ad Astra: Recent Episodes
The Astra Project
Ad Astra presents a series of academic conversations with researchers on the history of astrology. It offers to a wider audience the main academic debates and works on the historical role of astrology in culture, science, and society. While it focuses primarily the historical study of astrological practices and methodologies, it also addresses other topics, such as current research, challenges, findings, astrological documents, new publications, and conferences.
The Ad Astra podcast is hosted by Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro, and is part of The Astra Project – http://theastraproject.org
In this episode I talk with Simon Dolet about his research on astrometeorology in the early eighteenth century. Simon is a PhD candidate at the Côte d’Azur University (Nice) and has been studying the role of astrology in the history of meteorology. His project is a continuation of his MA "L'astrologie saine de Giuseppe Toaldo. Un astro-météorologue dans la République des sciences" (2022).
Simon's publications and work can be found here: https://cmmc-nice.academia.edu/SimonDolet
In this episode, I talk with Fien de Block about her research on astrologers and astrological practices in the fifteenth-century Sultanate of Cairo. This was the subject of her PhD thesis titled "(Re)drawing the lines: the science of the stars in the late fifteenth century Sultanate of Cairo" (2020). Fien de Block is currently a guest professor and a researcher at the University of Gent.
Her publications and works can be found here: https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/fdblock.deblock
In this episode, I talk to Professor Tunç Şen, Assistant Professor at the Department of History of Columbia University. He is a historian of the Ottoman Empire interested in intellectual, cultural, and political history. Is PhD thesis “Astrology in the Service of the Empire: Knowledge, Prognostication, and Politics at the Ottoman Court, 1450s-1550s” (2016) focuses the astrological practices and practitioners of the Ottoman Court.
For more see on his work, see: https://history.columbia.edu/person/tunc-a-sen/
Some related articles:
“Books on Astrology, Astronomical Tables, and Almanacs in the Library Inventory of Bayezid II (co-authored with Cornell H. Fleischer,” in Treasures of Knowledge: An Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library (1502/3-1503/4), eds. Gülru Necipoğlu, Cemal Kafadar, Cornell H. Fleischer (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 767-821.
“Reading the Stars at the Ottoman Court: Bāyezīd II (r. 886/1481-918/1512) andhis Celestial Interests,” Arabica 64/3-4 (2017): 557-608.
“Practicing Astral Magic in Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Istanbul: A Treatise onTalismans attributed to Ibn Kemāl (d. 1534),” Journal of Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft 12 (2017): 66- 88.
In this episode I talk with Tayra Lanuza Navarro on her research on Early Modern Astrology in Spain. Tayra has been one of the foremost historians of astrology in Spain and has produced numerous papers on this topic. She is currently a researcher at the ERC project Early Modern Cosmology: Institutions and Metaphysics at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
Find more about Tayra's work at: https://unive.academia.edu/TayraLanuzaNavarro
The Early Modern Cosmology project: https://www.unive.it/pag/35129/
In this episode, which is very dear to me, I invite three previous guests of the podcast to discuss Helena Avelar's work, in particular her book: "An Astrologer at Work in Late Medieval France. The Workbooks of S. Belle". Helena was the co-founder of the Astra project and co-host of this podcast. She passed way unexpectedly in March 2021 before her book published. Dorian Greenbaum, Charles Burnett and Henrique Leitão join me to discuss the importance of Helena's research and academic work.
Details on the book can be found here: https://brill.com/view/title/57551
For a list of Helena's works see: https://ulondon.academia.edu/HelenaAvelardeCarvalho
Helena's memorial: https://ciuhct.org/noticias/helena-avelar-carvalho-1964-2021
In this episode we talk to Josefina Rodriguez Arribas and Dorian G. Greenbaum about their new edited volume "Unveiling the Hidden – Anticipating the Future: Divinatory Practices Among Jews Between Qumran and the Modern Period" (Brill, 2021). Gathering the work of ten scholars, the book explores various Jewish practices of divination (astrology, bibliomancy, physiognomy, dream requests, astral magic, etc.)
For more information on the book see https://brill.com/view/title/59308
In this episode we speak with Professor Jean-Patrice Boudet, about his new book containing his collected works on the history of astrology. Professor Boudet is one of the chief researchers in this field has published various books and numerous papers on the medieval practices of astrology in Europe now collected in this volume by Micrologus Library (Sismel): https://www.sismel.it/pubblicazioni/1790-astrologie-et-politique-entre-moyen-age-et-renaissance
For a list of his works see https://univ-orleans.academia.edu/JeanPatriceBoudet or https://www.irht.cnrs.fr/?q=fr/annuaire/boudet-jean-patrice.
In this episode we talk to Michael Ryan, associate professor of medieval and early modern history at the University of New Mexico. Michael research interests include the intersection of magic, science, and religion in the premodern world. In the podcast we discuss his book, A Kingdom of Stargazers: Astrology and Authority in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011), as well as his current research on alchemical manuscripts and charlatanry and magical-themed fraud in the later Middle Ages.
For more details on Michael Ryan’s work see: https://history.unm.edu/people/faculty/profile/michael-ryan.html
This is episode 50 of the main podcast series! In this podcast we talk once more with researcher David Juste on his latest research on medieval astrological charts accompanied by their judgement. We discuss several aspects of the existing corpus of medieval charts. David Just has specialised in the study and cataloguing of astrological manuscripts and has published three volumes of the Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum Latinorum.
