History of astrology and astronomy

In an age dominated by global elites, algorithmic propaganda, and media manipulation, citizens increasingly inhabit a world of shadows, mistaking appearance for reality and spectacle for truth. Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Aristotle's empirical philosophy shed light on the moral and political implications of this condition. Both thinkers teach that liberation begins with questioning illusion and that freedom depends upon the active cultivation of reason, virtue, and community. This essay extends their insights to the twenty-first century, examining how digital technologies, surveillance capitalism, and geopolitical rivalries between established and emerging powers sustain new forms of illusion and subjugation. It argues that citizens, and particularly those in developing nations, must rediscover the courage of enlightenment: to turn from the wall, ascend toward truth, and reclaim the world as a shared moral project rather than a stage for domination.

In an age dominated by global elites, algorithmic propaganda, and media manipulation, citizens increasingly inhabit a world of shadows, mistaking appearance for reality and spectacle for truth. Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Aristotle's empirical philosophy shed light on the moral and political implications of this condition. Both thinkers teach that liberation begins with questioning illusion and that freedom depends upon the active cultivation of reason, virtue, and community. This essay extends their insights to the twenty-first century, examining how digital technologies, surveillance capitalism, and geopolitical rivalries between established and emerging powers sustain new forms of illusion and subjugation. It argues that citizens, and particularly those in developing nations, must rediscover the courage of enlightenment: to turn from the wall, ascend toward truth, and reclaim the world as a shared moral project rather than a stage for domination.

This paper will consider developments in astronomy in Hellenistic Egypt, during the Ptolemaic period, applying a wider historiographical model, the concept of scientific revolutions. It argues that the combination of traditional culturalastronomical beliefs, such as the notion of the soul's journey to the stars, with Greek and Mesopotamian concepts, led to the codification of divinatory and theological models of the cosmos into two forms. These were, firstly, the horoscope, which should be seen as a technology for analysing the soul's fate through the disposition of the stars and planets and, secondly, the literature of the Corpus Hermeticum, which may be considered as a technology for salvation from fate, enabling the soul to return to the stars. These ideas were so important for subsequent developments in astronomy that, following the notion of the 'Copernican Revolution', it will be suggested that we can refer to an 'Egyptian' or, more properly, a 'Ptolemaic Astronomical Revolution'. I make a distinction, drawn from Mesopotamian astronomy, between mathematical astronomy and nonmathematical astronomy. The paper summarises theories concerning Babylonian, Greek and Egyptian notions of the soul and the stars in order to provide a foundation for the hypothesis. My purpose is to draw a neglected area of the history of astronomy and encourage further debate.

This paper will consider developments in astronomy in Hellenistic Egypt, during the Ptolemaic period, applying a wider historiographical model, the concept of scientific revolutions. It argues that the combination of traditional culturalastronomical beliefs, such as the notion of the soul's journey to the stars, with Greek and Mesopotamian concepts, led to the codification of divinatory and theological models of the cosmos into two forms. These were, firstly, the horoscope, which should be seen as a technology for analysing the soul's fate through the disposition of the stars and planets and, secondly, the literature of the Corpus Hermeticum, which may be considered as a technology for salvation from fate, enabling the soul to return to the stars. These ideas were so important for subsequent developments in astronomy that, following the notion of the 'Copernican Revolution', it will be suggested that we can refer to an 'Egyptian' or, more properly, a 'Ptolemaic Astronomical Revolution'. I make a distinction, drawn from Mesopotamian astronomy, between mathematical astronomy and nonmathematical astronomy. The paper summarises theories concerning Babylonian, Greek and Egyptian notions of the soul and the stars in order to provide a foundation for the hypothesis. My purpose is to draw a neglected area of the history of astronomy and encourage further debate.

When mathematics of the heavens meet the Earth. *****Available in green Open Access at:
https://iris.unive.it/handle/10278/5082881?fbclid=IwY2xjawNQ68hleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHpPPLuUfS5wFsE0tWRfc6YlMIwYF7TWfBy3tP_9gMYEigPKZ6DhJm4SlOqRv_aem__AEp_utOkacQ5H1D2rmgtA

