Astrology · Guide
Astrology beyond Europe: print, almanacs and audiences
Astrology in almanacs and printed publications. Learn to distinguish calendar information, popular predictions and technical horoscopes in a source.
Editorial illustration.
In this lesson
An almanac combines different kinds of information
Printed almanacs offer a starting point for the history of popular sky culture. Calendars, astronomical information, advice and predictions can appear close together. Sharing a page does not make them the same kind of knowledge.
Read the edition itself
The Library of Congress digitisation of Poor Richard improved makes a primary source available for inspection. In your own notes, record the year, page and type of text. Do not call every table of lunar phases a horoscope.
A changing audience
The history of circulation involves publishers, readers and access to print, as well as famous astrologers. Claims about a particular newspaper or first column should be checked against its archive; a frequently repeated date is not enough.
Astrology · Guide
Continue reading
The Babylonian roots of the horoscope
The Babylonian roots of the horoscope, from celestial omens to birth records.Medieval astrology: translations, tables and schools
Medieval astrology and the movement of texts through Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin settings.Renaissance astrology and its separation from astronomy
Manuscripts, printing and celestial calculation: why astronomers’ involvement does not validate astrology as science.