For more information on his work and publications see: https://ptolemaeus.badw.de/team/4
David has collected a vast list of bibliography on the history of astrology that can be found at: https://ptolemaeus.badw.de/astrobibl/start
In this episode we talk with Yael Kedar a specialist on Roger Bacon about his writings on astrology. Yael Kedar is a faculty member at Tel-Hai College, research fellow at the University of Haifa, and vice-president of the Roger Bacon Society.
For more details on Dr. Kedar’s works see: https://telhai.academia.edu/yaelraizmankedar or https://english.telhai.ac.il/faculty-members/single-faculty-member/user/12/
This episode of In Memoriam addresses another monumental figure of the history of science, who made invaluable contributions to the history of astrology: Otto E. Neugebauer (26 May 1899 –19 February 1990). Together with Professors Alexander Jones and Charles Burnett we discuss his life and work and become aware of the scholar, and also the man. Born in Innsbruck, Austria, he became one of the leading figures of the history of mathematics leaving behind a great amount of work ranging from the ancient world to the early modern period. Among his contributions is his short but famous defence of the historical study of astrology, “The Study of Wretched Subjects” (1951), that signals a change in the historiographic mindset on topics such as astrology, magic and alchemy.
A Biographical Memoir by N.M. Swerdlow: http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/neugebauer-otto.pdf
“The Study of Wretched Subjects” (1951) can be found here: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/349279
In this episode we talk to Pietro Omodeo, historian of science and philosophy and historical epistemology specialising in the early modern period. He currently the principal investigator on the ERC Consolidator Project Institutions and Metaphysics of Cosmology in the Epistemic Networks of Seventeenth-Century Europe hosted by the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. In our conversation Pietro Omodeo presents his research of Johannes Placentinus, a seventeenth-century scholar whose astrological writings are in tune with the Cartesian ideas circulation in this period. An interesting example of an early modern adaptation of astrology to new emerging cosmological theories.
For more on Pietro Omodeo’s work, see: https://www.unive.it/data/people/14840389
For the the Institutions and Metaphysics of Cosmology ERC project, see: https://www.unive.it/pag/35129
In this episode we have as our guest Professor Richard Lynn Kremer. He is an emeritus professor of History of Dartmouth College, specialising in the history of science, medicine and technology. He is also the Curator of the Collection of Scientific Instruments at Dartmouth. Our conversation addresses one of Professor Kremer’s main research topics, mathematical astronomy, from Ptolemy to the early modern period. Currently he is part of the ALFA project at the Observatory of Paris and focuses on tables and computations in the medieval and early modern periods.
For more on his work see:
– https://history.dartmouth.edu/people/richard-lynn-kremer
– https://alfa.hypotheses.org
In this episode we talk with Darin Hayton, associate Professor of History and Chair of History Department at Haverford College. Professor Hayton has published several woks on the history of astrology and the mathematical sciences in the contexts of courtly politics, among which his book The Crown and the Cosmos. Astrology and the Politics of Maximilian I (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015). In this podcast he talks about his academic path in the history of astrology and presents his current research on the Greek version of Ptolemy’s Ὁ Καρπός (better known by its Latin title, Centiloquium or Liber Frutus).
For Darin Hayton’s work see: https://www.haverford.edu/users/dhayton
This episode of In Memoriam we are joined by Günther Oestmann to remember historian Peter Franz Schiller (29 November 1947 – 23 January 2013).Born in Düsseldorf, Schiller was musically and artistically talented, his vocation was art history and he studied this subject together with archaeology and philosophy as minor subjects. Catholic theology was added as a double degree course. His scientific œuvre is very narrow. Yet the originality and quality of his scientific work could have paved the way for a brilliant career. His doctoral thesis on the relationship between architecture and astronomy in Andrea Palladio’s work (1985) was already highly original and astute. His lecture on the iconography of the ceiling painting of the Sala di Galatea in the Farnesina in Rome at the conference “The Occult Sciences in the Renaissance” in Wolfenbüttel in 1988, was also very thorough and methodically sound. Schiller presented a precise analysis of the astronomical-astrological parameters and was able to show that the frescoes indeed represent a horoscope scheme and cannot be explained by ancient texts.
(adapted from the obituary by Günther Oestmann)
German publication: https://www.academia.edu/8488404/Obituary_Peter_Schiller_1947_2013_
In this episode we talk with researcher Michael Noble about his recent book: Philosophising the Occult. Avicennan Psychology and ‘The Hidden Secret’ of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (De Gruyter, 2021). This work is the result of Michael’s PhD research at The Warburg Institute and touches on many aspects of Arabic cosmology and astral magic. Michael is currently a post doctoral researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilans Universitat on the project The Heirs of Avicenna: Philosophy in the Islamic East from the 12th to the 13th Century (DFG funded project, 2016-19).
For Michael’s book see: https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/550156
In this episode we talk to Samuel Gessner about the armillary sphere, an interesting astronomic instrument with astrological applications. Samuel explains the role and functions of these spheres, often used as teaching tools in medieval universities. He demonstrates some of its applications in astrology. Samuel is a post doctoral researcher at the ERC ALPHA project, Observatoire de Paris.
We thank the IMCCE Observatoire de Paris for making available the armillary sphere
For the ALPHA project, see: https://alfa.hypotheses.org/
In this episode we talk with Jonathan Green, professor at the University of North Dakota, and a researcher of German medieval and early modern literature. We discuss his work on prophecy and its dissemination during the early modern period, as well as his current research projects. Jonathan Green has written two important books on prophecy literature. The first, Printing and Prophecy: Prognostication and Media Change 1450–1550 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012) deals with the role of printing in the dissemination of prognostications, many of them astrological or based on astrology. The second continues this line o research into the prophecies of Wilhelm Friess: The Strange and Terrible Visions of Wilhelm Friess: The Paths of Prophecy in Reformation Europe (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2014).
