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Pirates and Astrology

🧭 1. Navigation as Proto-Astrology

Example: Using the North Star (Polaris) and constellations such as Ursa Major (The Big Dipper) to chart position at sea.

Details: Though strictly astronomical, pirates used the stars not just to know where they were, but when to move, and how to read the mood of the sea. To many, these movements weren’t just physics—they were omens.

If a particular constellation rose bright and sharp, it was seen as a sign of clear skies.

If the stars were dim or flickering, they might interpret this as an upcoming storm—an astrological forecast of sorts.

Many pirates would also sail under particular moon phases, believing a full moon offered better luck, visibility, and even heightened intuition.

🌒 2. Lunar Superstitions and Astrology

Example: Planning a raid according to the Moon’s phase—especially avoiding New Moons for fear of misfortune.

Details:

Waxing Moon (growing): considered a time of gain and success—raids were often launched in this phase.

Full Moon: excellent for visibility at night and thought to be blessed by Selene, the ancient Moon goddess in European lore. Pirates believed the full moon brought clarity and truth, so betrayals were often uncovered under her light.

Waning Moon (shrinking): a time of loss, retreat, or banishment. Bad time to begin new ventures.

Some pirates would carve moon symbols into their ships or keep silver coins under their bunks to honor the Moon’s power (silver being the Moon’s metal in traditional astrology).

🔥 3. Zodiacal Beliefs and Personality

Example: Some captains kept crew logs where they noted birthdays (or baptism dates) of their crew—not for celebration, but for interpreting temperament.

Details:

A crewman born under Aries might be prized for bravery but watched for recklessness.

A Pisces might be considered a good lookout due to intuition, but perhaps too soft for hand-to-hand combat.

A Leo captain was believed to have natural command—some would even be referred to by their sign, like “Leo Jack” or “Scorpio Jim.”

This personalization mimicked what we today know as sun-sign astrology. It wasn't formalized but rooted in folk understanding.

🪐 4. Planetary Days and Hours

Example: Choosing days for launching voyages based on planetary influences—Tuesdays (Mars) for attack, Fridays (Venus) for negotiation or division of spoils.

Details:

Monday (Moon): moody, not ideal for business.

Tuesday (Mars): aggression, war, great for raids.

Wednesday (Mercury): speed and trickery; ideal for escaping or deceptive maneuvers.

Friday (Venus): gifts, wealth, pleasure—some pirates used this day to share treasure or engage in carousing.

Saturday (Saturn): many avoided sailing on this day due to its association with misfortune and restriction.

This system mirrored planetary hour magic found in grimoires like Picatrix or the Key of Solomon, which pirates could have encountered through contact with Moors, Spanish monks, or Arabic manuscripts.

💀 5. Tattoos and Talismans as Astral Wards

Example: Star tattoos, crescent moons, and astrological glyphs etched on skin and tools.

Details:

Tattoos of stars weren’t always decorative—they were often meant to ward off drowning. Sailors believed the stars would "guide them home" even in death.

Some pirates wore pendants engraved with zodiac signs, or planetary sigils (like Jupiter’s glyph for luck).

Charms and talismans blessed under certain skies were worn to invoke planetary aid—a nod to astrological talismanic magic.

Certain captains were rumored to possess amulets enchanted under rare conjunctions (like Mars-Jupiter) to ensure victory or dominance.

👻 6. Jinn, Spirits, and Celestial Entities

Example: In regions influenced by Islam (like the Barbary Coast), pirates often invoked jinn or star-spirits through whispered prayers and rituals.

Details:

The Barbary Corsairs, based in North Africa, often followed Islamic astrology (ilm al-nujūm). They may have timed attacks based on astrological signs, particularly Leo or Scorpio for war.

Some pirate captains consulted astrologers in Tunis, Algiers, or Tripoli before embarking on long campaigns.

Spirit invocations were carried out during specific celestial alignments. A pirate might even bury treasure on a day when Saturn (the planet of delay and secrecy) was in the 12th house—believing it would remain hidden for centuries.

🧙‍♀️ 7. Witches, Sea-Wives, and Star-Seers

Example: Caribbean pirates often visited local seer women—called “mothers of the moon” or Obeah women—to get astrological blessings.

Details:

These women combined folk astrology, African spirituality, and European grimoires.

