Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is worldwide the place of the earliest known astronomer and poet by name:
Enheduanna,
Akkadian high priestess to the
lunar deity Nanna/Sin and princess, daughter of
Sargon the Great ( – BCE). She had the Moon tracked in her chambers and wrote poems about her divine Moon. The
crescent depicting the Moon as with Enheduanna's deity
Nanna/Sin have been found from the 3rd millennium BCE. at least two groups appear to have engaged in some kind of star worship. By far the most famous of these two are the
Sabians of Harran, adherents of a
Hellenized Semitic
pagan religion that had managed to survive during the early
Islamic period in the
Upper Mesopotamian city of
Harran. They were described by
Syriac Christian
heresiographers as star worshippers. Most of the scholars and
courtiers working for the
Abbasid and
Buyid dynasties in
Baghdad during the ninth–eleventh centuries who were known as 'Sabians' were either members of this Harranian religion or descendants of such members, most notably the Harranian astronomers and mathematicians
Thabit ibn Qurra (died 901) and
al-Battani (died 929). There has been some speculation on whether these Sabian families in Baghdad, on whom most of our information about the Harranian Sabians indirectly depends, may have practiced a different, more philosophically inspired variant of the original Harranian religion. However, apart from the fact that it contains traces of
Babylonian and
Hellenistic religion, and that an important place was taken by planets (to whom ritual
sacrifices were made), little is known about Harranian Sabianism. They have been variously described by scholars as (neo)-
Platonists,
Hermeticists, or
Gnostics, but there is no firm evidence for any of these identifications. Apart from the Sabians of Harran, there were also various religious groups living in the
Mesopotamian Marshes who were called the 'Sabians of the Marshes' (Arabic: ). Though this name has often been understood as a reference to the
Mandaeans, there was in fact at least one other religious group living in the marshlands of Southern Iraq. This group still held on to a pagan belief related to
Babylonian religion, in which Mesopotamian gods had already been venerated in the form of planets and stars since antiquity. According to
Ibn al-Nadim, our only source for these star-worshipping 'Sabians of the Marshes', they "follow the doctrines of the ancient Aramaeans [] and venerate the stars". However, there is also a large corpus of texts by
Ibn Wahshiyya (died c. 930), most famously his
Nabataean Agriculture, which describes at length the customs and beliefs — many of them going back to Mespotamian models — of Iraqi Sabians living in the
Sawād.
China Heaven worship is a
Chinese religious belief that predates
Taoism and
Confucianism, but was later incorporated into both.
Shangdi is the supreme unknowable god of
Chinese folk religion. Over time, namely following the conquests of the
Zhou dynasty who worshipped
Tian (天
lit. "sky"), Shangdi became synonymous with Tian, or Heaven. During the Zhou dynasty, Tian not only became synonymous with the physical sky but also embodied the divine will, representing the moral order of the universe. This evolution marked a shift from the earlier concept of Shangdi to a more abstract and universal principle that guided both natural and human affairs. In the Han dynasty the worship of Heaven would be highly ritualistic and require that the emperor hold official sacrifices and worship at an altar of Heaven, the most famous of which is the
Temple of Heaven in
Beijing. Heaven worship is closely linked with
ancestor veneration and
polytheism, as the ancestors and the gods are seen as a medium between Heaven and man. The
Emperor of China, also known as the "
Son of Heaven", derived the
Mandate of Heaven, and thus his legitimacy as ruler, from his supposed ability to commune with Heaven on behalf of his nation. This mandate was reinforced through celestial observations and rituals, as astrological phenomena were interpreted as omens reflecting the favor or disfavor of Heaven. The Emperor’s role was to perform the necessary rites to maintain harmony between Heaven and Earth, ensuring the prosperity of his reign. Star worship was widespread in Asia, especially in Mongolia and northern China, and also spread to Korea. According to Edward Schafer, star worship was already established during the
Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), with the
Nine Imperial Gods becoming star lords. The Big Dipper (Beidou) and the North Star (Polaris) were particularly significant in Chinese star worship. The Big Dipper was associated with cosmic order and governance, while the North Star was considered the throne of the celestial emperor. These stars played a crucial role in state rituals, where the Emperor’s ability to align these celestial forces with earthly governance was seen as essential to his legitimacy. This star worship, along with indigenous
shamanism and
medical practice, formed one of the original bases of
Taoism. The
Heavenly Sovereign was identified with the
Big Dipper and the
North Star. Worship of Heaven in the southern suburb of the capital was initiated in 31 BCE and firmly established in the first century CE (Western Han). The
Sanxing () are the gods of the three stars or constellations considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Sirius.