For more details on his work, see: https://und.edu/directory/jonathan.green
In this episode we talk with Teri Gee, professor of Physics at Brigham Young University. Her PhD dissertation, “Strategies of Defending Astrology: A Continuing Tradition”, addresses the arguments used for defending the practice of astrology from the classical to the late medieval periods in the Greek, Arabic and Latin contexts. In this very lively podcast we discuss her research and her current research on different perceptions of the cosmos throughout history.
Terri Gee’s dissertation is available at the: https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/34009
In this podcast we talk with researcher Márton Veszprémy about his research on the practice of astrology in East-Central Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Márton is currently developing his PhD on this topic at the Eötvös Loránd University, and shares with us some aspects of his research.
For more details on Márton Veszprémy’s work, see: https://elte.academia.edu/MártonVeszprémy
In this podcast we talk with Klaus Herbers, Professor of Medieval History at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität. He is also the First Deputy Director of the IKGF – International Consortium for Research in the Humanities “Fate, Freedom and Prognostication”, a partner institution of the Astra Project. Our conversation addresses the Professor’s study on the medieval world and prognostication. In this regard we discuss the new publication Prognostication in the Medieval World: a Handbook which provides a transcultural overview of current historical research on medieval prognostication.
For more information on Klaus Herbers work see: https://www.geschichte.phil.fau.de/person/herbers-klaus/#sprungmarke3
Details on the book, Prognostication in the Medieval World: a Handbook, can be accessed here: https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/522832?tab_body=overview
In this episode we talk with Professor Kocku von Stuckrad, historian of religion and culture about the role of astrology and the ‘hybrid’ nature of “the science of the stars”, which has always combined rigorous empirical research and hermeneutical layers in its theory and activity. The podcast takes a look at what is accepted and what is fringe knowledge and how this concepts shift throughout time. It addresses the need to rethink the discourse of the past on science, philosophy and religion and to question binary assumptions such as science/magic, astronomy/astrology, chemistry/alchemy.
Kocku von Stuckrad is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Groningen and is co-founder and co-director of the research center Counterpoint: Navigating Knowledge.
To know more about his work, see: https://www.kockuvonstuckrad.com
The Counterpoint project can be found at: https://www.counterpointknowledge.org/
He has written many papers and books on the history of astrology, among which:
– With Günther Oestmann and H. Darrel Rutkin: Horoscopes and Public Spheres: Essays on the History of Astrology (Religion and Society 42). Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter 2005.
– Geschichte der Astrologie: Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Munich: C. H. Beck, 2003. 413 pp. New, revised edition 2007 (translated into Spanish, Portuguese and Italian)
– Die Seele im 20. Jahrhundert: Eine Kulturgeschichte. Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink 2019. XI, 279 pp. Currently being translated as: The Soul in the Twentieth Century: Insights in Psychology, Science, Nature, Philosophy, Spirituality, and Politics from Europe and America (working title). New York: Columbia University Press (forthcoming fall 2020).
In this podcast we talk once more with researcher Petra Schmidl on her research on a thirteenth-century manuscript from Yemen. We talk on the constellation of practical or useful knowledges contained in this type of work, which range from the religious, to the geographical, and the astronomical and astrological material.
For details on the project and more information about her work, see: https://tabsira.hypotheses.org
In this episode we talk with Laura Ackerman Smoller, a reference name in the history of astrology with her book History, Prophecy, and the Stars: The Christian Astrology of Pierre d’Ailly, 1350-1420. She is currently professor of History at the University of Rochester, New York. We address her research into prophecy in the Middle Ages and the role of astrology in this type of narrative.
To know more on Professor Smoller’s work see: https://rochester.academia.edu/LauraSmoller
History, Prophecy, and the Stars: The Christian Astrology of Pierre d’Ailly, 1350-1420 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994) – https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691654317/history-prophecy-and-the-stars
DEBATING THE STARS IN THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE WITH OVANES AKOPYAN
In this episode we talk with Ovanes Akopyan, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Innsbruck. He has recently published the book with his PhD research: Debating the Stars in the Italian Renaissance. Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola’s Disputationes Adversus Astrologiam Divinatricem and Its Reception (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2020). In the podcast we discuss his research into the role of Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola in the anti-astrological debate as well as other aspects of early modern history of science.
For more information on Ovanes Akopyan’s work, see: https://uibk.academia.edu/OvanesAkopyan
For his book see: https://brill.com/view/title/36397
In this episode we talk once more with researcher H Darrel Rutkin on one of the most, if not the most, relevant figures of early modern anti-astrological discourse: Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola (24 February 1463–17 November 1494). Published posthumously in 1496 his Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Arguments Against Judicial Astrology) had a tremendous impact on astrological practice. Pico has been studied by several researchers, among them Darrel, who addressed his work and impact in this PhD thesis and in other publications. In this podcast we discuss some details of Giovanni Pico’s work and life.
For an overview of H Darrel Rutkin’s work see: https://unive.academia.edu/HDarrelRutkin
Our previous podcast with Darrel is available at: https://youtu.be/bwLMLYGWky8
See also:
Early Modern Cosmology: Institutions and Metaphysics – https://www.unive.it/pag/35129/
Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250-1800, Vol. 1 (Springer, 2019) – https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030107789
In this episode we talk with researcher Maria Sorokina about her work on the medieval theological debates on astrology. Her PhD, “Les théologiens face à la question de l’influence céleste. Science et foi dans les commentaires des Sentences (v. 1220-v. 1340)”, studies the how astrology is dealt in the commentaries to the Sentences of Peter Lombard. This is a continuation of her MA research on these type debates in the “Summa de astris” of Gérard de Feltre.