A captain might request a reading of the stars before battle, or a charm made while Venus was rising, to win over rival crews.

Some pirates swore by their seers more than any map—believing the stars whispered fates only women with “the second sight” could interpret.

⚓ Conclusion: Pirates and the Astrology of the Sea

Though they sailed with rum in one hand and cutlasses in the other, pirates often leaned on celestial intuition and cosmic signs to steady their course. Their superstitions were not childish—they were a system of belief, a salty astrology born from life-and-death choices made beneath the moon and stars.

The pirate, after all, lived between worlds: land and sea, life and death, chance and fate. Astrology, in all its mystical forms, gave them a language to understand that liminal space—and to dare the waves with the stars in their favor.

⚔️ 1. Barbarossa Brothers (Oruç and Hayreddin) — The Corsairs of the Maghreb

Region: Ottoman Algeria / Mediterranean

Era: Early 1500s

Astrological Influence: Operated under the Ottoman Empire, which deeply respected astrology. They were known to consult court astrologers in Algiers and Istanbul for timing sea raids and negotiations.

Example: Oruç Reis allegedly waited for favorable lunar phases before launching attacks on European ships. Ottoman naval campaigns often coordinated with astrologers, and as naval commanders under Ottoman rule, the Barbarossa brothers likely used astrological calendars.

Mystical Additions: The brothers also relied on North African marabouts (holy men) who used astrology, dream interpretation, and geomancy to advise warlords and pirates alike.

🌙 2. Sayyida al-Hurra — The Pirate Queen of Morocco

Region: Tetouan, Morocco / Western Mediterranean

Era: 16th century

Astrological Influence: As an educated noblewoman and ally of Barbarossa, she was steeped in Islamic scholarship, including ilm al-nujūm (science of the stars).

Example: Sayyida al-Hurra was said to consult Sufi mystics and court sages before engaging in battle or negotiation. It’s believed her title “al-Hurra” (the free one) was given during a favorable celestial alignment.

Cultural Context: Her court in Tetouan preserved Arabic astrological manuscripts from Andalusia. Her identity as both a leader and spiritual woman suggests she moved through astrological circles as both a patron and believer.

🌊 3. Al-Mustafa bin Jafar — Corsair of Tripoli

Region: Libya (Tripolitania)

Era: Late 17th century

Astrological Influence: A commander in the Barbary States, he allegedly used star signs and planetary hours to time ambushes against Venetian and Spanish galleons.

Example: Oral tradition in Tripoli recounts that bin Jafar would delay voyages based on the Moon’s position, and his personal flag bore a star and crescent—symbolic not just of Islam, but of lunar magic and celestial favor.

🔥 4. Henry the Slave-King (Henri Caesar) — Haitian Pirate with African Roots

Region: Caribbean (Haiti) / African diaspora

Era: Early 1800s

Astrological Influence: Though more of a mythic figure, stories say he blended West African vodun, astrology, and Caribbean obeah to summon protection and curse his enemies.

Example: Legends describe Caesar timing his attacks with eclipses and comets, claiming they were signs from his ancestors. He carried talismans blessed under Jupiter and Mars.

🐍 5. African Mystic Pirates of the Swahili Coast

Region: Zanzibar, Mombasa, Comoros

Era: 15th–18th centuries

Astrological Influence: The Swahili coast was rich with Islamic mysticism, blending Arabic astrology, African animism, and Indian Ocean trading lore.

Example: Pirate dhows in this region often featured celestial symbols etched into the wood, and some captains hired Swahili astrologer-priests who timed sea raids based on planetary hours and rising stars—particularly Sirius and Canopus, stars sacred in East African and Arab star lore.

🌌 The Common Thread

These pirates, though diverse in culture and era, were bound by a shared worldview where the heavens were not far-off mysteries, but maps of fate, just waiting to be interpreted.

Cultural Bridges:

Arabic astrology, descended from Babylonian and Hellenistic traditions, was deeply entrenched in courts, trade routes, and religious life.

African cosmologies, especially in Mali, Yoruba, and Berber traditions, viewed stars and planets as divine beings with personalities—guides or warnings.

When the sword was raised, the stars had already whispered their omen.

i love when waves whitecap. the ocean is wild and uncontrollable and im living for it

“The new day rises again...” Beautiful artwork by Darya Kozhemyakina