In 2023 David Barrado Navascués published Cosmography in the Age of Discovery and the Scientific Revolution, arguing among other points that a wave of rationalism that began with Pico della Mirandola's Disputations Against Astrological Revolution swept astrology out of the universities. This argument is reductive. Instead, the historical record shows that in regions of Europe such as France and England judicial astrology-the form of the discipline used to make predictions-became increasingly associated with riot, unrest, civil war, and perhaps most damning in the eyes of Early Modern intellectuals in these areas, the lower classes. As a result, intellectuals such as Pierre Gassendi and the Fellows of the Royal Society of Science in England adopted a mechanical model of the cosmos that did not require celestial influences. The influence of the latter body was particularly important, as its prestige-and the concomitant prestige of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Societyundercut the reputation of astrology, since the journal would accept no astrological paper. These changes in England were in large part the result of the appropriation of astrological forecasting by those who lacked a university degree during the English Civil War (1642-46). Thus, the lapsing of astrology as an academic discipline owed more to social and cultural factors than to any rising tide of scientific rationalism.

The "Celestial" seminar focuses on the social and cultural history of the sky, in a broad sense of the term, including the atmosphere and its meteors, the cosmos and its worlds. It aims to consider this space as an object of knowledge and speculation, using approaches consistent with current historiography, treating scholarly and secular, official and alternative works equally, understood without hierarchy or teleology.
Thus, it includes, for example, and without any ambition to be exhaustive, disciplines devoted to the knowledge of stars and meteors, to the knowledge of cosmic influences on Earth, the living world, the environment, the philosophical, spiritual, or religious questions that pervade it, as well as research, doctrines, or fictional investigations devoted to life in the universe: the plurality of worlds, the transmigration of souls, extraterrestrial life, etc. The approach requires opening the analysis to environmental issues, social and gender anchors, as well as the practices that weave cultures of the sky.
Apprehending these different knowledge regimes head-on gives us the opportunity to reflect on the dynamics that drive them. Adopting a long-term, diachronic perspective that establishes a single terminus ad quem, the first lunar voyage (1969), the seminar thus focuses on
constants, recompositions, or resurgences, as well as on disqualifications, discoveries, and innovations.

This study is part of ongoing research that focuses on tracing the circulation of astrological knowledge within a late Ottoman manuscript entitled Menazil-i Kevakib (Mansions of Stars), which remains largely unexplored and for which catalogue information is limited. The manuscript’s astrological diagrams and themes reflect elements rooted in early period traditions; simultaneously, modern astronomical knowledge was recognised and increasingly disseminated in the 19th-century Ottoman intellectual milieu. Yet, the manuscript’s content appears predominantly grounded in early astrological knowledge and methodologies. This coexistence suggests an epistemic environment in which two distinct modes of knowledge persisted in parallel, raising significant questions about how a late-period text embodies and reconfigures earlier intellectual heritage. Menazil-i Kevakib is closely tied
to 19th-century transformations in Ottoman manuscript culture. The continued production of manuscripts amid widespread print technology adoption highlights a critical intersection of European influences and classical Islamic heritage within Ottoman astronomy historiography.  The authorship remains ambiguous, and catalogue records inadequately capture the manuscript’s scope. Originally catalogued in Istanbul University’s Rare Books collection, it was later incorporated into the Yıldız Palace collection, though bibliographic records remain with the former. Initial investigations have not identified a copy, complicated by scarce and
inaccurate catalogue data. Thus, the limits of archival documentation on Ottoman astronomy are integral to this historiographical inquiry. While the manuscript appears to aim to transmit knowledge from early astrological traditions to a late Ottoman readership, it remains unresolved whether this transmission involves mere replication or specific epistemic choices and historiographical functions. The identification of similar diagrams across manuscripts is a key strength of this intertextual study, providing nuanced insights into the reception of early modern astrology in the late Ottoman period. Building on these findings, this presentation centres on the manuscript’s astrology-related diagrams to explore both its astrological content and its role as a knowledge object within Ottoman historiography.

MS Vind. phil. gr. 115 includes a number of anonymous astrological chapters translated from Arabic into Byzantine Greek, alongside Greek excerpts attributed to ʾAbū Maʿšar al-Balḫī and al-Qabīṣī. This contribution presents a study of the manuscript, a discussion of the role it played in the transmission of Arabo-Byzantine astrological texts, and an edition and English translation of the anonymous chapters.