Maria’s research will be published soon in Les sphères, les astres et les théologiens L’influence céleste entre science et foi dans les commentaires des Sentences (v. 1220-v. 1340) (Brepols, 2020): http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503590868-1
For more information on her work see: https://kuleuven.academia.edu/MariaSorokina
“Each time there is a transmission there is a transformation.” — David Pingree
This episode of In Memoriam addresses a monumental figure in the history of astrology, David Edwin Pingree (2 January 1933 – 11 November 2005). Today, on the anniversary of his departure, we have the honour of talking to four eminent scholars: Charles Burnett (The Warburg Institute, University of London), Alexander Jones (New York University), Kim Plofker (Union College), and Stephan Heilen (University of Osnabrück). They share their experience of working and learning with David Pingree, as well as the importance of his work, revealing both the man and the scholar.
In the words of Charles Burnett: “It is impossible to classify him as Sanskritist, a scholar of the culture of the Near East, or a Greek or Latin specialist. He was all of these, and much more. His merit was to see the whole canvas of the history of the science of the stars, spread out from the Western shores of Europe to the Eastern shores of India, and extending from the very beginnings of man’s interest in the stars to the early modern era. The story consisted of many episodes, and featured many characters, who spoke in several different languages, but in the end it was one story, and only David was able to tell it.” – Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 152, No. 2, June 2008, pp. 256-259.
On David Pingree’s work and life, see:
– https://wilbourhall.org/pdfs/pingree%20(2).pdf
– https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/524228
In this podcast we have the honour of talking with Professor Shlomo Sela, one of the leading historians of astrology. His research has focused on the works of the Jewish medieval astrologer Abraham ibn Ezra, and in the last decades he published critical editions of Ezra’s known writings. In the podcast we discussed various aspects of Professor Sela’s research, Abraham ibn Ezra role in the history of astrology, and his latest book.
For an overview of Professor Sela’s works see: https://biu.academia.edu/SSela
The Professor’s latest publication can be found here: https://brill.com/view/title/56809
For his editions of ibn Ezra’s works see: https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&level=parent&pageSize=10&q_0=Shlomo+Sela&sort=relevance
In this episode we talk with Ana Duarte Rodrigues, director of CIUHCT (Inter-universitary Centre for the History of Sciences and Technology), and teacher in the Department of History and Philosophy of Sciences, at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. Ana’s research centres on Gardens and Landscape Studies, including Ancient Books and Treatises (16th to the 18th centuries) and Landscape Sustainability. In this podcast she shares with us some of the interceptions of garden landscaping with cosmology and astrology in the 16th and 17th centuries.
For more information regarding Ana Duarte Rodrigue’s work see: https://ciuhct.org/en/members/ana-duarte-rodrigues
She headed two research projects:
Aqua, on history of water management (still ongoing) – https://ciuhct.org/en/research/aqua-horto-aquam-salutarem-water-wise-management-gardens-early-modern-period
Sustainable Beauty, on garden sustainability – https://ciuhct.org/en/research/sustainable-beauty-algarvean-gardens
This episode, the first of a new series, commemorates the life and work of historian John D. North. Today, on the anniversary of his departure, Professor Julio Samsó, a close friend of John North, shares with us his experience of the man and of the academic.
John David North (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2008) was, in the words of Professor Charles Burnet “the leading British historian of astronomy of his generation. His interests ranged from prehistoric astronomical alignments to modern nuclear physics, but peaked with the Middle Ages and Renaissance, in which he brought out a richness and complexity that hith- erto had hardly been seen. In every subject he sought to cast light on the society, culture and literature of the period. His daring interpretations were not immune to controversy, but in everything he published and lectured on he demonstrated intellectual honesty and a mastery of the mathematical detail.” (https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/1459/11_17-John_North.pdf)
Among his many works, there are many important contributions to the history of astrology. Two of them are:
– Horoscopes and History (London, 1986), where North presents a pioneer work on the methods of house division.
– Chaucer’s Universe (Oxford, 1988), in which he discusses the astrological symbolism underlying Chaucer’s work.
A bibliography of John North can be found at: https://bit.ly/3kIafHm
This series of podcasts presents the life and work of past historians of astrology. It is an offshoot of the ad Astra conversations which offers today's researchers and students an overview of the contribution of these academics to the development of this field of study.
In this brief video we once more talk to Professor Julio Samsó, this time on his new book: On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. Studies on the History of Medieval Astronomy in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghrib. This work gathers his life research, and although it is focused on astronomy, it includes an important chapter on astrological practices that is an invaluable contribution to the history of astrology.
For more information on the book see: https://brill.com/view/title/57817
In this episode we have the honour of talking with Professor Julio Samsó, a leading figure in the history of astronomy in medieval and Arabic context. He is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Barcelona since 2012, and has a long career of research and a vast list of publications. The conversation centres on the Professor’s research on the astonomy in Al-Andalus and the Maghrib. It addresses the importance of astrology in the context of the history of astronomy, its various levels of practice (from the erudite to the popular), as well as the importance of mathematical knowledge.
To know more about Professor Samsó’s work see: https://ub.academia.edu/JulioSamsó or http://www.ub.edu/arab/cv/Julio%20Samso%20cv.pdf
Among his many publications are:
- Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib. Ashgate Variorum. Aldershot, 2007
- From Baghdad to Barcelona. Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences in Honour of Prof. Juan Vernet / De Bagdad a Barcelona. Estudios sobre Historia de las Ciencias Exactas en el Mundo Islámico en honor del Prof. Juan Vernet. “Anuari de Filologia (Universitat de Barcelona” 19 (1996) B-2, Instituto “Millás Vallicrosa de Historia de la Ciencia Arabe. Barcelona, 1996. 2 vols. (with Jose Casulleras)
- Las Ciencias de los Antiguos en al-Andalus. Fundación Ibn Tufayl. Almería 2011.
