Culture and Cosmos is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the history of
astrology and cultural astronomy published by the
Sophia Centre Press in
partnership with the Sophia
Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, Faculty of Humanitiies and the
Performing Arts, at the University
of Wales Trinity Saint David
We are currently seeking submissions for future volumes of Culture and Cosmos.
We are currently seeking submissions for future volumes of Culture and Cosmos.
Volume 7, No. 2
Ficino's Approach to Astrology as Reflected in Book VII of his Letters
Julia Cleve
Abstract
The twelve volumes of Marsilio Ficino's correspondence are rich in astrological references. Most celebrated among these is Letter 17 in Book VII which is addressed to Federico, Duke of Urbino, and whose express intention is to reconcile genuine astronomers and Christians. Ficino himself was a practising astrologer, and yet the arguments he advances in this letter are taken from his unpublished treatise Against the Judgement of Astrologers. This apparent contradiction - is Ficino a champion or a scourge of astronomia? - may be resolved if considered in the light of his over-arching Platonic cosmology.
