Magic and Astrology: Ancient Iranian Teachings

Hi loves,

I wanted to share some of my ancient lineage teachings about the true roots of magic—far older than modern New Age interpretations. These practices show how astrology, ritual, and spiritual alignment were once used to connect with divine guidance. They’ve also shaped Aatash Intuitive Healing Arts and my calling to do this work.

The word “magic” is rooted in Zoroastrianism (dating back to at least, 2500 years ago). Not magic in the mainstream sense of sorcery, but rather, a sacred blend of spiritual wisdom, alchemy, and manifestation. These are ancient teachings from the land of my lineages, which have been taken and repackaged by the New Age, with little to no acknowledgment of their true origin. The word “magic” derives from the ancient Avestan words magu and magavan, or more popularly known in its plural form, magi (practitioners of esoteric arts and cosmic alignment).*¹

For ancient Zoroastrians, magic was a mode of communication between humans and another realm—a hyper-reality or divine dimension known as menog. Magic was the way for magi to tune into subtle frequencies and receive messages from menog, which they believed, reached them through the yazatas (spiritual beings).**² These beings of Truth and Light helped the magi interpret divine guidance so they could manifest, create, or bring something into being.

According to the ancient teachings, yazatas communicate with us via time (days, months, gāh periods) and celestial phenomena (movement of the sun, moon and stars). This is why both numerology and astrology were important channels for communicating with menog.

Each day of the month was assigned a specific yazata, guiding human conduct and spiritual practice.*** Why each day of the month? Because astrologically (based on the ancient Iranian solar calendar system), the sun moves one degree per day through each zodiac sign.**** This means each day’s yazata influences a particular degree of a zodiac sign as the sun journeys through it. I've attached a chart below as a quick reference.

In this way, ancient Zoroastrian timekeeping, astrology and spiritual guidance intersect to help us work with the energies. Within a given day, a specific yazata energetically offers their unique power, wisdom and guidance to us. Through intentional ritual and alignment (namely, special manthras), you can invoke their presence. This is one way to align your energy/spirit with the source of divine power.

To be a practitioner of magic, however, you must be rooted Asha (truth, righteousness and cosmic order), and in Khvarenah (or personal power, which I write more about below). For the magi, this path required active resistance against the forces of druj (deception/lies/chaos), which aimed to corrupt and destabilize humanity.

To combat the forces of deception, the magi engaged in ritual practices, which included reciting manthras, meditating, and performing rites connected with the elements and stars. Their spiritual toolkit included numerology, astrology, herbology, and celestial observation.

Astrology was central to this work, especially the reverence for the Four Royal Stars (fixed stars)—which I wrote about here. These “Celestial Guardians” were seen as protectors and forces of Good, while the wandering planets represented unpredictability and chaos.

Astrology charts were used for divination, but not in the fatalistic way or for rigid fortune-telling. While the magi believed that the circumstances of a person’s life were influenced by the stars, they also believed that the response to those circumstances was entirely up to the individual. Free will was—and still is—an integral aspect of true divination and the practice of magic, including my own.

Lastly, I want to explain the concept of khvarenah, which I mentioned above as a core part of practicing magic. It represents the divine qualities within an individual—our spiritual force, our personal radiance. It is something akin to the term "personal power" but not in an ego-based sense but rather, one that upholds radical self-awareness within the context of integrity, truth, righteousness and order. We are as powerful as we are self-aware, with both our shadows and our gifts. In this way, we follow the path of Asha.

In ancient times, astrology helped individuals reconnect to their khvarenah. Through this reconnection and the practice of magic, a person could make clear, empowered choices that led to favorable outcomes while walking a path aligned with the divine. But these outcomes had to be rooted in divine Truth, never ego or illusion. And this is what I strive to do with the folks I work with. This is the very foundation of my own work as an astrologer, energy worker and intuitive guide.

When we reconnect with these ancient Iranian teachings, we remember that magic is not about bending the world to our will. It is about aligning ourselves with cosmic order. True astrology is not about predicting destiny, but rather, about awakening to our own agency within it. By working with the yazatas, studying the stars, and honoring Truth, we return to our khvarenah, our inner fire. These teachings invite us to walk a path of clarity, empowerment, and integrity, one that honors both our sacred lineage and our personal sovereignty.

I just shared these ancient lineage teachings in full for my Patreon community. You can join for free and explore the full post, plus monthly insights and guidance.

with care,
Shadi

Footnotes

* You may have heard the term “Magi” in reference to the “3 Wise Men,” who were actually not kings but magi (Zoroastrian priests) with expertise in astrology/astronomy.

**In the Bundahishn (Zoroastrian book of creation), Yazatas are spiritual beings who watch over creation and all its elements (truth, earth, water, fire, the sun, moon, stars, and human destiny and more).

***To be clear, day 1 is dedicated to Ahura Mazda (the creator of the universe). And days 2-6, are dedicated to the Amesha Spentas, the 6 divine emanations of Ahura Mazda. Days 9-30 are actually specifically connected to the yazatas. The Amesha Spentas are also divine entities, like the Yazatas, but they represent cosmic principles, fundamental aspects of creation and moral virtues.

****The ancient Iranian and the original Afghan calendar system (the Shamsi Calendar, which is still used to this day) aligns with the Sun's journey, the equinoxes and solstices. Each month of this calendar system aligns with the zodiac months (eg. the first month spring begins on the Spring Equinox).