This is the second part of our conversation with historian Stephan Heilen. In this episode we address his latest research and publication: Konjunktionsprognostik in der Frühen Neuzeit. 1. Band: Die Antichrist-Prognose des Johannes von Lübeck (1474) zur Saturn-Jupiter-Konjunktion von 1504 und ihre frühneuzeitliche Rezeption (Valentin Koerner, 2020). This book addresses the use of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in prognostication and offers a critical edition with German translation of John of Lübeck’s 1474 prediction of the advent of the Antichrist.
For a list of Stephan Heilen’s publications (German), see: shorturl.at/kGM58
For his new book: http://koernerverlag.de/nichtbibliographische/saectext/saec53.html (English flyer: https://studip.uni-osnabrueck.de/sendfile.php?type=0&file_id=7ee311ee0fb2094f070c2f7440de2f81&file_name=Heilen+2020+Flyer+English.pdf)
View the first part of this conversation at https://youtu.be/3a_1cxbhfCs
In this two-part edition of the podcast we have the honour of talking to Stephan Heilen, who has authored many studies and books on the history of astrology. In this first episode we address his academic work in the history of astrology, from Antiquity to the Early Modern period.
For a list of Stephan Heilen’s publications (German), see: shorturl.at/kGM58
His recent books are:
- Hadriani genitura. Die astrologischen Fragmente des Antigonos von Nikaia, 2 Vols. – http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/183336
- Konjunktionsprognostik in der Frühen Neuzeit, Band 1: Die Antichrist-Prognose des Johannes von Lübeck (1474) zur Saturn-Jupiter-Konjunktion von 1504 und ihre frühneuzeitliche Rezeption. (Baden – Baden 2020) – http://koernerverlag.de/nichtbibliographische/saectext/saec53.html
In this podcast we have as our guest Angela Voss, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education of the Canterbury Christ Church University, and Programme Director for the MA in Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred. Her expertise is on Renaissance and Baroque Music and has focused a great part of her research on Marsilio Ficino. In the podcast we discuss the importance and contributions of Ficino to early modern astrology, as well as the position of the history of astrology in academia.
For more information on Angela Voss’ work see: https://canterbury.academia.edu/AngelaVoss
Some of her publications are:
– Marsilio Ficino (North Atlantic Books, Western Esoteric Masters Series, 2006)
– Daimonic Imagination: Uncanny Intelligence (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013), edited with William Rowlandson.
– Re-enchanting the Academy (Rubedo Press, 2017), edited with Simon Wilson.
Our guest in this episode is Nicholas Campion, who talks about various aspects of the history of astrology, as well as the associated filed of cultural astronomy. Nick Campion is an associate Professor in Cosmology and Culture at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where he is also the programme Director of the MA in Cultural Astronomy. He is the director of the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, and Astrology, and editor of the journal Culture and Cosmos.
For an overview of his many academic writings see: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/staff/nicholas-campion/
Sophia Centre :https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/sophia/
Culture and Cosmos journal: http://www.cultureandcosmos.org
MA in Cultural Astronomy: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/ma-cultural-astronomy-astrology/
- This episode was meant to be part of the launch of the podcast, but it had some sound problems. However, because we did not want to lose such an interesting conversation we decided to enhance the sound and subtitles as much as possible and share it. Enjoy! *
In this episode we have with us David Just, research leader at the Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus project and a leading historian of astrology. David Just has specialised in the study and cataloguing of astrological manuscripts and has published three volumes of the Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum Latinorum.
For more information on his work and publications see: https://ptolemaeus.badw.de/team/4
He has collected a vast list of bibliography on the history of astrology that can be found at: https://ptolemaeus.badw.de/astrobibl/start
In this episode we talk with Dr Philipp Nothaft on the topic of anti-astrological texts and disputes. It is an interesting and still under-explored topic which plays a major role in the history of astrological practices. Going beyond the more commonly discussed matter of determinism and religious legitimacy, these criticisms also question the validity of astrology itself by presenting arguments taken from natural philosophy. Dr. Nothaft is Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford and his research has focused on medieval and early modern history of science, history of astronomy and astrology, as well as chronology, calendars, and systems of dating.
For more details on Philipp Nothaft’s work see: https://imtek.academia.edu/PhilippNothaft
Among his large academic production are the recent books:
Robert Grosseteste’s Compotus. Edited and Translated by Alfred Lohr and C. Philipp E. Nothaft (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019). – https://global.oup.com/academic/product/robert-grosseteste-9780198827757?cc=gb⟨=en&&fbclid=IwAR1Ijw3vbAg9RDFbKkYpEYka-8vgEk0PXH3bIXomxFqUbDSHioHVmV1PwIE
Scandalous Error: Calendar Reform and Calendrical Astronomy in Medieval Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). – https://global.oup.com/academic/product/scandalous-error-9780198799559?cc=gb⟨=en&
In this episode we talk with independent researcher Patrizia Nava, who is currently translating into Italian the book Christian Astrology (1647) by William Lilly. Patrizia holds a MA in Arts in Philology and Literature (University of Bologna) and the conversation covers her translation as well as several facets of early modern astrological practice. Some of the topics addressed include elections, interrogations, and some of their sources (from antiquity to the early modern period).
