Description
By (author) Richards Andrea; Edited by Hundley Jessica
Short /annotation:
Looking to the sky, this pocket-sized volume in TASCHEN’s Library of Esoterica series delves into the vibrant visual history of Western astrology. The story of this ancient practice is told through hundreds of images—from Egyptian temples to contemporary art.
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From the beginning of human history, individuals across cultures andbelief systems have looked to the sky for meaning. The movement ofcelestial bodies and their relation to our human lives has been thecentral tenant of astrology for thousands of years. The practice hasboth inspired reverence and worship, and deepened our understanding ofourselves and the world around us.
While modern-day horoscopes may be the most familiar form ofastrological knowledge, their lineage reaches back to ancientMesopotamia. As author Andrea Richards recounts in Astrology, the second volume in TASCHEN’s Library of Esoterica series,astronomy and astrology were once sister sciences: the King’s Chamberof the Great Pyramid at Giza was built to align with constellations,Persian scholars oversaw some of the first observatories, and evenGalileo cast horoscopes for the Medicis. But with the Enlightenment andthe birth of exact science, the practice moved to places where mysterywas still permitted, inspiring literature, art, and psychology, andinfluenced artists and thinkers such as Goethe, Byron, and Blake. Latermovements like the Theosophists and the New Agers, would thrust thepractice into the mainstream.
Edited by Jessica Hundley, this vibrant visual history of Western astrology exploresthe symbolic meaning behind hundreds of images, from Egyptian templesand illuminated manuscripts to contemporary art from across the globe.Works by artists from Alphonese Mucha and Hilma af Klint to ArpitaSingh and Manzel Bowman are sequenced to mirror the spin of the planetsand the wheel of the zodiac. Astrology celebrates the stars and their mysterious influence on our everyday lives.
Review quote:
“…a vivid visual history and field guide to the esoteric practice featuring thousands of years of art.”
Biographical note:
Andrea Richards is a writer, journalist, and the author of four books. Her work concerns a variety of esoteric subjects, from forgotten philosophical systems and hidden histories to alternative wellness practices and religions. She is a managing partner in the Los Angeles-based creative collective Narrated Objects. Jessica Hundley is an author, filmmaker and journalist. She has written for the likes of Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and has authored books on artists including Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, and Gram Parsons. Hundley often explores the counterculture in her work, with a focus on metaphysics, psychedelia, and magic.
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