Nicholas Campion

This book explores an area of contemporary religion, spirituality and popular culture which has not so far been investigated in depth, the phenomenon of astrology in the modern west. Locating modern astrology historically and sociologically in its religious, New Age and millenarian contexts, Nicholas Campion considers astrology's relation to modernity and draws on extensive fieldwork and interviews with leading modern astrologers to present an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the origins and nature of New Age ideology. This book challenges the notion that astrology is either 'marginal' or a feature of postmodernism. Concluding that astrology is more popular than the usual figures suggest, Campion argues that modern astrology is largely shaped by New Age thought, influenced by the European Millenarian tradition, that it can be seen as an heir to classical Gnosticism and is part of the vernacular religion of the modern west.

Prophecy, Cosmology and the New Age Movement

Astrology and Popular Religion in the Modern West

'And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years."' Genesis 1: 14 Astrology, the notion that the stars and planets hold significance for human life, exists in most cultures. It is evident in Stone Age lunar calendars dating back to 30,000 BCE. Today, 90 per cent of Indians consult astrologers about their forthcoming marriages while over 50 per cent of people in the West read their horoscopes in newspapers or magazines. How has this pre-Christian, pre-scientific view of the cosmos survived to the present day and what is its enduring appeal? Astrology's techniques and philosophical foundations are complex and there is no single tradition. Astrology may be seen as science, art, religion, craft or superstition. For most adherents it is either a path to self-understanding or an organizing principle that helps give purpose to an otherwise meaningless world. Nicholas Campion explores astrology's past and present, its claims and appeal, and explains what astrologers really believe.

What Do Astrologers Believe?

Steve Eddy

Spanning the ages, from ancient mythology to the latest astronomical discoveries, this dazzling synthesis of astrological, spiritual, & scientific knowledge illuminates our relationship to the cosmos as never before.

The Art and Science of the Stars

The New Astrology

Presents overviews of the astrologies of the world's religions, discussing how various cultures have used celestial observations and beliefs about the heavens to engage with the divine and understand their lives on Earth.

Astrology and Cosmology in the World's Religions

Fabio Silva

Eleven papers extend discussion of the role and importance of the landscape and the wider environment to past societies, and to the understanding and interpretation of their material remains, into consideration of the significance of the celestial environment: the skyscape. The role of the sky for past societies has been relegated to the fringes of archaeological discourse. Nevertheless archaeoastronomy has developed a new rigour in the last few decades and the evidence suggests that it can provide insights into the beliefs, practices and cosmologies of past societies. Skyscapes explores the current role of archaeoastronomical knowledge in archaeological discourse and how to integrate the two. It shows how it is not only possible but even desirable to look at the skyscape to shed further light on human societies. This is achieved by first exploring the historical relationship between archaeoastronomy and academia in general, and with archaeology in particular. The volume continues by presenting case-studies that either demonstrate how archaeoastronomical methodologies can add to our current understanding of past societies, their structures and beliefs, or how integrated approaches can raise new questions and even revolutionise current views of the past.

The Role and Importance of the Sky in Archaeology

Skyscapes

The Dawn of Astrology: The medieval and modern worlds

Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum

Astrology is the practice of relating the heavenly bodies to lives and events on earth, and the tradition that has thus been generated. Many cultures worldwide have practised it in some form. In some it is rudimentary, in others complex. Culture and scholarship have categorised it as both belief and science, as a form of magic, divination or religious practice – but in many ways it defies easy categorisation. The chapters in this volume make a significant contribution to our understanding of astrology across a range of periods of cultures. Based on papers presented at the annual conference of the Sophia Centre held in 2012, the contributions range from China and Japan, through India, the ancient Near East, the classical world and early modern Europe, to Madagascar and Mesoamerica. The different topics include ritual and religion, magic and science, calendars and time, and questions of textual transmission and methodology. Astrology in Time and Place is essential reading for all interested in the history of humanity’s relationship with the cosmos.