SINOPSE:

Por seu tamanho e posição, Júpiter ocupa o lugar central entre os astros que circulam ao redor do sol. Ele é precedido por Mercúrio, Vênus, Terra e Marte, e é seguido pelo mesmo número de corpos Saturno, Urano, Netuno e Plutão. Em analogia com esta colocação, Júpiter encarna na Astrologia o princípio de equilíbrio, de atividade, de ordem, de preservação da situação estabelecida sendo, por excelência, o planeta da legalidade social, da riqueza, do otimismo e da confiança. Os antigos gratificaram-se com o nome do grande benéfico.

Para Alan Leo, adepto da astrologia esotérica, Júpiter associa-se à beleza, à cortesia e à perfeição das formas. A sua influência determina o meio ambiente e as condições futuras de cada alma, seja animal, humana ou divina; é essa influência que preserva os registos do passado e mostra as perspectivas do futuro.

A presente obra apresenta três conferências sobre Júpiter. A primeira conferência — JÚPITER, O PRESERVADOR — discute o simbolismo de Júpiter e sua relação com outros símbolos planetários, mostrando como Júpiter representa a influência preservadora. A segunda conferência — JÚPITER E A GRANDE ONDA DA VIDA — faz a comparação de Júpiter com a Tríade Divina (Vontade–Sabedoria–Atividade, ou Kether, Chokmah e Binah, etc.). A terceira conferência — JÚPITER E A AURA PESSOAL — faz a relação de Júpiter com a Substância e o Mundo Material. E conclui, falando um pouco sobre Os Raios Planetários.


PONTOS-CHAVE:

Foco astrológico: O autor, Alan Leo, centra-se na interpretação esotérica do planeta Júpiter.

Aspetos de Júpiter: Ele associa Júpiter a qualidades como beleza, cortesia e a busca pela perfeição das formas.

Influência no destino: A obra explica que a influência de Júpiter molda o ambiente futuro e as condições físicas de uma alma, seja ela um ser animal, humano ou divino.

Conexão com o tempo: A sua influência é vista como um elo que preserva os registos do passado, ao mesmo tempo que revela as perspectivas e o caminho do futuro.

Contexto da Obra: O livro integra uma trilogia que se completa com os volumes dedicados por Alan Leo aos planetas Marte e Saturno, indicando uma análise aprofundada dos planetas em termos astrológicos e espirituais.

Lire le ciel. Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée
Catalogue d’exposition sous la dir. de Juliette Bessette et Enguerrand Lascols
Marseille, Mucem, 9 juillet 2025 – 5 janvier 2026
Marseille / Paris, Éditions du Mucem / RMN, 2025, 224 p.
[EXTRAITS]

El 4 de febrero de 2025, La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) celebró en Ginebra (Suiza) su 156ª reunión del Consejo Ejecutivo. En el sexto punto del día, titulado: «Enfermedades raras: una prioridad de salud mundial para la equidad y la inclusión», se reconoció que estas enfermedades afectan a una de cada 2.000 personas (1). Actualmente se identifican unas 7.000 (6.417 según la última actualización de Orphanet) (2, 3) y se estima que más de 300 millones de personas en el mundo conviven con alguna de ellas, lo que representa entre el 6% y 8% de la población global (1, 4, 5, 6). Aproximadamente entre el 70% y 72% de estas enfermedades tienen su inicio en la infancia (1, 4), y muchas de ellas provocan discapacidad, dificultades en el acceso a servicios sanitarios y educativos, discriminación estructural y efectos psicosociales como el aislamiento, la estigmatización y la limitación de oportunidades de inclusión. La OMS destaca que estos efectos se ven agravados por la falta de concienciación social y por el escaso conocimiento médico y científico generalizado (1).

Parafraseando a Rodríguez-Sánchez y Velasco Morgado, los derechos de las personas con enfermedades minoritarias y sus familias no habrían sido posibles sin la transformación del papel de los pacientes, quienes han asumido un rol activo en los sistemas públicos de salud y en la defensa del conocimiento generado desde su propia experiencia. Esta participación ha sido clave tanto en la relación con los profesionales sanitarios como en los procesos colectivos de empoderamiento. Las nuevas perspectivas impulsadas por las asociaciones, sus miembros y los propios pacientes han resultado decisivas en la transición hacia enfoques interdisciplinares sostenidos por redes complejas (6).

En el archipiélago canario, el desarrollo de estas asociaciones ha seguido un proceso particular, marcado por la dispersión territorial, la insularidad y la falta de estudios que documenten su trayectoria. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo reconstruir la historia del asociacionismo vinculado a las enfermedades raras en las Islas Canarias, identificar sus dinámicas y comprender los factores que han condicionado su aparición, continuidad o extinción.

