ad Astra

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 of astrology, and his latest book.

For an overview of Professor Sela’s works see: https://biu.academia.edu/SSela

The Professor’s latest publication can be found here: https://brill.com/view/title/56809

For his editions of ibn Ezra’s works see: https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&level=parent&pageSize=10&q_0=Shlomo+Sela&sort=relevance

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 Landscape Sustainability. In this podcast she shares with us some of the interceptions of garden landscaping with cosmology and astrology in the 16th and 17th centuries.

For more information regarding Ana Duarte Rodrigue’s work see: https://ciuhct.org/en/members/ana-duarte-rodrigues

She headed two research projects:
Aqua, on history of water management (still ongoing) – https://ciuhct.org/en/research/aqua-horto-aquam-salutarem-water-wise-management-gardens-early-modern-period
Sustainable Beauty, on garden sustainability – https://ciuhct.org/en/research/sustainable-beauty-algarvean-gardens

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 his generation. His interests ranged from prehistoric astronomical alignments to modern nuclear physics, but peaked with the Middle Ages and Renaissance, in which he brought out a richness and complexity that hith- erto had hardly been seen. In every subject he sought to cast light on the society, culture and literature of the period. His daring interpretations were not immune to controversy, but in everything he published and lectured on he demonstrated intellectual honesty and a mastery of the mathematical detail.” (https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/1459/11_17-John_North.pdf)

Among his many works, there are many important contributions to the history of astrology. Two of them are:

– Horoscopes and History (London, 1986), where North presents a pioneer work on the methods of house division.

– Chaucer’s Universe (Oxford, 1988), in which he discusses the astrological symbolism underlying Chaucer’s work.

A bibliography of John North can be found at: https://bit.ly/3kIafHm

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 history of astrology.

For more information on the book see: https://brill.com/view/title/57817

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 addresses the importance of astrology in the context of the history of astronomy, its various levels of practice (from the erudite to the popular), as well as the importance of mathematical knowledge.

To know more about Professor Samsó’s work see: https://ub.academia.edu/JulioSamsó or http://www.ub.edu/arab/cv/Julio%20Samso%20cv.pdf

Among his many publications are:

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 conjunctions in prognostication and offers a critical edition with German translation of John of Lübeck’s 1474 prediction of the advent of the Antichrist.

For a list of Stephan Heilen’s publications (German), see: shorturl.at/kGM58

For his new book: http://koernerverlag.de/nichtbibliographische/saectext/saec53.html (English flyer: https://studip.uni-osnabrueck.de/sendfile.php?type=0&file_id=7ee311ee0fb2094f070c2f7440de2f81&file_name=Heilen+2020+Flyer+English.pdf)

View the first part of this conversation at https://youtu.be/3a_1cxbhfCs

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:

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 modern astrology, as well as the position of the history of astrology in academia.

For more information on Angela Voss’ work see: https://canterbury.academia.edu/AngelaVoss 

Some of her publications are:

– Marsilio Ficino (North Atlantic Books, Western Esoteric Masters Series, 2006)

– Daimonic Imagination: Uncanny Intelligence (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013), edited with William Rowlandson.

– Re-enchanting the Academy (Rubedo Press, 2017), edited with Simon Wilson.

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 Study of Cosmology in Culture, and Astrology, and editor of the journal Culture and Cosmos.

For an overview of his many academic writings see: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/staff/nicholas-campion/

Sophia Centre :https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/sophia/

Culture and Cosmos journal: http://www.cultureandcosmos.org

MA in Cultural Astronomy: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/ma-cultural-astronomy-astrology/