For Patrizia's work see https://unibo.academia.edu/PatriziaNava
For Patrizia’s translations see:
Volume 1: https://www.ibs.it/astrologia-cristiana-vol-1-introduzione-libro-william-lilly/e/9788889526071?inventoryId=98715498
Volume 2: https://www.ibs.it/astrologia-cristiana-vol-2-soluzione-libro-william-lilly/e/9788889526187?inventoryId=149096754
In this episode we talk to Alexandre Tür, curator of the department of the manuscripts at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris. He offers a fascinating glimpse into the practice of astrology in the fifteenth century. He addresses the interesting differences between astrological manuscripts and printed material, the political aspects of annual astrological predictions, the use of astrology as a mark of higher education, and the complex dynamics of patronage. Alexandre’s PhD thesis, intituled ‘Hora introitus solis in Arietem: Les prédictions astrologiques annuelles latines dans l’Europe du XVe siècle (1405–1484)’ was published in 2018.
For more information of his work, see http://sorbonne.academia.edu/AlexandreTur.
In this episode we speak with Brazilian researchers Cristina de Amorim Machado and Marcus Reis Pinheiro about their academic work on astrology from the perspective of the history of and philosophy of science. Cristina has researched the translation of the Tetrabiblos in her PhD and Marcus specialises in Ancient philosophy, cosmology and ethics. They have recently translated the first three chapters of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos from Greek into Portuguese as a part of their ongoing research. They are also part of an academic research group on astrology – Academia Celeste (Celestial Academy) – composed by research of various fields and from academic institutions from all over Brazil.
To know more about the work of Cristina de Amorim Machado, see https://gpsciencestudiesuem.wordpress.com/ and https://maringa.academia.edu/CristinadeAmorimMachado
For Marcus Reis Pinheiro, see http://www.pgfi.uff.br/index.php/marcus-reis-pinheiro/ and https://uff.academia.edu/MarcusPinheiro
The book can be found here: http://old.periodicos.uem.br/~eduem/novapagina/?q=node/704
Their translation of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos (Portuguese) is available here: https://www.cle.unicamp.br/eprints/index.php/cadernos/issue/view/111
For more information on the research group Academia Celeste, visit their website (mainly in Portuguese) at https://academiaceleste.blogspot.com/ and their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs4-q3QWYCrQjXS55a9IDFg
In this episode we have a conversation with Enrico Raffaelli, professor of History of Religions at the University of Toronto, about the role of astrology in pre-Islamic Iran. One of the topics addressed is the Thema Mundi, that is, the horoscope of the beginning of the world, and its placement in Zoroastrian cosmology. Another interesting topic addressed is the role of the planets in Zoroastrian religion and its possible implication in the practice of astrology.
For more details on Enrico Raffaelli’s research, see: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/historical-studies/people/raffaelli-enrico, and https://utoronto.academia.edu/EnricoGRaffaelli.
In this episode researcher Jeffrey Kotyk join us once more to talk about his research on astral iconography. In this video he presents some highlights of his studies on the representations of planets, signs and other astrological elements in Chinese and Japanese art, tracing their origins to Indian and Islamic sources and discussing their cultural adaptation.
Papers on iconography by Jeffrey Kotyk:
“Astrological Iconography of Planetary Deities inTang China: Near Eastern and Indian Icons in Chinese Buddhism”, Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies (2017, 30: 33–88) – http://chinesebuddhiststudies.org/previous_issues/jcbs3002_Kotyk(33-88)_e.pdf
“Research Note on Brahmanical Deities in Mikkyō Astrological Art!”, 出版情報：Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University. 4, pp.101-108, 2019 – https://catalog.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/opac_download_md/2231635/p101.pdf
In this episode we talk with Liana Saif on the impact of the Islamicate tradition on astrology and magic. She has researched extensively on Esotericism, Ocultism and Magic in the medieval and early modern periods. Liana Saif is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Warburg Institute and Université catholique de Louvain for the ERC project PhilAnd.
For a list of her published papers see: https://sas.academia.edu/LianaSaif
Her monograph, The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult Philosophy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) can be found at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137399465
In this episode we talk with Nicolas Weill-Parot about the “scientia imaginum”, that is, the manufacturing of talismans, often considered a part of the astrological elections. Nicolas Weill-Parot is a Historian of Science and professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. He compares the attitudes of Thomas Aquinas and Albert the great on this matter and stresses the distinction between addressative and non-addressative talismans, that is, those created by a ritual containing “magic words” and those created by strictly “natural” means. The former were forbidden, because they were considered to represent a pact with the spiritual/demonic realm, while the latter were tolerated, even encouraged, as they represented a safe form of magic. The boundaries between these two concepts began to blur by the end of the fifteenth-century, and were eventually subverted by Marsilio Ficino’s Neoplatonistic philosophy.
For details on Nicolas Weill-Parot work see https://ephe.academia.edu/NicolasWeillParot and https://www.ephe.psl.eu/ecole/nos-enseignants-chercheurs/nicolas-weill-parot.
He is the author of one of the foundational books on the history of talismans: Weill-Parot, Nicolas, Les “Images astrologiques” au moyen âge et à la Renaissance (XIIe-XIVe siècle), Paris 2002.
In this episode Professor Charles Burnett speaks about his recent research on the construction of astrological talismans. He addresses his in-progress editor of On Talismans by Thābit ibn Qurra. This works is being developed in partnership with colleague and is based on a recently discovered manuscript containing an Arabic version of the text.
Works mentioned:
Astral High Magic: De ymaginibus of Thabit Ibn Qurra, translated by John Michael Greer with a commentary by Christopher Warnock, n.p., 2011.