The article analyzes Johannes Kepler's concepts of the nature of light, its position and function in the cosmological model based on the heliocentric doctrine. Kepler's ideas about light are considered in the context of the ancient and medieval philosophical tradition discussing the nature of light, a tradition that formed the basis of Kepler's thought. At the same time, Kepler's metaphysics of light is examined in connection with his religious views based on the Lutheran thesis about God's desire to be recognized through natural manifestations.

The article examines the interrelation between solar eclipses and the legendary narratives surrounding Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. In ancient societies, the Sun held paramount symbolic and existential value. Eclipses, being rare and extraordinary events, imprinted themselves deeply in cultural memory, transmitted orally across generations, and were later embedded in myths and historical traditions. Dionysius of Halicarnassus records multiple accounts of Romulus’ mysterious end: some describe a divine apotheosis during sudden darkness and storm, while others narrate a political assassination by patricians. Livy emphasizes Romulus’ divine origin, portraying his disappearance as shrouded by thunder, darkness, and mist, after which he reappears in a vision to Proculus Julius as the deified Quirinus, reinforcing Rome’s divine mission. Ovid’s Metamorphoses poetically render Romulus’ transformation into a god, underscored by Jupiter’s will and celestial signs, including a darkened sky reminiscent of an eclipse. Plutarch, in Life of Romulus, offers a more rationalizing perspective, including the astrological calculations of Tarutius, who linked Romulus’ conception (772 BCE) and Rome’s foundation (754 BCE) to specific eclipses. He also recounts Romulus’ disappearance amid unnatural darkness, thunder, and tempest, interpreted as divine assumption. These narratives integrate political elements (accusations of patrician conspiracy), religious motifs (apotheosis and divine will), and astronomical phenomena. The historian’s task, as the article stresses, is not to dismiss these traditions as pure myth but to detect historical kernels within them. Astronomical data confirm total solar eclipses visible in central Italy in 764, 710, and 708 BCE, aligning with the chronology of Romulus’ myth. Thus, the mythic framework used these eclipses as chronological anchors, embedding them into Rome’s foundational legend. The conclusion highlights eclipses as not merely natural occurrences but as culturally transformative events, shaping religious, political, and historical perceptions of Rome’s beginnings.

These pages present the texts and an analysis of Plate 2 of the Mappa mundi of 1375, currently catalogued in the National Library of Paris as ‘Espagnol 30’, known as the Catalan Atlas of 1375, attributed to Cresques Abraham and his son Jehuda Cresques, from a Jewish family who had a cartography workshop on the island of Mallorca, in the kingdom of Aragon.
The first two plates of the Atlas are dedicated to cosmographic, astronomical, astrological and geographical knowledge for use by pilots and sailors. An almost complete transcription and translation of the texts of all the plates has already been carried out by various authors. Here we complete Plate 2 with the reading of the annual calendar inscribed on the central circumferences, including the astronomical lunarium for 19 years. Particularly noteworthy is the inscription of the twenty-eight lunar mansions of the Arab tradition. Full doc here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16329739

A comprehensive analysis of sexual attraction, sexual techniques and psychodynamics of mutual enjoyment from a practical and mystical point of view. It purports to answer many unresolved issues with regard to why are we sometimes attracted to the wrong people? What happens when relationships turn out disastrous or what steps do we need to take to reverse our fortunes in the old age battle of the sexes. It also explores from an astrological point of view the issue of sexual orientation, psychological complexes, sexual addiction and many more aspects-this is in effect a pre-nuptial Manual for the western mindset in contrast to that practised in eastern cultures and religions.

Abstract: Since the historian of science Roshdi Rashed published valuable
critical editions of manuscripts left by Ibn al-Haytham, it became possible to
examine its contributions to astronomy. We will not limit ourselves here to
their geometric aspects, but will also examine “Ibn al-Haytham’s
Instrument”, his “Compasses for Large Circles” and “Horizontal Sundials”;
all practical devices described or at least provided specifications for by Ibn
al-Haytham. We compare his Instrument to Tycho Brahe’s quadrant, whose
observations (wihtout optical instruments) led to a geometric revolution that
freed astronomers from the idealism of Platonic circles, after the geometer
Apollonius had freed them from Aristotle’s homocentric theory.

