William Lilly
The Last Magus
- Origin
- Diseworth, England
- Key works
- Christian Astrology (three books, 1647)
Contribution
Lilly was the chief astrologer of the English Renaissance. He was sued (and acquitted) for predicting the 1666 Great Fire of London 14 years in advance via chart — pre-modern astrology's most famous case. Christian Astrology (1647) is the first comprehensive astrology manual written in English; 1,500 pages of practical technique. His strongest area: horary astrology — the "chart of the moment a question is asked." Lost objects, illness, marriage, national crisis — he cast a chart for every kind of question. By the late 17th century, astrology was pushed out by science; Lilly's method slept for 300 years. Reawakened in the 1980s by Olivia Barclay.
Why they matter today
The horary astrology revival (1980s-today) walks through Lilly. The practice of "can you cast a chart to answer a question?" — striking even to a modern astrologer.