Cross-Cultural Questions in the History of Astrology

Astrology in Time and Place

Liz Greene

Human beings in all cultures have long used the sky to tell stories and weave myths that impart meaning to life on earth. The key to all such systems is symbolism, in which one thing is used to signify, imply, represent, or embody another. The papers included in this volume are all concerned, in one way or another, with various perceptions of the world of celestial phenomena as symbols. These explorations range from art history and analytical psychology to critiques and accounts of astrology, and roam from western to non-western cultures, as well as from the ancient world to the modern. The papers, most of which were given at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Sophia Centre Conference in Bath, UK, in 2011, provide a valuable addition to the scholarly literature on our understanding of the origins, function, and nature of symbols, especially their use in relation to cultural applications of astronomy, astrology, and the sky.

Sky and Symbol

Astrology is a major feature of contemporary popular culture. Recent research indicates that 99% of adults in the modern west know their birth sign. In the modern west astrology thrives as part of our culture despite being a pre-Christian, pre-scientific world-view. Medieval and Renaissance Europe marked the high water mark for astrology. It was a subject of high theological speculation, was used to advise kings and popes, and to arrange any activity from the beginning of battles to the most auspicious time to have one's hair cut. Nicholas Campion examines the foundation of modern astrology in the medieval and Renaissance worlds. Spanning the period between the collapse of classical astrology in the fifth century and the rise of popular astrology on the web in the twentieth, Campion challenges the historical convention that astrology flourished only between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. Concluding with a discussion of astrology's popularity and appeal in the twenty-first century, Campion asks whether it should be seen as an integral part of modernity or as an element of the post-modern world.

The Medieval and Modern Worlds

A History of Western Astrology Volume II

Galileo's Astrology

A work looking afresh at astrology, revealing what the stars say about us and what we can do about it. It shows how astrology can help us to determine our futures and enhance our lives and loves. The characteristics of each zodiac sign are explored and ideas offered on how to exploit our strengths.

Enhance Your Life Through Astrology

Zodiac

The word Harmony appears in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development no less than three times, yet with no definition. This anthology gathers together an interdisciplinary array of experts, academics and practitioners to explore what Harmony means and how we can use it. One traditional view of Harmony holds that everything in the universe operates in a state of balance, another assumes the interconnectedness of all things - an idea central to ecological thought. Such thoughts also lead to action and policy decisions: for example, how do we conduct business, educate children, conduct business, protect the environment, resolve conflict and promote health and well-being in a world in which all things are fundamentally connected? The chapters in this volume explore Harmony from a range of perspectives, historical and philosophical, academic and personal. Rather than suggesting fixed answers, the goal is to ask questions about how we relate to each other, engage with the wider environment, face the challenges of the modern world, and work towards holistic solutions for today's problems.

The Harmony Debates: Exploring a Practical Philosophy for a Sustainable Future

Patrick Curry

Bath Spa University. Sophia Centre for the Study of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology

Bath Spa University College

Astrology and the Academy

Michael Baigent

Charles Harvey

The authoritative, standard reference work which examines the astrology of nations and groups.

Mundane Astrology

When you think of astrology, you may think of the horoscope section in your local paper, or of Nancy Reagan's consultations with an astrologer in the White House in the 1980s. Yet almost every religion uses some form of astrology: some way of thinking about the sun, moon, stars, and planets and how they hold significance for human lives on earth. Astrology and Cosmology in the World’s Religions offers an accessible overview of the astrologies of the world's religions, placing them into context within theories of how the wider universe came into being and operates. Campion traces beliefs about the heavens among peoples ranging from ancient Egypt and China, to Australia and Polynesia, and India and the Islamic world. Addressing each religion in a separate chapter, Campion outlines how, by observing the celestial bodies, people have engaged with the divine, managed the future, and attempted to understand events here on earth. This fascinating text offers a unique way to delve into comparative religions and will also appeal to those intrigued by New Age topics.

Nicholas Campion

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