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Do Stars Dictate Our Destiny ?

Astrology Study

Astrology studies the influence of stars on the behavior and destiny of men. Practiced since the highest antiquity, it has long been confused with astronomy, which it has allowed the development.

A glorious reign inaugurated by an astrological prediction

Until modern times, astrologers played an important role in the political life of nations: sovereigns, like Elizabeth I of England, called on their services to unravel the threads of fate and conduct a policy.

When Elizabeth succeeded her father Henry VIII on the throne of England in 1558, one of her first acts was to have her astrologer John Dee calculate the most favorable day for her coronation. Dee proposes January 14, 1559, suggestion that follows the queen - for her happiness, apparently: the 45 years of reign of Elizabeth correspond indeed to one of the most splendid periods of the kingdom of England and some can thus attribute to John Dee part of the glory of the "Elizabethan century".

John Dee biography

John Dee was born on July 13, 1527 in London, to a modest family. After brilliant studies, he graduated in 1546 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College Cambridge. He is passionate then for mathematics, a topic not popular at the time, and especially for the theories of Pythagoras. It is at this moment also that he is initiated to alchemy and hermetism. From 1547 to 1551, he traveled to Europe and stayed mostly at the University of Louvain, one of the best on the continent. In 1550, he attended the University of Paris, where he taught Euclid's geometry.

Its fame, now considerable, reaches the borders of Europe. He maintained links with England, where he returned, for example, in 1548, discovering never seen before navigation instruments.

Mathematician and occultist

In 1570, he preface a translation of Euclid's great treatise on mathematics, the Elements, thus making a major contribution to the promotion of this discipline in academic circles. He returns to settle permanently in London in 1551. It is then that Elizabeth takes him under her protection. For her, he draws up horoscopes, maps out, works on a new calendar, and contributes to the development of England's naval defense plans. The knowledge that we consider today as "scientists" are not distinguished, at the time, from others.

Moreover, Dee is always fascinated by occultism and works in search of the philosopher's stone, dear to alchemists. In 1581, according to what he says, he receives the visit of an angel who gives him a polished crystal globe in which is enclosed an angel named Uriel, and a magic mirror in black anthracite: we can still see today in the British Museum the famous crystal ball, as well as tablets of wax on which the astronomer had engraved the mathematical hieroglyphs which he used during magic ceremonies.

Edward Kelly enters the scene

Shortly after this event, the same year 1581, Dee meets a strange character, Edward Kelly (1555-1597), who asserts himself able to converse with the deceased. Dee takes him to his service, so that he helps him to communicate with the spirits of his crystal globe and assists him in his alchemical research.

Soon it is rumored that the two men have succeeded: they are believed to be capable of transmuting lead into gold. They are invited all over Europe, and go to Poland, where they stay with Prince Laski, to whom they have promised fortune. But Pope Sixtus V accuses them of necromancy - the invocation of the dead to know the future - and obtains their expulsion from the country. The two men and their wives for some time win Leipzig and Hesse-Cassel.

Size and fall of Dr. Dee

On April 18, 1587, a first quarrel opposes Dee and Kelly. He claims that a crystal ball spirit ordered that Dee and himself share their wives. This is not to the taste of Dee or his wife, Jane. Other quarrels follow and the quartet breaks up. Dee moved to Bremen while Kelly went to Prague where he continued to transform, he says, lead into gold. His prowess earned him the ephemeral title of Marshal Bohemia; he soon fell into disgrace and was twice imprisoned on the orders of Rudolph II of Bohemia. It is during his second arrest that he kills himself while trying to escape the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Dee has returned to London where the Queen renews her confidence and gives him a pension. Returning home, however, is not entirely happy: returning to his home in Mortlake, Dee discovers that his house has been looted and 500 books out of 4,000 in his library, including very rare manuscripts, have disappeared. The end of his life is difficult, especially after the death of Elizabeth, then that of the Earl of Leicester, another of his protectors. In 1603, James I, a great defender of witches and wizards, refused to grant him a pension, and in 1605 he had to give up his position as rector of Manchester College.

Dee died in poverty in December 1608. But his strong personality, halfway between scientist and magician, marked his time.

History of astrology

At the time of Dee, the study of stars and the interpretation of their influence on the destiny of men frequently enter the field of skills of scientists. In Europe, the sixteenth century is the golden age of magic and occultism. Great magicians or astrologers durably mark their domains. All think that man is connected to the universe by multiple correspondences. They see an analogy between the interplanetary macrocosm and the human microcosm. To use a canonical formula of the Hermetic tradition of the time: "All that is above is below" (the Emerald Tablet, around 1520). In this perspective, the stars have an influence on the destiny of human beings. Thus, Paracelsus believes that there is a link between the 7 organs of the body and the 7 planets (because then only 7 were known). It is after examining the movement of the stars and the sky that Nostradamus writes his famous prophecies. Finally, Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535), doctor of theology, seeks to demonstrate in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1510-1533) the importance of the zodiac signs.

Indian Astrology

It developed from a lunar mansion formed by 27 to 28 constellations, the nakshatra. The most important work is Brahajjataka, which includes considerations of the possibility of astrologically determining the conditions for later reincarnation.

Aztec Astrology

For the Aztecs, the month (which lasts 20 days) of birth is determined by the presence of the Moon, and the day of birth is defined by the position of the Sun. The Aztec horoscope includes 12 signs. It is possible to refine the theme by calculating the ascending month. There are 18 ascending months of 20 days each.

Chinese astrology

It is based on a lunar cycle based on the annual rhythm of lunations. The twelve signs, which correspond to animals, vary here according to the year and not the month. It is allowed to refine a theme by incorporating factors such as the Journeyman, determined by the time of birth, and the predominant Element, which refers to 5 "elements": Earth, Fire, Water, Wood and Metal.