The “Star of Bethlehem” tale is found only in the Gospel of Matthew. Not only is the astral prodigy unknown to contemporary authors and historians, it is completely unknown to all the other New Testament Authors. It is found only in the latest compositional stratum of Matthew’s Gospel, and we are reminded that the earliest NT texts tell us the least about the earliest parts of the “Life of Christ,” the latest tell us the most. According to the evidence, Jesus must have lived his life backwards! Even legitimate astronomers have tried to determine the nature and date of the prodigy, and all attempts at explanation can be shown to be risible. How can you “follow a star” if it is at astronomical distances from you? It would have to be hovering at low altitudes to be subject to being followed. Perhaps it was a U.F.O.—a flying saucer! The U.F.O. hypothesis concerning the identity of the S.O.B. has the merit of being able to account for a hitherto supposedly eccentric reading of Matt. 27:46 found in an Aramaic scroll discovered some years ago in the Genizah at Knott’s Berry Farm. Instead of reading “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” the Berry-Farm Scroll indicates that the last words of Christ actually were, “Beam me up, Scotty! There’s no intelligent life down here!”

The current systems of units for time and angle, as well as the calendar, are archaic and have many weaknesses, in particular, they are not based on the decimal system, not rational and are unpractical. The article substantiates the need for their gradual replacement with metric time (MT), metric angle (MA) and metric calendar (MC). The basic versions of MT, MA and MC are described, which can be further developed. In them, base units, their multiples and submultiples are introduced as in the metric system, making the values of time and angles decimal numbers, which simplifies data recording and speeds up calculations. The base unit of MT, a decimal second (desecond), is 0.864 times shorter than the SI second and in a day, instead of 86400 seconds, there are 100000 deseconds. 100 deseconds form a milliday (deminute) and 100 millidays form a deciday (dehours). In MC, the day remains the base unit of the calendar time and contains 10 decidays, or 1000 millidays, or 100,000 deseconds. M...

For millennia, the Indus Elephant Seal has kept its silence, dismissed as a mere token of trade. Yet beneath its carved surface lies a code of staggering depth, a map of memory, sovereignty, and the stars themselves. This paper deciphers that silence. Using the LaPointe Tiered Resonance Method™ (LTRM™), Recursive Collapse Field Theory (RCFT), and newly integrated UMCP invariants from Clement Paulus, the seal is revealed as a stability device: a living audit of how breath, crown, ladder, and eye bind human destiny to the cosmos.

Astronomical analysis ties the elephant to Thuban, the pole star of the Indus age, proving its design was no accident but a stellar calibration. Each glyph operates as a resonance node, tracking fidelity through collapse and renewal. For the scholar, this work offers a falsifiable grammar that fuses archaeology with frontier physics. For the seeker, it restores a forgotten truth: power is not seized but entrusted — renewed each season in the breath of the universe, with the elephant as its immovable witness.

A factual rather than esoteric paper, aimed especially at those without knowledge of Chinese. It lists and expands information on names and locations of Chinese asterisms mentioned in Richard Hinckley Allen’s widely consulted but flawed book ‘Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning’. This first part has a set of summary tables follow Allen’s arrangement alphabetically by Western constellations, giving comparisons with identifications in several other Western language sources by Williams (1871), Schlegel (1875), Sun & Kistemaker (1997) and Wikipedia, as well as Reeves (1819). Part Two offers accompanying Notes, with a more concise summary in the companion paper, 'Edited Lists'.

A factual rather than esoteric paper, aimed especially at those without knowledge of Chinese, with an annotated summary list of the Chinese asterisms mentioned in the widely consulted but flawed book ‘Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning’ by Richard Hinckley Allen. Brief background material is included in this concise version of the more detailed, two-part ‘Readers’ Guide’ to the same work, which shares the same numbering for entries.

This article presents a first edition of four clay tablets inscribed with omens arising from eclipses of the moon. As products of the middle and late Old Babylonian periods they represent the oldest examples of compendia of lunar-eclipse omens yet discovered and thus provide important new information about celestial divination among the peoples of southern Mesopotamia in the early second millennium BCE. The tablets are edited with appended philological apparatus. They are all found to bear witness to a single text, which organizes the omens of lunar eclipse by time of night, movement of shadow, duration, and date. A composite translation also takes account of two other early versions of the text published eleven years ago. The article is concluded by discussions of variants and scribal annotations in the text. The cuneiform texts are illustrated by scale drawings of the tablets.