Burnett, Charles, ‘Tābit ibn Qurra the Ḥarrānian on Talismans and the Spirits of the Planets’, La Corónica, 36 (2007), 13–40.
Weill-Parot, Nicolas, Les “Images astrologiques” au moyen âge et à la Renaissance (XIIe-XIVe siècle), Paris 2002.
Cover talisman by Tony Mack – https://tonymackgoldsmith.com
Vanessa Portugal is an historian and art historian and an associate researcher of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Her work has focused on the use of astrological images in seventeenth and eighteenth-century New Spain, which was also the topic of her book, Las imágenes astrológicas en la Nueva España (2018). In this episode she shares some highlights of her work.
For more details on her research see: https://unam1.academia.edu/TaniaVanessaAlvarezPortugal
Las imágenes astrológicas en la Nueva España, Córdoba: UCOPress. Editorial Universidad de Córdoba, 2018 – http://www.uco.es/ucopress/index.php/es/2018-07-26-11-32-47/e-books/product/754-ebook-las-imagenes-astrologicas-en-la-nueva-espana
In this podcast Günther Oestmann joins us one more to talk about the life and work of Johann Wilhelm Pfaff astronomer and astrologer. Pfaff published an astrological book in 1816 and engaged in the discussion of astrology at a time when this was considered foolish, particularly for an academic. This makes him a unique case in the history of astrology in the modern period.
Günther Oestmann research on Johann Pfaff :
“J. W. A. Pfaff and the Rediscovery of Astrology in the Age of Romanticism” – https://www.researchgate.net/publicat…
The german version can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publicat…
To find more about Günther Oestmann’s works see his personal website:
http://www.guenther-oestmann.de
In this episode we talk with independent researcher Philip Graves on his life project: the Graves Astrology Library, the result of many years of collecting books, magazines and other materials dedicated to the topic of astrology. The conversation covers only a small part of the library’s contents, highlighting some of its more valuable books and discussing its importance for research on astrological practices of the modern period. Currently housed in the United Kingdom, the library’s collection can be consulted via appointment.
For more information please visit its website: https://www.astrolearn.com/
In this episode we speak with Godefroid de Callataÿ, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Oriental Institute of the University of Louvain. His PhD research was on the Platonic Great Year and its expression throughout history and culture. He published it in his monograph: Annus Platonicus. A Study of World Cycles in Greek, Latin and Arabic Sources (Peeters, 1996). For some years his research has been focused on the writings of The Brethren of Purity, the Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ a group of anonymous philosophers who wrote on a number of topics, among them astrology. He is currently heading the Advanced Grant ERC project, PhilAnd, with the purpose of studying the origin and early development of philosophy in tenth-century al-Andalus: https://sites.uclouvain.be/erc-philand/
For more information on Godefroid de Callataÿ’s work, see: https://uclouvain.academia.edu/GodefroiddeCallatay or https://alfresco.uclouvain.be/share/s/abf8k5kNSYaotxnsbq1FFg
A series of Godefroid’s lectures on the Great Year can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkqlBL5O0QWelhPP7id6rCbZH-q7EBJaI
A 2015 lecture on the astrological views of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bSH6v0A5pc
In this edition of the podcast we welcome as our guest historian of astrology, H Darrel Rutkin. Currently he is a researcher at the ERC funded project Early Modern Cosmology: Institutions and Metaphysics at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His research covers a large period of the Western Latin Tradition (1250-1800) and focuses chiefly on the philosophical, cultural and socio-political facets of astrological knowledge and practice. The conversation addresses some of the topics of his research as well as the first volume of his three volume work, “Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250-1800”, which is dedicated to “Medieval Structures (1250-1500): Conceptual, Institutional, Socio-Political, Religious and Cultural”.
For an overview of Darrel Rutink’s work see: https://unive.academia.edu/HDarrelRutkin
See also:
Early Modern Cosmology: Institutions and Metaphysics – https://www.unive.it/pag/35129/
Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250-1800, Vol. 1 (Springer, 2019) – https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030107789
In this episode researcher Jeffrey Kotyk joins us to talk about his work on the introduction of Indian and Iranian astrology into China. He addressed this topic on his PhD research titled “Buddhist Astrology and Astral Magic in the Tang Dynasty” (Leiden University, 2017) and in subsequent papers. His has explored many facets of practice of horoscopy in Eastern traditions including astrological iconography. In a recent paper he compares the practice of English astrologer William Lilly (1602–1681) with that of his eastern close contemporary Wan Minying (1521–1603).
For more information of Jeffrey Kotyk’s research see: https://mcmaster.academia.edu/JeffreyKotyk
His paper “Chinese and English Horoscopy in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The Astrological Doctrines of the Twelve Houses and the Lot of Fortune in Xingxue dacheng 星學大成 by Wan Minying 萬民英 (1521–1603) and Christian Astrology by William Lilly (1602–1681)”, International Journal of Divination and Prognostication, vol. 1 (2019), can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1163/25899201-12340002
In this episode we have the pleasure of speaking with Professor Jean-Patrice Boudet, who shares with us details on his work and some reflexions on the history of astrology. Professor Boudet is one of the chief researchers in this field and is currently a Professor of Medieval History at the Université d’Orléans. He has published various books and numerous papers on the medieval practices of astrology in Europe, in particular in medieval France. One of his most notable topics of research was the activities of the astrologer Simon de Phares, but he as written on many related topics on astrology, magic and divination.
For a list of his works see https://univ-orleans.academia.edu/JeanPatriceBoudet or https://www.irht.cnrs.fr/?q=fr/annuaire/boudet-jean-patrice.
