, and bone divination into an integrated whole.
The Wilfred Hazelwood Perspective
At Wilfred Hazelwood, we've observed increasing interest in indigenous astrological traditions among our clients. The Zulu approach offers several insights for contemporary practice:
Practical Integration: Rather than personality analysis, Zulu astronomical wisdom focuses on timing and spiritual guidance for real-world decisions.
Multiple Divination Methods: Combining different techniques—celestial observation, bone throwing, dream interpretation—creates cross-referential validation.
Ancestral Connection: The emphasis on ancestral guidance provides spiritual depth often missing from modern astrological practice.
Seasonal Attunement: Agricultural timing based on stellar observation connects practitioners to natural rhythms rather than abstract planetary influences.
When Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Practice
Contemporary South Africa presents fascinating intersections between traditional and Western astrological approaches. It was estimated that there are 200 000 practising Sangomas, with 84 percent of the South African population consult a Sangoma more than three times a year.
That's remarkable persistence for an ancient tradition.
Modern practitioners might learn from this integration model. Rather than viewing different astrological systems as competitive, the Zulu approach suggests they can complement each other. Western chart analysis might provide one perspective on timing and personality, whilst traditional methods offer guidance on spiritual matters and practical decisions.
Consider this practical example: a Western astrologer might identify challenging planetary transits, whilst a traditional Zulu approach could provide specific ritual guidance for navigating those challenges through ancestral wisdom.
The Stars Still Speak
Whereas Europeans have traditionally talked about a "man on the moon", the Zulus and other African tribes see a woman carrying a bundle of sticks. That difference in lunar interpretation reveals something profound about cultural astronomy—the same celestial bodies can carry entirely different meanings based on cultural context.
Yet the universal human impulse remains constant: we look up and seek meaning, guidance, and connection to something greater than ourselves.
The Zulu tradition reminds us that astrology needn't be purely predictive or personality-focused. It can be practical, spiritual, communal, and deeply rooted in place-based wisdom.
The enduring lesson? The ancestors—whether biological, cultural, or spiritual—continue speaking through cosmic patterns for those who know how to listen. In our increasingly disconnected world, perhaps that's precisely the kind of celestial wisdom we need most.
After all, the stars haven't changed. Only our methods of hearing their guidance have evolved.
For those interested in exploring traditional approaches to celestial wisdom alongside contemporary astrological practice, Wilfred Hazelwood offers consultations that integrate multiple cultural perspectives on cosmic guidance.
