This book offers an internalist view on the history of astrology by studying the case of S. Belle, an astrologer who lived in late fifteenth-century France. It addresses his methods of work, his process of learning, and his practice.
Thousands of years ago, people first observed a correlation between the heavenly bodies and events on Earth. Out of these early observations and subsequent refinements came what today is known as astrology. For most of these millennia, astrologers used only the seven visible planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It is out of this tradition that Helena Avelar and Luis Ribeiro have written this extensive book on astrology. The rules and principles here presented apply to all branches of astrologyA natal, mundane, horary and elective. Their method is the traditional and time-honored one, and includes, among others, chapters on: The Planets The Zodiac and the Signs The Essential Dignities The Houses The Aspects Chart Dynamics The Condition of the Planets The Fixed Stars The Parts The Power of the Planets Using this traditional method, it is possible not only to thoroughly and completely read the natal chart but to do so with a breadth and depth of meaning not found in the modern methods of astrological interpretation. It avoids cookbook-type methods and centers on the practical understanding of the astrological concepts, presenting the Tradition in present-day language. In addition, more than two hundred fifty illustrations make the traditional principles easy to understand and use in chart interpretation. This practical how-to book is one of a kind, and the one that will teach you the traditional methods and you reach into the past to benefit from the knowledge of the authors and astrologers from ancient Babylonia through the medieval period. It is suitable for both beginners and advanced students, as it provides the indispensable core of astrological knowledge, at the same time allowing more experienced students to organize their knowledge into a coherent system.
The first popular biography of a pioneering feminist thinker and writer of medieval Paris. The daughter of a court intellectual, Christine de Pizan dwelled within the cultural heart of late-medieval Paris. In the face of personal tragedy, she learned the tools of the book trade, writing more than forty works that included poetry, historical and political treatises, and defenses of women. In this new biography—the first written for a general audience—Charlotte Cooper-Davis discusses the life and work of this pioneering female thinker and writer. She shows how Christine de Pizan’s inspiration came from the world around her, situates her as an entrepreneur within the context of her times and place, and finally examines her influence on the most avant-garde of feminist artists, through whom she is slowly making a return into mainstream popular culture.
"A collection of essays examining medieval and early modern texts aimed at performing magic or receiving illumination via the mediation of angels. Includes discussion of Jewish, Christian and Muslim texts"--Provided by publisher.
The Duke and the Stars explores science and medicine as studied and practiced in fifteenth-century Italy, including how astrology was taught in relation to astronomy. It illustrates how the “predictive art” of astrology was often a critical, secretive source of information for Italian Renaissance rulers, particularly in times of crisis.
Jung on Astrology brings together C. G. Jung’s thoughts on astrology in a single volume for the first time, significantly adding to our understanding of Jung’s work. Jung’s Collected Works, seminars, and letters contain numerous discussions of this ancient divinatory system, and Jung himself used astrological horoscopes as a diagnostic tool in his analytic practice. Understood in terms of his own psychology as a symbolic representation of the archetypes of the collective unconscious, Jung found in astrology a wealth of spiritual and psychological meaning and suggested it represents the "sum of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity." The selections and editorial introductions by Safron Rossi and Keiron Le Grice address topics that were of critical importance to Jung—such as the archetypal symbolism in astrology, the precession of the equinoxes and astrological ages, astrology as a form of synchronicity and acausal correspondence, the qualitative nature of time, and the experience of astrological fate—allowing readers to assess astrology’s place within the larger corpus of Jung’s work and its value as a source of symbolic meaning for our time. The book will be of great interest to analytical psychologists, Jungian psychotherapists and academics and students of depth psychology, Jungian and post-Jungian studies, as well as to astrologers and therapists of other orientations, especially transpersonal.
Discussing medieval and early modern 'disembodied heads' this collection questions the why and how of the primacy of the head in the bodily hierarchy during the premodern period. On the basis of beliefs, mythologies and traditions concerning the head, they come to an ‘cultural anatomy’ of the head.
“Attention, ‘Game of Thrones’ fans: The most enjoyably sensational aspects of medieval politics—double-crosses, ambushes, bizarre personal obsessions, lunacy and naked self-interest—are in abundant evidence in Nancy Goldstone's The Maid and the Queen.” (Laura Miller, Salon.com) Politically astute, ambitious, and beautiful, Yolande of Aragon, queen of Sicily, was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Caught in the complex dynastic battle of the Hundred Years War, Yolande championed the dauphin's cause against the forces of England and Burgundy, drawing on her savvy, her statecraft, and her intimate network of spies. But the enemy seemed invincible. Just as French hopes dimmed, an astonishingly courageous young woman named Joan of Arc arrived from the farthest recesses of the kingdom, claiming she carried a divine message-a message that would change the course of history and ultimately lead to the coronation of Charles VII and the triumph of France. Now, on the six hundredth anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc, this fascinating book explores the relationship between these two remarkable women, and deepens our understanding of this dramatic period in history. How did an illiterate peasant girl gain access to the future king of France, earn his trust, and ultimately lead his forces into battle? Was it only the hand of God that moved Joan of Arc-or was it also Yolande of Aragon?
Milan was for centuries the most important center of economic, ecclesiastical and political power in Lombardy. As the State of Milan it extended in the Renaissance over a large part of northern and central Italy and numbered over thirty cities with their territories. A Companion to Late Medieval and early Modern Milan examines the story of the city and State from the establishment of the duchy under the Viscontis in 1395 through to the 150 years of Spanish rule and down to its final absorption into Austrian Lombardy in 1704. It opens up to a wide readership a well-documented synthesis which is both fully informative and reflects current debate. 20 chapters by qualified and distinguished scholars offer a new and original perspective with themes ranging from society to politics, music to literature, the history of art to law, the church to the economy. Contributors are: Giuliana Albini, Giancarlo Andenna, Jane Black, Stefano D’Amico, Alessandra Dattero, Massimo Della Misericordia, Giuliano Di Bacco, Claudia Di Filippo, Federico Del Tredici, Andrea Gamberini, Christine Getz, T.J. Kuehn, Germano Maifreda, Patrizia Mainoni, Alessandro Morandotti, Simona Mori, Serena Romano, Giovanna Tonelli, Massimo Zaggia.
This volume highlights the copious and various depictions of the three orders of society during the Late Middle Ages and at the beginning of the Early Modern Period. It discusses the origins and development of the trifunctional division into the orders of the oratores, bellatores and laboratores, and the abundantly preserved visual material, which proves that this scheme was one of the most widespread ideological foundations of European societies at that time. Late Gothic and Renaissance depictions of the three orders of society can be found in different mediums, from woodcuts to wall paintings, and were produced by important artists such as J. Fouquet and Pieter Bruegel, as well as anonymous painters. The vast numbers of preserved examples of this topic confirm the significance and strength of this iconographic theme at the end of the Middle Ages.