A whole day seminar exploring
various aspects of The History of Astrology
Sunday 5th November 2006
Programme Organiser: Kim Farnell
10.00 am - 5.00 pm
(Join us for tea/coffee from 9.30)
Includes fabulous vegetarian lunch.
 10:00
am
Dr Nicholas Campion
Why you haven't lived until you've seen a total eclipse of the
Sun.
Is it possible to be a historian of astrology or astronomy until you have
had a direct religious experience of the sky?
Nick's latest book, 'What do Astrologers Believe?' will be published
in September 2006. He is editor of ‘Culture and Cosmos’, Director
of the Sophia Centre at Bath Spa University, lectures on the history of
astrology for Kepler College and is helping to pioneer the new academic
discipline of cultural astronomy.
 10:40
am
Branka Stamenkovic
Eclipses and Comets in Serbian Medieval Oral Tradition and Manuscripts
During half a century of Turkish occupation, Serbian people watched
eclipses for signs of change. Lunar eclipses were considered bad for the
Turks, while Solar ones were held as bad omen for the Serbs. Notes about
some of these are preserved in Church manuscripts. But it is through the
oral tradition that their significance was forwarded from generation to
generation, mostly through the folk epic songs. Even contemporary surveys
conducted in some Serbian villages result in many old people telling stories
they heard from their ancestors about these omens. Comets were also considered
very important and their effects predicted, as noted in many manuscripts.
Branka is an astrologer from Belgrade, Serbia, where she practices
traditional medieval astrology techniques. Her special interest is the
history of astrology in Serbia and she is studying medieval church manuscripts.
11:20 am Coffee Break
 11:40
am
Dorian Geiseler Greenbaum
Vettius Valens' Daimon and Fate in Astrology
If you’ve read Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights you
know that he created a world in which everyone had their own personal
daimon (which he spells daemon). This was true in the
Hellenistic world as well, where there is much talk of a personal daimon
in Plato and Plutarch, among others. Vettius Valens, the second century
astrologer, also talks about his own daimon and how it helped
him in the practice of astrology. Traditional astrologers know the daimon
from its houses (the eleventh and twelfth, Good and Evil Spirit (daimon
was translated as ‘spirit’) and from its Lot, the Lot of Spirit.
In this talk we’ll see it in a different light.
Dorian is a PhD candidate at the Warburg Institute, University of
London. Her most recent book is “Temperament: Astrology's Forgotten
Key” (The Wessex Astrologer, 2005.) She has been teaching and consulting
in astrology since 1992.
 12:20
pm
Dr Christine Garwood
The Great Victorian Flat Earth Controversy
Medieval scholars followed Aristotle in asserting that the earth was round.
Surprisingly, the flat earth controversy was revived in Victorian times.
Alfred Wallace was among scientists who argued the issue with astrologers,
including Zadkiel.
Christine was a research fellow for the Wallace project at the Open
University, and is the author of “Flat Earth: The History of an
Infamous Idea,” due for publication next year.
1:00 pm Lunch
1:40 pm Book Signing
Speakers will be available to sign copies of their books, which will be
on sale. You are also welcome to bring along books that you already possess
for signing.
 2:00
pm
Julianne Evans
The Schifanoia Frescoes: the Enigma of the Decans
Seven floor to ceiling frescos survive in the Hall of the Months, Palazzo
Schifanoia, Ferrara, representing activities related to the months of
the year and corresponding zodiacal signs (Aries to Libra). These enigmatic
figures have been identified by Aby Warburg’s as pertaining to the
decans. Marco Bertozzi has proposed that the figures conceal references
to the paranatellonta, reproducing forms of constellations or star clusters.
This talk analyses the correspondences between the decans and recognisable
star clusters according to morphological analogy – superimposing
asterisms onto the form of the figures, as proposed by the further research
of Gianluigi Magoni.
Julianne has lived in Italy for the last twenty years where she works
as a translator and teaches English and astrology. She is a member of
the Italian astrological association, CIDA, and contributes to its quarterly
Linguaggio Astrale.
 2:40
pm
Robert Hand
Lots and Lot Houses
Lots, also incorrectly known as "Arabic Parts" long precede
the Arabs. But their use in Hellenistic astrology appears to have been
quite different from their use in medieval astrology. In medieval astrology,
lots were used to determine rulers as significators and as points that
in themselves could be aspected. In Hellenistic astrology they were used
as either alternative, specialized ascendants, or as markers to designate
which sign or place should be used in the examination of particular issues.
This lecture will discuss the relevant texts that demonstrate this from
the ancient world to the early modern period.
Rob is the author of several works in astrology, as well as one of the
proprietors of ARHAT Publications, which is dedicated to making works
of, and about pre-modern astrology generally available. He is currently
working on his PhD in Medieval History from the Catholic University of
America in Washington, DC.
3:20 pm Coffee Break
 3:40
pm
Kim Farnell
The Shepherds Calendar
Sun sign astrology is often though of as a modern invention. However,
Sun sign delineations are as old as astrology itself, and interpretations
have changed little since the fifteenth century. The Shepherds Calendar
was a hugely popular book, reprinted numerous times following its first
appearance in 1490. This talk recounts the story of the Calendar and looks
at its astrological content.
Kim is an astrologer and writer who has recently completed a history
of Sun sign astrology. She holds an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology.
4:20 pm
Open Floor
This space is reserved for short announcements or presentations relating
to ongoing or emerging research projects into the history of astrology.
Requests for help or advice about any project you are undertaking/propose
to undertake are also suitable. Time is limited, so if you wish to make
an announcement please contact lodge@kimfarnell.co.uk in advance of the
seminar. If you are unable to attend, but wish an announcement to be made
on your behalf, this can be arranged on request.
5:00 pm Close
Tickets
Tickets are now sold out.
Venue
The Theosophical Society
50 Gloucester Place
London, W1U 8EA
How to get there |