Fu,
Lu, and
Shou (), or
Cai,
Zi and
Shou () are also the embodiments of
Fortune (
Fu), presiding over planet Jupiter,
Prosperity (Lu), presiding over Ursa Major, and
Longevity (
Shou), presiding over Sirius. During the
Tang dynasty,
Chinese Buddhism adopted Taoist Big Dipper worship, borrowing various texts and rituals which were then modified to conform with Buddhist practices and doctrines. The integration of Big Dipper worship into Buddhist practices highlights the adaptability of star worship in China, where it was syncretized with various religious traditions over time. The cult of the Big Dipper was eventually absorbed into the cults of various Buddhist divinities,
Myōken being one of these.
Japan Star worship was also practiced in Japan. Japanese star worship is largely based on Chinese cosmology. According to Bernard Faure, "the
cosmotheistic nature of esoteric Buddhism provided an easy bridge for cultural translation between Indian and Chinese cosmologies, on the one hand, and between Indian astrology and local Japanese folk beliefs about the stars, on the other". in
Chiba City,
Chiba Prefecture.Originally an 11th-century Buddhist temple dedicated to Myōken, converted into a
Shinto shrine during the
Meiji period. The cult of Myōken is thought to have been brought into Japan during the 7th century by immigrants (
toraijin) from
Goguryeo and
Baekje. During the reign of
Emperor Tenji (661–672), the
toraijin were resettled in the easternmost parts of the country; as a result, Myōken worship spread throughout the eastern provinces. By the
Heian period,
pole star worship had become widespread enough that imperial decrees banned it for the reason that it involved "mingling of men and women", and thus caused ritual impurity. Pole star worship was also forbidden among the inhabitants of the capital and nearby areas when the imperial princess (
Saiō) made her way to
Ise to begin her service at the shrines. Nevertheless, the cult of the pole star left its mark on imperial rituals such as the
emperor's enthronement and the worship of
the imperial clan deity at Ise Shrine. Worship of the pole star was also practiced in
Onmyōdō, where it was deified as
Chintaku Reifujin (鎮宅霊符神). Myōken worship was particularly prevalent among clans based in eastern Japan (the modern
Kantō and
Tōhoku regions), with the
Kanmu Taira clan (Kanmu Heishi) and their offshoots such as the
Chiba and the
Sōma clans being among the deity's notable devotees. One legend claims that
Taira no Masakado was a devotee of Myōken, who aided him in his military exploits. When Masakado grew proud and arrogant, the deity withdrew his favor and instead aided Masakado's uncle
Yoshifumi, the ancestor of the Chiba clan. Owing to his status as the Chiba clan's
ujigami (guardian deity), temples and shrines dedicated to Myōken are particularly numerous in former Chiba territories. Myōken worship is also prevalent in many
Nichiren-shū Buddhist temples due to the clan's connections with the school's
Nakayama lineage.
Indigenous America Celestial objects hold a significant place within
Indigenous American cultures. From the
Lakota in North America to the
Inca in South America, the celestial realm was integrated into daily life. Stars served as
navigation aids, temporal markers, and
spiritual conduits, illustrating their practical and sacred importance. Heavenly bodies held spiritual wisdom. The
Pleiades, revered in various cultures, symbolized diverse concepts such as
agricultural cycles and
ancestral spirits. In North America, star worship was practiced by the
Lakota people and the
Wichita people. The Inca civilization engaged in star worship, and associated constellations with deities and forces, while the
Milky Way represented a bridge between earthly and divine realms. Indigenous American cultures encapsulate a holistic worldview that acknowledges the interplay of humanity, nature, and the cosmos.
Oral traditions transmitted cosmic stories, infusing mythologies, songs, and ceremonies with cosmic significance. These narratives emphasized the belief that the celestial realm offered insights into origins and purpose.
Gnosticism Gnosticism largely relies on Greek and Persian dualism, especially on
Platonism. In accordance with Platonism, they regarded the
idea as good while considering the material and conscious world to be inherently evil. The demonized star-deities of late Persian religion became associated with a demon, thus identifying the seven observable planets with an
Archon (demonic ruler). Examples of Gnostic portrayals of demons can be found in the
Apocryphon of John in which they are said to have helped to construct the physical
Adam and in
Pistis Sophia which states they are ruled over by
Hekate and punish corrupt souls. ==Institutionalized religions==