This episode features the research of Levente László, doctoral candidate at the Doctoral School of Philosophy at Eötvös University in Budapest, with a PhD thesis titled “The astrological inceptions of the emperor Zeno’s anonymous astrologer.” The podcast addresses his research on the transmission of Greek, Latin and Arabic astrological texts in Antiquity and Middle Ages, as well the importance of the study of manuscript containing examples of astrological practice. Levente has also began a community-funded initiative, the HOROI Project, which aims at bringing into English yet untranslated astrological texts written in Greek. For more on his academic work see: https://bme.academia.edu/LeventeLászló For details on the HOROI project see http://horoiproject.com or contribute at https://www.patreon.com/horoiproject
Historian of science Petra G. Schmidl, researcher at IKGF-International Consortium for Research in the Humanities "Fate, Freedom and Prognostication" at the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, talks about her project “The Sultan and the Stars”. The project entails the translation of a 13th century Yemeni manuscript, Kitāb al-Tabṣira fī ˁilm al-nujūm ("Enlightenment in the science of the stars”).
For details on the project and more information about her work, see: https://tabsira.hypotheses.org
In this episode historian of science and technology Günther Oestmann discusses his research on astronomical clocks and the recent publication of his book, The Astronomical Clock of Strasburg Cathedral (Brill, 2020). He also speaks on his ongoing research on collections of horoscopes and shares some details of his current research on the astrological diary of the German astronomer David Fabricius (1564-1617).
To find more about Günther Oestmann’s works see his personal website: http://www.guenther-oestmann.de
The Astronomical Clock of Strasburg Cathedral. Function and Significance: https://brill.com/view/title/56926
Brochure on Fabricius (in German): https://www.ostfriesischelandschaft.de/fileadmin/user_upload/BIBLIOTHEK/Dokumente/Oll_Mai_2017.pdf
This episode is a supplement to our previous conversation with Martin Gansten. It discusses his recent translation and edition of The Jewel of Annual Astrology, an encyclopaedic treatise on Tājika or Sanskritized Perso-Arabic astrology, dealing particularly with the casting and interpretation of anniversary horoscopes. Authored in 1649 CE by Balabhadra Daivajña, court astrologer to Shāh Shujāʿ, governor of Bengal this texts casts light on the historical development of the Tājika school by extensive quotations from earlier works spanning five centuries.
This important source is available for download at Brill’s website: https://brill.com/view/title/57015
For more on Martin Gansten’s research please see: https://lu.academia.edu/MartinGansten
In this episode Martin Gansten talks about the reception of Arabic astrology in India which is related to his upcoming translation of The Jewel of Annual Astrology by Daivajña Balabhadra. As an historian of religion, Martin Gansten has focused his research on the role of astrology in Indic context. The conversation address many aspects of his work as well as some technical, cultural and philosophical diferences between the Indic practice and the European Latin context.
For more details on Martin's work see: https://lu.academia.edu/MartinGansten For the information on The Jewel of Annual Astrology: https://brill.com/view/title/57015
On this episode we talk with Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum on her academic research on the history of Astrology. The central topic is the astrological mathematical points known as Lots, Parts or Arabic Parts on which she has been researching for many years. Her PhD research is published with the title: The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology. Origins and Influence (Brill, 2015) - https://brill.com/view/title/24369
Recent publications:
Chapters "The Hellenistic Horoscope" and "Hellenistic Astronomy in Medicine" in Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts (Brill, 2020): https://brill.com/view/title/22821
In this episode we talk to Henrique Leitão about the role of astrology in the history of science and its importance in current historical research. Henrique Leitão is the head of the department of history and philosophy of science at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, and is an expert in Early Modern science in Iberian context.
For more about his work see his page: https://sites.google.com/site/henriqueleitaosite/. To know more about his current ERC funded research on nautical rutters, see: https://www.rutter-project.org
In this first episode of the ab Astra podcast we talk with Professor Charles Burnett of The Warburg Institute on the historical study of astrology. The paramount role of astrology in pre-modern cultures and in the very construction of science are some of the topics addressed.
To know more about Professor Burnett's work visit his page on The Warburg Institute: https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/charles-burnett. Here you can find a list of his academic books and papers. One of his most recent publications is The Great Introduction to Astrology by Abū Maʿšar, Arabic ed. and trans. Keiji Yamamoto and Charles Burnett, 2 vols, Leiden 2018 - https://brill.com/view/title/14340
Reference works:
al-Qabīṣī (Alcabitius), Introduction to Astrology, Arabic and Latin ed. and trans. Charles Burnett, Keiji Yamamoto and Michio Yano, London 2004.
Marsilio Ficino De vita libri tres (Three Books on Life, 1489) translated by Carol V. Kaske and John R. Clarke, Tempe, Arizona 2002.
Brendan Dooley (ed.), A Companion to Astrology in the Renaissance, Leiden 2014.
David Juste, ‘The Impact of Arabic Sources on European Astrology: Some Facts and Numbers’, Micrologus 24 (2016) 173-194.
Charles Burnett and Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum (eds), From Māshā’allāh to Kepler: Theory and Practice in Medieval and Renaissance Astrology, Ceredigion 2015. Rutkin, Darrel, Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250-1800, vol. 1, Berlin 2019.
Ad Astra presents a series of academic conversations with researchers on the history of astrology. It offers to a wider audience the main academic debates and works on the historical role of astrology in culture, science, and society. While it focuses primarily the historical study of astrological practices and methodologies, it also addresses other topics, such as current research, challenges, findings, astrological documents, new publications, and conferences.
The Ad Astra podcast is hosted by Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro, and is part of The Astra Project – http://theastraproject.org