=The Gods.=--The supreme god at Babylon is Ilou; in Assyria, Assur. No
temple was raised to him. Three gods proceed from him: Anou, the "lord
of darkness," under the figure of a man with the head of a fish and
the tail of an eagle; Bel, the "sovereign of spirits," represented as
a king on the throne; Nouah, the "master of the visible world," under
the form of a genius with four extended wings. Each has a feminine
counterpart who symbolizes fruitfulness. Below these gods are the Sun,
the Moon, and the five planets, for in the transparent atmosphere of
Chaldea the stars shine with a brilliancy which is strange to us; they
gleam like deities. To these the Chaldeans raised temples, veritable
observatories in which men who adored them could follow all their
motions.

=Astrology.=--The priests believed that these stars, being powerful
deities, had determining influence on the lives of men. Every man
comes into the world under the influence of a planet and this moment
decides his destiny; one may foretell one's fortune if the star under
which one is born is known. This is the origin of the horoscope. What
occurs in heaven is indicative of what will come to pass on earth; a
comet, for example, announces a revolution. By observing the heavens
the Chaldean priests believed they could predict events. This is the
origin of Astrology.

=Sorcery.=--The Chaldeans had also magical words; these were uttered
to banish spirits or to cause their appearance. This custom, a relic
of the Turanian religion, is the origin of sorcery. From Chaldea
astrology and sorcery were diffused over the Roman empire, and later
over all Europe. In the formulas of sorcery of the sixteenth century
corrupted Assyrian words may still be detected.[20]