This essay argues that Western horoscopic astrology is not a monolithic tradition but the product of a complex and dynamic synthesis between two powerful, yet fundamentally distinct, ancient astral sciences. It traces the independent development of the omen-based, mathematical-fatalistic tradition of Mesopotamia ("Chaldean" astrology) and the calendrical, cosmological-soteriological tradition of Egypt. Through an analysis of historical conduits of transmission-including predynastic trade, Achaemenid imperial rule, and the conquests of Alexander the Great-the essay demonstrates how these two streams converged. The intellectual crucible of Hellenistic Alexandria served as the catalyst for their fusion, where Greek philosophical systemization merged the Babylonian zodiac with the Egyptian decans. This syncretism is examined through key archaeological and textual evidence, including the Dendera Zodiac and the foundational treatises of Hellenistic astrologers like Dorotheus of Sidon, Vettius Valens, and Claudius Ptolemy. The paper concludes that the resulting Hellenistic astrology derived its enduring power from its unique ability to address both the Mesopotamian concern with earthly fate and the Egyptian preoccupation with the soul's eternal destiny, creating a comprehensive cosmological framework for the individual that would dominate Western thought for nearly two millennia.

Traduçao: Izabel Christina Chrysostomo (O texto é tradução adaptada do cap XIV do livro de Brennam, com o intuito de auxiliar o estudante e alunos de astrologia. Eu julguei interessante inserir os textos dos autores por ele citados, bem como alguns outros gráficos, que serão facilmente identificados pelo leitor, para ajudar nos estudos e compreensão; grifei parágrafos para memorização e fiz comentários que aparecem em algumas referências.

Della astrologia, cioè di quella che giudica le cose future, è pazzia parlare." (F. Guicciardini, Ricordi, 207) La finale svolta anti-astrologica di Pico fu uno degli esiti di un sofferto travaglio interiore, legato alla tor mentata rif lessione sulla condanna papale, che chiude il suo periodo giovanile, conducelo alla rinuncia alla vita pubblica, avente lo scopo di propiziare un perdono papale che non arriverà. Pico rifletterà per anni sulla Bibbia e sui Salmi, avvicinandosi a quello che risulterà essere il contenuto della predicazione del Savonarola. L' u l t i m a o p e r a d i P i c o è i l t r a t t a t o " D i s p u t a t i o n e s a d ve r s u s a s t r o l og i a m divinatricem", che si prefigge lo scopo di distruggere l'impianto teorico e la credibilità pratica dell'astrologia. Alla elaborazione del testo, il conte della Mirandola attese fra il 1493 e il 1494, fino ai suoi ultimi giorni, senza poterla ultimare né completamente elaborare, poichè venne colto da morte improvvisa e misteriosa all'età di trentuno anni. Le Disputationes avrebbero dovuto rientrare in un più ampio trattato destinato a difendere la fede cristiana dai suoi detrattori. In questa sua ultima opera, le distinzioni tra vera e falsa astrologia vengono lasciate cadere, e scompare anche la sua persuasione nell'esistenza di un'astrologia di tipo cabalistico; insieme ad essa scompare anche il concordismo filosofico e religioso, che aveva sorretto ed illuminato i primi scritti di Pico.

La medicina rende gli uomini malati, la matematica tristi, la teologia malvagi". (Martin Lutero) 1 "ars est recta ratio faciendorum operum". (Filippo Melantone) Lo storico dell'arte Aby Warburg (1886-1929), in un suo saggio sul rapporto tra Lutero e l'astrologia, di 2 straordinaria ricchezza e densità, notò quanto fosse stata nel XVI sec. contraddittoria e superstiziosa l'individuazione del giorno, mese e anno di nascita del riformatore tedesco, da parte dei capi di un movimento che lottava per un pensiero che permettesse una razionale consapevolezza religiosa, e l'affermazione della libertà di coscienza. l'Antichità classica con i suoi dèi e miti era venerata come un'erma bifronte, con un volto oscuro, demoniaco e temibile, che esigeva un culto superstizioso, ed un volto sereno, olimpico e luminoso, che conduceva alla fruizione estetica. L'astrologia nonostante l'appello pressante alla matematica, all'osservazione "oggettiva" del cielo e alla possibilità di sottrarsi al "determinismo astrale", nega proprio la razionalità e la libertà, "Per creare un 'metodo' astrologico si sono alleate di fatto, in modo incontestabile, due potenze spirituali del tutto eterogenee che a rigor di logica dovrebbero soltanto avversarsi: la matematica, lo strumento più sottile della forza della riflessione astratta, e la paura dei demoni, la forma più primitiva della causalità religiosa". 3 Il cristianesimo dei primi secoli aveva dichiarato guerra alla concezione astrologica dell'universo, nonché alla venerazione degli antichi dèi pagani. I Padri della Chiesa tentarono inutilmente di contrastare la credenza nella predestinazione astrale ed il vuoto etico della fede negli antichi dèi. Anche se ci si accanì in modo particolare contro gli dèi che presiedevano ai movimenti dei pianeti (Giove, Marte,

