History of Western Astrology

by Jim Tester

`Superb general account.' Times Literary SupplementThe story of the history of Western astrology begins with the philosophers of Greece in the 5th century BC. To the magic and stargazing of Egypt the Greeks added numerology, geometryand rational thought. The philosophy of Plato and later of the Stoics made astrology respectable, and by the time Ptolemy wrote his textbook the Tetrabiblos, in the second century AD, the main lines of astrological practice as it is known today had already been laid down. In future centuries astrology shifted to Islam only to return to the West in medieval times where it flourished until the shift of ideas during the Renaissance.

Genres: Astrology, Occult

263 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Kathy]

not so much a history of astrology as a good critical review of the classical astrology works from ancient Greece, Rome, etc. by someone who clearly has actually read them all himself.

the LONG chapter on the Latin Middle Ages was fascinating and I know I will reread it many times.

[Fi]

Actually a really interesting book! I used as research for a paper I had to do for one of my classes and it proved to be very helpful. Plus now I know a lot more about the origins of western astrology! Super neat.