A little more astrology-related history...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

The battle-lines between the medieval Church and astrology were first 
properly drawn up in 1277 by Stephen Tempier, Bishop of Paris. He listed 
219 propositions that were not to be taught at the University of Paris, one 
of which was astrology.

Bishop Tempier - like Rabbis many centuries before (even though some early 
synagogues had zodiac mosaics) - was most dismayed at the idea of 
astrological determinism.

As mentioned before, Cecco d'Ascoli's defences of his astrological practice 
in the 1320s weren't enough to prevent him from being burnt at the stake.

It seems that there then came about an uneasy truce between the Church and 
astrologers - as long as they didn't mention predetermination. This lasted 
until 1490, when the noted thinker Pico della Mirandola gave notice that he 
was preparing a full-on intellectual assault on astrology's shortcomings 
(which he eventually published in 1498). In the meantime, top-rank 
astrologers (like Marsilio Ficino and Simon de Phares) preemptively 
published their defences of astrology - partly for their profession's sake, 
of course, but also partly to save themselves. :-/

1498 is when Simon de Phares, after the death of his patron, was thrown in 
prison, and his extensive library of astrological books and manuscripts 
catalogued and burned.

So: the 1490s marked not only the point at which astrologers really started 
to come under fire (quite literally) again, but also the point where 
astrology "changed phase", moving from deterministic medieval astrology 
into something resembling the more modern psychological discipline (due 
largely to Marsilio Ficino).

Medieval astrology has been revived of late, most notably by Robert Zoller: 
but astrological interpretation as generally practised these days is far 
closer to Marsilio Ficino's. Is that because one proved better than the 
other, or because the Church found one more heretical than the other?

Online references:-

A paper by Paula Wagner, a student at Kepler College:-
	http://www.kepler.edu/articles/student/2q2000wagner.html

A conference paper by Dr Laura Smoller on apocalyptic astrology:-
	http://www.mille.org/publications/Confpro98/SMOLLER.PDF

Another Simon de Phares-related book listed by Dr Smoller:-
	J.-P. Boudet "Lire dans le ciel: La bibliotheque de Simon de
	Phares, astrologue du XVe siecle"
	(Brussels, Centre d'Etude des Manuscrits, 1994)

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....