Next to the extant Indian astronomical works of Vedanga Jyotisha (c.1400 BCE) and Surya Siddhanta (c.4th cent. CE), Aryabhatiyam occupies an important place in the history of Indian astronomy. Again, next to Vedas, perhaps, more Bhashyas / commentaries are available to Aryabhatiyam. However, scholars of western origin have invariably tried to find non-Indian influence on Aryabhatiyam and of Indian origin too appear to have accepted the view. Placing Aryabhatiyam after Surya Siddhanta, they have discovered Greek, Babylonian and other influence on it.
As the work Aryabhatiyam itself is a compiled one and the original work had been lost, with the available work, the discussion about alleged influence cannot have any conclusion to decide about. As discussed above, it is evident that Aryabhata belonged to South India and he followed traditional astronomy adapting and adopting the changing trends in astronomical observations. Therefore, external Influence cannot be attributed to his work.

With the help of some sixty literary, religious, and scientific sources transmitted in many hundreds of manuscripts, this article brings to light the long and varied 500-year history of vernacular zodiacal names in medieval English, after which it examines the strategies that medieval English authors employed to arrive at a zodiac in the vernacular.

Questa ricerca si propone di spiegare la città di Torino e i suoi segreti alla luce del simbolismo astrale. Ma si propone anche di propiziare la nascita di una sorta di nuova materia che è sicuramente figlia dell'Archeoastronomia ma che, a differenza di quest'ultima, non è interessata soltanto agli allineamenti astronomici realizzati intenzionalmente dagli antichi costruttori. Infatti, si parte dal presupposto che sia gli elementi più importanti del paesaggio naturale, sia le costruzioni umane, sorgono esattamente nei punti e con gli allineamenti astronomici in cui “devono” sorgere in base a quella che è la loro natura, funzione e destino, nonché in base alle loro relazioni con gli altri elementi della città o del paesaggio. Si tratta di una certezza che ci deriva dallo studio sistematico delle stelle nei loro effetti sulla vita umana, in cui nulla è lasciato al caso. E questo studio su Torino, come vedremo, dimostra pienamente la fondatezza di questa tesi. Ciò significa che in realtà nessun allineamento astronomico è “casuale”.

The aim of this work is to describe different kinds of astronomical and astrological works written in the sixteenth century, with special emphasis on Portuguese and Spanish texts. This period is especially relevant in the development of astronomical culture in Portugal and Spain, since this was the age of the great overseas explorations, when astronomical navigation became of fundamental importance. The astronomical culture of that time involved ancient and new concepts, and old revisited narratives about the cosmos and its influence in many facets of the sublunary world. The present research describes the influence and transformation of the classical and medieval astronomical culture in the specific context of sixteenth century Iberian texts. There were different publics involved in the production and study of those works, such as navigators, priests, physicians, farmers, astrologers and scholars. Those different aspects of astronomical and astrological knowledge were not distinct,...

Monograph (the entry cannot be moved from “Papers” to “Monographs”) by David Brown on ancient astronomical systems in the Oriental world and their interrelationships. With contributions from authors who participated in a conference on this topic in Berlin in January 2006. This book has never appeared in sales catalogs, although two reviews have been published. I only recently gained access to the full PDF and hope that David will receive the recognition he deserves. hf

