Astrology From Ancient Babylon to the Present

by Maxwell-Stuart, P. G.

• ISBN13: 9781848681071
• ISBN10: 1848681070
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-08-15
• Publisher: Amberley Publishing

Summary

The first major new history of astrology ever published. Comprehensive coverage from the earliest known records from Ancient Babylon (over 4000 years ago), to the present day obsession with horoscopes. Horoscopes are hugely popular today with an estimated 200 million people worldwide regularly reading their horoscope. Author is a respected expert on the occult. Astrology is a means of interpreting the influence which the position of certain heavenly bodies have upon the earth and human beings. The earliest records are those of Babylon, which were designed to help its kings understand the will of their gods. It then became a way of making sense of the world as people saw themselves as integral parts of a vast but puzzling whole. Medicine, politics, religion, the sciences, all had astrology woven into their fabric, and the best minds of the Middle Ages and early modern period engaged themselves in its study. Controversy, however, thereafter hastened its decline as a science until the twentieth century saw its return in the highest circles of the Third Reich and a number of post-war democracies. This book traces astrology's chequered history and notes that modern research suggests it should be taken much more seriously than people usually suppose.

Author Biography

P. G. Maxwell-Stuart is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of St. Andrews. He lives in St. Andrews.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. 7
Some Astrological Terms	p. 8
The Land Between the Rivers c.800 BC-c.600 BC: Interpreting Portents	p. 9
Greece & Rome c.600 BC-50 BC: The Religious Zodiac	p. 22
Hellenistic & Roman Egypt 50 BC-c.AD 100: Personal Horoscopes	p. 34
The Imperial West c.100-c.200: Political Quicksands	p. 45
Jewish Traditions, Demons & Manuals c.100-c.200: An Astrological Legacy	p. 56
A Christian Dilemma c.200-c.500: Theological Doubts & Popular Belief	p. 70
Islamic Speculation c.600-c.900: Fresh Insights, Transmission & Astral Magic	p. 83
Byzantium & the Jewish Diaspora c.900-c.1200: Agreements to Disagree	p. 104
Mediaeval Europe c.1200-c.1300: The Inheritor of Traditions	p. 121
Astrology in Mediaeval Literature, Art & Architecture c.1300-c.1500	p. 142
Astrologers at Work c.1500-c.1600: The Stars in an Age of Reform	p. 174
Questioning the Macrocosm c.1600-c.1700: The Pursuit of a 'Sane' Astrology	p. 191
Prophets & Sceptics c.1700-c.1800: Astrology Fighting Decline	p. 213
New Planets, Esotericism & Almanacs c.1800-c.1900: Astrology in the Post-Industrial World	p. 231
Plus ça Change c.1900-2000: Facing the Future	p. 256
Appendix: Horoscopes of Christ	p. 269
Notes	p. 277
Bibliography	p. 294
Index	p. 313
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.