ad Astra

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 mo...

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 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 practi...

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...

“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 Jone...

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...

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 Lands...

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...

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 h...

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 addresse...

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...

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. D...

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...

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 Stud...

* 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 astrolog...

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 ta...

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,...

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 astrolog...

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 chapter...

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 r...

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...

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://...

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 addres...

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 T...