Mayıs 2025 tarihinde, Satürn gezegeninde ekinoks olayı gerçekleşecek. Satürn ekinoksları Satürn'ün Güneş etrafındaki dönüşünün yaklaşık 30 yılda gerçekleşmesinden ötürü, 15 yılda bir gerçekleşiyor. Ekinokslar bir bahar bir de sonbahar ekinoksu olarak adlandırılıyor. Ekinoks oluşumu bir gezegenin eğik bir dönme eksenine sahip olmasına bağlıdır. Ekvator düzlemi ile yörünge düzlemi çakıştığında ekinoks dönemleri oluşur ve ekinoks esnasında güneş ışıklarını ekvatora dik vurur. Dünyamız için ekinoks, ilkbahar ve sonbaharda olmak üzere yılda iki kez tekrarlanır, gündüz ile gece eşitlenir. Satürn'ün de Dünya gibi eğik bir dönme ekseni vardır. Bu nedenle ekinoks oluşumu Satürn için de meydana gelir. Satürn'de de dört mevsim oluşur. Ancak, Satürn'ün yörüngesi yaklaşık 30 yıl sürdüğünden mevsimlerin de süresi yaklaşık 7 yıldır. Satürn'ün en son ekinoksu 11 Ağustos 2009'da Kuzey ilkbahar ekinoksu olarak gerçekleşmiştir. Güneş, güneyden Satürn'ün ekvatoruna ulaşıp kuzeye geçmekteydi. Güneyden Kuzeye geçiş 13,7 yıl sürmektedir. Bir önceki ekinoks tarihi 19 Kasım 1995 tarihidir. Bu tarih, Güneş'in kuzeyden güney yarımküreye geçtiği bir dönemdir-yani kuzeyde sonbahar, güneyde ilkbahar başlamıştır. Kuzeyden güneye geçiş ise 15,7 yıl sürmektedir.

До даного випуску увійшли статті й повідомлення співробітників Чернівецького обласного краєзнавчого музею та інших наукових установ. Опубліковано дослідження з історії, археології та народознавства. Надруковано матеріали, присвячені літературі, мистецтву і музейній справі. Окремими розділами представлені відомі персоналії та природа нашого краю. Видання розраховане на співробітників наукових установ, працівників освітніх закладів, здобувачів освіти та краєзнавців. УДК 069:908(477.85)(084)

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established its Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016, following the 2015 NameExoWorlds campaign that exposed the lack of formal star-naming policies (Montmerle et al., 2016). The main goal then became the compilation of a new catalog of star names that is supposed to reduce confusion about the spellings and namings of stars in research papers. Under Eric Mamajek’s initial leadership and supported by IAU General Secretary Thierry Montmerle, the WGSN was created to establish comprehensive guidelines for proposing and adopting star names.

This paper examines the political cosmology of Johannes Kepier (1571-1630), the last major European scholar who combined the study of astronomy with the practise of astrology. The paper examines Kepler's statements from several texts, Tertius Interveniens, On the Mrtre Certain Fundamentals of Astrology. Harmonices Muncli, and his annual predictions for 16I 8. Kepler argued that, if astrology were to be completely reformed on the basis of empirical observation, then it could be used in the service of government in order to avoid conflict and preserve harmony and stability' The paper describes Kepler's political model as a cosmic state. In that his mechanism for astrology required the soul (or psyche) as it was psychological. The paper also contextualises astrology's role in the history of ideas as a form of the archaeology of knowledge and argues that Kepler's cosmos (in common with the classical and Renaissance tradition to which he belonged) can be described as a hyper-object.

Astrology has long been employed as a means of personal discovery, yet its observations apply far more widely than just the individual. With knowledge of astrological effects on relationships, individuals can communicate better, deepen connections, and work through disputes more intelligently. In romance, friendships, or business partnerships, astrology is rich in counsel on how people interact with each other.

Why was astrology criticised in the middle Ages? Contribution to further research  (on the basis of selected treaties of professors of the University of Krakow in the 15th century)

People have always been interested in distant, mysterious celestial bodies. Astrologers who explored the mysteries of the study of the stars and planets wanted to read them as predictions of future events. Astrological practices were often seen as bordering of magic, which to a large extent influenced the negative perception of this area of study and its supporters, even though astrologers were employed at the kings’ and bishops’ courts, and even at the papal court. The relationship of astrology with occult sciences, which were regarded as sinful and heretical, led to the situation when its proponents were subject to accusations. Particular attention was paid to the fact that the belief in the influence of heavenly bodies on the events taking place in the sublunary world undermines the foundation of the Christian religion, i.e. the dogma of the free will of man. This and other charges constituted a kind of a “catalogue of allegations” that were made against astrology and astrologers throughout the Middle Ages.

This article reviews the various myths concerning the Sumerian - Mesopotamian Lilith and the astrological Black Moon. Popular misconceptions surround the interpretation of this astrological factor, and this can be traced to the metamorphosis of Lilith through history.