Publication of Christian Astrology
William Lilly's Christian Astrology · Lilly's manual
What happened
William Lilly published Christian Astrology in 1647 — the first comprehensive astrology manual written in English. Across 1,500 pages he detailed natal, mundane, and horary techniques. The "Christian" in the title isn't religious but political: in the middle of the English Civil War Lilly was defending astrology's practice "by good men." The book was a bestseller in its day and represented the peak of the 17th-century European astrology boom. In the following half-century the scientific revolution (Kepler, Newton, the Royal Society) would push astrology out of the academic world; Christian Astrology was the last great technical text before that exile.
Why it matters
The modern horary revival (1980s-today) entirely references Lilly's text. The most practical answer to "how is astrology done?" is still Christian Astrology, 380 years later.
Themes
- first English book
- horary revival
- practical technique
- astrology's peak