ad Astra

This episode is a supplement to our previous conversation with Martin Gansten. It discusses his recent translation and edition of The Jewel of Annual Astrology, an encyclopaedic treatise on Tājika or Sanskritized Perso-Arabic astrology, dealing particularly with the casting and interpretation of anniversary horoscopes. Authored in 1649 CE by Balabhadra Daivajña, court astrologer to Shāh Shujāʿ, governor of Bengal this texts casts light on the historical development of the Tājika school by extensive quotations from earlier works spanning five centuries.

This important source is available for download at Brill’s website: https://brill.com/view/title/57015

For more on Martin Gansten’s research please see: https://lu.academia.edu/MartinGansten

In this episode Martin Gansten talks about the reception of Arabic astrology in India which is related to his upcoming translation of The Jewel of Annual Astrology by Daivajña Balabhadra. As an historian of religion, Martin Gansten has focused his research on the role of astrology in Indic context. The conversation address many aspects of his work as well as some technical, cultural and philosophical diferences between the Indic practice and the European Latin context.

For more details on Martin's work see: https://lu.academia.edu/MartinGansten For the information on The Jewel of Annual Astrology: https://brill.com/view/title/57015

On this episode we talk with Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum on her academic research on the history of Astrology. The central topic is the astrological mathematical points known as Lots, Parts or Arabic Parts on which she has been researching for many years. Her PhD research is published with the title: The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology. Origins and Influence (Brill, 2015) - https://brill.com/view/title/24369

Recent publications:
Chapters "The Hellenistic Horoscope" and "Hellenistic Astronomy in Medicine" in Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts (Brill, 2020): https://brill.com/view/title/22821

In this episode we talk to Henrique Leitão about the role of astrology in the history of science and its importance in current historical research. Henrique Leitão is the head of the department of history and philosophy of science at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, and is an expert in Early Modern science in Iberian context.

For more about his work see his page: https://sites.google.com/site/henriqueleitaosite/. To know more about his current ERC funded research on nautical rutters, see: https://www.rutter-project.org

In this first episode of the ab Astra podcast we talk with Professor Charles Burnett of The Warburg Institute on the historical study of astrology. The paramount role of astrology in pre-modern cultures and in the very construction of science are some of the topics addressed.

To know more about Professor Burnett's work visit his page on The Warburg Institute: https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/charles-burnett. Here you can find a list of his academic books and papers. One of his most recent publications is The Great Introduction to Astrology by Abū Maʿšar, Arabic ed. and trans. Keiji Yamamoto and Charles Burnett, 2 vols, Leiden 2018 - https://brill.com/view/title/14340

Reference works:

al-Qabīṣī (Alcabitius), Introduction to Astrology, Arabic and Latin ed. and trans. Charles Burnett, Keiji Yamamoto and Michio Yano, London 2004.

Marsilio Ficino De vita libri tres (Three Books on Life, 1489) translated by Carol V. Kaske and John R. Clarke, Tempe, Arizona 2002.

Brendan Dooley (ed.), A Companion to Astrology in the Renaissance, Leiden 2014.

David Juste, ‘The Impact of Arabic Sources on European Astrology: Some Facts and Numbers’, Micrologus 24 (2016) 173-194.

Charles Burnett and Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum (eds), From Māshā’allāh to Kepler: Theory and Practice in Medieval and Renaissance Astrology, Ceredigion 2015. Rutkin, Darrel, Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250-1800, vol. 1, Berlin 2019.

Ad Astra presents a series of academic conversations with researchers on the history of astrology. It offers to a wider audience the main academic debates and works on the historical role of astrology in culture, science, and society. While it focuses primarily the historical study of astrological practices and methodologies, it also addresses other topics, such as current research, challenges, findings, astrological documents, new publications, and conferences.

The Ad Astra podcast is hosted by Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro, and is part of The Astra Project – http://theastraproject.org